Courage To Connect NJ Board of Directors

Gina Genovese – Founder and Executive Director of Courage To Connect NJ. She served as mayor of Long Hill Township in 2006 and ran for NJ State Senate in 2007. As a result of her political experiences, she realized that real change needed to come from the people. Gina produced the educational video “Can New Jersey Connect?” and developed a public presentation that teaches people about the redundant structure of our 566 municipalities in NJ. In addition, she has coauthored the “Courage to Connect NJ Guidebook,” a step-by-step citizen’s guide to consolidation. These guidelines help local groups of residents to move the conversation about consolidation forward. Gina has owned and operated Gina’s Tennis World in Berkeley Heights since 1983, developing many nationally ranked junior players. She played tennis professionally in 1980-1981. Gina’s business, political and educational experience has culminated in her leadership position as Executive Director of CtoC-NJ.

Wendy McCahill – Co-founder and President of the Board of CtoC-NJ. Wendy shared Gina’s vision of a simpler municipal structure in New Jersey. They created an educational presentation for the public that shares this vision around the state. She currently manages Gina’s Tennis World. Before becoming the business manager at Gina’s Tennis World, Wendy operated her own businesses in the fields of computer system analysis, documentation and training and as a home renovation and maintenance specialist. Her years of experience running various small businesses and managing Gina’s campaigns for elected office gave her the expertise to facilitate the operation of this campaign for the State of New Jersey. Wendy has a BA and a certificate in adult education from Douglass College, Rutgers Universit

Robert Stocker – Founding member of Merchantville Connecting for the Future(MCFF), a group which successfully petitioned to start the consolidation study process with Cherry Hill.  From this experience, Bob will be the leader of a team of members from the MCFF who will assist community organizations in the steps to petition the State for a consolidation study..

Don Parisi – Don has been the General Counsel of Rider Insurance Company in Springfield, New Jersey since 2007. Before then he operated his own consulting firm for 6 years, assisting insurers and health care organizations. From 1994 to 2001 Don was General Counsel of First Option Health Plan and its successor, Physicians Health Services. He also acted as First Option’s President and CEO for one year and General Manager of PHS NJ for two years. Don was in the private practice of law and a Deputy Attorney General for 11 years before becoming General Counsel at First Option. Don was also a member of the Scotch Plains – Fanwood Board of Education for six years and taught business law as an adjunct professor at Monmouth University. He is currently the President of The Education Enrichment Foundation of Scotch Plains Fanwood and he is a member of the Board of Directors of Coming Home of Middlesex County and Courage to Connect New Jersey.

Chad Goerner – Chad is a former Mayor of Princeton Township.  He was first elected in 2006 and served two terms on the committee.  He served as Deputy Mayor in 2009 and 2010 and served as Mayor in 2011 and 2012.  Mayor Goerner was a key leader in consolidating Princeton Borough and Princeton Township having crafted the proposal that led to the study and voter approval of consolidation in 2011.  He was a member of the Joint Shared Services and Consolidation Commission and helped lead the transition to a consolidated municipality as Mayor of the Township and Transition Task Force member. Chad received his B.A. From George Washington University.  He is a Certified Financial Planner and is Certified in Investment Management.   He speaks several languages including Dutch and Swedish.

H. Joseph Pinto, III - Member of the board of directors of CtoC-NJ. Joe graduated from Lehigh University in 2005 with a degree in Computer Science and Political Science, and went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he served as a Senior Editor on the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. His interests led him to work for the federal government in Washington, DC. Joe’s interest in municipal consolidation came from listening to his father discuss the absurdity of New Jersey government and municipal “madness” for 20 years. Joe began studying maps of the state, which made the absurdity clear very quickly. Working with his longtime friend Andrew Bruck, he co-authored the article, “Overruled by Home Rule.” He’s excited to be involved with CtoC-NJ to educate his fellow New Jerseyans about the problem – and knows that once they understand the extent of the harms, they will want to fix it.

Phyllis Truran –  Phyllis was a public school teacher in New York State for 33 years, specializing in US History, Politics and Economics. Phyllis served on the executive board of North Tonawanda United Teachers as negotiator and president. At the same time she was an advocate for government consolidation working with County Legislator, Joan Bozer in Erie County, NY. Her years of community service have included work for the homeless, serving on Commissions on the status of women and actively engaging in supporting the campaigns of forward-thinking candidates. Phyllis holds a BA from Syracuse University and a certificate in Labor Studies from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations