For Immediate Release: February 14, 2022
Contact: John G. Donnadio, Executive Director
(Trenton) – The NJAC Foundation is pleased to announce that Heather Simmons, the Deputy Director of the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners, will lead the Foundation as its new President after long-time executive Donald DeLeo stepped down last week to fully enjoy his well-deserved retirement as Hudson County Surrogate in 2014 while remaining a driving force behind the Foundation’s annual giving.
“Congratulations to Donald DeLeo for his long and distinguished career in public service as Hudson County Surrogate, NJAC board member, and President of the NJAC Foundation. It has been an honor to serve with him, and I fully intend to lead this Foundation with the same commitment and integrity that he has for all these years,” commented NJAC Foundation President Heather Simmons.
Deputy Director Simmons is currently serving in her fourth term on the Gloucester County Board of Commissioners and led the New Jersey Association of Counties (NJAC) as its 76th President in 2017. Retired Mercer County Counsel Arthur Sypek will continue to serve as the Foundation’s Vice President along with retired Monmouth County Clerk Claire French as Secretary-Treasurer and Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes as a member of the Board of Trustees.
“I look forward to working with the Foundation’s terrific corporate partners and providing meaningful financial assistance to highly motivated county vocational technical school graduates who plan on furthering their education at one of the State’s outstanding colleges or universities,” said Simmons.
Since 2011, the NJAC Foundation has awarded nearly $500,000.00 in scholarships to 750 students who continued their education at home in the Garden State. Through the generous grant funding from some of New Jersey’s leading corporate citizens, such as Investors Bank, PSEG, NJM Insurance Group, Amazon, and SHI International, the Foundation has enjoyed the opportunity to provide some much-needed financial support to an impressive group of hardworking students. Please visit our website at www.njac.org for additional details about our growing organization