Pictured with Ms. Chapman is Alfred Titone, SBA New Jersey Director (left) and Jorge Silva-Puras, SBA Region II Regional Administrator (right).Judy Chapman has received the U.S. Small Business Administration's 2012 New Jersey Women in Business Champion of the Year award. Ms. Chapman, founder of Garden State Woman, has been recognized for her advocacy of women's small business concerns. She was honored on May 23, 2012 at the Small Business Week Awards Luncheon in Edison, NJ hosted by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. This annual event recognizes people that help small businesses thrive in New Jersey.

Additional information about the luncheon can be found by visiting:

http://www.njchamber.com/events.asp

Presentation coaching expert Stephanie Scotti of Professionally Speaking has been named 2011 Member of the Year by the NJ chapter of the National Speakers Association (NSA-NJ).

Scotti, who served as NSA-NJ's Director of Community Relations for 2010-2011, spearheaded the effort to launch a scholarship fund for Stand & Deliver, a local organization that improves the leadership and communication skills of inner-city youth.

"Stand & Deliver is a nonprofit created by journalist Steve Adubato in 2000, with a goal of teaching kids the importance of communication and encouraging them to take a leadership role in their community," explains Scotti. "Members of our chapter were invited to their annual Night of Eloquence, which showcases the achievements of the current class. It was then that we knew that Stand & Deliver was the perfect partner for NSA-NJ'S philanthropic efforts."

Scotti galvanized the chapter's membership, directing their energy and resources into marketing and fundraising, including two hugely successful events — a raffle and an auction. Within just five months, the organization had raised enough money to completely fund a $1,500 scholarship for 2011, plus additional dollars to give them a head start for next year.

According to Scotti, the program was considered a success on several levels. "It introduced us to an organization whose purpose and goals meshed with those of NSA, while providing our chapter with invaluable ongoing exposure to our 'next generation' of potential members," she says.

In addition to being recognized for her volunteer efforts, Scotti found 2011 filled with success on a professional level as well. Her client, bilingual speaker and Gitomer Certified sales trainer Eddy Mayen, was one of three finalists in the National Speakers Association competition at its recent annual conference in California. Says Mayen, "Working with Stephanie has made all the difference in my career as a speaker. She is hard working, dedicated, creative, and honest."

New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assautl announces Ruth Anne Koenick as a Lifetime Achievement Awardee

Ruth Anne Koenick is the Director of the Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. A graduate of The University of Maryland and George Washington University, Ms. Koenick has worked in the field of violence against women for 40 years having co-founded the Women's Crisis Center at The University of Maryland. The former Coordinator of the Middlesex County (NJ) Rape Crisis Center, she is a founder and past president of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault. She served as chair of the Advisory Committee, charged by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education to develop the Campus Sexual Assault Victim's Bill of Rights for all post-secondary institutions inNew Jersey and to develop an implementation plan. Ms. Koenick co-chaired the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators conference entitled "Adjudicating Sexual Assault" in December 1997 and 1999. Ms. Koenick teaches in both the Rutgers University Department of Women and Gender Studies and the School of Social Work MSW program and in the Center on Violence Against Women and Children Continuing Education Program.

In 2011 Ms. Koenick received the Wise Woman Award from the American College Personnel Association. This award was given based on her history of contributions towards women in student affairs and on efforts to promote the professional and personal development of women.

Ms. Koenick received the Wynona M. Lipman Leadership Award from the NJ Department of Community Affairs and is a recipient of the RutgersUniversityPresident's Award for Excellence in Administration and a recipient of the Rutgers University President's Award for Outstanding Service and Contributions to the University Community. In 2000, she was honored as a "milestone of the 20th century" by the Feminist Majority Foundation for her "unique contribution to the historical struggle for women's equality and human rights". She was appointed to the NJ Governor's Advisory Council Against Sexual Violence and the National Campus Advisory Board for the United States Department of Justice Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes Against Women on Campus. She is a member of the Rutgers School of Social Work Center on Violence Against Women and Children Advisory Board.

