As part of our Common Grounds series, a panel of local women share their stories and experiences to help us understand and appreciate their journeys.
Some lead from the board room, some from behind the scenes, and the ones with kids are often master jugglers. Women's roles in society continue to evolve. Local professionals share challenges, achievements, and support or resistance they encountered.
Panelists will include:
Jessica Harrison Calderon has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Rutgers University. She earned a Master of Music in Vocal Performance with a concentration in Musical Theater from New York University. She will be completing her special education certification at Centenary University. This is Mrs. Harrison Calderon’s eighteenth year being part of the Roxbury choral staff. In addition to conducting the 7th Grade Choir, Mrs. Harrison Calderon teaches 7th Grade General Music, 8th Grade Music Theater, and Music Theory. She also directs the EMS honor choirs, Encores and Harmonies, and was the EMS drama club’s musical director for 17 years. Mrs. Harrison Calderon proudly served as director of the 2011 NJSMA Jr. Region SSA Choir. She also served on the board of the New Jersey Choral Director’s Association as the Middle School Repertoire and Standards Chair and was previously the R&S Chair for Multicultural & Ethnic Music. Mrs. Harrison Calderon was also the New Jersey Junior High Honor Choir Conductor in 2014.
Marcia Tatiana Cordeiro and her twin were born on November 22, 1971 in Quito, Ecuador. She was raised by my grandmother, from the age of 5 through 12 years old while her parents were in the United States working hard to provide them with an opportunity for a better future. Marcia and her twin were reunited with her parents in 1985, at the age of 13 years old. She grew up in Belleville, New Jersey, and graduated from Belleville High School in 1990. Marcia attended Montclair State University and graduated with a BA certified to Teach Spanish. She attended the University Complutense of Madrid and earned 15 graduate credits towards her Masters. She has been teaching Spanish, Club Advisor, and the Global Hi 5 Multicultural Expo Lead for the Roxbury School District for 23 years. Her immediate family now is her 22 year old son, Justin Jeffrey Cordeiro, raising him as a single mom since he was five years old.
Alyssa Greenberg is a graduate of Hamilton College (‘01) and St. John’s University School of Law (‘05). Since 2005, Ms. Greenberg has practiced in medium and large sized law firms specializing in estate planning, estate administration, special needs planning and estate litigation, and opened her own practice in 2011. She is licensed to practice law in New York and New Jersey. Ms. Greenberg lives with her husband, Lee, and two children, Aaron and Emma, in Roxbury. As a local attorney and mother, she takes great pride and interest in helping her clients navigate the planning process and addressing each family’s individual needs.
Nihal Hussein is an Organizational Development Professional, Trainer, and Instructional designer with years of International corporate experience delivering customized trainings, consulting, and talent development solutions to organizations. Living in the United States, most of her clients are US based yet, she delivered hundreds of trainings in the Middle East. Living overseas gave her a distinct exposure to rich culture and enabled her to embrace diversity. On Sundays, Nihal volunteers her time as an Islamic Studies teacher for the Islamic Society of North Jersey. Also, she is an active member of the Interfaith Group of Morris County Islamic Center. She has 3 kids and lives with her husband in Roxbury.
Mia Lardiere is currently the Emerging Platforms Director at Cosmopolitan. She oversees content and strategy for Cosmo’s Snapchat Discover channel and TikTok account while leading content development for special projects. As a result, she’s an expert in Gen-Z culture and ~going viral~. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and accepted the Hearst Spotlight Award in 2019.
Tracey Reed is a teacher at heart and has used her natural skill in a variety of settings to help youth and adults alike lead healthier, happier lives. Over a 30-year career, she has been an elementary school teacher, policy director, program manager, and people developer at the state, regional, and national levels. Her undergraduate degree in Religious Studies formed the basis for her life and work philosophy of servant leadership. Through multiple roles at March of Dimes over 25 years, Tracey acquired subject matter expertise in state-level advocacy, team leadership, training and development, cross-functional team collaboration, remote and traditional staff management, public speaking, program development, and partnership building. She possesses comprehensive insights regarding the public health system, especially maternal and child health, and is driven by a desire to communicate complex information in a simplified manner to people from different backgrounds for the good of all. She earned a master's degree in Leadership and Management to bring all her experience to bear to inspire and lead human and organizational development. Currently, she is serving as a Permanent Substitute Teacher in Roxbury, and hopes to have her own class for the school year 2023-24.
Radwa Ali, Moderator and Library Director of Roxbury Public Library, started her library career as a middle school volunteer at the Plainsboro Public Library. Through high school and college, she continued to work there, gaining experience at the customer service desk, reference and children's departments, volunteer management, collection development, and the technological needs of a public library. After she attained her BA in Information Technology and Political Science, as well as a MLS degree from Rutgers University, Radwa worked at the Johnson Public Library in Hackensack as their Technology Librarian, then as Director of the Bogota Public Library. She has been the Director of the Roxbury Public Library since 2017. Radwa is currently a board member of the Morris Automated Information Network (MAIN) consortium of libraries in and around Morris County, co-chair of MAIN's DigiTech committee, former board member of NJLA, former co-chair of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System Technology Committee, and a member of the Roxbury Rotary Club.
Common Grounds is an ongoing series produced by a volunteer team that explores and facilitates civil conversation on race, political beliefs, gender, creed and more, celebrating diversity in Roxbury. Presentations since September 2020 have included a virtual workshop Skills for Bridging the Political Divide through Braver Angels, a community panel on women and leadership called How She Leads, and a local panel On Race and Racism: A Roxbury Conversation, and Black History: From Civil War to Black Lives Matter, Allyship and Inclusion, a discussion on the film “Brian Banks” and Black People’s Incarceration, Unlearning False Racial Myths, a LGBTQ+ Living/Personal History Panel, and an LGBTQ+ panel on pronouns, acronyms and gender identity. Also as part of Common Grounds, the Library, in partnership with Roxbury Area Chamber of Commerce, has hosted recent programs on generation in the workplace and sustainability.
Register online or by calling the library at (973) 584-2400.
Programs are made possible by the Friends of the Roxbury Public Library.
The Roxbury Township Public Library is a municipal library serving the communities of Succasunna, Ledgewood, Landing, Berkshire Valley, Port Morris, and Kenvil. Residents of the township are eligible to a free library card which enables access to 2.8 million items across the Morris Library Alliance including digital books, museum passes and more.
