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Announcing: New Program Coordinator

Woodbury Heart & Soul is looking for residents to tell their stories about what matters most to them, their hopes, concerns, and ideas for the future of Woodbury under the leadership of our new Program Coordinator, Kaitlin Rattigan.

The continued collection of our community’s stories will help create a comprehensive action plan for Woodbury’s future and strengthen the cultural, social, and economic vibrancy of our City. Seeking out hidden and missing voices and focusing on what matters most keeps the community at the center of Woodbury Heart & Soul’s mission. We are looking for people to both share their stories, as well as people who would like to help us gather stories from their fellow residents, neighbors, and peers.

Woodbury Heart & Soul is excited to introduce Kaitlin Rattigan, who has accepted the position of Program Coordinator. Kaitlin (she/her) moved to Woodbury with her partner and two children in August of 2020 because of the incredible racial diversity of the City and the public schools, while having a small town community feel. Kaitlin brings 14 years of community organizing experience to the role. As an organizer, Kaitlin has worked to address various societal injustices ranging from LGBTQIA+ advocacy, to racial justice work, to gender equity, to most recently labor organizing for worker’s rights.

Kaitlin has 9 years experience working with nonprofits, particularly startup organizations and programs. As the first Community Builder for Take The Lead, Kaitlin built online communities and programs where women could connect and support one another to gain power and equity in the workforce. As the first Director of Student Working Professionals, Kaitlin spearheaded strategy, daily operations, marketing, communications, and program management for the South Jersey startup organization that helps students from various backgrounds, including those from the juvenile justice system and those with developmental disabilities, evolve into socially conscious leaders. And as the Program Manager of State Adolescent Services at AccessMatters, Kaitlin oversees a youth serving sexual health counseling and education program with a particular focus on supporting LGBTQIA+ youth.

Since moving to Woodbury, Kaitlin immediately became involved in community groups and activities such as the West End Memorial Parent Teacher Organization and the Strategic Plan Steering Committee for the Woodbury City Public School District. Kaitlin has a Master’s degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, focusing on gender equity and nonprofit management. Kaitlin says she is “excited to continue this important community work,” because she “believes the City of Woodbury should be a place where all people feel included, heard, represented, and welcome.”

Woodbury Heart & Soul is a catalyst for positive change by actively seeking the collective wisdom of all residents, including those whose voices are often missing. As part of the Transform South Jersey initiative, our team will lead Woodbury through the established Community Heart & Soul model. Through this process, we will identify partners, build relationships, determine options for the future, and work together to develop projects in Woodbury that our community cares about for years to come. Ultimately, we will establish a locally controlled community endowment fund to support the strategies that result from the Woodbury Heart & Soul process.

If you are interested and excited by this unique opportunity to share your story and/or gather stories from others in Woodbury, please reach out to Kaitlin Rattigan at 856-812-4027 or kaitlin@thefaf.net.

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The five other awarded towns were announced in February: the Town of Hammonton, Willingboro Township, Winslow Township, Downe Township, and Salem City.

The FAF Coalition, alongside the city government and many local residents, businesses, and nonprofit & faith-based organizations worked tirelessly to secure this grant award. The work consisted of workshops, webinars, submitting a letter of intent and full application, holding a community engagement meeting at the Woodbury Child Development Center, and a site interview at City Hall with members of the Community Foundation of South Jersey and other local and national funding partners.

The grant is made possible through generous support from the Community Foundation of South Jersey’s Transform South Jersey, a collaboration between the Community Foundation of South Jersey and local & national funding partners, which aims to strengthen the social, cultural, and economic vibrancy of South Jersey communities.

After attending the program introduction meeting, The FAF Coalition board felt this would be an incredible opportunity for the City of Woodbury, and one in which we could successfully respond to the Request for Applications and provide the infrastructure to support the program. It felt like a natural fit to step in as the local convening partner because Transform South Jersey complements The FAF’s mission perfectly. The FAF Coalition champions initiatives rich in arts, culture, and sustainable design as a catalyst for community development and economic revitalization. It executes those initiatives by creating engaging places and innovative experiences that transform the lives of the community.

The FAF Coalition is also excited to introduce Jared Hunter, who has accepted the position of Program Director. Jared has lived in Woodbury for over ten years with a long family history in the City. He is currently pursuing a PhD in public affairs with a concentration in community development at Rutgers-Camden. His work in community development began seven years ago in West Philadelphia as an undergraduate student at University of the Sciences, before moving onto Camden to pursue a master’s degree in public administration.

In Camden, he worked for a public health nonprofit and supported the development of the organization’s community engagement strategies on a local and national level. He oversaw a national program that organized people with complex health and social needs to advise healthcare industry executives on their engagement strategies. Locally, he worked with a group of activists to stop the shutdown of a methadone clinic downtown, to ensure that people who needed medically assisted treatment had the access they deserved.

Jared has recently received his second master’s degree in public affairs from Rutgers-Camden, and since returning to Woodbury, has become involved in a number of community-focused efforts. He has joined the Board of Directors for The FAF Coalition, spent a year and a half working for the local government at City Hall, and for the past year has curated a Woodbury coverage podcast called “Woodbury Voice!” highlighting stories about good work being done in the community.

Over the next two years the program’s leadership will lay out a foundation to engage every corner of the City’s neighborhoods and communities, collecting stories and holding public discussions about what matters most to them. Those stories will be transformed into an action plan to address issues, create stronger relationships between communities, and establish new and sustainable economic development strategies.

While the program leadership is expected to change and grow over the next two years, the initial leadership team highlights the City’s diversity, collective strengths, and commitment to partnership:

Jared Hunter Program Director

Bonnie Powers
Secretary, The FAF Coalition

Dr. Melinda Johnson
Founder & President, Johnson Manor of Faith & Education, Inc.
Woodbury School Board Member

Ted Johnson
Woodbury City Councilman

Reed Merinuk
Woodbury City Councilman

Cassidy Swanson
Woodbury City Community Events Coordinator
Woodbury City Neighborhood Preservation Coordinator

Jamilah Damiani
Owner/Operator, MADE. Artisan Marketplace
President, Woodbury Human Rights Commission

Jose Avila
Owner, Vallarta House Grocery Store

Rev. Dr. Charles Boyer
Pastor, Bethel AME Church of Woodbury

Savanah Lewis
Local resident and high school student

Transform South Jersey is built on the Orton Family Foundation’s Community Heart & Soul model, a catalyst for positive change in small cities and towns. By actively seeking the community’s collective wisdom, including those whose voice are often missing, Woodbury will become a stronger, healthier, and more economically vibrant place to live, work, learn, and play. During this two-year process, the program will also actively dedicate resources toward asset building by establishing a community endowment fund. This fund will dedicate wealth, resources, and direct investment into the Woodbury community for many years to come.

If you are interested in and excited by this unique opportunity in Woodbury’s history and would like to get involved, please reach out to Jared Hunter at (856) 812-4112 or jared@thefaf.net.

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