Educational Opportunity Fund Professional Association of New Jersey, Inc.
A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization
Advancing College Access, Affordability & Success for Underrepresented Scholars
Mission
The Mission of the Educational Opportunity Fund Professional Association of New Jersey, a non-profit organization, is to be the official liaison between the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) campus based programs, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education in New Jersey. EOFPANJ advocates on behalf of EOF Programs, which serve educationally and economically, disadvantaged students. The EOFPANJ keeps abreast of and monitors legislation and policy decisions that may have a direct or indirect effect upon the EOF constituency. The EOFPANJ provides a venue for professional development of its members and a clearinghouse of resources relevant to the achievement of our mission.
History
EOF’s history is rooted in the civil rights movement. Through protests and legislative advocacy, young students used their voices to earn access to educational opportunities.
In November 1967, in the aftermath of the Newark riots, New Jersey’s Chancellor of Higher Education, Ralph A. Dungan, directed a memorandum to the presidents of all the state’s higher education institutions. He proposed a program of special assistance to young men and women from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Select Commission on Civil Disorders (the Lilly Commission) made its report to the Governor and to the New Jersey State Legislature, calling for a broad range of programs to address the basic conditions that contributed to the protests. Among those programs was the Educational Opportunity Fund, established by legislation in 1968, sponsored by legislator Thomas Kean.
EOF set the pace for many initiatives which are widely incorporated into college life. Among the many powerful strategies implemented by EOF are pre-college articulation, basic skills testing and remediation, systematic retention efforts, peer counseling and peer tutoring, academic support courses, multicultural curricula and human relations programming, student leadership development, and outcomes-based program evaluation.
Today, the EOF program serves low-income, first-generation students who have demonstrated commitment, motivation, and potential for success in every county of the state.
Source: State of New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education
2023 - 2025 Executive Board
Al-Lateef Farmer
President
president@eofpanewjersey.org
Dr. Andre Turner
Past-President
pastpresident@eofpanewjersey.org
Ms. Natalie Quiñones
Vice-President
vicepresident@eofpanewjersey.org
Arthur Horn
Treasurer
treasurer@eofpanewjersey.org
Faheed Washington
Financial Secretary
financialsecretary@eofpanewjersey.org
Dr. Debora Rivera
Recording Secretary
recordingsecretary@eofpanewjersey.org
Florangel Cabrera
Corresponding Secretary
corsecretary@eofpanewjersey.org
Ruben Melendez
Parliamentarian
parliamentarian@eofpanewjersey.org
Marie Sanjurjo Lopez
Public Relations Officer
publicrelations@eofpanewjersey.org
Chrysten Colacicco
AESNJ Advisor
aesnj2@eofpanewjersey.org
Alan Manzueta
AESNJ Advisor
aesnj1@eofpanewjersey.org
Members at Large
Christine Millien
Special Initiatives
mal_specialinitiatives@eofpanewjersey.org
Dr. Alexis Delgado
Technology
mal_technology@eofpanewjersey.org
Vacant
Assessment
mal_assessment@eofpanewjersey.org
Viviana Zambrano
Emergency Fund
mal_scholarship@eofpanewjersey.org
Dr. Jenice Sabb-Dumas
Ambassador Coordinator mal_ambassador@eofpanewjersey.org
Kim Quick
Arrigo O. Rogers Scholarship Chair
Sector Representatives
Denys Sanchez
State Colleges/Universities (North)
statesector@eofpanewjersey.org
Mr. John Marshall
State College/Universities (Central/South)
statesector2@eofpanewjersey.org
Ms. Lissette Herrera
Public Research Colleges/Universities (North)
researchsector@eofpanewjersey.org
Brett Pulliam
Public Research Colleges/Universities (Central/South)
researchsector2@eofpanewjersey.org
Ivory Luke
Community Colleges (North)
ccsector1@eofpanewjersey.org
Katelyn Good
Community Colleges (Central/South)
ccsector2@eofpanewjersey.org
Jose Rodas
Independent College/Universities (North)
independentsector2@eofpanewjersey.org
Liz O'Brien
Independent Colleges/Universities (Central/South)
independentsector@eofpanewjersey.org
2024 - 2025 Executive Board Meetings
- September 18-20th: Rowan College at Burlington County (Board Retreat)
- October 11th 10am-3pm: Monmouth University
- November 15th 10am-3pm: Rutgers University (School of Engineering)
- December 13th 10am-3pm: Middlesex College
- January 10th 10am-3pm: Virtual
- February 14th 10am-3pm: Seton Hall University
- March 14th 10am-3pm: Salem County Community College
- April 11th 10am-3pm: Virtual
- May 9th 10am-3pm: The College of New Jersey
- June 5th: CTI, Monmouth University
Partnerships
The EOFPANJ is Proud to Partner With the Following Groups and Organizations!
New Jersey's Office of the Secretary of Higher Education - EOF Central Office
EOFPANJ works closely with the State of New Jersey's Office of the Secretary of Higher Education EOF office to develop student programs and professional events.
The Tri-State Consortium represents educational institutions, state education agencies and others involved in the administration of state-supported educational opportunity programs in post-secondary education in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. At these institutions, opportunity programs serve tens of thousands of college students from educationally and financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
It is our goal to produce a cadre of educated citizens who will be well versed, sensitive to issues of cultural diversity, and have a heightened sense of social responsibility as they set forth to enhance the quality of life in the respective communities they serve.
The National Association of State Coordinators for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NASCEHCY) was established in 1989 to ensure that children and youth residing in temporary living situations received equitable and excellent services through the public schools across the country. The Association also encouraged the development and dissemination of strategies for effective instruction, pupil services, and research.
For more information on NAEHCY's Higher Education Networks, contact NAEHCY’s National Higher Education Liaison, Cyekeia Lee, at clee@naehcy.org