Ms. Koenick was appointed to the first Middlesex County Commission on Women in 1986 and served as chair in 1990. Since 1994 she has been a member of the Board of Trustees of Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, New Jersey's oldest AIDS Service agency where she served as the Vice President for Development and chaired AIDSWALK New Jersey for 10 years. She has been married for 38 years to Paul A. Herman. Her son Joshua, daughter-in-law Lisa, and grandchildren, Mackenzie and Bryce, live in California and her daughter Molly is an elementary school art teacher for the Fairfax County, Virginia Public Schools.

http://njcasa.org/events/110924/njcasa-celebrates-its-30th-anniversary

One of last year's Garden State Woman of the Year Honorees, Donna T. Pepe and her agency, Communications Strategies, Inc. (CSI), were recently recognized with three industry awards. CSI is a marketing, communications and public relations firm specializing in prescription and consumer healthcare marketing. "These awards reflect not only our strategic thinking, but also the strong results that we achieve for our clients' brands," said Donna, the company's founder and president. "We're thrilled and honored to have been recognized by industry peer groups for our innovative work."

• Two Communicator Awards Go to Communications Strategies, Inc.
CSI won Communicator awards in the Special Events and Special Events Plan categories.

o Special Events: The awards gala, "50 & Fabulous: Celebrating 50 years of Women's Advances Since the Pill," brought together the most prestigious people in the non-profit world to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the FDA approval of "The Pill" and -- more important -- to provide support for prominent advocacy organizations devoted to women's reproductive health. The event recognized the world of women's advances, and the trailblazers who have helped revolutionize women's health.

o Special Events Plan: An integral element of the planning for this event was the creation of a timeline that showcased the progress in women's reproductive health throughout the last fifty years. The timeline captured historical events in the history of women and birth control by decades, and highlighted specific achievements from the first birth control pill being approved in 1960 to the latest Supreme Court movements of 2010.

• Leading Woman Entrepreneur Award Presented to Donna Pepe
Own It Ventures & New Jersey Monthly Recognize Donna T. Pepe as Leading Woman Entrepreneur.

o For more than 19 years, Donna Pepe has been an innovator and advocate for women's health with her marketing and communications firm. Building on her reputation as one of the leading public relations and marketing strategists in the industry, Donna has built Communications Strategies, Inc. (CSI) into a successful marketing communications and public relations company with a unique strategic focus in women's health. The company was recently ranked the tenth largest independent healthcare PR agency in the United States, and the first in New Jersey. In 2007, Donna was named one of the 50 top business women in New Jersey by NJBiz magazine. This year, she was named Garden State Woman of the Year in Media and Communications.

One of Garden State Woman's "Woman of the Year" alumni, Denise Morrison, has been formally named Campbell Soup's next president and CEO.

 Nominations are now being accepted for the 2011 Woman of the Year. Information and a nomination form are available here.

The 57-year-old Campbell executive will become the first woman to run the world's largest soup maker. The Camden company's board announced yesterday that she will take over Aug.1. Campbell said she was next in line last year when Douglas Conant announced he would step down this year after more than a decade leading the company.

Denise joined Campbell in April 2003 as President-Global Sales and Chief Customer Officer, and was named President-Campbell USA in June 2005. She was appointed Senior Vice President and President-North America Soup, Sauces and Beverages in October 2007. She led the Campbell USA, North America Foodservice, and Campbell Canada businesses, representing approximately $4.9 billion of the company's net sales and nearly 90 percent of the company's profits.

Denise's full bio is available on the Campbell Soup website.

The American Association of Museums has elected Newark Museum's Chief Operating Officer, Meme Omogbai, Vice Chair, positioning her to serve as AAM's next Chair, an unprecedented honor for the Newark Museum. Prior to her election, Omogbai served AAM in many capacities including co-author of its ground-breaking strategic plan.

Founded in 1906, AAM represents more than 18,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, almost 3,000 institutions and 250 corporate members. The organization's membership includes the entire scope of museums as well as aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens, arboretums, historic sites and science and technology centers. The Nigerian-born Omogbai will be its first black leader.

According to the organization's election announcement, the AAM's mission is to strengthen museums through leadership, collaboration and service by helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the museum community.

Omogbai joined Newark Museum, the state's largest museum, in 1995. An MBA and a licensed CPA, she completed post graduate education programs at Harvard University and the J. Paul Getty Trust Management Institute, where she also served on the faculty.

Active in professional affairs, Omogbai has been cited with several awards including being named by The Network Journal as one of the 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business in North America. Her nonprofit sector stewardship has spanned service on the boards of several organizations including the New Jersey State Historic Trust, National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs, Regional Business Partnership, and Montclair State University's College of Science and Mathematics.

