Category Archives: Public Policy
Fighting for the Arts on Capitol Hill
February 8, 2016Every spring, arts advocates gather in Washington DC and witness either snow, melting snow or the hint of budding cherry blossoms as they climb Capitol Hill. This year, National Arts Advocacy Day takes place pre-spring on March 7-8, but preparations begin in … Continue reading
Arts Ed Now: The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 and what it means for Arts Education
February 3, 2016Last month, after years of stalled negotiations and Congressional stalemates, President Obama signed into law a new version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. So say goodbye to No Child Left Behind and hello to the new law, … Continue reading
Leading New Jersey Towns to be Better Stewards of Our Waters
January 21, 2016Clean Ocean Action and Sustainable Jersey work together People power. It is often the solution to the most vexing of challenges. New Jersey’s degraded water quality is such an issue as people are both the source and the solution … Continue reading
Posts from an Emerging Leader: Encounters with New Jersey’s Criminal Justice System
November 3, 2015This blog is part of a ten-part series capturing my experiences as part of the 2015 Lead NJ Class, which follows the monthly two-day seminars our class participates in over the course of one year. For the next several weeks … Continue reading
The Six Distinctive Features of Creative Placemaking
October 26, 2015How does one define that sometimes elusive concept of creative placemaking and what makes it succeed? My friend Nick Paleologos of the NJ State Council on the Arts, fondly states that New Jersey invented creative placemaking, based on the extraordinary … Continue reading
Posts from an Emerging Leader: Government, Politics and Budgets, Oh My!
October 6, 2015This blog is part of a ten-part series capturing Kacy O’Brien’s experiences as part of the 2015 Lead NJ Class, which follows the monthly two-day seminars the class participates in over the course of one year. For the next ten weeks O’Brien … Continue reading
Entering a New Era of New Jersey Urban Water Quality
August 26, 2015The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission has signaled that it intends to go above and beyond the minimum requirements set in its new state combined sewer overflow (CSO) permit. PVSC, three weeks after the CSO permit went into effect, issued a request for … Continue reading
Are You Watching the Court Rulings on Property Tax Exemptions? Maybe You Should
August 14, 2015In June, the Tax Court of New Jersey ruled that, with only narrow exceptions, Morristown Medical Center is not entitled to property tax exemption on most of its property in Morristown. It’s one of several prominent cases involving property tax … Continue reading
CNJG Public Policy Fellow: I didn’t know what I didn’t know
July 9, 2015I have had the pleasure over the last eight months to work as the Public Policy Fellow for the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, a nonprofit membership association serving New Jersey’s philanthropic sector. As promised in my job interview, … Continue reading
New Jersey Sustainable State of the State Report and the Breakfast Sammy
June 19, 2015Prioritizing and tracking our sustainable future In New Jersey, we’re serious about defining a vision and goals for a sustainable state as well as a way to track our progress toward reaching these goals. Sounds simple — every state … Continue reading
What Do You Stand For?
May 13, 2015Here is an amazing little insight from one of my favorite writers and leaders in the nonprofit sector, Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits, and the founder of Blue Avocado – one of the very best … Continue reading
Council of NJ Grantmakers: Building Blocks and the Promise of 2015
January 14, 2015It’s Jan. 1 and I am thinking about 2015, as many of us are. Thinking about plans, what must be accomplished, what new projects and ideas we’ll explore, and so on. But I realize the building blocks for our 2015 … Continue reading
3 New Jersey Towns, One Goal: Sustainability
November 25, 2014Five years ago, I traveled to Atlantic City for the inaugural Sustainable Jersey Awards Luncheon. We honored the first 34 towns and special award winners that achieved certification and excelled in the Sustainable Jersey program. These municipalities were forward-thinking, … Continue reading
