The Honorable Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill
Date: January 16, 2026
Dear Governor-elect Sherrill,
As you prepare to take office, New Jersey is at a pivotal moment with a rapidly-aging population and a growing need to modernize the systems that support all of us as we grow older. During your first term, New Jerseyans aged 60 and older will outnumber those aged 19 and younger. It’s the first time in our state’s history for that population shift and means that by 2034, older adults will comprise 25% of New Jersey’s population.
These shifts are not abstract demographic trends. They affect every family, every community, and every sector of our state. Rising costs, gaps in care, limited housing options, and fractured transportation networks are already creating challenges for older residents. Without coordinated, statewide goals and priorities, these challenges will continue to intensify, threatening the ability of New Jerseyans to remain lifelong residents of the state they call home.
Now is the time for New Jersey to act and adopt a Multisector Plan for Aging (MPA).
Across the country, states are adopting MPAs. These state-led, cross-sector, multi-year blueprints are designed with input from public agencies, private partners, community leaders, and residents. Twelve states have already implemented MPAs, and more than 20 others are developing theirs.
New Jersey has already laid the groundwork. Under the Murphy administration, the New Jersey Age-Friendly Blueprint and Age-Friendly Grant Program have helped build local awareness and planning in municipalities and counties across the state. In addition, the New Jersey Division of Aging Services is participating in a learning collaborative with the Center for Health Care Strategies to receive technical assistance on building a multisector plan. The next step is clear: a comprehensive, statewide plan driven by the Governor’s office.
We respectfully call on your administration to establish New Jersey’s MPA through an executive order within your first 100 days in office. Such an order would:
● Direct the development of a statewide MPA that builds upon existing age-friendly initiatives
● Create a cabinet-level position focused on aging to ensure a whole-of-government approach
● Establish an advisory council to guide the work and ensure cross-sector participation
● Set a clear timeline of 18-24 months for developing the plan
This structure mirrors successful approaches in other states and ensures that New Jersey’s efforts reflect both policy expertise and community experience.
It’s important to note that an MPA is not just a plan for “older people.” An MPA is a plan for all people – caregivers, working families, and future generations who will benefit from stronger, more coordinated systems. We are all aging, and the policies we design today will shape the New Jersey we live in tomorrow.
We, the undersigned, stand ready to support this work to make New Jersey a state where ALL residents can build their lives, raise their families, and grow older with dignity, stability, and opportunity.
Thank you.
Organizational Signatories
AARP New Jersey
Age-Friendly Leonia
Age-Friendly Teaneck
Bergen New Bridge Medical Center
Caresparc Community Connections
City Green, Inc.
Clinton Hill Community Action
Coalition for Food and Health Equity
Concern Citizens
Fair Lawn for All Ages
Fair Share Housing Development
Fair Share Support Services, Inc.
Grotta Fund for Older Adults
HealthHive, PBC
The Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation
Interfaith Health & Support Services of Southern Ocean County, Inc.
Jewish Community Housing Corporation of Metropolitan NJ
Justice in Aging
LeadingAge NJ & DE
Mental Health Association of New Jersey
NJ 211
NJ Advocates for Aging Well
New Jersey Advancement & Advocacy for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (NJAAIDD)
New Jersey Future
NJISA (New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging)/Rowan Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine
Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity
Parker Health Group
Samaritan
Senior Services, Lifelong Montclair
Seniors in Action
Supportive Housing Association of NJ
United Community Corporation
Individual Signatories (professional affiliation for identification purposes only)
Beth Abbott, Co-Chair, Age Friendly Ridgewood
Carl Archer, Certified Elder Law Attorney
Nancy Becker
Vipin Bhardwaj
Daniel Bonilla
Jeff Braemer
Mary Buckley, Physical Therapist
David Burdick, Ph.D., FGSA, FAGHE Emeritus Professor & Retired Founding Director,
Stockton University Center on Successful Aging
Metta Cahill
Renie Carniol
Lisa Cheng
Jarrett Cloud
Judy Collett-Miller, Director of Business Development, Parker Health Group
Elaine Cooper
Dina Crosta
Maureen Crowley
Kathleen Cullinen, PhD, RDN
Nadine Cyriaque
Julie Dalton
Raymond DeLuca
Caralee Dill, MHA, LNHA
Regina Discenza Member, Ocean County Senior Advisory Committee
Eileen Doremus, Certified Social Worker
Rebecca Durren
Gwyneth Eliasson, JD, MPH – Assistant Professor, Rutgers School of Public Health
Susan Fleisher
Karen Flicker, MS, LAC
Robert Frank, Senior Citizen Advocate
Anita Franzione, Professor, Rutgers University
Agnes Freeman
Ann Gallagher
Patti Goldfarb, MS
Emily Greenfield, PhD, Professor of Social Work, Rutgers School of Social Work, Hub for
Aging Collaboration
Maxine Hall
Catherine Hart
Julie Hench
Linda Holt, Past President, Princeton Research Forum and Graduate Mentor, Thomas Edison
State University
Valerie Jacklin
Nila Jones
Alexander Jost
Rochelle Kaplan, PhD
Randi Kleiman Brokman, Director of Community Outreach and Client Care, Homewatch
Emily Kotarski, MSW, Social Service Coordinator, Fair Share Support Services
Megan Kovaltchouk, Chief of Staff, Parker Health Group
Maria La Face, Director of the Ocean County AAA
Penelope Lattimer
Tuana Lee
Mary Beth Lewis
Patricia Lewis
Amy Lifson
Kim Lucas, Steering committee member of Clinton Hill Seniors in Action
Don Manno, Attorney at Law
Sarah Manship, MSW
Zachary Mayer
Judith McCoyd, Associate Director of Doctoral Programs, Rutgers School of Social Work
Anthony Milosek
Carla Modica
Jimmie Modica
Cheryle Murphy
Kala Paul
Amy Raimondi, Executive Director, Interfaith Health & Support Services of Southern Ocean
County
Jean Rebele, Chief Talent Officer, Parker Health Group
Lisa Reidinger, Certified Social Worker
Sabrina Rodriguez
Karen C. Rose, Ph.D.
Brenda Rosembert
Cathy Rowe, DrPH, Executive Director, NJAAW
Christopher Rowe
Robert Rowe
Barbara Sayres
Ginger Schnorbus
Ragini Shah
Bertha Shaw
Amy Shearer
Jane Silverman
Maria Sinopoli
Nicole Smith
Angela Smith, Waldwick Councilwoman
Erika Thomas, MPA, Director of Social Connections, Samaritan
Gail Tims
Mary Jo Vetter
Christine Vogel
Jean Wambold
Tanya Watson
Stacey Wilbur, COO, JCHC
Constance Woodson
Susian Wormley