Governor-elect Phil Murphy rolled out a list of 81 transition advisers on Monday, including former U.S. attorney Paul Fishman and the president of the New Jersey Education Association, Marie Blistan.
The transition team includes former administration officials, such as Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, who was state treasurer under former Gov. Jim McGreevey; Jennifer Velez, who led the Department of Human Services under Govs. Jon Corzine and Chris Christie from 2007 to 2015; Heather Howard, who was health commissioner under Corzine; and Jack Lettiere, who served as McGreevey’s transportation commissioner.
Some well-regarded policy experts are also on the team, such as David Rosen, the former budget chief of the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services; Cecilia Zalkind, president of Advocates for Children of New Jersey; Martin Robins, the director emeritus of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University; Linda Schwimmer, president of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute; and Ronald Chen, co-dean of Rutgers University Law School.
Labor leaders are well represented in the transition committee. In addition to Blistan, who leads the largest teachers union in the state, there is Hetty Rosenstein, state director of the CWA; Ray Pocino, a top official at the Laborers’ International Union of North America; and John Ballantyne, executive secretary-treasurer of the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters.
“Our co-chairs boast a rich diversity of both background and experiences, of valuable government experience and unique outside perspectives,” Murphy said in a statement. “To a person, this transition is full of incredible talent and experience, and I’m thrilled to see them serve.”
Community leaders and think tank officials are part of Murphy’s team as well. Murphy named the president of New Start New Jersey, the think tank he founded and that is currently chaired by his wife, as a co-chair of his Government Technology and Innovation transition committee. That’s Tim Castano.
Murphy last week named Jose Lozano executive director of his transition team. Jose Fernandez, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state, was named director of transition policy committees on Monday.
Lieutenant Governor-elect Sheila Oliver will lead the state Department of Community Affairs, Murphy announced after the election. Several sources in the campaign have said on the condition of anonymity that lobbyist Pete Cammarano of CLB Partners has been selected to be Murphy’s chief of staff.
The full list from the Murphy transition is below:
Director of Transition Policy Committees
Jose Fernandez, former Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs
Senior Advisor to the Transition for Strategy and Policy
Carl Van Horn, Ph.D., Director, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University
Agriculture
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
Budget
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
Education, Access, and Opportunity
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
Environment and Energy
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
Government Technology and Innovation
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
Healthcare
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
Housing
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
Human and Children Services
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
Labor and Workforce Development
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
Law and Justice
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
Military and Veteran Affairs
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
Stronger and Fairer Economy
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
Transportation and Infrastructure
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
Urban and Regional Growth
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
