A new slate of officers for the board of trustees has been named at Warren County Community College to lead the school as it continues growing and broadening the educational opportunities it offers to the communities in northwestern New Jersey.

Warren President Will Austin welcomed the new executive board and noted that they offered a wide range of experience and expertise to the college as it continues to grow and serve the region.

“We have always been fortunate to gain energy and knowledge from an excellent group of people willing to lead the board – and this group is no exception,” Austin said. “I’m so gratified that these accomplished people have been willing to serve the college and the region as part of the Warren community.”

Nancy Brown, a board member since 2018 and former chairman of the Warren County Community College Foundation and member of the Hackettstown Common Council for four terms, was named president of the board. She brings wide ranging experience in community development, business, and politics.

“Warren County Community College is a gem in our county and in our state,” said Brown. “It’s growth in enrollment has been remarkable and the array of educational opportunities it offers is so important today, focusing on training that is accessible to our community and that meets the needs of employers.”

The other officers are: Maria Maier, a business leader and WCCC Foundation board member who will be vice chair, Marybeth Maciag, a health care leader and advocate for education who will serve as treasurer; and Peter Schmidt, secretary, a lifelong teacher and school administrator and trustee since 2007.  Melvin Warren, a law enforcement expert with a close affiliation to the college in several capacities, and Ashley Harold, a 21-year-old graduate of both the cosmetology and nursing program at Warren, were named as new board members.

Soon after her stint as the first woman to serve four terms on the Hackettstown Council, Brown achieved a long-held goal and obtained her bachelor’s degree from Centenary College in marketing and business administration, graduating magna cum laude. She has held various positions in business – as a property manager, marketing and development director for Hackettstown Community Hospital and bank manager. She then worked with two New Jersey legislators: Assemblywoman Connie Myers and Assemblyman John DiMaio.

“Nancy has played a key role in fundraising for college projects and scholarships, always prioritizing our goal of providing educational opportunities that are affordable and skills that are valuable in the workplace,” Austin said. “She has been a key driver in our growth and success.”

Brown noted that she intends to help Austin and the staff that he has built at Warren maintain that trajectory in a resourceful manner that serves the area and its prospective students.

“My aim is to continue good relationships with Warren County Commissioners and state officials while supporting the Board of Trustee’s policy of fiscal responsibility for the taxpayers of Warren County,” she said.

Brown succeeds Yvonne Reitemeyer, the first Warren graduate to serve on the board, being appointed in 2017 and taking on the role of board chairperson in 2021.

During her term she has played a key role in cutting textbook costs at the college and helping to build the college’s nationally recognized drone training program and highly regarded nursing program.

“We have a terrific relationship with our legislature and local government. Our students are proud to attend and graduate from our school. We are respected by our peers and serve as a model for other schools across the country and truly put our students first,” Reitemeyer said, noting that enrollment has grown and the college has had the highest graduation rate in the state.

Harold said she hopes other students at Warren have the opportunities and success she has had as a recent graduate – and can find the same motivation.

“Fortunately, was accepted into the great nursing program at Warren in 2023 and continued my academic journey at WCCC, graduating in 2025. I told myself, the harder you work, the luckier you get. We are all in control of our success.”

At 21, she initially completed the cosmetology program at Warren in 2022, finishing at the top of her class on the state examinations, and worked as a hairdresser and held down two other jobs while she attended college. She also tutored other students in anatomy and physiology and graduated from the nursing program this year.

Maciag has a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from William Paterson University and master’s in health and wellness from Independence University, along with nurse practitioner credentials from the University of Pennsylvania.

A resident of Hackettstown for the 37 years, she is employed by Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central and Southern New Jersey as a nurse practitioner. She is involved in several local organizations and has been a member of the Hackettstown Board of Education, the Hackettstown Board of Health, and the Hackettstown Foundation for Educational Excellence board. She is both a Warren County and Hackettstown Democratic Committee member, and a Warren County State Democratic Party committee person.

With a master’s in business from both the University of Economics Bratislava in Slovakia and Centenary University in Hackettstown, Maier has played a key role with the WCCC Foundation as a director.  She also serves as a member of the President’s Advisory Council at Centenary University and the Hope Area Chamber of Commerce. She is involved in managing the Land of Make Believe, an amusement park located in Hope, N.J.

She says providing Warren County resident with “high quality and affordable education alternatives” is her priority. She has served on the board since 2017.

Schmidt received his bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College and a Master of Divinity from Princeton University and participated in a fellowship at Columbia University. After a career as an educator, he retired from Gill St. Bernard’s School in Gladstone, where he had been high school principal and director of studies. He also has served on the board of directors at three other educational institutions and is an active volunteer with the BRIDGES program, which serves the homeless.

He has been a board member at Warren since 2007, believing that “community colleges are essential portals for people of all ages into vocational and career opportunities in many different fields”.

Melvin Warren graduated from WCCC and received his bachelor’s with an emphasis on criminal justice from Thomas Edison State University and has held a number of positions in law enforcement, including in corrections and the courts and as a detective and police academy instructor.

He also served on a narcotics task force and team leader in various raids and protection activity and was involved in intercepting illegal narcotics trafficking with the U.S. Customs Service.

He and his late wife, Tiffani, who served as Dean and EOF Director for Warren County Community College, have been actively involved in the school for years. Warren was formerly the coordinator of public safety and student activities at the college and serves as secretary of the Warren County Community College Foundation. His two children are Warren graduates.