Staff
Linda M. Czipo
President & CEO
lczipo @ njnonprofits.org
Linda Czipo is the President and CEO of the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits. Linda’s nonprofit sector experience spans over 30 years, and includes expertise in public policy, compliance and management issues. She writes and speaks frequently to the media, nonprofit, philanthropic and business leaders, and government officials regarding the size, strength, economic and social contributions of New Jersey’s nonprofit sector and current and emerging trends facing the nonprofit community; and has successfully mobilized broad-based coalitions of nonprofits around numerous advocacy issues. An experienced researcher and analyst, she has conducted many of the Center’s projects documenting the nonprofit community.
Linda has been listed for the past three years as one of ROI-NJ’s Power Influencers and ROI-NJ’s Women in Business Influencers, and was named as one of South Jersey Biz’ Top CEOs/CFOs in 2022 and its 2023 “Superwomen” Woman of the Year. She was recognized in 2016 by Lead New Jersey as one of its 30 Leaders for 30 Years; as a Nonprofit Organization Advocate of the Year by the Nonprofit Development Center of Southern NJ; and by the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies (NJAMHAA) for Leadership in Nonprofit Regulatory and Legal Issues. She was listed by NJBIZ as one of the “state’s most powerful women, according to the state’s most powerful women,” and was named to the 2016 “Power 50” by South Jersey Biz. She was named one of the 2014 Top 50 Women in Business by NJBIZ.
Linda is a current public policy committee member and former board treasurer of the National Council of Nonprofits, and also serves on the New Jersey Commission on National and Community Service, and the Policy Committee of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers. She holds a degree in Political Science from Rutgers University.
Deborah L. Duncan, M.P.A.
Director of Education Services
debbie @ njnonprofits.org
Debbie joined the Center in June 2006. As Director of Education Services, she works with staff, committees, partners and stakeholders to design and deploy a suite of educational programs and tools that assist organizations and their staff in building both adaptive and technical competencies, in order to increase mission impact and build and sustain high-performing organizations. She oversees the Center’s capacity building and educational programming, the annual conference, and developing or fostering access to a comprehensive array of educational/capacity building offerings for non-profits and stakeholders.
She holds a Bachelor’s in Spanish and Master’s degree in Public Administration and has over 40 years of experience as staff and volunteer with non-profits, in such diverse fields as: health prevention education, pre-school to adult education, vocational training, fundraising, community organization, mental health, parent training, and cultural competency.
Debbie has enjoyed extensive training in many program areas, including leadership, organizational development, fundraising, client services, conflict management, and much more. Having lived abroad from the ages of 3 to 14, and later 2 years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, South America, Debbie is fluent in Spanish and a perennial student of human diversity and culture on all levels.
Since moving from New York State to New Jersey in 1999, Debbie has worked at the Hispanic Family Center in Camden as Prevention Education Coordinator and with the American Heart Association in Cumberland and Salem counties. The parent of 2 adult children, and grandparent of one, Debbie enjoys traveling – mostly to visit family and friends; good foods and cooking of all varieties; museums, theater and music performances; discussing and learning about current events, theology, and the latest scientific discoveries; walking and good movies. In her spare time, she advocates for social justice, human equality and stewardship of the earth.
Cathy Hawn
Program Coordinator
chawn @ njnonprofits.org
Cathy Hawn joined our team in March 2019. As Program Coordinator, she provides member services and engagement; coordinates Center workshops and events; and supports our financial management and board. She has a passion for public service and government has worked in state and local government organizations since 1985. She enjoyed a 14-year tenure with NJ Transit, the nation’s first multimodal statewide public transportation corporation, with her primary focus being public affairs and public policy. Cathy also enjoyed a 16-year professional relationship with her previous local public school district, where she served the community in the school’s main offices, handling wide-ranging duties from report cards and student records to registering and acclimating new families to the school district, as well as being the person most people would meet first when they called or visited the school offices.
Cathy has served in several capacities as a volunteer in her community. Among her past activities are service as president of a condominium association; member of the zoning board of adjustment for the City of New Brunswick; various leadership positions in elementary and high school parent organizations; member of the board of directors of Family Promise of Monmouth County; and member of the vestry of St. George’s-by-the-River Episcopal Church. She is currently a volunteer at Grace Episcopal Church in Merchantville; a member of the Wicked Warriors of East Greenwich, a women’s dragon boat team and charitable organization; and a new member of Impact 100 South Jersey.
