By: Community Magazine | March 7, 2023 | | Colts Neck , Fair Haven , Holmdel , Lincroft , Little Silver , Locust , Red Bank , Rumson , Sea Bright
STORY BY: Brian O’Malley | FEATURED PHOTO CREDIT: Joe Brown, Community Magazine
“Central Jersey does exist,” New Jersey’s First Lady emphatically stated. “I know because it’s where I live.”
“The nice thing about living in Central Jersey is that it means I can stay out of the fray when it comes to the North Jersey/South Jersey divide debate,” she joked.
Tammy Murphy and her husband moved to Monmouth County twenty-five years ago and settled in Middletown Township. Their careers had brought them to Hong Kong for a time, and when they were relocated to New York City for work, the Murphys began looking for places to live in the region that would meet their needs and enable them to commute to the city.
“Long-standing friends of ours from Monmouth County invited us for lunch in the Twin Rivers area and we absolutely loved it. We were immediately sold on making our home here,” Murphy recounted, “it was an easy decision to make.” Having grown up on the water in her native Virginia, Murphy was drawn to Monmouth County’s proximity to the Navesink River and access to wonderful beaches. In the years since, the Murphys have raised four children here and have come to appreciate the county’s phenomenal schools, restaurants, and public parks.
Murphy also appreciates that Monmouth County’s centralized location allows for easy travel to all that New Jersey has to offer its residents: the mountains in the North, the beautiful farms in the South and West, the Jersey Shore, the major urban centers of Philadelphia and New York, and so much more.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF: State of New Jersey – Office of the Governor
Women in Business
In 2018, Tammy Murphy’s life changed dramatically when her husband Phil Murphy was sworn-in as Governor of New Jersey. As First Lady of a state with over nine million residents, Murphy manages an office with many priorities. One of the key initiatives for her team is increasing the number of women-owned businesses in the state. An important avenue for achieving this goal was bringing Golden Seeds, a nationwide women’s entrepreneurship initiative, to the state.
Murphy launched the New Jersey chapter of Golden Seeds in partnership with the NJ Economic Development Authority. This angel investor network provides necessary funding to help female entrepreneurs get their start in the New Jersey business community.
The First Lady is quick to lay out why the Golden Seeds initiative is crucial to the state’s economy. “It has been proven that when women are in the C-suite and the rooms where decisions are being made, employees are happier and return on investment is higher.” She continues, “women-owned businesses have historically received less of the start-up investment dollars than their male-owned counterparts… venture capital opportunities like Golden Seeds help to level the playing field.”
The New Jersey chapter of Golden Seeds opened in February of 2020. Since that date it has become the most successful of the eight chapters across the nation, with 31 mentor-members and 157 entrepreneurs. Golden Seeds seeks out female entrepreneurs with a solid business plan and provides the investor backing to get them off the ground. But, according to the First Lady, the “secret sauce” of the initiative is its mentorship program. Entrepreneur candidates have access to monthly office hours and are guided by a seasoned business professional. These relationships not only provide advice and guidance but also open the doors to a diverse network of colleagues across the state who will help the potential start-up to thrive.
“No one stands in the way of a Jersey girl!” the First Lady posted on her official Twitter account to mark the start of Women’s History Month. Murphy’s hard work and that of her staff ensure that this will be increasingly true for New Jersey businesswomen in the months and years ahead.
Coinciding with the launch of Golden Seeds, Murphy embarked on a state-wide listening tour, meeting with successful businesswomen throughout New Jersey to get a sense of the economic landscape. The First Lady and her team visited a variety of businesses, from pharmacies, to chocolate makers, to pressed juice stores, to caterers, with Murphy noting that there is a diversity of female-oriented industries in the state. The two goals of the listening tour were first, to inform the First Lady’s Office about the needs of the female business community, and second, to help promote the Golden Seeds initiative and get the word out that there are opportunities for current business owners to engage and invest in female start-ups.
Some of the feedback that business owners shared with the First Lady included that employees of women-owned businesses are happier and better cared for, that female business owners take into consideration the impact of their decisions on humanity as a whole, and that female business owners prioritize giving back to their communities.
