Two of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association‘s councils announced Tuesday that they expanded their leadership teams. Jason Holt, an attorney with Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi, has joined the leadership team of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, while Clelia Pergola, chief operating officer of the NJ Eldercare Law Center at Goldberg Law, and Debbie Wolpov, CEO and president of MerX Payments, have joined the leadership team of the Women Business Leaders Council.
The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council was launched in 2020 to provide new opportunities for NJBIA members to convene on timely and relevant issues that will help them achieve business success. The NJBIA Women Business Leaders Council formed in 2016 to advance the next generation of female executives. The WBL Council provides opportunities for skill building and the exchange of information and ideas at events throughout the year.
Both councils include executives from all over the state who meet regularly to share best practices, collaborate on business opportunities and help NJBIA members become more successful. Meetings often include guest speakers who share insights on topical issues of interest to business professionals.
Holt has more than two decades of experience in state and local government, municipal corporations, turnaround strategy, litigation and fiscal management. He is a former municipal court judge and adjunct professor at the John S. Watson Institute of Public Policy at Thomas Edison State University.
As a new leader of the DE&I Council, Holt will be working closely with current DE&I Council leaders Shy Hopkins, marketing coordinator at the New Jersey Small Business Development Center; Jackie Lue Raia, president of ALEXENA Consulting; and Andrea Murphy, group manager of corporate environmental compliance at Panasonic North America.
As the newest additions to the WBL Council’s leadership team, Pergola and Wolpov will be working closely with Rosanne DeTorres, managing partner and co-founder of DeTorres & DeGeorge Family Law; and Lorena Mosquera, workflow strategist at Paradigm Marketing and Design.
Pergola was instrumental in building the NJ Eldercare Law Center at Goldberg Law Group from the ground up by implementing a streamlined, procedures-based model for the elder care area. Pergola is a member of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, Leading Women Entrepreneurs, Healthcare Association of New Jersey, Alzheimer’s New Jersey and a founding member of WomenRising.
Wolpov founded MerX Payments to give companies full access to the vast spectrum of merchant services. With over 1,200 accounts, she partners with business leaders to help them select and customize the most cost-effective and efficient payment processing solutions. She is a member of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce and chaired the chamber’s Women in Business program.