Published by Claude Brodesser-Akner on NJ.com.
Gov.-elect Phil Murphy on Monday announced a transition team that shows his push to represent women and minorities and culls some experts from Gov. Chris Christie‘s administration after criticizing the governor during the campaign.
“I pledged to build my administration to mirror the diversity, talent, and potential of New Jersey, and my transition will be no different,” Murphy said in a statement. “Our co-chairs boast a rich diversity of both background and experiences, of valuable government experience and unique outside perspectives.”
Among those named to the transition team are New Jersey Education Association president Marie Blistan, who heads the state’s largest teacher’s union that waged a caustic, costly and unsuccessful effort to unseat Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester.
The list also includes some old faces from both the waning Christie administration, like Jennifer Velez,, a Barnabas Health executive who’d previously served as commissioner of the state Department of Human Services.
Also included: Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, the state treasurer under Gov. Jim McGreevey and also a member of Christie’s first transition team; Communications Workers of America state director Hetty Rosenstein; and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
Here’s the full list of Murphy’s transition team:
Jose Fernandez, former Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs
Carl Van Horn, Ph.D., Director, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University
Albert Kelly, Mayor of Bridgeton and President of the League of Municipalities
Alison Lewis, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Johnson & Johnson
David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO, AeroFarms
Henry Coleman, Ph.D., Professor of Public Policy, Rutgers University
Amy Mansue, President, Southern Region at RWJBarnabas Health
John McCormac, Mayor of Woodbridge
David J. Rosen, former Legislative Budget and Finance Officer, New Jersey Office of Legislative Services
Marie Blistan, President, New Jersey Education Association
Mark Biedron, immediate past President, New Jersey State Board of Education
Rev. Dr. William Howard Jr., former Chair, Rutgers University Board of Governors
Christopher Irving, Ed.D., President, Paterson Board of Education
Gayl Shepard, former President, Montclair Education Association
Jianping Wang, Ed.D., President, Mercer County Community College
David Crane, former President and CEO, NRG Energy
Jeanne Fox, former President, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
Kathleen Frangione, former Senior Advisor, Senator John Kerry
Lisa Garcia, Vice President of Litigation for Healthy Communities, Earthjustice
John S. Watson Jr., Vice President, D&R Greenway Land Trust
Jay Bhatti, Co-Founder, BrandProject
Jazlyn Carvajal, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Stay On Your Daily
Tim Castano, President, New Start New Jersey
Judith Sheft, Associate Vice President of Technology and Enterprise Development, New Jersey Innovation Institute at NJIT
Avis Yates Rivers, President and CEO, Technology Concepts Group International
Omar Baker, M.D., Co-President, Chief Quality and Safety Officer and Director of Performance Improvement at Riverside Medical Group/ProHealthCare of New Jersey
Shereef Elnahal, M.D., Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health, Veterans Health Administration
Balpreet Grewal-Virk, Ph.D., Director of Community Engagement, Department of Population Health at Hackensack Meridian Health
Valerie Harr, former Director, Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services
Heather Howard, former Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services
Linda Schwimmer, President and CEO, New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute
Maria Vizcarrondo, former President and CEO, United Way of West Essex and West Hudson
Joseph Della Fave, Executive Director, Ironbound Community Corporation
Christiana Foglio, Founder and CEO, Community Investment Strategies
Michelle Richardson, Executive Director, Hudson County Economic Development Corporation
Renee Wolf Koubiadis, Executive Director, Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey
Zillehuma Hasan, Founding Member and Executive Director, Wafa House, Inc.
Trish Morris-Yamba, Executive Director Emerita, Newark Day Center
Kevin Ryan, President and CEO, Covenant House International
Jennifer Velez, Senior Vice President of Community and Behavioral Health, RWJBarnabas Health
Joseph Youngblood II, Ph.D., Vice Provost and Dean, John S. Watson School of Public Service at Thomas Edison State University
Cecilia Zalkind, President and CEO, Advocates for Children of New Jersey
Kevin Brown, New Jersey State Director and Vice President, 32BJ Service Employees International Union
Lizette Delgado, Political Director, Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters
Maria Heidkamp, Director, New Start Career Network
Greg Lalevee, Business Manager, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825
James H. Moore, Jr., Ph.D., former Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
Hetty Rosenstein, New Jersey State Director, Communication Workers of America
Nelida Valentin, Vice President, Princeton Area Community Foundation
Rev. Cornell William Brooks, former President and CEO, NAACP
Ronald Chen, Co-Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
The Hon. Paul Fishman, former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey
Ricardo Solano Jr., former First Assistant Attorney General of New Jersey
Tahesha Way, former Freeholder Director, Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders
Law and Justice, Immigration Subcommittee
Johanna Calle, Program Coordinator, New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice
Sara Cullinane, Director, Make the Road New Jersey
Law and Justice, Social Justice Subcommittee
Ehsan F. Chowdhry, President, New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association
Ryan Haygood, President and CEO, New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
Col. Jeff Cantor, Councilman, Marlboro Township
Maj. Gen. Maria A. Falca-Dodson, U.S.A.F., ret., Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, MDAdvantage
Former Cpt. Sue Fulton, Executive Director, Women in the Service Change Initiative
Lt. Col. Kamal Singh Kalsi, D.O., FACEP, U.S.A.R., Medical Officer for 404th Civil Affairs Battalion, Fort Dix, New Jersey
Sgt. Maj. Jennifer Long, SGM Jennifer Long, ret., Financial Advisor, Integrated Financial Concepts
Demelza Baer, Senior Counsel and Director, Economic Mobility Initiative at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
John Ballantyne, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters
Vivian Cox Fraser, President and CEO, Urban League of Essex County
Luis O. De La Hoz, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey
Julie Diaz, State Political Director, 32BJ Services Employees International Union
Laurence Downes, Chairman of the Board and CEO, New Jersey Resources
Carl Van Horn, Ph.D., Director, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University
Imam Wahy-ud Deen Shareef, former Senior Advisor and Director of Logistics and Industrial Opportunities, Mayor Cory Booker
Pam Fischer, former Director, New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety
Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, former Executive Director, New Jersey Turnpike Authority
Jack Lettiere, former Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Transportation
Ray Pocino, Vice President and Eastern Regional Manager, Laborers’ International Union of North America
Martin Robins, Director Emeritus, Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center
Leecia Eve, former Deputy Secretary for Economic Development for New York
Peter Kasabach, Executive Director, New Jersey Future
Kimberly McLain, President and CEO, Newark Alliance
Preston Pinkett, Chairman and CEO, City National Bank
Richard Roper, Retired Director, Planning Department at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Dawn Zimmer, Mayor of Hoboken