Audrey Lane has been promoted to president of Garden State Initiative, succeeding founder Regina Egea, who will assume the role of chair of the board of directors, the organization announced Thursday.
Lane, who has been serving as policy director at GSI since 2022, assumed the new role April 1.
Egea, who was the driving force behind the launch of GSI in 2017 — and its ascension into New Jersey’s leading center-right think tank for economic and fiscal policy issues — said the time was right to evolve the organization.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past six-plus years in establishing GSI as the undisputed policy thought leader in New Jersey when it comes to promoting common sense ideas to spur investment, innovation and economic growth,” she said.
“Our entire organization — from the board, to our research contributors, to our generous donors — has remained true to our mission of not just criticizing what we see as the policy challenges and missed opportunities in Trenton, but also detailing solutions. We believe our state government needs to be more efficient and transparent, and the state more affordable and prosperous for residents and business.
“As I assume this new role, I will continue to support Audrey and am confident that she is the right person to continue that tradition and, more importantly, to expand GSI’s influence.”
Prior to joining GSI in 2022, Lane, served as a government policy and strategic messaging professional on both the municipal and state level, and served as an elected councilwoman in her hometown of Mountain Lakes.
“I am honored and humbled that Regina and the board have afforded me this opportunity, and I am eager to build on what Regina has accomplished — and carry forward what she has taught me — during her time as president,” she said.
“New Jersey is undoubtedly at an economic and fiscal crossroads. Absent a significant shift in policy, we will continue to “lead” the nation in all the wrong categories when it comes to high taxes, wasteful spending, outmigration and hostility towards business and job creators.
“As president, I look forward to not just making noise about those challenges, but, in the GSI tradition, making a real difference when it comes to solving them.”
Lane, a Johns Hopkins University graduate, was named as a “2022 Right Women to Watch” by the Save Jersey blog and was selected as a member of the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network in 2021.
