With less than a week left in his term as governor, Republican Chris Christie announced a slew of over 80 appointments on Wednesday, ushering in changes for state psychiatric hospital boards and other local boards before he leaves office on Tuesday.
Four of New Jersey’s psychiatric hospitals will have new trustee boards, mostly made of Christie staffers, former cabinet members and other loyalists who have worked with the outgoing governor during his eight-year tenure.
For the Board of Trustees at Morris County’s Greystone Hospital—the largest publicly run mental health facility in the state—Christie appointed Morris County Sherriff Jim Gannon, a Republican; advisor Michele Brown; and Port Authority employee Peter Simon, as well as a slew of others.
The Ancora Psychiatric Hospital Board of Trustees will include Cathleen Bennett, the former New Jersey health commissioner and head of the New Jersey Hospital Association, and Dominick DiRocco, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff and current director of governmental affairs at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield. Another deputy chief of staff, Amanda DePalma, was appointed to the Trenton Psychiatric Hospital Board of Trustees.
For the board at Trenton’s Ann Klein Forensic Center, a facility that treats clients with mental illness who are in the judicial system, Christie appointed former Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini. In 2015, Angelini, a Republican, unexpectedly lost her re-election bid in New Jersey’s 11th legislative district.
Christie’s appointments also extended beyond the state’s hospital system.
His current communications director, Brian Murray, was appointed to serve on the Youth Correctional Institution Complex Board of Trustees. Christie also appointed retired Republican Judge Roger Daley to the Middlesex County College Board of Trustees.
View the full list of appointments here:
Ancora Psychiatric Hospital Board of Trustees
Cathleen Bennett
Emily Baggett
Dominick DiRocco
Beth Schermerhorn
Ann Klein Forensic Center Board of Trustees
Mary Pat Angelini
Raymond Brandes
Allison Blake
Rosemary Iannacone
Louis Goetting
Bob Martin
Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital Board of Trustees
Sheriff James Gannon
Michele Brown
Peter Simon
Wayne Hasenbalg
Bruce Sisler
Louis A. Modugno
Jim DiGiulio
Trenton Psychiatric Hospital Board of Trustees
Melissa Orsen
Amanda DePalma
Ryan Goodwin
Jennifer Duffy
David Reiner
Susan Rubino
New Lisbon Developmental Center Board of Trustees
Shannon Michael McManus
Woodbine Developmental Center Board of Trustees
Ron Filan
Garden State Preservation Trust
Andrew McNally
New Jersey State Historical Records Advisory Board
Joseph Glover
Ray Brandes
Christina Lazzaruolo
Terri Adams
Susie Cho
New Jersey Council for Young Children
Beth Schermerhorn
Susan Scrivo
Asbury Park Housing Authority
Brian Thomas
HOBOKEN Housing Authority
Beth A. Mason
Youth Correctional Institution Complex Board of Trustees
Brian Toro
Ryan Windels
Brian Murray
New Jersey State Board of Dentistry
Kevin Reich
Nicole DeMuro
State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refridgeration Contractors
Wells Winegar
State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers
Matt Spadaccini
State Board of Mortuary Science of New Jersey
Matthew Moench
Robert Schwaneberg
State Board of Psychological Examiners
Peter Slocum
State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners
Megan Fielder
Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans’ Memorial Cemetary Advisory Council
Ryan Windels
Clean Air Council
Andrew McNally
Scott Ross
John Spinello
Clean
David Gruskos
New Jersey Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
Michael Sullivan
Middlesex County College Board of Trustees
Roger Daley
Salem Community College Board of Trustees
Ryan Padilla
Child Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Team Advisory Board
John Esmerado
Javier M. Toro
Debbie Riverso
Maria Vinci-Savettiere
New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Advisory Council
Thomas Jennings
Wayne Roorda
Margaret Englebert
James Seath, Sr.
Karen Alexander
Charles J. Dodge
William Freeman
New Jersey Israel Commission
Michael Celler
School Ethics Commission
Richard D. Tomko
Jude Tanella
Edgewater Housing Authority
Ann Carletta
Harrison Housing Authority
Richard A. Miller
New Brunswick Housing Authority
Ramon Alayon
Newark Redevelopment and Housing Authority
John C. Patino
Salem City Housing Authority
Jim Smith
Commission on Human Trafficking
Samantha Steinberg-Boyer
New Jersey State Board of Architects
Bibi Taylor
Edward O’Brien
New Jersey State Board of Optometrists
Bonnie Lavoie-Brady
New Jersey Building Authority
William T. Mullen
State Coordinator for the 1033 Program
Darin Patrick
New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund Authority
John J. Duthie
University Hospital Board of Directors
David Molowa, Ph.D.
Robert Johnson
Rowan County College at Burlington Board of Trustees
James Anderson
