MORRIS COUNTY — The County College of Morris (CCM) Board of Trustees held its annual reorganization meeting on November 15 and elected its new officers.
New to the board are George E. Dredden III, of Parsippany, who was appointed by the Governor, and Keith Raymond, of Randolph, who was appointed by the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Dredden is the chief of staff to Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce. He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Johns Hopkins University.
Raymond serves as a sales executive at Kyriba Corporation. He earned his MBA from the University of Maryland and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Thomas Edison State College.
Elected as officers of the Board of Trustees were Paul R. Licitra, of Flanders as chair, Thomas A. Pepe, of Morristown as vice chair, Jeffrey M. Advokat, Esq., of Denville as treasurer, and Dr. Barbara Lorfink Hadzima, of Morris Township as secretary.
Licitra was appointed to the board by the Freeholders in 2012. He is office administrator for Senator Steven Oroho and Assemblyman Parker Space. He also possesses extensive experience in insurance spanning more than 40 years and covering all aspects of risk management for large domestic and international clients. In the public sector, he served as mayor of Mount Olive from 2000-04 after serving eight years on the Township Council. He earned his bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University, where he also taught as an adjunct professor in the College of Insurance.
Pepe recently retired as chief financial officer for Communications Strategies, Inc., a family-owned public relations and marketing agency. He was reappointed to the board by the Freeholders in 2015. During his previous service on the CCM Board of Trustees, he served as treasurer. He also is a member of the CCM Foundation Board of Directors. Included among his other community involvement, he is a former president of the Patriot’s Path Council, Boy Scouts of America, and serves as chair and trustee of NORWESCAP, the community action program of Northwest New Jersey. He earned his BS in Math from Manhattan College and MBA in Finance from Adelphi University.
Advokat is a senior partner of Advokat & Rosenberg Esqs. in Morristown and a former Morris County assistant prosecutor. He has served on the Executive Board of the Pingry School PSPA in Short Hills and has experience in the classroom having taught business law at Caldwell College. He earned his J.D. from Hofstra University, his master’s fellowship in government from the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University and his bachelor’s degree from Rutgers.
Hadzima is a retired middle school administrator and college adjunct. Dr. Hadzima participated in the Chinese Bridge Delegation (Hanban/Confucius Institute Headquarters) to Chinese Universities which focuses on school visits, cultural activities and educational workshops. She contributed to the NJ ALPHA Peace/Reconciliation Program in China, Hong Kong and South Korea. After State sponsored programs to European concentration camps and Yad Vashem in Israel, Dr. Hadzima assisted with the development of the New Jersey State Curriculum Guide to teach Holocaust / Genocide. She earned her doctorate in educational leadership from Seton Hall University, her masters from Kean University, and her undergraduate degree from the College of St. Elizabeth.
Continuing their service on the board are Laurie Bogaard, Esq., of Chester, Jack N. Frost Jr., Esq., of Morris Township, Roger A. Jinks, of Phillipsburg, Dr. Joseph S. Weisberg, of Parsippany, and Jennie Abat, of Hackettstown.
Bogaard is an attorney, with 30 years of legal experience. She concentrates in the field of real estate. Bogaard continues to be called upon by various real estate companies to lecture on legal developments and also serves as a mentor to young real estate professionals and Drew University students. Bogaard earned her J.D. from The Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, PA and her bachelor’s degree from Drew University of Madison, NJ.
Frost is an attorney with Drinker, Biddle & Reath, LLP. He has been recognized by his peers as a New Jersey Super Lawyer Rising Star every year since 2011. His areas of focus include the defense of national mass tort and products liability cases, complex litigation, project financing, and regulatory and internal compliance for businesses, private individuals and public entities. He has served as bond counsel to Morris County for several years, including financing for the benefit of CCM. Mr. Frost earned his J.D. from Seton Hall University and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and international relations from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, U.K.
Jinks is executive county superintendent. He began teaching in 1971 and worked as a music educator, computer, special education and classroom teacher for many years in Warren and Hunterdon counties until he transitioned into administration. In 1999, he became the superintendent at Franklin Township School in Warren County and then superintendent in 2007 in Washington Township. Jinks was named the 2011-12 Warren County Superintendent of the Year. Mr. Jinks earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education and special education, and a master’s degree in administration.
Weisberg is professor emeritus of geoscience at New Jersey City University. Weisberg’s experience on the state, county and local levels of government includes having served as founding chair of the Morris County Open Space Committee, mayor and councilman of Parsippany, chair of the New Jersey Historical Commission and as Budget Advisory Committee chair for the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders. He currently serves as president of the Free Public Library System of Parsippany and the township PAL. He was the first gubernatorial appointment to the CCM trustee board. He earned his Ed.D. from Columbia University, his M.A. in science education from Montclair State University and his B.A. in science education from Jersey City State College, now New Jersey City University. Weisberg is also a charter member of Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany.
Abat graduated from CCM in May 2017 with an Associate in Arts degree in Humanities/Social Science. She currently attends Ramapo College and is pursuing a degree in Psychology. She currently serves as the Alumni representative to the Board of Trustees.
