Education and Training
Alumnae Profile
Annelise Catanzaro (New Jersey 2006)
Annelise Catanzaro attended New Leadership™ New Jersey in June 2006, shortly after graduating from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ ).
During her time at TCNJ, Annelise served as president of the Student Government Association. As president, she organized a college-wide and eventually statewide advocacy effort for the funding of higher education. As a result of these efforts, Annelise was invited to appear on Steve Adubato’s television series, Caucus: New Jersey, where she interviewed then-Governor Corzine about his budget decisions. She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in communication studies and minors in Italian and women’s and gender studies.
Annelise is running for Parsippany, NJ Township Council, having run once before and lost. An active member of the Parsippany community, she has long been committed to involvement in local government. She is currently serving her third term as chair of Parsippany’s Municipal Alliance Committee, which oversees $28,000 in county grant funding and more than 40 teachers and program coordinators. These programs include elementary school Homework Clubs, Peer Leadership programs in both middle schools, and support for Project Graduation in the high schools.
Annelise is a member of the Women’s Political Caucus of New Jersey, a multi-partisan organization dedicated to increasing the number of elected and appointed women in government. She has also served as statewide chair for the National Organization for Women’s Conference in 2008, as president of Morris County’s NOW Chapter, and as an advisor to Parsippany’s Young Democrats. She currently resides in the Lake Hiawatha neighborhood of Parsippany with her husband, Chris and their new puppy, Ranger.
Annelise credits NEW Leadership™ for inspiring her to run for office, "I am so grateful for the training programs provided by CAWP like NEW Leadership™ and Ready to Run™. Both programs provided a solid foundation in campaign planning, increased my confidence, and gave me an opportunity to connect with women who became political mentors for me. For any woman who's thought about running... don't wait — register for a CAWP training program and then RUN!"