Mayor Ted R. Green is proud to announce two new appointments to his leadership team
EAST ORANGE, NJ, January 24, 2018: Mayor Ted R. Green is proud to announce two new appointments to his leadership team — Solomon Steplight as Business Administrator and Shuh Yang as Chief Financial Officer.
Solomon Steplight
An East Orange native, Steplight has spent nearly two decades driving the performance of national and government organizations, including previous municipal experience in Newark, NJ as an Assistant Business Administrator under Mayor Ras Baraka and Assistant Finance Director under former Mayor Cory Booker. He also worked as the Director of Finance for the City of Hoboken, NJ under Mayor Dawn Zimmer. The East Orange City Council confirmed Steplight during the January 22nd council meeting.
With industry experience in technology, government, education and finance, Steplight is a self-professed tech aficionado and education advocate who has also spearheaded the growth of several start-up companies, including Girls Who Code, a computer science education organization and Prepfoleo.com, an online network of academic, enrichment and career resources.
Most recently, Steplight helped the City of Newark respond to the Amazon HQ2 RFP, which landed Newark among the final 20 cities being considered for the coveted second headquarters of the electronic commerce giant. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
As Business Administrator, Steplight will supervise the Department of Administration and assist Mayor Green in managing the city’s $144 million budget and finances.
“Solomon is an innovative business executive who brings a wealth of experience in corporate and municipal finance that will keep the city on strong fiscal footing,” said Mayor Green. “He is incredibly talented, but most importantly, he understands the needs of our community and how we must evolve to achieve a more prosperous future.”
Among Steplight’s career highlights are re-engineering financial processes that improved the City of Hoboken’s credit rating from Baa3 to AA+ in 12 months, leading Girls Who Code from a $800,000 budget serving 500 girls to a $16 million budget serving 20,000 girls in less than 2 years, and securing a partnership between Rutgers-Newark and Apple to offer computer coding classes to 280,000 Newark residents.
“I am extremely excited to join the Green Administration during this unprecedented period of redevelopment and growth in the City of East Orange,” said Steplight. “Increasing how we use technology and data will enhance our culture of performance, fiscal discipline, and services delivered to our customers.”
Shuh Yang
Shuh Yang, who has worked for the City of East Orange since December 2005, has been named the city’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In her new capacity, Yang will focus on tracking revenue and expenditures, maximizing revenue, and managing financial controls. She has worked in a variety of municipalities, including the Town of Kearny and the Townships of Jefferson, Mount Olive Township, Andover, and Montclair.
With nearly 13 years under her belt in the City of East Orange, Yang said she is ready to “jump right in.”
Yang earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from National Taiwan University and an MBA from the University of New Orleans. She holds certifications as a public accountant, county finance officer, tax collector, municipal finance officer and registered public purchasing official.
