Jim Parker

Chair

Founder and owner of Riverview Studios which provides broadcast and video production services globally. Jim has been telling stories via his camera for 42 years throughout the world and from his studio in Bordentown, NJ. His travels led him to Uganda where he was inspired to create the Parker Mother and Child Foundation which has earned him many awards for his humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors. In addition to serving as Chair of the CNJN Board of Trustees, Jim also serves on the board of trustees of New Jersey Policy Perspective, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) and The Roebling Museum.

Jim has been an adjunct professor for Bucks County Community College and served on the steering committee for NJ Main Street Alliance. He has twice testified for Congressman Andy Kim’s committee on Small Business in Washington, DC. Jim is proud to use his business and skills to help many of the area nonprofits, but he also has been honored by the NJ Citizens Action Council for his activism at our state capital to better the lives for all our citizens.

Jim is the recipient of Catholic Charities Burlington County Light of Hope award in 2009 and the Geltzer Family Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, in recognition of his work with TASK.

An avid Explorer, Jim got his pilot’s license in 1999 on a whim when he was working on a video for Mercer County Community College. Jim remarked that it was the first time in his career that he ever received Straight A’s in a college course.

Jim says his glass is always 7/8 full, usually with something delicious. After 42 years of producing documentary films, he says he still learns something new from every project.

Norman Silverstein

Vice Chair

Norman is the principal of Castle and Bishop Financial Services Inc. (www.CastleandBishop.com) a commercial funding company, primarily engaged in sourcing financing for start-ups and real estate transactions. Norman’s past business ventures include manufacturing, consumer products, property development, and warehouse logistics. He established a media company (www.MightyOaks.Media) which purchased the Montgomery News (www.MontyNews.com) and which has already produced two films; The Kid Who Only Hit Homers based on the novel by Matt Christopher, and Open Your Eyes, a documentary regarding eye health.

Mr. Silverstein joined the Board of CNJN in 2022 and was elected Treasurer of the network. It is Norman’s conviction, “that a community newspaper must be an integral part of the community, and that applies equally to community television.”

Kamal Bathla

Treasurer

CEO of Maestro Technologies headquartered in Trenton NJ.  Maestro is an award-winning big data solutions and cloud platform company that Inc Magazine named one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. for three consecutive years, starting in 2011. Through Maestro Technologies, Kamal is helping clients achieve digital transformation, applying leading-edge expertise in software architecture to big data, Machine Learning, blockchain, IoT and cyber security Solutions. Kamal is passionate about transforming Trenton to the Innovation capital of New Jersey with community engagements in technology centric programs driven by public/private partnerships.

Erik Kent

Corporate Secretary

Erik Kent is the Co-Publisher of NJWedding.com and NJParenting.com, and proudly serves local businesses, engaged couples and NJ families with these local online directories. Erik graduated from Rutgers College in 1992 with a B.A. in Communication. He subsequently worked as an Advertising Manager for a group of local community newspapers in Essex and Union Counties. Erik met his wife, Beth at Rutgers in 1990, they were married in 1994 and launched their business, NJWedding.com, on Valentine’s Day in 1997. Erik lives in Montgomery Township, NJ and enjoys spending time with Beth and their children, Ellie, Zoe and Ian. He often travels around the Garden State to attend local trade shows in the wedding planning and family events communities. Erik is a member of the New Jersey Tourism Industry Association (NJTIA), and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Rutgers Alumni Association (RAA) in the Communications Committee. Erik looks forward to participating on the CNJN Board and helping to build a presence through collaborative social media marketing efforts.

Peter Crowley

Member

Former President and CEO of the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce. The Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce Chamber is one of the larger regional Chambers in New Jersey with over 1,500 business partners and 5,800 member contacts.  Prior to assuming his responsibilities at the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce Peter was the Founding President & CEO of the Bank of Princeton and a Founding Board member of the bank.  During his twenty-five years as a Senior Banking Executive Peter has held positions as; Senior Vice-President for Bank of America’s Commercial Middle Market Banking group, Senior Vice President and Private Bank Director with Citibank and Senior Vice President and Director Investment Services PNC Bank and Midlantic Bank, Prior to his banking career Peter spent several years in Consumer Sales and Marketing with Union Carbide Corporation.  

Peter has his undergraduate Bachelor of Arts, (BA) degree from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and his Master of Business Administration, (MBA) in Finance from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. He has been an NASD Licensed Investment Professional with his Series 24 General Securities Principle’s license and his Series 7 General Securities Representative license.  

Peter has served on the following board: The Downton Trenton Association, The Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the Board of Trustees St Lawrence and Morris Hall Lawrenceville NJ, the Board of Trustees Minding our Business MOB Trenton N, The Board of Directors of the Bank of Princeton, Princeton NJ, Board of Directors Committee of Seventy. Philadelphia PA, New Jersey Bankers Association and an has been an  Advisory Board Member New York Hospital, Memorial Sloan Cancer Center.  

Ed Zimmerman

Member

Ed Zimmerman is a distinguished public servant and community leader with decades of experience in municipal government, nonprofit organizations, and small business. He has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to improving the lives of residents in the communities he serves.

Zimmerman served as the Mayor of Rocky Hill, a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, for six years. During his tenure, he led efforts to revitalize the downtown area and expand access to affordable housing for seniors. He also championed emergency preparedness initiatives and worked to improve government transparency and financial stability.

In addition to his work in local government, Zimmerman has been an active leader in several nonprofit organizations. He served as the President of the Board of the Somerset County Library Foundation and the Board of Trustees for Somerset Treatment Services. He has also been the Executive Director of the Somerset, Warren, and Hunterdon County Governing Officials Associations, promoting bipartisan cooperation and education among municipal governments.

Zimmerman has been recognized for his contributions to his community through numerous awards and honors. He was named the 2018 Citizen of the Year by the Somerset County Business Partnership for his leadership and commitment to improving the quality of life for residents in Somerset County.

Deborah Frazier

Member

Deborah is a Wealth Management Advisor with LRG Wealth Advisors/ Hightower, specializing in retirement and estate planning.  She is a trustee for the NJ Symphony; a board member of USTA National TAG Committee; and a member of the AACCNJ.  Deborah Co-Hosts MoneyThoughts, the CNJN financial educational show and this is her second year serving on the CNJN board.

Jim Monteforte

Member

Jim Monteforte is a filmmaker, freelance videographer, and owner of Jam Digital NJ LLC, based in Hamilton Township NJ. Jim currently works as a producer at Riverview Studios but before joining Riverview, Jim’s production work focused on talk shows, children’s educational programming, and event videography.

Jim is also a trained voiceover artist and has lent his voice, as well as his time, to local non-profit organizations, charities, educational content, and culturally significant projects, such as the interview show, “Real Talk on Racism”, airing on CNJN.

In his own time, Jim is a comedy writer who produces his own films and hopes to make his first feature film in the near future.

Bryan Evans

Member

Bryan Evans serves as the Senior Vice President of Greater Trenton. He joined Greater Trenton in 2017 with more than 20 years of experience leading economic development and marketing efforts in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of TrentonDaily, a popular online news publication highlighting people, organizations, initiatives, historic moments, events, arts & culture, and business attractions that make Trenton, NJ a unique and inspiring place to live, work and play.

Prior to joining Greater Trenton, Evans served as Vice President for a prominent real estate development firm promoting the company’s existing real estate assets and philanthropic organization. Prior to that, he served as Director of Public Relations and Publications at Select Greater Philadelphia, where he was instrumental in promoting the 11-County Greater Philadelphia Region as a premier business destination. He also served as Director of Policy Communications for The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to the Chamber, Evans served as the Director of Public Affairs for the Alliance for Downtown New York, where he worked with the mayor’s office and other city, state, and private agencies to help boost the region’s economy by promoting the businesses, cultural institutions, landmark attractions, and real estate incentives after the devastation of 9/11. He also led public relations and communications efforts for a number of start-up companies after managing several key client relationships at Burson-Marsteller in New York City.

Earlier in his career, Evans served as Manager of Special Events for the Central Park Conservancy, where he led large-scale events at New York City’s prominent Central Park. Evans is a 2020 Lead New Jersey Fellow and currently serves as Board Chairman of Trenton Downtown Association as well as a Board Member of The Father Center of New Jersey and United Way of Northern New Jersey. He earned his college degrees in New York City with a Bachelor’s in Communications at Hunter College and a Master’s in Business Administration at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.

Anthony Carabelli

Member

Anthony currently serves as the Director of the Mercer County Office of Economic Development. In this capacity, he manages several County business programs including the Mercer County Small Business Grant Program, the Business Lending Program, site selection services and the Mercer County Foreign Trade Zone. He oversees the Mercer County Division of Consumer Affairs, the Division of Housing and Community Development and the One Stop Career Center.

In addition, Anthony serves as a member of Hamilton Township Council and several regional business committees and volunteer organizations.

Anthony received his Master of Arts from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and his Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC.

He currently resides in Hamilton with his wife, Sharon, and their two children, Dominic and Dante.

Gabi Johnson

Member

Gabi grew up in France and Switzerland where she studied Mass Communications & Broadcasting in college, including working for TV Swiss. Gabi has an extensive tv/video personality, production, creation, marketing, and distribution background in Europe and the USA. 

Gabi is also currently the co-creator and co-owner of two popular Princeton-Mercer centered all-video all-local websites, YourTownTube.com and FitFabAndWellTube.com, with over 25,000 videos and 3.4 million viewers per month. Continually employing various marketing techniques and social media, Gabi today has gained a wide range of expertise in building large community video audiences of all ages and demographics.

She is also the host and producer of the Pandemic-originated ‘The Show Must Go On’ and ‘ Elevator Connections’, as well as The Princeton Mercer Local Influencers™ and the Princeton Mercer Buy Local Connection™. Gabi also serves the community as the ‘official’ videographer for the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Tony Jackson

Member

Tony Jackson is the CEO and Founder of TRUST THE KING Apparel Brand. He leads the design, marketing, and advertising divisions of the online company. The Trust Brand, launched in 2012, has been seen on The Oprah Winfrey Network and around the country. Prior to launching the Trust Brand, Tony worked for the City of Trenton Law Department for 14 years and served as manager of the Prosecutor’s Office. In 2008, Tony was awarded the employee of the year for the City of Trenton. He currently serves in the capacity of Minister of Music for over 25 years and is a professional recording artist. Tony loves to serve, reach back, and uplift those in the local community.

In 2022, Tony launched his own television show, “THE DREAM BIG SHOW,” and is the executive producer and host of the show. Tony studied Business Management at Rider University and Trenton State College. He is the proud husband to Lakeisha, the father of three sons, Ryan, Tyler, and Camry, and one daughter, Skyy.