Julie Doran will be the new Deputy Village Administrator for the Township of South Orange, beginning February 15, 2021.
Doran is currently the executive director of the South Orange Village Center Alliance, the nonprofit that manages the township’s special improvement district which provides marketing, event production, beautification and other services to the town’s main business district. Prior to her work at SOVCA, Doran directed both of Maplewood’s special improvement districts, the Springfield Avenue Partnership and the Maplewood Village Alliance.
Doran will support the work of Village Administrator Adam Loehner.
The South Orange Board of Trustees approved the resolution (see below) appointing Doran, a 20-year-plus resident of South Orange and Maplewood, at its January 11, 2021 meeting. Doran was welcomed with excitement and enthusiasm by all Trustees — Walter Clarke, Donna Coallier, Karen Hilton, Summer Jones, Steve Schnall and Bob Zuckerman — as well as Village President Sheena Collum. All spoke glowingly of Doran in approving her appointment.
Upon her appointment, Doran said, “I am very excited. It seems like a natural extension of the work I’ve been doing for the last year and a half for SOVCA and the work that I did before that in Maplewood to prepare me for this role.”
“I look forward to putting my skills to use in this new position and I’m really very happy that I will continue to be a liaison with the business community in this role. That is the work that I’ve done for the last 12 years and I really, especially right now, care very much about the direction and decisions that are made that impact our business community.”
Deb Engel, the chair of SOVCA, responded to a request for comment in an email: “We are thrilled that Julie Doran has been appointed Deputy Town Administrator, as she has been a great addition to our South Orange business district,” said Deborah Engel, Chair of SOVCA. “We look forward to continuing to work with her in this new role, and we know having her just down the hall will allow for a seamless transition. Our Board is scheduled to meet on January 20, and we will talk more about this transition then.”
