Camden
County Officials:
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Jeffrey
L. Nash
Freeholder
520 Market Street
8th Floor
Camden,NJ 08102
(856) 225-5466
jnash@camdencounty.com
Term
- January 2007 through December 2009
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Jeff
Nash was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, where he was always politically
involved and public service minded. His strong desire to help others
was evident at a young age. By the time he was nineteen years old,
he had created a senior citizen’s help service. He started college
at Brockport State University in New York where he earned the honor
of being the only sophomore accepted into the prestigious Political
Studies Semester program in Washington, DC. He remained in Washington
as a transfer student to the George Washington University where he
completed his degree in Political Science. Choosing to pursue a career
in law, Jeff is a graduate of the Hofstra University School of Law.
While in law school, he served as the Managing Editor of the School’s
Labor Law Journal and was chosen to represent the school as part of
its traveling trial team. Jeff
began his career as an attorney with the New York City Legal Aide
Society, Criminal Defense Division. In 1986 he moved to Cherry Hill
and became an associate with Cozen O’Connor, a prestigious
Philadelphia firm. Now a senior partner, Jeff is a trial attorney,
specializing in civil litigation.
Jeff
was first elected to public office in 1989 as a member of the Cherry
Hill Council, where he served from 1990 to 1993. In November 1991,
Jeff was elected to the seven-member Camden County Board of Chosen
Freeholders. Initially he served as the Freeholder Liaison to Camden
County’s Department of Health and Human Services. Under his
direction, the Department began the County's nationally acclaimed
Child Immunization program. This life-saving effort has administered
free immunizations to thousands of children in Camden County. While
immunizations are an important part of a child's health care, he
realized more could be done. Jeff then initiated the Camden County
Kids Club Program to provide routine health care for working families
who are either uninsured or underinsured. Additionally, his concern
for children led to the creation of the County YES facility, Youth
Empowerment System – a safe haven for troubled children and
abused runaways.
In
1995 Jeff was selected by his colleagues to serve as Camden County
Freeholder Director, a position he held for 10 years. Serving as
Freeholder Director, Jeff’s vision for a better Camden County
is evident in so many areas. Under his leadership, Camden County
has improved government programs and public access to programs while
eliminating waste and mismanagement. Consequently, Camden County
has received two bond-rating upgrades by Wall Street rating agencies.
He led the efforts to support the expansion of Camden County College
now viewed as the best 2-year college in the State. He led a bold
initiative to secure and preserve nearly a thousand acres of open
space and farmland with plans to double that in the near future.
Jeff’s passion for improving communities and more importantly
the quality of family life is best illustrated in his commitment
to the revitalization of the City of Camden. He worked tirelessly
on a viable plan to provide State aid that is finally beginning
to transform the image of Camden to attract business, and make it
a place where people want to live and bring their families.
Jeff
also brought with him a strong belief in humanity, embracing cultural
and ethnic diversity. His plan for bringing people together resulted
in the creation of the County Human Relations Commission, and the
Asian American Advisory Board. His compassion and sense of fairness
carried over to the County workforce with the establishment of the
County Labor Management Committee, whose outstanding work in labor
relations won national recognition by the National Association of
Counties. His admiration and respect for our County’s veterans
led to improved services and numerous medal ceremonies to honor
those who bravely fought on the beaches of Normandy through current
day battles. Jeff’s esteem for our veterans was evident in
his commitment to stand firm, devote our resources and bring the
Battleship USS NJ back to the Camden waterfront. At the waterfront
and throughout the County Park system, Jeff continues to find ways
to offer entertainment to people of all ages by enhancing free concert
programs, environmental and educational children’s activities
and good old-fashioned movies in the park.
Jeff
not only recognized the importance of improving communities, healthcare
and education, he understood the need to prepare our children for
the technology of the 21st century. With this goal in mind, he initiated
an exciting new program designed to put a computer in every classroom
in the County of Camden by the year 2000. Appropriately enough the
program was dubbed "Tech 2000." This ingenious program
is a unique partnership between the Camden County Board of Chosen
Freeholders and the County's schools. To date more than 1,400 computers
have been placed in classrooms throughout the county serving as
a catalyst for learning by providing the needed tools to prepare
our children for the new century.
Furthering
his commitment to public service, on June 19, 2002, Governor James
E. McGreevy appointed Jeff Nash as Vice Chairman of the Delaware
River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The DRPA is
a bi-state regional transportation and economic development agency
serving the people of southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New
Jersey. The DRPA has assumed a leadership role in regional development.
Its special focus has been the industrial and commercial revitalization
of the Philadelphia-Camden Waterfront. DRPA’s motto, “We
Keep the Region Moving,” refers to its roles in both transportation
and economic growth. Under Jeff’s guidance, plans are underway
to revitalize and modernize all PATCO stations, implement a new
Smart Card fare collection system, and replace old rail cars using
$54 million of secured federal funds. Following years of discussion,
Jeff is now leading a regional charge to create a new rail system
from Gloucester County to Philadelphia.
Jeff’s
appointment to this key position is indicative of his expertise
in economic development, commitment to good government, and his
strong desire to make our community a great place to live and raise
our families.
Awards
- 2003
–ASCE Distinguished Citizen Award
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2003 – Camden County Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Medal
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2004 – DVRPC Regional Elected Official of the Year
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2004 – Southern NJ Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen
Award
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2005 – Camden County College Pro-Beneficio-Dato Distinguished
Public Service Award
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2005 – LARC School Paul Porado Humanitarian Award
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2006 – Camden Children’s Garden Champion of Children’s
Award
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2006 – United Way of Camden County Dr. Nathan Asbell Community
Service Award
- 2007 – Center For Family Services YES Facility,
Children & Family Commitment Award
Freeholder
Nash is the Chairperson of the Following Departments and Offices:
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