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WPCNJ To Honor Wanda Akin, Mary Philbrook Award Recipient

February 21, 2022 · Flag
Wanda M. Akin, was formerly the Managing Attorney for Chubb & Son, Inc.’s, New Jersey House Counsel law firm, Scanlon & Akin, and a Senior Trial Attorney and Of Counsel to Podvey, Sachs, Meanor, Catenacci, Hildner & Cocoziello from November 1994 through January 1998. For 24 years, Ms. Akin has maintained her solo practice known as Wanda M. Akin & Associates in Newark, NJ. For over 20 years, she has taught as an Adjunct Professor at Seton Hall University School of Law and at Seton Hall University’s School of Diplomacy And International Relations.
 
Akin has over 39 years of experience as a trial lawyer in a wide variety of cases, including criminal defense (in the United States and International Tribunals), complex product liability, property claims, construction accident litigation, catastrophic personal injury, employment/labor, trademark and copyright, and other complex litigation (representing three New Jersey Municipalities and their respective Police Departments and personnel, in complex employment and personal injury litigation). She has been trial counsel in numerous cases in New Jersey State and Federal Courts, New York State and Federal Courts, Maryland State Courts, and in many other Federal Court actions throughout the United States. She served as counsel to an accused at the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone. She is currently included in the list of counsel eligible for appointment to represent accused and victims before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and represents victims of the Darfur Crisis in the case against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir before the ICC.
 
She was a 15 year member of the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Committee on the Rules of Evidence, for 18 years was a Trustee of the Trial Attorneys of New Jersey, formerly a Master in the Seton Hall Law School Alumni Association Inn of Court and served as a Presidential Appointee to the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Committee on Judicial Administration. In 1999 she served as the President of the Seton Hall Law School Alumni Association.
 
Akin has taught International Criminal Law in the Seton Hall Law/American University in Cairo summer program in Cairo, Egypt and taught International Criminal Law and Peacemaking in addition to Peacekeeping In Contemporary World at the Seton Hall University School of Diplomacy And International Relations where she was 2005 Adjunct Faculty Of The Year. For several years she taught Criminal Trial Practice at Seton Hall Law School and has lectured and presented widely in the areas of trial advocacy, international law, human rights, media and persuasion, publishing/literary ventures and criminal trial preparation to lawyers, students, bar groups and to a wide variety of businesses and other citizens on various topics.
 
Ms. Akin has been a periodic guest commentator on Court TV, MSNBC, Inside The Law,(PBS) NJN (New Jersey Network); UPN 9 News and CN8 It’s Your Call. She covered the delivery of the acquittal of O.J. Simpson for America’s Talking and discussed the reaction of African American Women to the verdict on Rivera Live. She was MSNBC’s political commentator during the 2000 Republican and Democratic National Conventions and the 2000 Presidential Election. She is a frequent panelist/lecturer and seminar producer on issues concerning the trial bar and in particular, International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Wanda is also counsel to three publishing houses as well as authors and writers in literary matters. She has appeared on TODAY, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, Entertainment Tonight and New York’s NewsChannel 4 with respect to cases and with clients on literary matters.
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WPCNJ Applauds the Passage & Signing of A5950/S4004

February 16, 2022 · Flag

“The Women’s Political Caucus of NJ, Latina Civic PAC, PAM’s List, leaders from a coalition of Black Women, and the Democratic Task Force of the Bipartisan Coalition for Women’s Appointments applaud the passage and signing of A5950/S4004. This legislation will establish two databases that will document the gender and race of elected officials from the municipal level up and all those appointed to state boards and commissions. If this data can be updated on an annual basis the political parties, legislators, the Governor and the general public can have a full picture of who is serving in government at every level. With that knowledge our hope is that decisions about who gets appointed and who runs can be made with an eye to ensuring that more women and residents from historically underrepresented communities have equal opportunities to serve in positions of power and influence. The Coalition of Women’s Organization collaborated with former Senator Loretta Weinberg, Senator Nellie Pou, Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, the NJ Legislative Latino Caucus and the NJ Legislative Black Caucus to draft the legislation and fund the effort.”

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WPCNJ To Honor Ørsted, Corporate Award Recipient

February 08, 2022 · Flag
Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey
honors
Ørsted Offshore North America
Corporate Award
Ørsted is a global renewable energy company with operations in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America. Publicly traded since 2016 and headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted develops, constructs, owns and operates offshore and onshore utility-scale wind farms, solar, energy storage facilities and bioenergy plants and provides energy products to its customers. In the U.S., Ørsted Offshore North America employs over 150 people and is jointly headquartered in Boston, MA and Providence, Rhode Island. Additionally, the company is opening its newest headquarters for Digital Operations in Newark, NJ later this year.
 