Gibbons Earns the Women in Law Empowerment Forum's Gold Standard Certification - One of only 32 law firms nationwide included on this list

Gibbons P.C. is one of only 32 law firms nationwide to earn the Women in Law Empowerment Forum's (WILEF) Gold Standard Certification. This is the first list of law firms to meet WILEF's criteria and is aimed at identifying law firms that include women in top leadership positions. WILEF initially invited over 300 firms with 100 or more attorneys to apply for this certification, with only 32 being selected.

"Gibbons has worked for many years to advance, promote and retain women at our firm. This commitment has been recognized on numerous occasions by such organizations as Catalyst and Working Mother Magazine," stated Patrick C. Dunican Jr., Chairman and Managing Director of Gibbons. "We are proud to be included on this new prestigious list of Gold Standard Certified firms."

"At a time when women are losing ground at some firms, it is wonderful to recognize 32 law firms where women are prominently represented at the highest levels of leadership and compensation," said Ida Abbott, a legal consultant and chairwoman of WILEF's certification committee. "These firms prove that a commitment to the advancement of women can produce great results."

About the Gibbons Women's Initiative

Gibbons attributes its success in meeting the criteria to its commitment to the advancement of women, as evidenced by its award-winning Women's Initiative. Since its start in 1997, the Initiative has grown into a highly respected organization with over 60 women within the firm actively working on its programs, and more than 2,000 invited women participants in total. In addition, the Initiative is closely integrated with the firm's business strategy, helping women attorneys establish, maintain, and expand close relationships with one another, clients, colleagues throughout the professions, and potential clients in a strategically-defined demographic. The proof of its value can be seen by the improvement in the numbers of women in leadership positions within the firm.

About Gibbons P.C.

With 230 attorneys, Gibbons is a leading law firm in New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, and Delaware, ranked among the nation's top 200 firms by The American Lawyer. Gibbons is one of only 20 law firms nationwide to have been named to the National Law Journal's inaugural "Midsize Hot List," which recognized firms with fewer than 300 lawyers that found innovative ways to position themselves in a down market, creatively and successfully recruiting and retaining top talent, developing practice areas, and managing operations. A 2009 winner of the prestigious Catalyst Award, one of the preeminent corporate honors recognizing excellence in the advancement of women in the workplace, Gibbons is ranked by Working Mother magazine as one of the top 50 firms nationwide for working women and by MultiCultural Law magazine as a top 100 firm for diversity. For more information visit www.gibbonslaw.com

In Honor of Women's History Month U. S. Senator Robert Menendez PresentsThe Second Annual Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony

Monday, March 28, 2011 – Middlesex County College

To honor all New Jersey women, essential to the growth and progress of our great state, Senator Menendez has created the Women of Distinction Awards Ceremony, an annual event during Women's History Month in which six outstanding New Jerseyans are recognized for their contributions.

Senator Menendez created the Evangelina Menendez Trailblazer Award to pay tribute to his mother, a trailblazer who passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. This year seven New Jersey women will be recognized with this award, all of them for their outstanding contributions to the Garden State.

This Year's Honorees are:

· Kathleen DiChiara, President/CEO Community FoodBank of NJ

Colette Frank of Baptistown, a Certified Home Health Aide for Visiting Health and Supportive Services was selected as the 2010 "Home Health Aide of the Year."

"Colette was selected as Home Health Aide of the year because of her dedication and compassion to her clients, her commitment to her community, and her consistently positive attitude. Collette is a great person, a wonderful caregiver, and an asset to Visiting Health and Supportive Services," stated Don Pinner, Chief Operating Officer for Hunterdon Regional Community Health.

Certified Home Health Aides work with people who maybe ill, elderly and disabled in their homes providing personal care, such as bathing and dressing, meal planning and preparation, and follow-up rehabilitative exercises as instructed by the physical, occupational or speech therapist. The home health aide can also assist with medications, perform light housekeeping and run essential errands for their clients.

Certified Home Health Aides are required to complete a 76-hour training course, offered through Visiting Health and Supportive Services, as mandated by the New Jersey Board of Nursing.

Visiting Health and Supportive Services is part of Hunterdon Regional Community Health which is located in Raritan Township and affiliated with Hunterdon Healthcare. Home Health Aides are essential to Visiting Health and Supportive Services.

