Named in honor of Hazel Frank Gluck, a respected leader in New Jersey and beyond, with a distinguished public service career, this award is presented annually to acknowledge the accomplishments of NEW Leadership® New Jersey graduates who have emerged as inspiring advocates, candidates and community leaders.
Previous winners:
Petra Gaskins (NEW Leadership® NJ Class of 2015)
Petra is a proud resident of the City of New Brunswick, made history when she was sworn into the City Council on January 2, 2023. She became the first black woman and the youngest to serve in the City's 293-year history. Petra’s involvement in politics originated from her personal experience of homelessness due to child abuse and parental abandonment. From her pre-teen years to adulthood, she constantly had to confront unjust laws and bureaucracies that spurred within her a determination to get involved. For instance, after being denied the opportunity to attend high school, she began organizing for the rights of homeless children.
Currently, Petra is the chief of staff to New Jersey State Senator Joseph Cryan, chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee. She previously served as director of outreach for Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and as an intergovernmental affairs aide to Governor Phil Murphy. In her work, Petra is most known for creating outside-the-box opportunities to elevate those whose voices have been systematically ignored. She holds a B.A degree in political science and global studies from Rider University.
Maria J. Andrade (NEW Leadership® Class of 2016)
Maria is a Newark, NJ resident and inspirational leader with an ardent drive for social equality. She currently serves as Site Director for NJ GEAR UP/College Bound Federal and State Grant Program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) where she also coaches a STEM FTC Robotics Team. She has developed, directed, and coordinated many social and strategic impact projects in the state of NJ, utilizing her passion to bridge the gap between education and opportunity through internships and social impact projects.
As a woman of color, a first-generation Ecuadorian immigrant, and a young mother to two beautiful children, Michael and Dalya, Ms. Andrade has dedicated herself to social justice, equality, criminal justice reform, education, and advocacy for marginalized communities. She is actively involved with many organizations that share her vision. She is a member of the Community Advisory Board at RWJBH Clara Maass Center of Excellence for Latino Health (CELH) and Somerset RWJBH. She serves as the President of the Board of Trustees for Roseville Community Charter School as well as an Executive Board Member in the Essex County College Alumni Association. Maria is an appointed member of the Hispanic Commission for the Office of International Relations and Diaspora Affairs in the city of Newark. Ms. Andrade earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from New Jersey City University in 2019 and an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration from Essex County College in 2016.
Lauren Zyriek Enriquez, D.P.A. (NEW Leadership® Class of 2003)
Lauren is the Assistant Secretary of State for the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of State. Before joining the Secretary of State’s office in 2018, Dr. Zyriek Enriquez was the Deputy Clerk for the Office of the Bergen County Clerk where she had the distinction of being the first Latina in her position. Previously, she was an advisor to the Guatemalan United Nations Mission, and a Specialist at the U.S. Census Bureau. Her education, along with her community involvement, has always been geared towards government and politics, and how they affect society. She always strives to be part of the decision-making process to advance ideas and to guarantee that forthcoming policies are mindful of the demographics they serve.
Dr. Zyriek Enriquez earned her Doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Baltimore (MD), her Master’s in Administrative Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ), she holds a Bachelor’s from Montclair State University (NJ), and an Associate’s from Bergen Community College (NJ). She has Executive Education Certificates in Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is a NJ Registered Municipal Clerk and a Board Member of the NJ American Society for Public Administration.
The Honorable Tiffany Palmer (NEW Leadership® Class of 1992)
Tiffany has dedicated herself to public service by building a legal career devoted to ensuring the legal equality of LGBTQ families through a focus on family law, adoption, and assisted reproductive technology law. She has worked on numerous cases related to the rights of LGBTQ parents, as well as those who conceive through assisted reproductive technologies, and she has argued in front of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on the question of expanding the legal definition of parenthood. In addition to her own practice, Jerner & Palmer, P.C., Palmer also served as the Director of the Family Law Institute of the National LGBT Bar Association. At the time of her Keynote speech at the 2019 NEW Leadership® New Jersey program, Palmer was a candidate for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. She was elected in November 2019 and currently serves a state trial court judge assigned to the Family Court Division. Tiffany was a participant in the second year of the NEW Leadership® program in 1992 while a student at Northern Arizona University. Upon graduating, she attended the joint Law and Public Policy program at Rutgers University School of Law- Camden and the Edward J. Bloustein School at Rutgers University New Brunswick, and was a Graduate Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
Carmen E. Cusido (NEW Leadership® NJ class of 2004)
Carmen currently works as a communications specialist and previously worked as a public relations professional at the Wildlife Conservation Society. During her career as a reporter and freelance writer, Carmen has written for NBC News, CNN, NPR, Cosmopolitan, New Jersey Monthly, and other publications. She also worked on the editorial team at Twitter Moments and taught journalism at Kean University. Her book, "Coping with Eating Disorders," geared toward a young-adult audience, was published Rosen Young Adult Press in January 2019. She holds a BA in journalism and media studies from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and an MA from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.
Shirley Genty-Vogt (NEW Leadership® NJ class of 2001)
Shirley is founder and CEO of Sisters of Promise, Inc., whose mission is to promote education, community involvement, confidence and leadership among young women and girls. She is director of youth programs at the Evergreen Youth Center in Woodbridge NJ. Shirley previously served as director of the Woodbridge Municipal Alliance, vice chair of the Middlesex County Young Democrats and founding member of the African American Coalition of Woodbridge. She has a BA in political science, an MA in public administration and a certificate of nonprofit management, all from Rutgers University.
Chrissy Buteas (NEW Leadership® NJ class of 2003)
Chrissy is president and CEO of the Home Care & Hospice Association of New Jersey, a leading voice in Trenton and Washington, D.C. for home health agencies, hospices, and health care service firms. She previously served at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, as vice president of the Capital Impact Group, and as a councilwoman in her community, South Plainfield. She is currently president of the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey. Chrissy holds an MPA from the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University-Newark and a BA from Rowan University.
Maria DelCid-Kosso (NEW Leadership® NJ class of 2012)
Maria serves as chief of staff to Assemblyman Jerry Green. She is an active member of the Union County Young Democrats, NJ Young Democratic Latina Caucus and LUPE (Latinas United for Political Empowerment). In 2016, through the Union County College Foundation, she established the Del Cid Dreamer Scholarship for a Union County student who is an immigrant from another country. She created this scholarship to assist other ambitious young people who face the challenges of trying to succeed in a new country. Maria received a BA in psychology and political science from Seton Hall University and is currently enrolled in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers-New Brunswick.