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BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
TENAFLY, N.J.—An “open house” and celebration for retiring Borough Administrator Jewel Thompson-Chin will be held Thursday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Borough Hall.
Thompson-Chin’s final day is Sept. 28 and newly hired Borough Administrator Lissette Aportella—Tenafly’s former borough clerk—will officially take over following her departure.
Sponsored by the borough, the informal open house is open to the public, features refreshments and will offer an opportunity for friends, acquaintances and professional colleagues to stop on by to share fond memories made over the years.
Thompson-Chin has served for nine years as borough administrator in Tenafly, and over more than 30 years in various towns as a municipal manager and business administrator. She also serves on the executive board of the New Jersey Municipal Management Association.
“My favorite thing is the diversity of activities that I got to do. I’m never doing the same thing twice,” said Thompson-Chin, reached Sept. 19 at Borough Hall.
Asked about her favorite memories, she said that being part of local construction projects such as the police department renovation, construction of Department of Public Works building, and replacement of artificial turf at Municipal Field, were most memorable.
“That is also part of that diversity, and I like doing the planning, development, and physical improvement efforts such as Oresko Park,” said Thompson-Chin. “What I’ll miss most is the people interaction, with coworkers and colleagues and dealing with a lot of people throughout the state and county and different agencies.”
Thompson-Chin has worked with Aportella over most of her stay in Tenafly.
“I wish her well. I believe she will enjoy it and she’ll enjoy new areas of municipal affairs that accompany this position,” Thompson-Chin noted.
Over the years, Thompson-Chin began her public management career performing planning and development activities for Newark, served as Paterson’s director of community development, and held municipal manager and business administrator positions in Irvington, Plainfield and Orange before joining Tenafly as borough administrator in 2010.
Thompson-Chin has also worked as a senior project consultant on local and statewide transportation planning projects and as a Corporate Six Sigma Analyst for a medical diagnostics company. She has a masters degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in urban studies, both from Rutgers University. In addition, she has received certificates in public sector labor relations and human resources administration from Rutgers University.
Professional borough staff also celebrated Thompson-Chin’s tenure at a luncheon Sept. 20 in the McCandless Room, adjacent to Tenafly Public Library.
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