Stephen Cea
Executive Director
Stephen F. Cea is a New Jersey attorney with over thirty years of HUD related and Public Housing experience as well development experience. He is the point person between national development companies and the JCHA regarding the planning and repositioning of outdated Public Housing, including mixed-finance developments and RAD conversions. Prior to joining the JCHA, Mr. Cea was the Senior Development Manager for the Newark Housing Authority for 3 years and worked as an attorney specialized in real estate and HUD program contracts for 13 years. Mr. Cea attended St. John’s University where he received a bachelor of arts in English and Political Science. He received his law degree from Seton Hall Law School in 1992 and is a member of the bar in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Mr. Cea has lectured on public housing development and planning for the New Jersey Executive Director Classes at Rutgers University.
Ken Pinnock
Director of Procurement, Contracts & Risk Management
Ken Pinnock has over 25 years of extensive experience in both the public and private sectors, specifically, in the fields of procurement, materials management, information technology, and logistics. Mr. Pinnock’s career with the JCHA started in 1993 as the Material’s Coordinator supervising all aspects of repair and maintenance supplies for 12 JCHA developments and 300 maintenance/trade staff. Since 1997, he has lead the Procurement and Contracts division in the acquisition of services and supplies including: supervision, monitoring and training of the purchasing and JCHA staff, all aspects of the procurement process such as development of bid specifications, proposal statements of work, solicitations, and contract execution. He manages the JCHA Procurement Policy updates and keeps it in compliance with federal, HUD, NJ State and local policies, procedures and regulations. Since 2011 Mr. Pinnock has served as the JCHA Risk Administrator where he leads and manages a team of JCHA staff to develop and analyze policies, procedures, and processes to protect, reduce and/or eliminate risk for JCHA staff, residents and facilities. Mr. Pinnock is a NJ State Certified Qualified Purchasing Agent “QPA” with a dual degree (BA) in Business Administration and Organizational Management from Ashford University.
Elizabeth Phillips-Lorenzo
Chief of Staff
With over 20 years of community engagement, Elizabeth Phillips Lorenzo is a well-respected figure in Jersey City and Newark, New Jersey. She began her career at Liberty Science Center as Associate Director of Government and Community Relations, where she excelled in creating impactful partnerships and orchestrated a highly successful job fair that overwhelmed the hiring website with applications. Following her time in Jersey City, she spent over five years in Newark, where she served as Co-Chair for Let’s Move Newark and played a key role in organizing summer activities for the community. At the Newark YMCA, she collaborated with the President & CEO to strengthen ties with both the community and city administration.
Elizabeth then moved to Congressman Donald M. Payne Jr.’s district office, managing his Hudson County office and organizing numerous free health and wellness events. After more than seven years, she returned to Newark as the Director of Advocacy and Engagement for South Ward Promise Neighborhood, continuing her work in fostering community connections. She has now returned to Jersey City as the Chief of Staff for the Jersey City Housing Authority (JCHA), Not new to JCHA as she worked with the residents for over a decade providing food distribution, physical activities for the youth, health screenings and pop-up produce stands Prior to this full-time position she was a JCHA Commissioner for several years.
In addition to her professional roles, Elizabeth has been deeply involved in local issues, serving as Chromium Cleanup Chairperson and founder of Friends of Arlington Park. She has also held positions as a city commissioner on the Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund (Co-chair) and the Environmental Commission (Chair). Her career reflects a steadfast commitment to community development and engagement.
Sandy Santos-Garcia
Director of Development
Sandra Santos-Garcia (also known as Sandy) has worked for the Jersey City Housing Authority since 1996. She is a New Jersey Registered Architect and a member of the AIA. She has dedicated her 25+ year career to working in the public sector, designing, modernizing, overseeing, and developing public housing and mixed finance housing developments. She began working for the JCHA while pursuing her Bachelor of Architecture degree at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and steadily rose through the ranks to her current position of Director of Development, Modernization and Sustainability and Chief Architect. Additionally, Ms. Santos-Garcia worked for a short time at a private architectural/engineering firm primarily focused on affordable housing design, eventually returning to the JCHA to continue her commitment to public service. She is also a certified LEED Green Associate and a fierce advocate for building “green” and sustainable design applying environmentally conscience and resiliency practices whenever possible at the JCHA. She currently serves on the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge Multifamily Steering Committee and previously served on the Jersey City’s Climate Action Plan Steering Committee. She is also a certified Safety Assessment Program (SAP) Evaluator from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Management used to assist local governments in safety evaluation of their built environment in an aftermath of a natural disaster.
During her tenure with the JCHA, Ms. Santos-Garcia mentored numerous NJIT student interns, hoping to inspire them to venture into the public sector like herself.