Over the past decade, Ørsted has transformed from an energy company based on coal and oil to a global leader in renewable energy. In September 2017, the company divested from upstream oil and gas production and will phase out all use of coal by 2023. Ørsted is ranked the most sustainable energy company in the world in the Corporate Knights 2022 Global 100 index of most sustainable corporations for the fourth year in a row and will become carbon neutral by 2025.
 
As the global leader in offshore wind, Ørsted has built more offshore wind farms than any other developer in the world. In the U.S., Ørsted Offshore North America owns and operates the Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm. Ørsted has secured ~ 5,000 megawatts of additional capacity through seven projects in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, and is developing two projects in New Jersey: Ocean Wind (in partnership with PSEG) and Ocean Wind 2.
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WPCNJ To Honor Aisha Glover, Social Justice Award Recipient

February 03, 2022 · Flag
Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey
honors
Aisha Glover
Vice President of Urban Innovation
Audible
Social Justice Award
Aisha Glover has over 15 years of experience as a champion and change agent for economic empowerment and social responsibility. As the Vice President of Urban Innovation at Audible, Aisha works to develop innovative solutions to exemplify what a company can mean beyond what it does. She's worked in Audible's headquarters city of Newark, NJ for the past six years, previously serving as the President & CEO for the Newark Alliance and Invest Newark. In both roles, she oversaw a range of innovative and community-focused economic development initiatives, in partnership with Mayor Ras J. Baraka, for the state's largest City-Newark. Aisha led the city's bid to attract Amazon for selection of its second headquarters, helping position Newark as a major destination city, strengthening the small business ecosystem, supporting a thriving entrepreneurial base and attracting corporations, investors and developers.
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WPCNJ To Honor Marshall McLean, Good Guy Award Recipient

February 01, 2022 · Flag
Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey
honors
Marshall McLean
Senior Vice President and Institutional Client Advisor
Bank of America
Good Guy Award
Marshall McLean is a Private Client Advisor with Bank of America Private Bank in New York City and New Jersey. Marshall serves an ultra-high-net-worth clientele that spans generations and the nation’s geography – business owners, corporate executives, and families who have accumulated and inherited significant wealth. He also assists non-profit organizations including private foundations and colleges.
 
Marshall has a background in law and complex tax issues, but does not provide tax, accounting or legal advice in his role. His areas of focus include succession planning, concentrated equity positions, and intergenerational wealth planning. Marshall also works closely with non-profit organizations and their investment committees as one of a select circle of advisors that holds the ICA (Institutional Client Advisor) designation.
 
Before joining Bank of America, Marshall worked as a corporate transactional attorney*. In that role, he navigated critical transitions on behalf of business owners and their families, including mergers and acquisitions. He is experienced in multiple aspects of the corporate lifecycle, including the sale or transfer of multigenerational businesses, succession strategies, and wealth transfer initiatives. His previous firms include McCarter & English and Reed Smith.
 
Marshall earned his J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law where he was Lead Article Editor for the Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice. He received his B.A. from Bowdoin College.
 
Marshall serves on several non-profit boards including the Greater Newark LifeCamp, the Newark Museum and the Newark Boys & Girls Club. Married with three children, Marshall resides in Bernardsville where he coaches boys and girls lacrosse, and youth hockey.
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WPCNJ To Honor Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, Good Guy Award Recipient

January 26, 2022 · Flag
· 1 reaction
Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey
honors
Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald
Legislative District 6
Good Guy Award
Assemblyman Lou Greenwald has represented New Jersey’s 6th Legislative District since 1996. He currently serves as the Assembly Majority Leader. During his tenure in the Assembly, Majority Leader Greenwald has led the fight on many key initiatives. He was the architect of the 2003 legislation to increase competition in New Jersey’s broken auto insurance market, which stopped a ballooning crisis in New Jersey and significantly increased the number of auto insurers in the State. Additionally, he was the lead sponsor on recent legislation to expand the use of design-build for New Jersey construction contracts, aimed to ensure greater efficiency and effectiveness for the state’s procurement process. As a supporter of cancer research and trying to find a cure, the Majority Leader helped in bringing a branch of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey to South Jersey, ensuring South Jersey cancer patients would not have to cross the Delaware River just to get the treatment they needed. He also played an integral role in protecting charity care funding for our State’s hospitals, and he led the fight to get students vaccinated for meningitis before college. A leader on health care policy, Majority Leader Greenwald successfully fought to ensure all women in New Jersey continue to have access to affordable healthcare services, which were jeopardized by the federal government’s Title X “gag” order. Additionally, he was a critical advocate for legislation to create a state-wide healthcare insurance exchange, so that residents of New Jersey can purchase affordable healthcare coverage.
 
