The Advisory Committee
An Advisory Committee works with the Trustees to review and recommend the most appropriate proposals for funding.
Flora Castillo, Chairperson
President of Pivot Strategies, LLC.
Flora Castillo is currently the President of Pivot Strategies, LLC., a consulting firm in the transportation, healthcare and insurance industries. In this role, Flora developed groundbreaking initiatives and secured some of America’s leading health care insurance companies such as UnitedHealthCare and AmeriHealth Caritas.
Flora also served as the first Latina elected chair and only the sixth woman to lead the American Public Transportation Association, (APTA), an international and the pre-eminent organization representing the entire $58B North American public transit industry for over 100 years. In addition, Flora was the youngest member of the board and the first Latina woman appointed for the New Jersey Transit, the third largest statewide public transportation agency in the United States. She served under seven Democratic and Republican administrations until her retirement in June 2019.
Flora is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2018 Rosa Parks Leadership Diversity Award, Women’s Transportation Seminar NY, 2017 Latina Pioneer Award; Latinas United for Political Empowerment (LUPE); the 2016 Celebrating Women Who Moved the Nation Award, COMTO; and the 2013 Latina Trailblazer of The Year, Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.
Dr. Barbara Gaba
President, Atlantic Cape Community College
Dr. Barbara Gaba was appointed the ninth president of Atlantic Cape Community College in January 2017, becoming the first female and first African American president in the college’s 50-year history. Prior to joining Atlantic Cape, Dr. Gaba served as provost and associate vice president for Academic Affairs at Union County College (NJ). She also served as the dean of Academic and Student Support Services at Camden County College (NJ) and associate director of the Office of Board Affairs and Government Relations at the New Jersey Department of Higher Education.
During her 40-year career, Dr. Gaba has served as a teacher, researcher and administrator and has been devoted to working with underserved, underrepresented students, empowering them to attain a college education. At the national level, she serves on the board of the Chair Academy for Leadership Development and the Higher Education Research & Development Institute (HERDI) Advisory Board. Dr. Gaba is also a member of the Executive Board of the Presidents’ Academy Summer Institute (PASI) of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). She is student-focused, community-centric and employee-oriented.
Dr. Gaba sits on the boards of several organizations, including the Atlantic City Executive Council; Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA); Greater Atlantic City Chamber Board of Directors; Atlantic County Workforce Development Board (WDB); Cumberland, Salem, Cape May Workforce Development Board (WDB); the NJ Community College Consortium for Workforce & Economic Development; and the Rowan University Community College Leadership Initiative (CCLI) Advisory Council. She is also a member of the NJ Presidents’ Council and serves as Co-Chair of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges (NJCCC) State & Federal Policy Committee.
David McKeon
Retired
Prior to his retirement in 2017, David McKeon served as planning director with Ocean County Planning Department. A professional planner in the State of New Jersey and certified flood plain manager, Dave spent more than 30 years with the department, serving in a variety of positions.
As a lifetime resident of the New Jersey coastal area, David administered a number of activities and programs for Ocean County, including demographic analysis, environmental planning, economic development, transportation planning, wastewater planning and more.
David is active in several community organizations with an environmental focus. He serves as an advisor to the New Jersey Coastal Coalition, a member of the Board of Trustees of Tuckerton Seaport and chairman of the Pine Beach Environmental Commission. Additionally, he is a board member of the NJ Defense Enhancement Coalition.
Judith Ross, CDME
President, NJ Destination Marketing Organizations
Judy Ross began her career in 1981 working at Giants Stadium for the NJ Sports and Exposition Authority when Brendan Byrne Arena opened. From there, she spent more than two decades in the hospitality industry working for major brands that included Sheraton, Hilton, Radisson and Marriott.
Judy joined the Meadowlands Chamber in 2006 to establish the Convention and Visitors Bureau while also overseeing membership. During her 14-year tenure at the Meadowlands Chamber/Meadowlands Live! Convention & Visitors Bureau (MLCVB), the MLCVB was among the first 12 DMOs to receive funding from the State Office of Travel and Tourism DMO Grant. It also became the second New Jersey-accredited DMO with Destination Marketing Association International. Judy left MLCVB in 2020, after serving as vice president for five years, overseeing all areas of the organization’s operation.
Zenith Shah
Co-Founder, Authentic City Partners
Zenith Shah was born in Surat, India, and at an early age moved with his family to Atlantic City. In 2016, Zenith co-founded Authentic City Partners (ACP) to create development projects in Atlantic City committed to bettering the lives of those in the community. ACP’s first project, Orange Loop, has focused on redeveloping and helping to bring small businesses back to the beach blocks of New York Avenue, St. James Place and Tennessee Avenue.
Prior to ACP, Zenith spent over a decade in leadership positions with the Portfolio Compliance Group at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, where he began his professional career.
While building business, Zenith remains active in supporting community leaders and causes. Zenith serves as financial advisor for The Leadership Studio of Atlantic City, which is a non-profit striving to advance the physical, energetic, economic and spiritual growth of the city’s residents through programming and partnerships.
Dr. Amy Williams
Marine Science Teacher, Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES), Ocean County Vocational Technical School District
Amy Williams is a marine science educator, with research interests in coastal resiliency, living shorelines, natural and nature-based features, community outreach and stakeholder collaboration, public participation, ecological economics and GIS/LiDAR analysis. Since 2019, Amy has been with the Ocean County Vocational Technical School District. She currently teaches a variety of courses at the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES). Additionally, she serves as an adjunct professor at Rowan College at Gloucester County and has previously taught courses at Stevens Institute of Technology, Ocean County College and Burlington County College.
Amy serves on a number of community boards, including the New Jersey Marine Educators Association and the New Jersey Resource Project. She is a volunteer for the New Jersey Organizing Project, a member of the science committee at Long Beach Island Foundation of Arts and Sciences and a past president of Alliance for a Living Ocean. She has also served as volunteer coordinator for ASBPA’s Coastal Conference and secretary of Passport to LBI.