Sheetal Ranjan, Ph.D., Joseph Barreto and Mark Longo
PARAMUS, N.J. – Gov.-elect Phil Murphy has selected Bergen Community College board of trustee members Sheetal Ranjan, Ph.D., Joseph Barreto and Mark Longo to serve on transition team committees that will begin setting priorities for his upcoming term.
“We are very proud that Bergen Community College trustees will play such a significant role in helping shape Gov.-elect Murphy’s goals,” Bergen Board of Trustees Chair Carol Otis said. “In addition to providing expert guidance and counsel, Sheetal, Joe and Mark will have a unique opportunity to convey the issues critical to the state’s community colleges and their students – including the importance of access, affordability and completion.”
Ranjan, of Teaneck, is representing Bergen Community College on the education, access and opportunity committee. She has been working as a professor at William Paterson University for the past 10 years. She is a voting member of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges and has recently been appointed to the Diversity Committee of the National Association of Community College Trustees. She hopes to bring her work experience in four-year institutions and perspectives from the various organizations she represents in advocating for the community college students of New Jersey.
Barreto, of Hackensack, is representing the Latino American Democratic Association (LADA) of Bergen County on the access and opportunity committee. He is the current President of LADA. He has worked for nearly 30 years as a bilingual high school guidance counselor in East Harlem, while serving as the secretary/treasurer of the Bergen County Board of Social Services. He hopes to bring his K through 12 experience in serving a diverse population of students to the forefront.
Mark Longo, of Cresskill, is representing IUOE Local 825 on the transportation and infrastructure committee. He works as director of the Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative, a collaborative initiative by members of building contractor associations in the region. Previously, Longo directed government affairs for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, served as executive director of the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Labor Management Council and led public relations and government affairs for the Building Contractors Association of New Jersey.
Gov.-elect Murphy defeated Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in the state’s gubernatorial election last month. The transition team, announced in late November, includes a diverse group of 82 co-chairs who will lead the work of 14 committees in areas such as healthcare, labor and workforce development and transportation and infrastructure. A transition website has been launched (http://transition2018.nj.gov/index.shtml) and the public is encouraged to send comments, suggestions and/or request information at [email protected].
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017-18, enrolls 15,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.
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