Dekker, President of the Community Foundation of New Jersey, will serve on the Board that oversees NJTV, New Jersey’s public television network

April 8, 2019 – NEWARK, NJ – Public Media NJ, Inc., operator of NJTV, New Jersey’s public television network, announced the recent election of Hans Dekker, President of the Community Foundation of New Jersey, to its Board of Trustees.

Dekker has served as President of the Community Foundation of New Jersey since June 2003.  During his tenure, the Foundation’s funds have granted more than $500 million to charitable causes across New Jersey and beyond, including support for tenants’ rights, juvenile justice reform, and expanded access to healthy food in low-income communities. 

Prior to the Community Foundation of New Jersey, Mr. Dekker served for four years as the Executive Vice President of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.  He is a past chair of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and a trustee of the Hyde and Watson Foundation, Ohl Foundation, St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, and Miraclefeet. Mr. Dekker graduated from Bates College with a Bachelors of Arts degree in History and received a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley.

Mr. Dekker and the Community Foundation of New Jersey were instrumental in the launch and cultivation of the online news organization NJ Spotlight. NJ Spotlight was recently acquired by NJTV’s parent company WNET, enabling that organization to join forces with NJTV’s news division, NJTV News.

“We are excited to have Hans Dekker join our Board,” said Josh Weston, PMNJ Board Chairman. “He is as committed to New Jersey as we are at Public Media NJ, Inc., and was instrumental in growing NJ Spotlight. He will undoubtedly help us further the mission of NJTV.”

Mr. Dekker joins the existing members of PMNJ Board, which consists of Mr. Weston, former CEO of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP); Vice-Chair Anthony Bastardi, CEO of Strategic Development Group, Inc. and its affiliate, Construction Technology Corporation; Vice-Chair Liz Thomas, co-founder/CEO of Thomas/Boyd Communications; Thomas Bracken, President and CEO of New Jersey Chamber of Commerce; Peter J. Cocoziello, President & CEO, Advance Realty; Brett E. Dearing, Partner, Cerity Partners; Sue Henderson, Ph.D., President, New Jersey City University; The Honorable Thomas H. Kean, Former Governor of New Jersey; Scott Kobler, Partner, McCarter & English, LLP; Christopher M. Lepre, Executive Vice President, Commercial Business, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey; Ann Limberg, Head of Philanthropic Solutions and the Family Office U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management; Tracy McManimon, Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer of NJM Insurance Company; Barry H. Ostrowsky, President and Chief Executive Officer, Barnabas Health; Mike Poncia, Vice President of Customer Operations, Pepco Holdings; Neal Shapiro, President/CEO of PMNJ and its parent, WNET; and Robert L. Smartt, Retired, Deputy State Treasurer, NJ Treasury Department and Trustee Emeritus Bernard Flynn, former President and CEO of NJM Insurance Company.

NJTV, New Jersey’s public television network, brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to all 21 counties in New Jersey and its tri-state neighbors.

NJTV presents PBS series such as Nature, Antiques Roadshow, Victoria, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Curious George as well as diverse local programs diverse local programs including On the Record with Michael Aron, Driving Jersey/Here’s the Story, One-on-One with Steve Adubato, Classroom Close-Up NJ and State of the Arts. The network’s flagship news broadcast, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and its online affiliate NJ Spotlight work in tandem to report stories from across the Garden State and present live news specials and round-table discussions.

NJTV, headquartered at the Agnes Varis NJTV Studio in Newark, with additional studio space at New Jersey City University and remote cameras at university content bureaus across the state, strives to engage the community and increase public awareness of critical local issues. Its community outreach initiatives include In Your Neighborhood, which combines live on-location broadcasts, special programming and community engagement events to spotlight some of New Jersey’s most dynamic places and  Healthy NJ: New Jersey’s Drug Addiction Crisis, combining community forums, news reporting and a resource-driven website to help combat the state’s heroin and opioid overdose crisis. The NJTV website offers online programs and free digital resources for educators.

NJTV is operated under an agreement with the state of New Jersey by Public Media NJ, Inc. (PMNJ), a non-profit affiliate of WNET, parent company of award-winning New York public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21. Network sponsorships and partnerships are available.