Eleven Women Named to Inaugural Women’s Advisory Board

On May 11 Mayor Steven Fulop nominated a diverse group of women to the city’s newly created Women’s Advisory Board. With backgrounds in education, social work, and business, the eleven appointees will serve two-year terms on the board, which was created by City Council ordinance in January. Said City Council president Joyce Watterman, the board’s mission is to advocate for women and to address “the critical issues and concerns that women within the city face.”

These issues include equal pay, health benefits and child care. The board will meet 10 or more times per year to recommend policy to the council. The body has neither enforcement power nor legal authority.

The appointees are Ann Andrews, Chelsea S. Duffy, Xiomara Gonzalez, Terri Reynolds Hinton, Nokeima Jones, Eiko La Boria, Alice O’Kane, Bishnu Maya Pariyar, Neida Rivera, Sherry Singh, and Tami Weaver-Henry.

Ann Andrews, who has an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business, is a computer science engineer and certified product manager specializing in enterprise data. She founder and CEO of the tutoring company Techfunic. Previously, she was consultant project manager for The Bank of New York Mellon.

Chelsea S. Duffy is the social media and event manager for DVORA Life, a property management firm in Jersey City.  Duffy co-founded Local Modiv, a Jersey City-based cannabis firm and president of business development for CSD Ventures LLC, of Jersey City.

Xiomara Gonzalez has taught elementary school in Jersey City for 13 years.  A recipient of the Women of Actions Award this year, Gonzalez is also an artist and completed a mural for the Central Avenue SID in 2019.

Terri Reynolds Hinton, a graduate of Lincoln High School, Jersey City, has been a hazardous waste laborer for the Jersey City Department of Public Works since 2007. She was an inspection supervisor for CBA Distributors, of Jersey City, from 2000 to 2007.

Nokeima Jones, who has a master’s in criminal justice from New Jersey City University and a CPA certification from Rutgers University, has been a supervising auditor for N.J. Div. of Taxation from 2001 to the present. She is a former after-school program coordinator for the Jersey City Housing Authority.

Eiko LaBoria chairs the Menstrual Equity Subcommittee of Thrive New Jersey Coalition, an organization dedicated to expanding access to reproductive healthcare in New Jersey. In 2021 LaBoria founded Mujeres and Menstruators United. She also co-founded Jersey City Women, whose mission is to create a Commission on the Status of Women and Girls in Jersey City and Hudson County.

Alice O’Kane is a project management professional coach at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. An engineer by training, she has been an IT professional for nearly 40 years.

Bishnu Maya Pariyar is a social worker and development worker who advocates for underprivileged women and children in Nepal and the U.S. Since 2019, Pariyar has been an outreach educator and coordinator for CarePoint Health in Jersey City. She has also served as a member of the Jersey City Employment and Training Board and is the founding president of the Association for Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal.

Neida Rivera, an alumna of St. Aloysius High School, of Jersey City, has worked as a paraprofessional aide for the Jersey City Board of Education since April 2003. She is a trustee of the Daniel Rivera Charitable Foundation and a former board member of Hudson County Schools of Technology.

Sherry Singh is the founder and board president of Whole Spectrum Autism of Jersey City; a board member of the Jersey City Historic Downtown Special Improvement District; and a director and educator at Smile Preschool and Nursery of Jersey City. From 2001 to 2012 Singh fundraised for New Jersey Regional Day School of Jersey City.

The Rev. Tami Weaver-Henry has been the CFO of Angel’s Care Home Health since 2008. Her previous positions include vice president of Accredited Health Services and branch manager of Care Finders Inc. Weaver-Henry has served as a Jersey City Police Department chaplain and as a member of Black Wall Street of Hudson County and the Jersey City Clergy Women’s Alliance. She is a former board member of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program.