Majority Leader Greenwald has been a champion of the effort to reduce gun violence. He authored laws that, among other things, limited ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, banned-armor piercing ammunition, and closed the background check loophole. Recognizing that gun violence is a public health crisis, he also championed laws to stem cycles of gun violence through hospital-based violence intervention programs, which has gained broad support from gun control advocates and physicians alike.
 
Most recently, with New Jersey gripped by the impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Majority Leader Greenwald fought to support Main Street businesses by sponsoring legislation authorizing the Economic Development Authority to award millions in grants and loans to struggling small businesses. He also sponsored a law which prevented potential billion-dollar unemployment payroll tax increases, to allow business owners to better recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic.
 
The Majority Leader has been widely honored and recognized for his legislative leadership and dedication to public service. He has received the Legislator of the Year award from the Southern New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the South Jerseyan of the Year award from the Walter Rand Institute, the New Jersey Elected Official of the Year award from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Consortium, the Standing Ovation Award from the South Jersey Cultural Alliance, and the Legislative Champion Award from the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research.
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WPCNJ To Honor Chrissy Buteas, President Award Recipient

January 25, 2022 · Flag
Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey
honors
Chrissy Buteas
Chief Government Affairs Officer
NJBIA
President Award
Chrissy Buteas is Chief Government Affairs Officer of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), the nation’s largest state-level business association whose member companies collectively employ 1 million people.
 
Buteas also serves as the Executive Director of the NEW JOBS PAC, the State’s largest and most influential ideological business political action committee.
 
Prior to joining NJBIA, Buteas served as the president and CEO of the Home Care & Hospice Association of New Jersey, representing New Jersey home health agencies, hospices and health care service firms servicing the state’s Medicare, Medicaid and private pay patients. She serves on the board of trustees of Middlesex College, Girl Scouts of Heart of NJ and is a member of the Northern Board of Junior Achievement whose mission is to inspire and prepare young people in grades K-12 to succeed in a global economy through real-world relationships with business, government, and education partners that can help them develop the employability and financial literacy skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.
 
Buteas serves as a member of the New Jersey Medical Assistance Advisory Council, New Jersey Small Employer Health Benefits Program and the New Jersey Mandated Health Benefits Advisory Commission, which responds to requests from the State Legislature to provide independent analysis of the medical, financial and social impacts of proposed health insurance benefit mandates.
 
She also serves on the board of Focus NJ, an independent research non-profit conducting timely, innovative, nonpartisan economic and workforce research, as well as the Boards of Associated Member Trust and the South Jersey Technology Park @ Rowan University.
  
Previously, Buteas served on the Murphy-Oliver Transition 2018 Healthcare team, as vice president of the Capital Impact Group, a public affairs and business development firm that advocates on behalf of nonprofit organizations and Fortune 500 companies. She was also a policy specialist at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Buteas is also the former president and current board member of the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to advancing women in government. 
 
In 2021, Buteas was named a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore, NJBIZ's 2021 Next Generation of Leaders, a Barrier Breaker as part of Jersey's Best magazine’s Spring issue honoring trailblazing women in the state and recognized on ROI-NJ's Influencers: Power List for Government Affairs. In 2018, Buteas was named to NJBIZ’s Best 50 Women in Business list. She was named to NJBIZ’s “40 Under 40” and “Power 50 Health Care” lists in 2017, as well as the 2017 “Insider 100 Policymakers” list by Insider NJ.
 
Buteas holds an MPA from the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University-Newark and a BA from Rowan University. She is also a graduate of Leadership NJ, a leadership development program, and served as a Raimondo Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics. She is a member of the Rowan University Alumni Association and Eagleton Institute of Politics Alumni Association.
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Join A Women's March - Saturday, October 2nd!

September 27, 2021 · Flag

Join A Women’s March

Saturday, October 2nd

We must MOBILIZE and DEFEND

our Reproductive Rights!

 

Basking Ridge

10:00am Downtown Basking Ridge.

Corner of Finley and Allen Basking Ridge NJ 07920

 

Haddon Heights

11:00am Haddon Heights Park.

328 8th Ave Haddon Heights NJ 08035

 

Hoboken

2:00pm Walk and posters.

Washington street Hoboken NJ 07030

 

Hunterdon Historic Court House

11:00am-1:00pm

71 Main St., Flemington NJ 08822

 

Montclair

10:00am March outside of Montclair's Municipal Building.

205 Claremont Ave. MONTCLAIR NJ 07042

 

Red Bank

12:45pm Red Bank.

Bridge Ave &, Monmouth St Red Bank NJ 07701

 

Springfield

10:00am Springfield Town Hall Lawn.

100 Mountain Ave. Springfield NJ 07081

 

Toms River

2:00pm Huddy Park.

