You Are Invited

To a Public Forum on New Jersey's Financial Future

Friday, December 9, 2011
8:00 am to 11:45 am

Robertson Hall, Princeton University
Dodds Auditorium

Like many states, New Jersey is facing fiscal crisis. This forum will examine the state's fiscal policies and address three key questions: 1) what are the priorities for spending in the state; 2) is the state organized efficiently enough to deliver on those priorities within all levels of our government; and 3) is the state able to fund those priorities?

This event is a collaboration of Facing our Future, PlanSmart NJ, the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Registration is required for this free event. Please register below.

Agenda

8:00 am to 9:00 am               Registration and Networking Breakfast

9:00 am to 9:05 am               Welcome

Elisabeth Donahue
Associate Dean, Public and External Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School

9:05 am to 10:00 am               Facing Our Future Leadership Panel 

Ingrid Reed
Retired; Board Chair, www.njspotlight.com; Chair, Governor’s Task Force on Local Government Ethics; founder and member of the Board, NJ Future; Chair, Capital City Redevelopment Corporation. Past: New Jersey Project Director, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers.

Richard F. Keevey
“Distinguished Practitioner in Residence”, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University – Newark; Lecturer, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Past: NJ State Budget Director and Comptroller (under two governors); Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Finance; Chief Financial Officer – US Department of Housing and Urban Development; Practice Director – Andersen LLP and Unisys Corporation.

Raphael J. (“Ray”) Caprio
Vice President, Division of Continuing Studies at Rutgers, The State University of NJ; Executive Director, Center for Executive Leadership in Government at Rutgers and Professor of Public Administration. Past: Department Chair (Geography, Urban Studies and Public Administration departments) at Rutgers; Senior Associate Academic Dean at Rutgers’ Newark College of Arts and Sciences (NCAS); Acting NCAS Dean, Associate Provost (Newark).

Deborah T. Poritz
Former Chief Justice Deborah T. Poritz is Of Counsel at Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP. Additionally, she serves as a Trustee of the Fund for New Jersey.

Sam Crane
Principal, CraneConsulting LLC. Past: Senior Vice President – External Affairs, Maher Terminals LLC 2000/2008; President, Regional Business Partnership 1994/2000; NJ State Treasurer 1992/1994.

Robert Del Tufo
Of Counsel, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP and Affiliates. Past: Attorney General, NJ 1990/1993; Commissioner, NJ State Commission of Investigation 1981/1984; US Attorney for the District of NJ 1977/1980; First Assistant Attorney General, NJ 1974/1977; Director, Division of Criminal Justice 1976/1977; Assistant Prosecutor, Morris County 1962/1967; First Assistant Prosecutor 1965/1967

10:00 am to 10:45 am             PlanSmart NJ Response Panel

Lucy Vandenberg, PP/AICP, Moderator, Executive Director of PlanSmart NJ, formerly a Planning and Redevelopment Aide for Mayor Dana L. Redd in the City of Camden.  Previously the Executive Director of the NJ Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).

Rev. Eric Dobson, Open Communities. An ordained pastor, a community organizer and outreach specialist, and a community psychologist. Co-Founder of Open Communities LLC, integration consultants. He also served as a clergy outreach director for the Obama campaign.

David Fisher, PP/AICP, Vice President of Governmental Affairs for K. Hovnanian, a residential building company based in Edison, New Jersey. Former member of the NJ State Planning Commission.

Robert Goertz, Ph.D.,  Retired, Director, Office of State Budget and Accounting, for the New Jersey Department of Education.

Deborah Alaimo Lawlor, PP/AICP, Chief of Sustainability managing the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Office of Sustainability and the Meadowlands Conservation Trust. Is a commissioner with the American Planning Association’s (APA) American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP)

10:45 am to 11:30 am              Audience Question and Answer

11:30 am to 11:45 am              Wrap Up: Next Steps

Lucy Vandenberg
PlanSmart NJ

Participating Organizations:

Facing Our Future is an effort coordinated through the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and led by an independent, nonpartisan Leadership Group. Like others throughout New Jersey, the Leadership Group for Facing Our Future cares profoundly about the state’s deeply troubled fiscal future. This volunteer group — composed of former government executives and public servants — represents all sides of the political spectrum.

PlanSmart NJ:  PlanSmart NJ is an independent, non-profit planning and research organization committed to improving the quality of community life through the advancement of sound land use planning and regional cooperation. With over four decades of experience shaping land use policy in the state, PlanSmart NJ balances expertise and real-world contexts in framing issues to find constructive solutions, create innovative tools and strategies to better inform land-use decision-making in NJ.

The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers:  The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers exists to strengthen and promote effective philanthropy throughout New Jersey. The leading resource for networking and information for New Jersey's philanthropic community, CNJG provides representatives of all types of grantmaking organizations with access to valuable services and meaningful activities to advance their work.

Established in 1959, the Princeton Regional Chamber has long attracted residents and companies alike.  With its central location, it is able to actively engage individuals, businesses and communities in Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset Counties, and its Membership extends even beyond these borders. Its long standing partnership with Princeton University makes the Princeton Region an ideal place to live, work and do business.

Founded in 1930, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University is a major international center of advanced training and research in public affairs. The Woodrow Wilson School is an institution with the energy and strength to tackle the most serious issues of the present day, and the vision and experience to prepare the leaders who will shape the public policies of the future.