Students Gain Valuable Insight from Former Governor McGreevey

Former Governor James E. McGreevey, executive director of the Jersey City Employment & Training Program, kicked off the Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership’s spring Pizza & Politics speaker series, in partnership with the Department of Criminal Justice, yesterday. More than 70 students and faculty attended to hear the former governor share information about his political career and how it helped him to find his second career, focusing on helping ex-offenders. He highlighted his experience counseling women at the Hudson County Jail as part of his educational training, which eventually launched his strong interest in helping ex-offenders at the Integrity House in Newark. With these experiences in hand, he oversees Martin’s Place, a wrap-around reentry program in Jersey City, N.J., servicing a large number of returning ex-offenders each year.  He ended his talk by commending the commitments of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Governor Chris Christie to reducing recidivism and providing addiction and mental health services to inmates and ex-offenders.