For more information on Visiting Health and Supportive Services at 908-788-2562

Daisy Chan, Director of Enterprise Communications at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) has been named one of Working Mother magazine's 2010 "Working Mothers of the Year". The award honors extraordinary working mothers who make significant contributions to both their company and community.

"We are proud to have Daisy honored as a Working Mother of the Year and receive this well deserved recognition," said Peggy Coons, Vice President of Human Resources, Horizon BCBSNJ. "Daisy has shown extraordinary leadership in her commitment to her family, community and her career at Horizon BCSBNJ. As an active member of Horizon BCBSNJ's Diversity Council, she supports the company's ongoing diversity efforts by communicating the Council's accomplishments and participating in fund raising activities to raise awareness in the local community."

"Working Mother of the Year is such a special honor. I love my family and my career and it's extremely fulfilling for me to have both," said Chan.

Mrs. Chan, a married mother of four, joined Horizon BCBSNJ in 1998. Earlier this year, Mrs. Chan, of Plainsboro, was also named by Diversity MBA Magazine to their 2010 List of the "Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive and Emerging Leaders" -- a listing of exceptional minority and multicultural executives who have achieved success in highly competitive corporate, government or entrepreneurial environments based on their position, the size of budget managed, scope of responsibility, and community service work.

She is a member of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Movement and has served on their executive event committee for the past three years.

Mrs. Chan is featured in the November issue of Working Mother: and was honored at an awards ceremony on October 28, 2010 at the Sheraton New York Hotel. At this same awards ceremony, Horizon BCBSNJ also received an award as one of Working Mother's Top 100 Companies. The award acknowledges organizations whose best practices and polices have a meaningful impact in addressing the unique challenges faced by working parents. To view a press release on this prestigious accomplishment, click http://www.horizon-bcbsnj.com/news_room/news_releases/article.html?id=26571

Mary Sue Sweeney Price, Director of the Newark (NJ) Museum received the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museum's (MAAM) highest honor at its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, October 26, in a ceremony at the African American Museum of Philadelphia.

The award is named for Katherine Coffey (1900-1972), one of the past outstanding museum leaders and administrators in the nation and herself a former Director of the Newark Museum. A 1922 graduate of Barnard College, Miss Coffey joined the Newark institution in 1923 and was named the museum's fourth director in 1949. She retired in 1968 after 43 years of service.

Price has served the Newark Museum since 1975 and was named its sixth Director in 1993. During her 35-year tenure, she has distinguished herself and the museum in myriad responsibilities including exhibition and educational programming functions, strategic planning and coordinating an, award-winning facility renovation that contributed to re-establishing Newark as a key destination city along the cultural corridor from Washington to Boston.

Price is a Commissioner for Accreditation of the American Association of Museums (AAM), and former president of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), representing the leading art museums in North America. She also served as the first national president of ArtTable, the organization of women leaders in the visual arts and has served as a longtime trustee and previous vice president of NJ ArtPride, as well as a trustee of the Newark Arts Council and a member of the lay advisory board of Newark's St. Vincent Academy.

Born in 1951, Mary Sue grew up in Pittsburgh, the daughter of parents who instilled in her a love of art and global culture. She graduated from Allegheny College where she majored in English and minored in art history and biology. She is married to Dr. Clement Alexander Price, distinguished Board of Governors Professor at Rutgers University, Newark, Director of the Rutgers Institute on Ethnicity, Culture and the Modern Experience, and a leading voice for the City. The couple, residents of Newark, has been honored for their contributions and dedication to the City.

The Newark Museum is located at 49 Washington Street in the Downtown/Arts District of Newark, New Jersey, just 3 blocks from NJPAC and 10 miles west of New York City. The Museum is open all year round: Wednesdays through Fridays, from Noon - 5:00 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., October 1 – June 30; and Saturdays and Sundays, from Noon – 5:00 p.m., July 1 – September 30. Suggested Museum admission: Adults, $10.00; Children, Seniors and Students with valid I.D., $6.00. Members are admitted free. The Museum Café is open for lunches Wednesday through Sunday. Convenient parking is available for a fee. The Newark Museum campus is wheelchair accessible. For general information, call 973-596-6550 or visit our web site, http://www.NewarkMuseum.org.

