Bracken Calls it a 'Hiring Coup'
The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce announced today that Patricia Teffenhart has joined the New Jersey Chamber as senior vice president, strategic initiatives.
In her new role, Teffenhart will report directly to N.J. Chamber President and CEO Tom Bracken.
“This is a hiring coup for the state Chamber,” Bracken said. “Patricia is highly regarded both in the business community and in the halls of state government because she has been a force for positive change on some of New Jersey’s most difficult and sensitive issues.”
“I was flattered when Patricia proactively reached out to me to discuss the possibilities of joining the state Chamber. There was no doubt in my mind we wanted her on our team. Patricia said she was looking for new challenges. I told her she would be coming to the right place. The business community is facing new and more complex challenges all the time.”
Teffenhart will primarily be responsible for ensuring that the objectives of the N.J. Chamber’s diversity and inclusion strategic initiative are met. In addition, her lobbying experience will add more depth to the N.J. Chamber’s already strong government relations team.
“There is no greater contribution we can make to the state and to the business community than to achieve our goal of national leadership in diversity and inclusion,” Bracken explained. “We are working on multiple projects under this initiative. Patricia will provide overall supervision of these projects as well as a day-to-day focus on them to ensure we achieve our goal.”
“We need people who are not shy about leading, and Patricia is not shy,” said Linda Bowden, chair of the New Jersey Chamber’s Board of Directors. “We saw that as she brought the issues of workplace sexual assault and harassment to the forefront, and demanded action both from the state Legislature and the business community.”
“The fact that the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce has added Patricia to its team speaks to the importance the Chamber attaches to diversity and inclusion,” said John E. Harmon Sr., founder, president and CEO of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACNJ). “Having watched Patricia effectively lead NJCASA, I believe she is the right person to ensure our diversity initiative will have the impact across the business community we all want it to have. Patricia’s addition to our collective efforts to improve the economic conditions for black people and black-owned businesses in New Jersey is desperately needed and we at the AACCNJ applaud this decision.”
The N.J. Chamber and the African American Chamber of New Jersey have been working together on the diversity initiative since the boards of both organizations signed a memorandum of understanding last August.
Teffenhart served as executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA) for the past seven years. In 2019, the Chamber struck a partnership with NJCASA to help address the continuing issues of sexual assault and harassment of women in the workplace.
“During my tenure with NJCASA, I had the privilege of working with a diverse pool of stakeholders, including the N.J. Chamber of Commerce,” Teffenhart said. “I saw how seriously the Chamber approached the issue, and I was impressed with the integrity they brought to the initiative, demonstrating a commitment to creating safer work environments that went well beyond a standard of compliance.”
“It was this level of commitment and intentionality that compelled me to reach out to Tom as I contemplated the next step in my career,” Teffenhart added. “I want to be a part of a successful organization that pushes beyond the status quo and I’m thrilled to be joining the Chamber’s team in support of our collective commitment to workplace safety, diversity, and inclusion. I look forward to building upon the expertise I’ve established to weave these principles into the fabric of New Jersey’s business community.”
Teffenhart graduated from Douglass College and holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.
Patricia was a 2014 recipient of the Alice Paul Equality Award. In 2015, under her leadership, NJCASA received the President Ronald W. Reagan Award from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General in recognition of NJCASA’s advocacy on behalf of survivors. In 2016, NJBIZ recognized her as being one of New Jersey’s top Forty Under 40 professionals. In 2017, she was a recipient of Senator Menendez’s Evangelina Menendez Trailblazer Award. For the past five years, Patricia was included in the Senate Majority Leader’s New Jersey Women’s Power List. In 2018, she was included in the Insider NJ Power 100 List. She was an appointed member of Gov. Phil Murphy’s transition team. The Star-Ledger included Patricia as one of the “Top 25 People to Watch" in 2018 and in 2019. She was recognized by the Zero Abuse Project for her leadership in support of child sexual abuse survivors. Patricia recently served as the elected co-chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council Against Sexual Violence, and in 2020 she was asked by the New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg to be a member of the Workgroup on Harassment, Assault and Misogyny in New Jersey Politics.