Murphy affirmed this sentiment, suggesting that “women, perhaps because we have children, because we’re the moms of the family, often take great concern about where we are heading down the road.” She summarized the outcomes of the listening tour, saying, “women want to make sure that we are giving back as much as we can, and that we are laying a foundation for those who come after us.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Joe Brown, Community Magazine
Hollywood Comes East
Big news for Monmouth County came in December 2022 with the announcement that Netflix will purchase the former Fort Monmouth site in Eatontown to build their East Coast film studios. The $55 billion deal promises to be an economic boost for Monmouth County and was facilitated in large part by the Governor and First Lady.
Prior to the beginning of the Murphy administration, the state’s investment in the film and television industry had languished. Recognizing that an important component of her husband’s role is what she refers to as Chief Salesperson of the State, the First Lady joined the Governor in making two official visits to Los Angeles to meet with industry executives and sell New Jersey as a place they should set up shop. The Murphys met with studio officials and talent agencies not only to learn about what was important to them, but also to inform them about the breadth and depth of what New Jersey has to offer. In particular, the First Lady focused on the variety of landscapes and potential filming locations across the state that could be easily traversed by film crews and actors. Within an hour’s drive, one could film at a beach, the mountains, a picturesque farm, or a sprawling urban center. For Murphy, it was a fun and rewarding pitch to be able to make.
The First Lady was proud to report that since the start of this process over 175 films and TV shows have been shot in New Jersey. Clearly, this will be a major industry for the state going forward.
Here in Monmouth County, the transformation of the vacant Fort Monmouth army base into a film studio for Netflix is something that Monmouth residents can get excited about. The Fort Monmouth Economic Redevelopment Agency (FMERA) was tasked with investigating possible uses for the former military post. The First Lady is thrilled that of the four bids that FMERA scored, Netflix was chosen as the buyer.
The deal, which will bring a bit of Hollywood to Monmouth County, is anticipated to create about 3,500 well-paying union construction jobs to the area while the project is being completed. Ultimately, Netflix expects that the studio site will establish 1,500 permanent jobs on location. The First Lady stresses that this will benefit local residents, saying, “we will need to train people in specific skill sets which will mean a diversity of job opportunities down the road for people who live in and around Monmouth County.”
The economic growth will not be limited to the Netflix site itself, Murphy notes, saying “the ancillary benefits that will come to small businesses, hotels, restaurants in the surrounding area will be countless – this is a great opportunity for Monmouth County.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF: State of New Jersey – Office of the Governor
Green Business: The Future of New Jersey
Another important priority for the First Lady’s Office has been incorporating climate change education across all K-12 learning standards, making New Jersey the first state in the nation to achieve this necessary milestone. “There is no doubt that we need to understand the environment better than we currently do,” Murphy says, noting the recent unbelievable swings in weather, “we are seeing right now what will happen down the road.”
The First Lady points out that there is also an economic side to teaching our K-12 students about climate change and the environment, noting “it’s a smart thing to do because the entire world is moving towards a greener economy.”
Murphy believes that preparing our students for the economy of the future is a point on which New Jerseyans can come together, emphasizing “if we don’t train our students to fill these jobs of the future, then we are leaving them behind economically.”
That being said, Murphy is hopeful that the inclusion of this information in the K-12 curriculum will better equip the next generation with the skill sets they need to tackle climate change.
Message to Her Neighbors
The First Lady is proud to be a resident of Monmouth County and says that she loves being a part of the Middletown community. She is excited to be able to bring Netflix to the area because she believes it will be a boon to all of the people living in the county. She is grateful for the support of her neighbors and the local and state elected officials who made this a priority.
The county continues to be a special place for the Murphys, who have opted to live here while carrying out their official duties in Trenton.
“For us,” Murphy beams, “Monmouth County is home.”
For more information about the First Lady’s Office and Tammy Murphy’s key initiatives, please visit www.nj.gov/firstlady.
To learn more about the Golden Seeds program, please visit www.goldenseeds.com.
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