The National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL®) honored its 2010 Awardees and installed its new officers and board members at its Annual Awards Luncheon in New York City. Kristin D. Sostowski, an associate in the Gibbons Employment Law Department and member of NAWL's Program Committee, as well as Co-Director of Best Practices for its New Jersey chapter, received the Virginia S. Mueller Outstanding Member Award.

At Gibbons, Ms. Sostowski defends companies and individuals who have been sued personally in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower, wrongful discharge, tort and contract, and restrictive covenant cases. She appears before federal and state courts, civil rights agencies, and alternative dispute resolution venues. She counsels employers on a wide range of employment and labor law issues, including the development and implementation of employment policies and handbooks, accommodation of employees with disabilities, family and medical leave issues, wage and hour laws, employee terminations, and general employee relations matters. Ms. Sostowski is also a member of the Gibbons' E-Discovery Task Force, handling all aspects of electronic discovery in employment and commercial litigation matters and regularly advising employers on e-discovery and document retention best practices, electronic communications policies, and the management of employee usage of electronic systems.

Beatrice Daggett has been named the Executive Director of the Citizens' Campaign, and its Jersey Call to Service, a statewide movement to replace our culture of self-interest and government waste with a culture of service and savings.

Harry Pozycki, Chairman of the Citizens' Campaign said, "With Bea's extensive experience in politics and government, the Citizens' Campaign could not have found a more qualified individual to contribute to this growing organization."

As Executive Director, Bea will oversee a $1 million annual budget, a 10 person staff, and a volunteer leadership corps of nearly 300 experienced governmental and political leaders, 5,000 graduates of the Citizens' Campaign's leadership training program and the more than 1,000 who have engaged in political and governmental leadership roles.

"The Jersey Call to Service is vital to the future of our State," Bea said. "I am honored to have been chosen to lead the Citizens' Campaign in its goal to cultivate a generation of new leaders for New Jersey government and politics, committed to unselfish, constructive action beyond the ballot."

Over the past 25 years, Bea has supervised state and national public relations campaigns. As a Public Relations executive and consultant, Bea supervised and managed accounts and developed new business opportunities for numerous Fortune 500 companies, such as AT&T and Lucent as well as major state departments such as the Department of Transportation, New Jersey Lottery, and the NJ Division of Travel and Tourism.

Beyond her professional and political experience, Bea has served as a devoted public servant, volunteering much of her time to various community and civic organizations. She was first appointed and then elected three times to the Bernards Township Board of Education. She founded the Bernards Education Foundation and spearheaded the Citizens for Better Education campaign. She is currently a trustee at Bonnie Brae, Bernards Area Scholarship and the Millicent Fenwick Fund.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is very pleased to welcome Susan J. Flynn-Hollander, Esq., who will serve as Corporate General Counsel for the hospital. In her new role, Flynn-Hollander will have responsibility for a broad range of legal services focusing on contracts, agreements, leases, employment and UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-related matters, physician arrangements and medical staff issues, among others. She will be working closely with Corporate Compliance and senior management on regulatory affairs.

Flynn-Hollander is an accomplished, senior corporate attorney who possesses a wealth of health care, business, legal and operational experience. Prior to her arrival at RWJUH, Flynn-Hollander was a Senior Practice Group Member at the law firm of Schenck, Price, Smith and King, LLP.

She has extensive in-house legal counsel experience, having served as Associate General Counsel and Vice President, Professional Risk, for William H. Connolly and Co.; Vice President of Administration and General Counsel for Bayonne Medical Center; Chief Operating Officer for University Healthcare/HealthShare; and Senior Vice President for Operations and Chief Operating Officer for Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center. She previously served as Director of Legal Affairs and Corporate Counsel at Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center.

A graduate of New York Law School, where she was Book Editor for the Journal of International and Comparative Law, and Rutgers University's Douglass College, Flynn-Hollander is an American Health Lawyers Association-Certified Arbitrator and Mediator and has been licensed by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance in property, casualty, life and health.

She serves as a Trustee for the Foundation of UMDNJ and the New Jersey Health Foundation (Treasurer, Executive Committees, Finance Committees), Venture Capital Group LLC, and the Advisory Board of the Women's Health Institute at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She is also the Treasurer of the New York Law School Alumni Board.

Joyce Luhrs, president of the marketing and management firm Luhrs & Associates, has been appointed to the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley's board of directors. The Leonia resident will serve a two-year term from 2010-2012.

The League of Women Voters of Northern Valley is a part of the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, a non-partisan political organization. The League of Women Voters was founded in April 1920 as a successor to the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association. Today the League encourages informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Ms. Luhrs has been involved in the League of Women Voters in various capacities over the years, including as a member of the board of directors of the League of Women Voters of Leonia. She served as membership chair and implemented its publicity campaigns. As a member of the League of Women Voters of NJ State Education Committee, she coordinated a conference on issues impacting education in urban areas in the state.

"Joyce Luhrs is creative and certain to be a great asset to the League of Women Voters of Northern Valley's board of directors. Her extensive marketing and management experiences working in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors and being involved in the community will help the League grow and develop," said Ann Moscovitz, president, League of Women Voters of Northern Valley.

Ms. Luhrs brings to the League extensive experience working with businesses and nonprofits to promote and increase their image and name recognition in various markets. Her company, Luhrs & Associates, is a creative marketing, public relations, and management services firm that works with businesses, celebrities, nonprofit organizations and schools.

Under her direction, the company has launched several community projects through its In the Community program, an annual community service initiative for nonprofit organizations. Earlier this year, the company implemented a statewide publicity and community outreach campaign to announce the Hispanic Business Council Scholarship Foundation of NJ, Inc.'s 2010 scholarship program, resulting in a 103% increase in applications received. Other activities include providing pro-bono one-on-one consulting about public relations and publicity to nonprofit leaders attending the Center for Nonprofits 2009 conference; sponsoring linen, school supply and children's book drives to aid the Ramapough Lenape Nation in New Jersey and New York; and undertaking other collections to support domestic violence shelters and arts programs.

Mattawang Golf Club is celebrating Kristina Wagner's impressive victory at the recent New Jersey State Golf Association Women's Public Links tournament. Wagner, who plays out of Mattawang, shot a four-over-par 75 on June 14 at the Valley Brook Golf Club in River Vale to earn the PubLinks title. A former student of Mahlon Dow, Mattawang's Head Professional and Manager, Wagner is working this summer in the club's pro shop and as an assistant instructor in Dow's popular junior clinics. Dow runs the largest junior camp program in New Jersey.

"This is a great win for Kristina," said Dow. "Although, she is relatively new to tournament golf, Kristina has had a lot of early success. She posses a very athletic swing and is just beginning to learn the mental side of the game. Her potential is that she is one of the very few gifted young golfers who can be as good as she wants to be."

Wagner just finished her freshman year on the women's golf team at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina. This past season she competed in three events and compiled a stroke average of 84.13. Before carding her 75 in the New Jersey Women's PubLinks, Wagner's career-low round was an 80 in the Richmond Spider Invitational at Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, Virginia.

A graduate of Hillsborough High School, Hillsborough, New Jersey, Wagner was a two-year varsity letter winner and named to the First-Team All-State in 2008. She was the first place finisher in the 2008 and 2009 Skyland Conference Tournament, the 2008 East Brunswick Invitational and the 2009 Cougar Classic.

"Mattawang has always accommodated me as a player and; being able to play at such a nice facility has really helped my game," said Wagner. "The New Jersey Public Links tournament is the biggest tournament I have ever won. This win has opened a lot of doors for me and I have proved to myself that I am capable of controlling my mental and physical being in big tournaments."

Patty Whitehouse has been elected for a two year term as President of the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs (NJSFWC). Her duties include the leadership of a 44 member Board dedicated to seeing the vision of NJSFWC flourish: To be recognized as the premiere statewide volunteer organization that provides structure and support in pursuit of community service. The mission of the NJSFWC is to provide opportunities for education, leadership training and community service through participation in local clubs, enabling members to make a difference in the lives of others one project at a time.
Presently NJSFWC has 9500 members and 250 clubs located across the state. New Jersey is the third largest state membership within the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) headquartered in Washington, DC. See www.gfwc.org.
Founded in 1894, NJSFWC is the largest women's volunteer community service organization in New Jersey. The NJSFWC Headquarters Building (which was funded through a trading stamps program) is located on the Douglass College Campus, next to the Institute for Women's Leadership. Douglass College (originally known as the New Jersey College for Women) was established in 1918 by the clubwomen of New Jersey. See www.njsfwc.org.
Now that Patty has retired from her executive position with a major insurance company and has completed training to be an Executive Coach, her two passions are the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Club and the Senior Leadership Program for Professional Women, housed at The Institute for Women's Leadership at Douglass College. "I attended this program while I was still engaged in corporate America and I found it invaluable. Not only did I acquire leadership skills that enhanced my work skills, but I also achieved a degree of introspection about me and where I wanted to be in the future. It was a strong networking opportunity also," noted Patty.

The Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore will honor five Monmouth and Ocean county women as Women of Distinction on April 13, 2010.

The honorees, examples of women making a difference in their communities, are: Virginia S. Bauer, Red Bank; Sandy S. Broughton, Jackson; Susan M. Kelly, Brielle; Barbara J. McMorrow, Freehold; and Ann L. Noble, Wall.

"Our 2010 honorees are women who are resourceful, confident and competent. They pursue excellence personally and professionally; and make a commitment to family, career and community," said Tom Hayes, co-chair of the 2010 Women of Distinction committee and director of customer and community relations from New Jersey Natural Gas Company.

The women will be celebrated at 6 p.m. at Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune.

Tickets and sponsorships are available by calling Karen Palamara, fund raising specialist at (732) 349-4499, ext. 223 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
 

HRH Princess Haya Al Hussein received the Steiger Award recently at a gala dinner at Bochum’s Centennial Hall in Germany in recognition of her achievements in the field of sport.

The Steiger Award is named after ”Der Steiger” (The Miner) and symbolizes traits that are associated with miners in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany — straightforward, open, honest, fair and tolerant. It also stands for reliability, loyalty and cooperation in good times and in bad. The award is given annually to personalities who are recognized for their work in fields of music, sports, media, environment and film.

“The virtues of the Der Steiger are the same values that we cherish in sports. The only thing that matters in sports is your performance. And a winning performance isn’t measured just by medal counts. It is measured by behavior,” stated Princess Haya upon receiving the Award. “The equality of competition can be particularly empowering for women and young girls. For far too many of them, sport is the one opportunity they have to break free from societal norms that stifle their creativity, their passion and their dreams."

The former Olympic athlete and UN Messenger of Peace was honored for her work as president of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and for her sport-related humanitarian efforts. She has worked with the UN’s Sport for Development and Peace program to use sport to improve the lives of refugees and impoverished youths.

Princess Haya, the wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, competed for her native Jordan in equestrian events at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. She is the daughter of HM Late King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan. She became a UN Messenger of Peace at the request of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2007.

Gov. Chris Christie has nominated former prosecutor Lori Grifa to take over the Community Affairs Department. The nomination is subject to Senate confirmation.

Lori Grifa, a Montclair resident, is a member of Wolff & Samson’s Government and Regulatory Affairs Group. She practices in the areas of administrative, regulatory and government affairs, and handles commercial and employment litigation. She represents clients before the New Jersey Departments of Banking and Insurance, Education, Environmental Protection, Labor, Transportation and Treasury, as well as the majority of the state’s professional licensing boards.

Lori brings deep experience in both the public and private sectors to her law practice at the firm, and applies that knowledge to solve the problems faced by licensed and regulated businesses.
From 2002-2003, Lori served as chief of staff to New Jersey Attorney General David Samson. In that capacity, she was responsible for managing the New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety, a department comprised of more than 9,500 employees (including 800 attorneys), as well as for the civil representation of the State of New Jersey and overseeing the state’s criminal prosecution efforts.

Before joining Wolff & Samson, she was a special assistant district attorney in the Homicide Investigation Unit of the New York County District Attorney’s Office for two years and was a senior assistant district attorney in the Office of the Kings County (Brooklyn) District Attorney from 1989-1997, where she specialized in homicide and gang-related prosecutions.

Lori received appointments by the chief justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court to a number of important committees, including the Committee for Women and the Courts and the State Domestic Violence Working Group. Most recently, she was appointed to the District V-A Attorney Ethics Committee for a four-year term that began in September 2008.

Lori is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Administrative Law and was named by NJBIZ in 2008 as one of New Jersey’s “Best 50 Women in Business." She has received Martindale Hubbell’s highest AV® rating.
A graduate of Boston College School of Law, Lori served as law clerk to Judge Elbert Tuttle of the Superior Court of Massachusetts. She also earned her B.A., cum laude, from Rutgers University, where she was a Henry Rutgers Thesis Scholar and member of Phi Beta Kappa.