Board and Committees

The Greater Raritan Workforce Development Board is comprised of business, education, labor, economic development, and volunteer community leaders — local workforce development system stakeholders – who analyze workforce conditions, oversee the use of federal and state funds, and set workforce goals and strategies. To ensure that workforce investments in Hunterdon and Somerset counties meet employer demands, the GRWDB is required to have a majority of local business representation.

Members of the Greater Raritan Workforce Development Board are appointed by the Boards of County Commissioners in Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, NJ.

• Hunterdon County Board of Commissioners: Jeff Kuhl, Director; Susan Soloway, Deputy Director; John E. Lanza, Commissioner; Zachary T. Rich, Commissioner; Shaun C. Van Doren, Commissioner
• Somerset County Board of Commissioners: Shanel Y. Robinson, Director; Sara Sooy, Deputy Director; Paul Drake, Commissioner; Melonie Marano, Commissioner; Douglas Singleterry, Commissioner

The full Board meets quarterly and is supported by an Executive Committee. The GRWDB also has four committees which meet throughout the year to help plan strategy and consider new initiatives. These are the Disabilities Committee, the Literacy Committee, the Operations Committee, and the Youth Committee. These committees include members of the full Board as well as community members from various constituencies interested in taking part in the conversation. Mission statements developed by each committee can be read here.

As part of their work, members of the Disabilities Committee created a resource guide of services for Hunterdon and Somerset counties. Contact info@thegrwdb.org for additions and updates.

The Literacy Committee is comprised of public and private literacy partners of the GRWDB, who collaborate on a variety of services. For more information on services, read and share the English-language and Spanish-language versions of this flyer. Additional information also can be found in this resource guide of services. For consideration for inclusion in the guide, email info@thegrwdb.org. In addition, in July of 2023, the GRWDB and several partners, with the financial support of Somerset County, launched an 18-month pilot project, First Steps Basic English. This initiative includes additional classes around Somerset County for English-language learners, expanded opportunities for tutors and a Literacy Navigator position embedded with the Literacy Volunteers of Somerset County. This program will continue in 2025 and 2026. Go to https://www.thegrwdb.org/ESL for details.

Minutes for each board and committee meeting can be found on the Meeting Packages section of the Events section. Meeting minutes for are presented at the next gathering of the respective board or committee, with each group’s members reviewing and approving the minutes document. Reviewing the minutes of each meeting is a great way to sense of the work being done.

The 2024 meeting schedule can be viewed here. All meetings are open to the public. Agendas are added to the Events – Meeting Packages page of the website as the meeting date nears; the agendas for the meetings of previous years also can be found on this page.

Business Members: 51% Membership Required

• Chair Violet Kocsis, Chief Human Resources Officer, Hunterdon Healthcare System
• Ram Abarasan, President, Deni Realty, LLC
• Beth Akkaway, Director of Business Development, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset
• Laura Begg, Vice President Human Resources, at Guidehealth
• Adriana Bury, HR consultant
• George Coutros, Lead, State Government Relations, sanofi
• Joanne Hala, Associate Director, United Way of Northern New Jersey
• Clay Mason, East West Group
• Christopher Phelan, President/CEO, Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce
• Marc Saluk, Economic Development Director, Hunterdon County
• Michelle Satanik, EWR Assistant Property Manager, Facilities, OTG
• Nichelle Santos, Legacy’s Future Insurance, founder/CEO