Staff & Board
Lead New Jersey is headed by the team of Mark Murphy, LNJ ’91, President, and Jen Bredehoft, LNJ ’10, Vice President, both experienced leadership and public policy professionals and LNJ alumni. A Board of Trustees composed of esteemed LNJ alumni and community members helps guide LNJ’s strategic vision.
Mark Murphy, LNJ ’91, President
After working in Washington on the staff of U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and in New York for the Ford Foundation and National Coalition for Haitian Refugees, Mark Murphy arrived in New Jersey in 1985 as a Roothbert Fellow in Peace Studies at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. Obtaining his Masters degree and teaching Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy there, Mark has served the Wilson School on its Advisory Council and as Chair of alumni giving.
Mark's service to New Jersey includes helping shape Governor Tom Kean's welfare reform program at the Department of Human Services, chief of staff to the 1990 State Legislative Redistricting Commission. Chair of the State Office of Dispute Resolution and founding Chair of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. Over the course of twenty years as Executive Director and President of the The Fund for New Jersey, Mark helped found over twenty organizations working to enhance life in New Jersey. He is editor of Agenda New Jersey, a compendium of expert policy reports covering Campaign Reform, Fiscal Responsibility, Better Schools, Strengthening Families, Saving Our Land and Water, and Building Our Cities.
Mark is a senior policy fellow at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, a W.K. Kellogg Foundation national Fellow, and a proud member of Lead New Jersey's Class of 1991. He is a certified practitioner for both MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and LIFO (Life Orientations).
Jennifer M. Bredehoft, LNJ ’10, Vice President
Jen joined Lead New Jersey’s staff as the new Vice President for Recruitment, Alumni Relations, & Communications in April 2015. With more than 20 years of nonprofit experience in New Jersey, Jen was previously the Director of Growth & Development for the New Jersey Charter Schools Association and Vice President for Communications & Investor Relations with New Jersey Community Capital.
Jen received her Master of Public Administration degree in 2013 from Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs with a concentration in Advanced Management & Finance, her Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University in 2004, majoring in History with minors in Education and Irish Studies, and a certificate in Learning Design & Technology from Villanova University to enhance LNJ’s in-person and online learning offerings. She received her Certified Fundraising Executive credentials in 2013 from CFRE International and is a certified practitioner for both MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and LIFO (Life Orientations). Jen is also pursuing her Certified Community Leadership Practitioner credentials from the Association of Leadership Programs and is a member of its Annual Conference Planning Committee and Statewide Directors Affinity Group. She was recognized as one of the 2018 Leading Women Entrepreneur Brand Builders and 2018 NJBIZ Forty Under 40 for Marketing.
Jen is a 2010 Lead New Jersey Fellow and previously served as a Graduate Organization representative, Alumni Ambassador, and Chair of the Networking & Engagement Committee for LNJ. An avid equestrian, she owns and competes a retired Thoroughbred, Steel Sky, in dressage, is active in the Thoroughbred horse racing industry in New Jersey and other states., and volunteers with a variety of horse-related organizations and causes.
LNJ Board of Trustees
Matthew Baker, LNJ ’16
Partner, Genova Burns LLC
Carlotta Chan, LNJ’16, Vice Chair
Senior Director – Investor Relations, PSEG
Dr. Tara Chalakani, LNJ’18
Chief Executive Officer, Preferred Behavioral Health Group
Kenneth Esser, LNJ’18
Senior Vice President for Behavioral Health and Special Advisor to the CEO
Hackensack Meridian Health
Tina-Marie Lopez, LNJ’20, Governance Committee Chair
Executive Director, International Rescue Committee
Michael Mancini, LNJ’20
Chief of Staff and COO, Thomas Edison State University
Lori Matheus, LNJ’00, Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair
Senior Vice President, NJ Economic Development Authority
Amanda Nesheiwat, LNJ’23
Director of Sustainability and Community Outreach, Hudson Co. Improvement Authority
Anne Marie Peracchio, LNJ’15, Board Secretary and Recruitment Committee Chair
Director-Conservation and Clean Energy, New Jersey Natural Gas
Steven Ramiza, LNJ’16
COO, LAN Associates
Jay Redd, LNJ’15, Chair
Director, Stono Public Affairs
Jaymie Santiago, LNJ’17
President & CEO, New Brunswick Tomorrow
Shayla Salter, LNJ’23
External Affairs Manager, Atlantic City Electric
Jennifer Phillips Smith, LNJ’19
Co-Chair, Real Property Group, Gibbons PC