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 University.

Andrew Bruck – Research Director and member of the board of directors of CTC-NJ. He is the co-author of “Overruled by Home Rule,” a historical and legal overview of municipal consolidation in New Jersey, and the “Courage to Connect NJ Guidebook,” a step-by-step citizen’s guide to consolidation. A former law clerk to Chief Justice Stuart Rabner of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Andrew graduated from Princeton University and Stanford Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Stanford Law & Policy Review. His writing has appeared in the Harvard Law & Policy Review, Stanford Law Review, and the Newark Star-Ledger.

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.

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.

Phyllis Truran – Secretary of the board of Directors of Courage to Connect NJ. 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.