39 E Water Street Toms River NJ 08753

 

Warren Twp

10:00am

Warren Township Municipal Complex.

46 Mountain blvd Warren NJ 07059

 

Willingboro

1:00pm John F. Kennedy Center.

429 John F. Kennedy Way Willingboro NJ 08046

For more information visit - womensmarch.com
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Contact Congress Today - Help Pass the Women’s Health Protection Act!

September 22, 2021 · Flag
Contact Congress: Pass the Women’s Health Protection Act Now!
The Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) is federal legislation that will protect the right to access abortion care
throughout the United States.
We need Congress to pass WHPA this year — the right to abortion must be protected!
Please contact your Representative and urge them to support WHPA,
they vote on FRIDAY, September 24th!
House of Representative number to call your Member of Congress: (202) 224-3121
The YWCA USA is standing up in support of the Women's Health Protection Act: https://ywca.quorum.us/campaign/35393/
Anyone is welcome to write their Member of Congress using the link OR
feel free to share it with friends who are in key districts. 
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Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey Announces Endorsement of 45 Senate & Assembly Candidates for 2021 Election

September 14, 2021 · Flag

Trenton, NJ – The Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey (WPCNJ) proudly endorses 45 Senate and Assembly women candidates for the November General Election.  The endorsed candidates embrace and are dedicated to upholding WPCNJ’s mission to increase the number of women in elected and appointed office, protect reproductive freedom and achieve equal rights for all women.

 

Now, more than ever, it is critical that we encourage New Jersey residents to vote and to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms women and their families care deeply about - especially a woman’s right to reproductive freedom.  It is vital that we support and advance elected and appointed officials that are equally committed to upholding these rights. 

 

“We must continue to fight against attacks on women by promoting leaders who understand and represent women through elected and appointed positions of power. We must remain vigilant. Elections have consequences, we can never assume women’s rights are safe” said Shari Weiner, Chair of the Political Resource Committee. 

 

The Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey Political Action Committee has made significant contributions to candidates in the 2021 election cycle.  The WPCNJ PAC supports pro-choice candidates that align with the mission of the Women’s Political Caucus. 

 

Candidates Receiving Endorsement of Women's Political Caucus of NJ
*signifies incumbent

Caren Fitzpatrick (D) – District 2, Assembly

Gabriela Mosquera (D)* – District 4, Assembly

Nilsa Cruz Perez (D)* - District 5, Senate

Pamela Lampitt (D)* – District 6, Assembly

Carol Murphy (D)* – District 7, Assembly

Allison Eckel (D) – District 8, Assembly

Dawn Addiego (D)* – District 8, Senate

Mary Sharon Quilter (D) – District 10, Assembly

Emma Mammano (D) – District 10, Senate

Joann Downey (D)* – District 11, Assembly

Allison Friedman (D) – District 13, Assembly

Vicky Flynn (R) – District 13, Assembly

Linda Greenstein (D)* - District 14 Senate

Verlina Reynolds Jackson (D)* – District 15, Assembly

Shirley Turner (D)* – District 15, Senate

Sadaf Jaffer (D) – District 16, Assembly

Yvonne Lopez (D)* – District 19, Assembly

Annette Quijano (D)* – District 20, Assembly

Anjali Mehrotra (D) – District 21, Assembly

Nancy Munoz (R)* – District 21, Assembly

Linda Carter (D)* – District 22, Assembly

Hope Kaufman (D) – District 23, Assembly

Denise King (D) – District 23, Senate

Lauren Barnett (D) – District 25, Assembly

Patricia Veres (D) – District 25, Assembly

Melissa Brown Blaeuer (D) – District 26, Assembly

Pamela Fadden (D) – District 26, Assembly

Christine Clarke (D) – District 26, Senate

Mila Jasey (D)* – District 27, Assembly

Cleopatra Tucker (D)* – District 28, Assembly

Eliana Pintor Marin (D)* – District 29, Assembly

Shanique Speight (D)* – District 29, Assembly

M. Teresa Ruiz (D)* – District 29, Senate

Angela McKnight (D)* – District 31, Assembly

Sandra Cunningham (D)* - District 31, Senate

Angelica Jimenez (D)* – District 32, Assembly

Annette Chaparro (D)* – District 33, Assembly

Britnee Timberlake (D)* – District 34, Assembly

Nia Gill (D)* - District 34, Senate

Shavonda Sumter (D)* – District 35, Assembly

Nellie Pou (D)* - District 35, Senate

Lisa Swain (D)* – District 38, Assembly

Holly Schepisi (R)* – District 39, Senate

Genevieve Allard (D) – District 40, Assembly

Nicole McNamara (D) – District 40, Assembly



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