Cathy holds a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University, Douglass College, and an M.G.A. (now called Master of Public Administration) from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government in Philadelphia.
Susan Merrill O’Connor
Director of Membership and Communications
susan @ njnonprofits.org
Susan has been on the Center’s team since August 2014. As Director of Membership and Communications, she leads the Center’s work in growing and retaining membership; strengthening the engagement with our member and future members, the media, and other partners and stakeholders; and developing and executing communications, outreach, media and marketing strategies to enhance the Center’s visibility, brand, and value proposition.
Susan brings an impressive array of talent and experience to her position at the Center. She has over 20 years of experience working with nonprofits in both employee and consultant capacities to enhance their marketing, media relations, visibility, and fundraising efforts. As a communications strategist for RelationshipLink Technologies, she was integrally involved in rebranding and promoting New York City’s Department of Education’s Career and Technology Schools; editing workforce curriculum for the New York State Office of Children and Family Services; and other assignments. She has extensive experience in the YMCA network, where she served as Marketing Associate for the Sussex chapter.
Susan has facilitated or served on several collective impact teams including the CDC and YMCA’s Pioneering Healthier Communities working with hospitals, elected officials, business leaders and schools to implement healthy living initiatives for New Jersey families. She has utilized her fundraising, volunteer recruitment, public relations and event planning skills in a wide array of organizations and positions, including Metro YMCAs of the Oranges, The Association on American Indian Affairs, Hardyston Township PTA, Little Lost Arts Community Theater, Monmouth University Alumni Association, Northwest New Jersey Reading Council, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Marwa Reshid
Office Assistant
marwareshid @ njnonprofits.org
Marwa Reshid, the newest member of our team, joined our staff in March as our part-time Office Assistant. Marwa earned her Bachelor of Science degree in public health from The College of New Jersey with a specialization in social and behavioral science. Her prior nonprofit internship and volunteer experience includes Once Upon a Preemie in Philadelphia and the Boys and Girls Club in Mercer County. She is a former participant in the Bank of America Student Leader program, a comprehensive nationwide internship and civic leadership program.
Danielle Robinson, M.S.W.
Program Associate
danielle @ njnonprofits.org
Danielle Robinson, MSW, is a social worker who is passionate about helping NJ families and communities in need. Danielle has years of experience in associations, nonprofit event planning, marketing and administration. Her desire to help families drew her to work with the Health Education and Law Clinic at Rutgers Law School and Sierra House, where she ran a program to work with developmentally disabled children on their life skills. She also planned conferences for the members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and managed six professional interest sections at the Public Relations Society of America.
Danielle earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Florida A&M University and her Master of Social Work from Rutgers University, where she was awarded a Fellowship from the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
Born and raised in Manhattan, West Orange has been Danielle’s home for more than a decade. She is the wife of an educator and mom of two middle schoolers who have traveled to four continents and look forward to reaching all before her oldest goes to college.
Doug Schoenberger, M.Eng.
Government Affairs Specialist
doug @ njnonprofits.org
Doug Schoenberger joined the Center in December 2018 as our Government Affairs Specialist. In this role, Doug is responsible for coordinating the development and execution of the Center’s public policy objectives and advocating these goals to all stakeholders, including state legislators and staff, executive branch officials, and business organizations.
Before joining the Center, Doug worked for AT&T and Verizon in a variety of roles. At AT&T, Doug held positions, among others, in international external affairs, business marketing, and systems engineering at Bell Laboratories. Doug joined Verizon in 2007, where he held roles in public policy, corporate philanthropy and state government affairs. Doug’s favorite job by far, however, was a brief stint as a “Good Humor Man” in high school.
Doug also provides gentle but focused exhortations to New Jersey nonprofits as part of the Support Center’s “Navigator” program. He is the past Chairman of Lead New Jersey and past Vice-Chairman of the Council of NJ Grantmakers. Golf, pickleball, two daughters, and church youth work successfully compete for his free time.
Doug’s education includes a B.S. from Union College in Applied Mathematics, an M. Eng. in Operations Research from Cornell University, and a Certificate in Theology and Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. He and his family reside in Hopewell, New Jersey.
