Thomas S. Russo, Jr.

A Chief executive officer with 20 years experience in bringing visionary leadership to the government and not-for-profit sectors, Thomas Russo, Jr. is truly an expert in all aspects of municipal requirements, hazards and solutions. Thomas currently serves as the Town Manager in Newton, NJ.

Thomas S. Russo, Jr. provides the following services:

img-67664

Leadership Training & Development

Executive Coaching & Consulting

Public Information Officer Training

Public Relations Training & Consulting Services

img-6259367XSmall

Business Manager/Administrator Recruitment

Town Manager Recruitment

Public Information Officer Recruitment

Strategic Planning

Fundraising Planning & Consulting

Project Planning & Oversight Consulting

Economic Revitalization & Redevelopment Consulting

Professional Biography

Mr. Russo is a proud founding consultant with The Valori Group. He currently serves as Town Manager in Newton, NJ, the County Seat of Sussex County, with almost ten years of dedicated service. Mr. Russo brings over 20 years of experience in municipal and county government, as well as the not-for-profit sector. His experience includes budgeting, purchasing, human resources, public relations, project oversight, contract negotiations, government relations, economic revitalization & redevelopment, and community relations. Mr. Russo is a proven visionary and strategic thinker with highly effective communications and organizational skills. He is a competent and confident leader who looks forward to sharing his experience and knowledge with clients of The Valori Group.

Mr. Russo previously served as an elected official in two separate NJ municipalities. He was a Township Committeeman in Bernards Township, Somerset County, NJ from 2014 – 2017. He served as a Councilman, Council Vice President and Council President in Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, Morris County, NJ from 1998 – 2005, earning the designation as the youngest-ever elected governing body member in the history of the Township. Mr. Russo also dedicated time to numerous political campaigns from 1992 – 2014, attending the inaugurations of President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, and the Republican National Conventions in Houston, Texas (1992) and New York, New York (2004). He was selected as part of the inaugural class of young elected leaders at the 1 st National Young Elected Leaders

Conference, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He was also chosen by the NJ Herald in 2009 as one of 40 influential people in Sussex County under the age of 40.

Other relevant career experience includes his service as a Development Fundraising Associate at Far Brook School in Short Hills, NJ (2 years); Director of Public Affairs and Information at the Morris County Sheriff’s Office in Morristown, NJ (4 years); Manager of Development at Chilton Medical Center, Pompton Plains, NJ (2 years); and Assistant Township Manager in Randolph, NJ (3 years).

Mr. Russo is a member of the New Jersey Municipal Management Association and is Chairman of The Statewide Insurance Fund, a committed group of almost 90 NJ municipalities which pool resources to manage insurance claims and coverage. He is a member of the Town of Newton Land Use Board and an Executive Board Member of North Jersey Municipal Employee Benefits Fund. He is a Community Advisory Board member of Newton Medical Center, Atlantic Health, and Bristol Glen Independent and Assisted Living Methodist Community in Newton, NJ.

He is a former board member or volunteer with the Bernards Township Library Board of Trustees, Bernards Township Zoning Board of Adjustment, Jersey Battered Women’s Service, The Urban League of Morris County, Parsippany Library Board of Trustees, Parsippany Zoning Board of Adjustment, Morris County Planning Board, Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, Morris County Sheriff’s CrimeStoppers, Sussex County Sheriff’s CrimeStoppers, Family Partners of Morris/Sussex Counties (former Board President), Muscular Dystrophy Association, Salvation Army, and Sussex County Economic Development Partnership.

Mr. Russo has a Certified Public Manager degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University/State of NJ, a Master of Public Administration degree from Seton Hall University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Political Science from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (Rutgers College).

In the summer/fall of 2018, Mr. Russo will commence adjunct teaching at Pillar College in Newark, NJ and Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ, teaching an introduction to business course and nonprofit management course, respectively.

He currently attends Grace Fellowship Chapel with his family in Bedminster, NJ and serves as a volunteer with Pause Mens Ministries in Basking Ridge, NJ, an organization committed to the recovery and restoration of men through biblical teachings and principles.

He currently resides in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, Somerset County, NJ with his wife Patricia, a pre-k teacher at The Children’s Corner (TCC) – Liberty Corner Presbyterian Church, Liberty Corner, NJ. They have two daughters, Ashley, a freshman at The Pennsylvania State University, and Krista, a senior at Ridge High School.