LNJ welcomes new president at annual awards dinner

Mark M. Murphy, the new president of Leadership New Jersey, made his first formal remarks Thursday evening at the nonprofit’s annual awards dinner at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal.

Mark M. Murphy, the new president of Leadership New Jersey, made his first formal remarks Thursday evening at the nonprofit’s annual awards dinner at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal.

The event also honored leaders from the private, public and nonprofit sectors: Dennis Bone, president of Verizon NJ, was recognized with the Riki Jacobs Professional Leadership Award; Caren Franzini, CEO of New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivukula (D-Somerset) received the Exemplary Public Leadership Award; Khizar Sheikh, counsel at Lowenstein Sandler, was honored with the Althea R. Wright Volunteer Leadership Award; the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation received the Program Development Award; and Mary O’Malley, vice president of local initiatives at Prudential, was recognized for her leadership on LNJ’s board.

Leadership New Jersey is a yearlong program to educate a diverse cross-section of executives from all over the state and promote civic engagement. Over 25 years, 1,100 people have graduated from the program. Murphy, a member of the class of 1991, said being an LNJ fellow was a formative experience for him.

“My goal is to take the vibrant fellows who have benefited from our program to think and work creatively on the challenges and opportunities that define New Jersey in the years ahead,” said Murphy about his new position. “It’s a singular honor to be asked to take on this essential mission.

Murphy was the executive director of The Fund for New Jersey, an endowed private foundation exploring public policy issues impacting the state’s poorest communities. Murphy has served as a policy aide to U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and to the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services. He has also devised funding programs for several national and local foundations.

Murphy also served as founding president of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, and serves as a trustee of the New Jersey Health Initiatives, Children’s Futures initiatives of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Princeton Area Community Foundation and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.