Join the Eagleton Institute of Politics for a post-New Jersey gubernatorial election analysis with our panel of political experts. Meet the Panel:

Modia Butler, Partner, Mercury Public Affairs – Modia Butler is a highly respected public affairs expert with extensive experience in government relations, political campaigns, and strategic communications in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. At Mercury, Butler advises clients across various sectors, including Government, Real Estate Development, Education, Healthcare, Infrastructure, and Not for Profits. Prior to joining Mercury Public Affairs, Butler served as the Chief of Staff to United States Senator Cory Booker. In that capacity, Butler was responsible for overseeing the Senator’s state operations and advised the Senator on national and state affairs. Under Butler’s leadership, the Senate office helped jumpstart the Gateway Project, secured funding for Sandy relief to rebuild New Jersey’s shoreline, and led historic sentencing reform efforts. Butler also served as a Senior Advisor to Senator Booker during his two campaigns for the United States Senate. Prior to serving in the U.S. Senate, Butler was Chief of Staff in Newark, N.J. to then-Mayor, Cory Booker, responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the Confidential – Not for Public Consumption or Distribution City of Newark while managing a workforce of 3,000 public employees. Under Butler’s leadership in the Booker Administration, Newark saw its first population increase in 60 years, its first new residential high-rise tower in 50 years, and the first new downtown hotel in 40 years. Butler was also responsible for implementing the mayor’s public safety initiatives that led to a drastic reduction in crime and sought to address the underlying structural causes of violence. Butler received his BA from Franklin and Marshall College and his master’s degree from the Eagleton Institute of Politics (’98 Graduate Fellow). Butler currently serves as a Trustee at his Alma Mater, Franklin & Marshall College, and was recently named to the CRDA Board of Directors.

David Cruz, Host, Presscore Podcast and Hold that Thought Podcast – David Cruz is the former Senior Correspondent at NJ Spotlight News and former moderator of Chat Box and Reporters Roundtable. He has been covering New Jersey’s biggest stories for almost 30 years. He’s been a reporter and moderator of public affairs programs on television, radio, and digital platforms for WBGO and WNYC radio and is the former editor in chief of the Hudson Reporter Newspaper group.

Regina M. Egea, Founder & Chair, Garden State Initiative – Regina M. Egea is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Garden State Initiative (GSI), an independent research and educational organization dedicated to promoting new investment, innovation and economic growth in New Jersey. She brings diverse private and public sector leadership experience to the organization’s mission and among many honors been recognized as one of NJBIZ magazine’s Best 50 Women in Business in 2019; ROI-NJ’s Influencers Power List 2019 – 2023; ROI Women in Business 2023 and InsiderNJ’s Top 100 Policymakers 2021. Previously, Regina enjoyed a 30-year career at AT&T, holding leadership positions with expanding responsibility in Product Management, Network Operations, Human Resources, and Sales & Marketing. In her final year, as Senior Vice President in Global Business Marketing, she led a globally diverse workforce supporting AT&T’s business sales force to deliver on revenue goals and numerous new product introductions. While working at AT&T, Regina was involved in her community, being elected to her hometown’s School Board of Education (2003-2007) and then to the Township Committee (2008-2012), serving as Deputy Mayor in 2010. Regina served as Governor Chris Christie’s Chief of Staff from 2015 to 2016.  She joined the Christie Administration in 2010, first as the State Treasurer’s Chief of Staff, where she was instrumental in pension reforms enacted in 2011, and then was brought into the Governor’s Office as Director of the Authorities Unit in 2012. Regina earned an M.B.A. in Marketing from Fordham University and a B.A. from Montclair State University. Regina previously completed the International Executive Program at the International Institute for Management in Lausanne, Switzerland and more recently completed Harvard University’s Women on Boards program in 2018. Regina serves on the board of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Brent Johnson, Politics Reporter, NJ Advance Media; Online Politics Producer/Reporter, The Star-Ledger – Brent Johnson is a Central Jersey native who has spent the last 12 years covering politics for NJ.com, winning multiple journalism awards along the way. Before that, he covered local news and sports, including a stint writing about James Madison University athletics in Virginia. He graduated from Rutgers University and sings in a Jersey alt-rock band, The Clydes.

Jean Sinzdak, Associate Director, Center for American Women and Politics – Jean Sinzdak is responsible for developing strategic initiatives and projects, as well as general administrative oversight, at the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). An experienced program director with a strong background in women’s leadership development and civic engagement initiatives, she directs CAWP’s Program for Women Public Officials, which aims to increase the impact of women in politics and make women’s political leadership more effective through national, regional, and local events and programs for women officeholders, candidates, and campaign operatives. Sinzdak is currently expanding the national network of Ready to Run^® campaign trainings for women, a bipartisan effort to recruit and train women to run for all levels of office. Sinzdak also oversees CAWP’s New Jersey initiatives, including Ready to Run^® New Jersey and the Bipartisan Coalition for Women’s Appointments. She was a leader in the development of the Diversity Initiative of Ready to Run^® New Jersey, designed to attract more women of color to the political process. She is the project director of Teach a Girl to Lead™, a national education and awareness campaign to re-envision what public leaders look like, inspire girls and young women to follow in their footsteps, and make women’s political leadership visible to America’s youth. Prior to joining CAWP, Sinzdak served as director of outreach and communications at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) in Washington, DC. Earlier, she worked at the Council for Urban Economic Development, also in Washington, DC. She was a fellow in the inaugural class of the Rutgers Leadership Academy. Sinzdak holds a B.A. from the University of Scranton and an M.S.W. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Nancy Solomon, Former Reporter and Editor, WNYC; Host, Ask Governor Murphy; Host & Producer, Dead End: Crime and Politics Podcast – Nancy Solomon is a senior reporter and the founding managing editor of New Jersey Public Radio, which won a 2014 Peabody Award for Chris Christie, White House Ambitions and the Abuse of Power.  Her latest project is the podcast, Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery. Solomon fell in love with radio reporting and production at KLCC in Eugene, Oregon, in 1995. She moved to New Jersey in 2001 and has been covering the state ever since. She has produced more than a hundred stories for NPR and was a 2008-09 Spencer Fellow in Education Reporting at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. During that year, Solomon produced “Mind the Gap: Why Good Schools are Failing Black Students” for which she won a Peabody Award. Long before becoming a journalist, Solomon was the first woman ever hired to work on the county road crew in Portland, Oregon. She currently hosts “Ask Governor Murphy” and is host and producer of the podcast “Dead End: Crime and Politics.”

The panel will share thoughts and insights from key moments throughout the gubernatorial race, candidates’ campaign strategies, election night outcomes, and more. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Saladin Ambar, professor of political science at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and senior scholar for the Eagleton Center on the American Governor.

About the Gambaccini Civic Engagement Series

The Louis J. Gambaccini Civic Engagement Series was designed to promote civic engagement through an annual discussion of timely and enduring issues of great significance, with the objective of generating real civil discourse and action. The program was established through the generous support of Lou Gambaccini’s family, friends and colleagues to honor his outstanding legacy in public service and his lifelong dedication to upholding the highest standards of civic responsibility, always striving and inspiring others to leave communities better and more beautiful than they found them.