Doreen M. Tucker
Director of Human Resources
An accomplished, self-motivated, and results-oriented senior HR professional with over 25 years of progressive experience in the field of Human Resources. Designed and implemented HR departments, HR Shared Services, talent acquisition initiatives, and many process improvement programs. Deep understanding of Human Resources, combined with a background in finance, providing keen judgment, strong interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills, and the ability to conceptualize and implement services with a bottom-line focus and impact on service delivery. A strategic, value-add, and passionate HR strategist with 25+ years of progressive experience designing, building, and running best-practice HR teams in a variety of industries, including public agencies. Unique skills include strong ethics, resilience, aligning business and HR strategies, forging relationships with C-suite, vendors, and employees. Strong succession planning expertise, self-direction, incredible attention to detail, and policy/compliance oversight. A trusted advisor and strong communicator/collaborator.
Luz Santana
Director of Compliance
Luz Santana has worked for the Jersey City Housing Authority since 1992. She is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring systematic internal and auditing systems to ensure compliance with HUD, local and federal regulations. She works with departments across the organization to develop, implement and monitor compliance functions. This includes applicant selection, real estate/asset management, maintenance operations, low income public and assisted housing family and senior residential programs. She also monitors and oversees the Public Housing Units in the Mixed Finance Sites and the Applicant Selection Department, and monitors the Public Housing and HCVP Arrest Reports. Ms. Santana earned an associate’s degree in business management from Hudson County Community College and a bachelor of science degree with a business management concentration from New Jersey City University. She has NAHRO certifications in Property Management and Property Based Budgeting for Property Managers, is QUADEL certified in LIHTC Compliance and Mixed Finance as well as in Public Housing Occupancy, Hearing Officer Specialist, and she holds specialist certificates in Essential Risk Management Techniques in Public Housing, Maintenance Management, Understanding UPCS Protocol Inspector, and PBM Essentials for Property Manager. Ms. Santana received a Mayor’s Women of Action citation award from the City of Jersey City in 2005.
Patricia Ramirez
Director of Housing Choice Voucher Program
Patricia Ramirez has over 25 years’ experience in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), budgeting, grant applications and Section 8 housing choice voucher program management. Patricia was appointed HCVP Director in 2008 after serving as the JCHA’s Assistant HCVP Director for one year. Ms. Ramirez leads a staff of 20, implementing programs with annual appropriations of more than $30 million. As Director of HCVP, Ms. Ramirez has secured 300 vouchers for non-elderly families, 600 Rental Assistance Demonstration vouchers, 70 Veterans Administration Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers, and 38 vouchers for homeless individuals in the County and most recently 50 811 Mainstream Vouchers. Ms. Ramirez has a Business Administration Degree and has received Certifications for completing HCVP Executive Management Course, HCVP Quality Standards Specialist, Rent Calculations Specialist, HCVP Accounting and Budgeting Course and a Certificate for UPCS-V Training.
Patricia has strong leadership and organizational management style which has contributed to being able to maintain a “High Performer” score for the HCVP for the past 9 years. , in 2000, Mayor Schundler recognized her with a Certificate of Appreciation for her outstanding contributions and lifelong commitment to improve quality of life in our community.
Nehru Nadella
Director of Information Technology
Nehru Nadella has over 18 years of housing experience, serving as the Director of Information Technology at JCHA for the past 3 years. In this role, Mr. Nadella is responsible for planning, organizing, and execution of all IT, telecommunications, video surveillance, and related functions at the Jersey City Housing Authority. Under his leadership, the IT department supports the JCHA’s mission by implementing cutting edge technology and ensuring a reliable, secure, and stable IT environment. Mr. Nadella has successfully overseen the migration to VOIP, implementation of disaster recovery, and the ongoing expansion of a video surveillance system throughout JCHA’s properties. He is also responsible for improving and enhancing features to JCHA’s housing software. Prior to joining the team at JCHA, Mr. Nehru served as Senior Network Administrator for largest Housing Authority in New Jersey and 10th largest public housing authority in the country.
Mr. Nadella holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and holds various Information Technology related certifications.
Antoin Evans
Director of Asset Management & Skill Trades
Antoin Evans serves as the Regional Asset Manager at the Jersey City Housing Authority since 2016 and has accumulated over two decades of experience in public housing asset management. In his role as Regional Asset Manager of JCHA, Mr. Evans is responsible for the ongoing oversight of the JCHA’s public housing properties and daily operations, providing overall portfolio analysis and risk mitigation to the Executive Director, and supervising a staff of over 90 employees located on site and centrally. Before joining the JCHA, Mr. Evans worked as an Asset Manager with the largest housing authority in New Jersey and the 10th largest public housing authority in the country. Mr. Evans has extensive experience with the organization, development, and implementation of comprehensive resident relocation plans, participating in the successful depopulation and relocation of three properties totaling over 650 families. In 2010, Mr. Evans participated in the first Stop-Loss conversion to Asset Management in the nation. Mr. Evans is a veteran of the United States Navy and hold various certifications including: Registered Housing Manager, Certified Occupancy Specialist, Certified Occupancy Specialist of Public Housing, Certified Manager of Housing, Certified Manager of Senior Housing, Certified Manager of Maintenance, Management Occupancy and Review Specialist, and Certified Site-Based Budgeting Specialist.