This mural, by Adam Gustavson at NJ Transit's Highland Avenue station in Orange, reflects some of the key themes of the proposed North Jersey National Heritage Area. It shows a diversity of people wearing hats walking down the train station stairs. Orange was a major center for hat making in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, the mural welcomes people to the Valley Arts District. Image courtesy of Adam Gustavson.
(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) invites artists, community leaders, business owners, cultural organizations, and residents to participate in Community Conversation: National Heritage Area in New Jersey on Wednesday, June 3, 2026 from 6:15pm to 7:45pm at the South Orange Performing Arts Center.
Register at https://tinyurl.com/NJNHAJune for in-person or online (Zoom) participation. The event is free and open to the public, with refreshments provided. The South Orange Performing Arts Center is located at 1 SOPAC Way in South Orange, New Jersey.
Four Distinctive Stories Unite North Jersey
The proposed North Jersey National Heritage Area (NJNHA) initiative, highlights the region's heritage across four thematic areas: innovation and industry, suburbia and planned communities, transportation and infrastructure, and immigration and migration. These interconnected narratives position the seven-county region of Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Union, Morris, Passaic, and Sussex counties as a compelling destination for heritage tourism, cultural experiences, and sustainable economic growth.
Participants attending Community Conversation: National Heritage Area in New Jersey will explore the NJNHA initiative's opportunities, identify what makes their community distinctive, and recommend culturally or historically significant places for inclusion in the future Heritage Area.
Federal Designation Delivering Hundreds of Thousands in Grants and Job Support
The NNJCF and the North Jersey National Heritage Area Council, comprised of more than 80 partner organizations, are advancing a collaborative effort to secure Congressional designation of a National Heritage Area across the seven counties. This federal designation, administered by the National Park Service, would provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding with grants and support jobs to artists, historic and cultural organizations and local governments, generate hundreds of millions of dollars in broader economic impact for the region, boost community and economic development in low- and moderate-income areas, create opportunities for cultural entrepreneurship throughout North Jersey, and preserve the region's diversity of cultures, historic sites, and natural environment.
Leonardo Vazquez, Executive Director, Northern New Jersey Community Foundation. Photo Courtesy of Leonardo Vazquez
Expert Facilitators to Lead the Conversation
The conversation will be facilitated by Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP, NNJCF Executive Director, recognized nationally and in New Jersey for his work in urban planning, creative placemaking and social justice. Nationally-known experts in creating and managing national heritage areas will also facilitate the gathering. August Carlino, President and Managing Partner of Acorn Hill Strategies, LLC and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation, recognized as one of the most successful National Heritage Areas in the United States under his leadership, will also lead the discussion. They will be joined by Dr. Nancy Morgan, a heritage development specialist with a background in cultural anthropology from Point Heritage Development Consulting, who has extensive experience in National Heritage Area management and planning, research and interpretation, and community development, including as Executive Director of Cane River National Heritage Area in Louisiana.
(Left to right): August Carlino, President and Managing Partner of Acorn Hill Strategies, LLC and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation, and Dr. Nancy Morgan from Point Heritage Development Consulting. Photo Credit: Acorn Hill Strategies/PointHDC
Powerful Coalition of Community Support
Elected officials, cultural institutions, and community organizations from across the region recognize the transformative potential of this initiative. Government leaders providing support include Former Governor Thomas H. Kean, U.S. Representative Thomas Kean Jr., State Assembly members Clinton Calabrese and Shama Haider, State Senator Britnee Timberlake, and the Union County Board of Commissioners. Cultural supporters encompass the New Jersey Preservation Alliance, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Ramapo College of New Jersey, Hudson County Community College, Orange Historic Commission, West Orange Arts Council, Union Township Historical Society/Caldwell Parsonage, Durand-Hedden House & Garden, Historic Radburn, and the New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance. Community organizations involved in the initiative include Housing and Neighborhood Development Services Inc. and LISC New Jersey. Dozens of additional organizations throughout the region have also joined this coalition, reflecting widespread grassroots recognition of the initiative's transformative potential.
Founded in 1998, The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 organization based in Hackensack, New Jersey, works with local governments, school districts, businesses, non-profit organizations, and citizen groups to improve community life. Through collaborative partnerships, regional problems are identified and resolved. Opportunities are discovered and explored by talking and learning from each other and sharing ideas, best practices, services, and resources. The Foundation works to grow more creative and inspiring places, greener and healthier places, and more places of belonging and opportunity.
