Hackensack, NJ -- The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) honored five exemplary community heroes for their remarkable contributions to make life better in North Jersey at the organization’s first Community Changemaker Night. The 2025 honorees were New Jersey Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese of Cliffside Park, Fairleigh Dickinson University-Teaneck Professor and Biology Department Chair Dr. Marion McClary, Gina Wilson and Lisa De Dominicis, Fund Advisors for the Andrea Tilbian Halejian Memorial Fund, and South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum,. The celebration took place on Thursday, June 5, 2025 at a cocktail reception held at Forte Ristorante in Hackensack, New Jersey. The NNJCF is a not-for-profit, 501 c (3) organization headquartered in Hackensack that serves North Jersey.

“Throughout the evening, we celebrated the changemakers’ contributions in their communities and highlighted the importance of community and connection. The festivities were not only inspirational, but they also invigorated our commitment to enrich Northern New Jersey’s communities for everyone. We invite individuals, groups, and organizations to join us in our mission and partner with the Founation to develop impactful change across the region,” said Leonardo Vazquez, Executive Director of the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation.

Community Leaders Honored

The 2025 award recipients broke ground excelling in the Foundation’s focus areas – green and healthy places, creative communities, and belonging and opportunity – as well as overall community leadership.

The NNJCF honored these local heroes, who have made their communities better places to live, work and be.

•              New Jersey Assemblyman (District 36) Clinton Calabrese – Creative Communities Award for helping communities through the arts, supporting artists, or enhancing cultural ecosystems. As a dedicated advocate for the arts, Assemblyman Calabrese played a pivotal role in fostering cultural initiatives in his hometown of Cliffside Park. He co-founded the Cliffside Park Arts Association, which brought together artists and community members to create ‘The Hub’, a space that hosts poetry nights, art exhibits and live music in the borough. As an advocate of the arts as a vital contributor to New Jersey's economy, he co-sponsored legislation allocating $70 million in federal funds to the Economic Development Authority to support arts and culture organizations adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

•              Fairleigh Dickinson University Professor and Biology Department Chair Dr. Marion McClary – Green and Healthy Places Leadership Award for protecting the environment or advancing public health. Dr. Marion McClary, a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, has received grant money to study the effects of pollutants on detritus on which animals in the Hackensack Meadowlands feed and to study the effectiveness of sediment caps in isolating pollutants from the water of Kearny Marsh. He serves on several committees and boards of directors working to enhance the environment, including the Hackensack River Nation Council and Steering Committee, the NNJCF’s Hackensack Environmental Justice Alliance, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee, and the NY/NJ Harbor & Estuary Program Science and Technical Advisory Committee.

•              Fund Advisors for the Andrea Tilbian Halejian Memorial Fund, Gina Wilson and Lisa De Dominicis – Belonging and Opportunity Award for supporting inclusive communities or economic opportunity. Wilson and De Dominicis, cousins of the Fund’s namesake, received the award for their work supporting inclusive communities through The Andrea Tilbian Halejian Memorial Fund. The fund memorializes late Wyckoff resident Andrea Tilbian Halejian and contributes to qualified charitable organizations she supported. Since the Fund’s founding, several organizations have received grants to support various causes, including the Fund for Armenian Relief and the Center for Peace, and Justice & Reconciliation (PJR) at Bergen Community College, the Center for Food Action, Vitalant, Eva’s Village, Armenian Relief Society of Eastern USA, Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, LA Family Housing, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, Healing the Children Northeast, and United Way of Bergen County.

•              South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum – Visionary Leadership Award for significant contributions to the betterment of a North Jersey community. As the first woman to hold office as mayor in South Orange, Collum demonstrated a commitment to civic engagement, volunteerism, and the modernization of municipal operations in the village. Under her stewardship, South Orange secured over $500 million in commercial and mixed-use investments, with a strong emphasis on inclusionary affordable housing and groundbreaking community benefits agreements. A bold advocate for equitable growth, she spearheaded the creation of a downtown business incubator and artist hub, fostering economic opportunity while enhancing the cultural fabric of the community. She also led a sweeping overhaul of the town’s outdated master plan, engaging a diverse coalition of volunteers and thousands of residents to reimagine the future of South Orange.

The festivities were emceed by Bergen Record columnist and humorist Bill Ervolino performing in conjunction with a fun, interactive game-show awards ceremony presented by Ryan Huban of Howdy Stranger. Guests networked with other leaders and advocates dedicated to making North Jersey a better place to live, work and be.

Sponsors of this fun event were Champion Sponsor-Anonymous and Catalyst Sponsors-Fairleigh Dickinson University, Nishuane Group, Seton Hall University, and Anonymous. A range of donors contributed items to the night’s silent auction. These supporters included Dublin Pub, Hackensack Performing Arts Center, Iconic Coffee, Jersey City Theater, Just Jersey Goods, Kate & Abby's Bakery, Madame Restaurant, Mayo Performing Arts Center, Medusa the Greek Street Food, and Miti Miti Latin Street Food. Other contributors to the auction were Nimbus Dance Works, South Orange Performing Arts Center, Sprout Farms & Garden, The Barrymore Film Center, and Two River Gourmet Mushrooms. Funds raised from the sponsorships and the silent auction will be used to build alliances, support programs that protect the environment and produce public art.

People and organizations that were unable to attend the festivities can still support the NNJCF. Donations can be made at https://www.nnjcf.org/donation/ or by sending a check made out to The Northern NJ Community Foundation (NNJCF), 1 University Plaza Drive, Suite 102, Hackensack, NJ 07601.

What Can We Do Together?

With the motto 'What can we do together, that we can't do alone?", the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation helps communities in North Jersey become better places to live, work, and enjoy by bringing people together to address pressing issues, such as public health, environmental protection, civil society and education. The Foundation works to enhance quality of life in the eight northern counties of New Jersey – Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Warren and Union. Founded in 1998, the NNJCF has awarded over $1 million in grants to nonprofit organizations and scholarships to local residents, developed diverse alliances to tackle critical quality of life issues, connected people to valuable resources, and produced catalytic public art and environmental projects to benefit all residents.

To get involved in the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation's work, call 201-568-5608 or send an e-mail to [email protected].