Higher education administrator, social worker, and food insecurity expert Dr. Charise Breeden-Balaam has been selected to participate in the New Jersey Black Women’s Collective 2024 Leadership Institute. This multi-faceted 14-session program helps Black women in leadership hone their business and decision-making acumen, study organizational culture, growth strategies, and power structures, and focus on their own well-being and personal development.

“I’m thrilled to be part of the 2024 Leadership Institute cohort,” Dr. Breeden-Balaam said, “It’s critical for Black women in leadership positions to learn and grow from each other’s knowledge, and I’m looking forward to this experience.”

Dr. Breeden-Balaam is a Licensed Social Worker who currently serves as a Project Specialist for the New Jersey Department of Education K-12 Workforce Diversity Pilot Program. She has extensive experience in staff and student retention through administrative and instructional roles at several public and private institutions of higher learning. Dr. Breeden-Balaam received her doctorate in Community College Leadership from the Roueche Graduate Center at National American University after completing her doctoral dissertation “Assessing Student Food Insecurity Levels at an Urban Community College.” She is a frequent public speaker on the intersection of food insecurity, mental health, programming, and policy among Black/African American student populations.

The New Jersey Black Women’s Collective Leadership Institute kicked off in March and will run through June 2024 in partnership with Mercer County Community College.