Staff
Linda M. Czipo
President & CEO
lczipo @ njnonprofits.org
Linda Czipo is 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 four years as one of ROI-NJ’s Power Influencers and ROI-NJ’s Women in Business Influencers, including among the Top 50 Women in Business Influencers for 2024, 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 by Lead New Jersey as one of its 30 Leaders for 30 Years, has been 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 “Power 50” by South Jersey Biz.
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. A self-described data geek and avid Yankees and Star Trek fan, she holds a degree in Political Science from Rutgers University.
Rokiatu Davies
Office Manager
rdavies @ njnonprofits.org
Roki Davies joined the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits in August 2026 as the Office Manager. She brings years of experience working in the nonprofit sector, with a background in office administration, membership services, customer service, and operations. Throughout her career, Roki has supported members, coordinated administrative processes, and collaborated across teams to ensure day-to-day operations run smoothly. She is passionate about helping others, solving problems, and providing exceptional service to colleagues and stakeholders alike. Inspired by the impact nonprofits have on their communities, she hopes to one day launch her own nonprofit organization.
Roki holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Southern New Hampshire University. She is excited to continue growing her career while supporting New Jersey’s nonprofit community. Outside of work, she enjoys going to the movies, exploring art, traveling, watching science documentaries, and learning random facts about just about everything. A self-described homebody, Roki is happiest relaxing at home, though her family and friends can usually persuade her to venture out for a great meal or a new adventure.
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, and developing or fostering access to a comprehensive array of educational/capacity building offerings for nonprofits 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 nonprofits, 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.
Lavelle Hall, M.F.A.
Director of Communications
lavelle @ njnonprofits.org
Lavelle joined the Center in December 2025 as our Director of Communications. She is a strategic communications leader with more than a decade of experience helping mission-driven organizations share their stories with clarity, purpose, and heart. She has shaped campaigns for nonprofits, foundations, and community-based initiatives, and her work has strengthened partnerships across education, health equity, and economic justice sectors. Before joining the Center, Lavelle led communications and brand strategy for the National Institute for Section 3 Empowerment, expanding national engagement and supporting multimillion-dollar philanthropic efforts focused on economic rights. Her career began as a copywriter at Leo Burnett Worldwide and Burrell Communications, where she developed storytelling frameworks for global brands before shifting her focus toward social-impact organizations.
Lavelle holds a BA from Clark Atlanta University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Roosevelt University. A relationship-driven communicator at her core, she is passionate about elevating authentic voices, building community through narrative, and supporting teams in sharing the stories that move people to action. A mom of two young adults, Lavelle is a New Yorker now making her home in Philadelphia. She enjoys cooking for family, traveling, and listening to audiobooks.
Cathy Hawn
Director of Membership
chawn @ njnonprofits.org
Cathy Hawn joined our team in March 2019 and is now our Director of Membership, leading our work in growing and strengthening membership and building increased engagement and connection between and among the Center and members/potential members and other partners and constituencies. She has a passion for public service and government, having worked in state and local government organizations since 1985 before joining the Center. 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.
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 trustees of Family Promise of Monmouth County; and member of the vestry of St. George’s-by-the-River Episcopal Church, and a member and volunteer at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Washingtonville, NY, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Clarksboro, NJ and Grace Episcopal Church in Merchantville, NJ. She is a member of the Wicked Warriors of East Greenwich, a women’s dragon boat team and charitable organization; a member of Impact 100 South Jersey, and Mercer County 100+ Women Who Care.
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. Aside from her paid work, Cathy enjoys cooking, baking, eating, traveling, reading, and marveling at her toddler grandson, Rory.
Jessica Lipper
Government Affairs Specialist
jlipper @ njnonprofits.org
Jessica Lipper joins the New Jersey Center for Nonprofits as Government Affairs Specialist, bringing nearly two decades of leadership in public policy, Medicaid strategy, maternal-child health, and child and family well-being. Throughout her career, she has secured multimillion-dollar legislative appropriations, directed complex fiscal oversight, and leveraged legislative tracking platforms and financial modeling to navigate evolving regulatory landscapes. Her expertise blends deep mastery of state legislative processes with cross-sector coalition building, ensuring that healthcare and human services policies are both fiscally sound and structurally sound.
A dedicated advocate for equity, Jessica is passionate about supporting organizations advancing systems-level reforms that uplift at-risk and under-resourced populations, and she does this by bridging high-level government affairs with community-driven action. She holds a B.A. from William Paterson University and a Master of Science in Jurisprudence in Health Law from Seton Hall University School of Law, and is a 2021 Lead New Jersey Fellow. A lifelong New Jerseyan and mother of two boys, she actively volunteers for community causes that are close to her heart.
Danielle Robinson, M.S.W.
Events and Communications Coordinator
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.
Emma Wagner
Outreach & Membership Associate
ewagner @ njnonprofits.org
Emma Wagner joined our team in February 2024, and is now our Outreach and Membership Associate, building engagement and connections among our members and coordinating a host of other programs and services. She is a student at Rutgers University majoring in Sociology with a Criminology minor, with an expected graduation date of December 2025.
Her previous employment includes a Burlington County nonprofit serving people with developmental disabilities, and the Edward J. Bloustein Center for Survey Research.