The South Orange Municipal Election will take place on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Up for election: Village President and three seats on the South Orange Village Board of Trustees (a six-person governing body). Terms are for four years. There is one candidate for Village President — Sheena Collum (incumbent) — and three candidates for BOT: Summer Jones (incumbent), Olivia Lewis-Chang and Jennifer Greenberg. The four are running together and unopposed. Candidates are invited to send profiles/statements. The following is from Greenberg:
Jennifer Greenberg
Jennifer Greenberg has always been a big advocate for South Orange and sees the incredible potential of what we can accomplish working together. She was a Newstead Ambassador for the South Orange Master Plan committee and has volunteered in local town events such as South Orange Newcomers Day, South Orange Play Day, the South Orange Train Station Centennial, and the Seton Village Food Truck Festival. She has also spearheaded Reading Buddies (seniors with grade schoolers) by scheduling and providing transportation to local seniors to and from South Mountain Elementary School, serving as President of the Newstead Association, sourcing group rate and installation programs of home generators for Newstead families, and served on the Board for Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel’s preschool.
Looking ahead, Jen hopes to focus on the rollout of Accessory Dwelling Units, which offer various benefits, from increased income and property value to maximizing land for nontraditional housing options in single-family zones. She hopes policies like this will provide more opportunities for seniors to downsize and remain local. Jen is also passionate about supporting small businesses and creating vibrant commercial corridors. With a vast knowledge of commercial real estate, she hopes to work on business recruitment efforts and provide more significant opportunities for residents to sell their goods and services through collaboratives, pop-up shops, and transforming public spaces into outdoor markets for commerce and community.
Professionally, Jen is a top agent in the hyper-local real estate residential and commercial markets and one of Compass’s top producers in their Short Hills office. With a problem-solver mindset, Jen’s a self-motivated entrepreneur with full-on honesty, integrity, fine-tuned hustle, and vivacious tenacity. She translates her knowledge into a tactical, results-driven approach in everything she does. She believes her unique experience can help inform the governing body about market trends and ensure South Orange will continue to be home to diverse demographics whose neighborhoods are racially inclusive.
Jen was raised in the Historic Montrose section of South Orange alongside her three older brothers. She attended Marshall Elementary, South Orange Junior High and graduated from Columbia High School. Jen never strayed too far from her native roots. Studying at New York University, Jen earned degrees in both psychology and music. She remained in the city, working in advertising and marketing before returning to South Orange to raise her family in 2004.
As her children grew, Jen hosted fundraisers for Planned Parenthood and raised funds for the Achieve Foundation by hosting several Nights of 100 Dinners and sponsoring the Newstead 5K. She trained her Bernese Mountain Dog to be a therapy dog with Creature Comforts and became a board member for Memories Live. This local non-profit organization uses the power of storytelling to create a legacy movie to preserve memories for families of those suffering from terminal illnesses.
In her spare time, Jen enjoys spending time with her blended family of seven. You’ll see her playing tennis, paddleball, and pickleball and driving with Louie, her Saint Bernard, who is an integral part of the family and is recognized around town thanks to his strong presence on social media!
The South Orange Municipal Election will take place on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Polls are open from 6:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
