Celebrating the Rising Stars of the New Jersey Banking Industry
Last week, NJBankers recognized 23 Rising Stars of the NJ banking industry during our annual Awards Dinner at The Stone House at Stirling Ridge. The awards recognize individuals who go above and beyond to support their company and their communities, and were open to both NJBankers Bank Members and Associate Members.
The 2025 Award winners are:
Ryan Baumann, Peapack Private Bank & Trust
Jose Manuel Borbon, Northfield Bank
Jason Cappa,Peapack Private Bank & Trust
Nicole Carr,Unity Bank
Justin Chan, Valley Bank
Nicole Economy, Peapack Private Bank & Trust
Leah Edwards Hosmer, Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA)
Colin Fletcher, Magyar Bank
Elena Golubtsov, Valley Bank
Nicole Gonzalo, Columbia Bank
Amy Lane, Provident Bank
Mike Mangione, Kearny Bank
Shellyse Marte, ConnectOne Bank
Megan Murphy, Manasquan Bank
Quin Ojageer, First Bank
Giselle Olmo, First Commerce Bank
Edwin Peraza, PNC Bank
Andy Russell, Blue Foundry Bank
Romy Sanger, Cross River
Kyle Slickers, First Bank
Erick Vazquez, First Commerce Bank
Izabela K. Wdowiak, Kearny Bank
Tracy Woodfield, Manasquan Bank
Congratulations to all of the honorees! Photos from the event, can be viewed online here.
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Julie Olters of Manasquan Bank Receives 2025 Callas Award
NJBankers, in conjunction with the George Dean Callas Family, is thrilled to announce that Julie Olters, Marketing & Communications Coordinator at Manasquan Bank, is the recipient of the 6th Annual Constantine G. Callas Progressive Educational & Work Ethic Memorial Scholarship.
The scholarship is sponsored by George Callas – a retired NJBankers Associate Member - in memory of his beloved father who was known for his entrepreneurial spirit and belief in making a better life through education.
Since joining Manasquan Bank in 2019, Olters has built her career within the Human Resources team and is transitioning into the role of Marketing & Communications Coordinator. She earned her B.A. from Rowan University and is on track to complete her M.A. in Organizational Leadership at Rider University in December 2025. Olters is also a 2023 NJBankers Rising Star Award recipient and holds the Certified Professional designation from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
Congratulations, Julie!
NJBankers Completes One Million Meals Campaign with the Support of our Members
NJBankers is pleased to announce the completion of its One Million Meals Campaign – a multi-year initiative to support New Jersey residents facing food insecurity – before the holiday season.
The New Jersey Bankers Charitable Foundation recently made a $20,000 donation to the campaign, exceeding the campaign’s goal of raising $334,000 for the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ) and its affiliates across the state.
Thank you to everyone who helped us reach our goal of raising 1 million meals to fight food insecurity in New Jersey - plus donated over 11,200 volunteer hours to the FoodBank and its affiliates. We couldn't have done it without our Banks and Associate Members, who made this all possible.
Elizabeth McCarthy, President & CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, said: "For over three years, the New Jersey Bankers Association has made a difference for our neighbors in need through their One Million Meals campaign. Never have these efforts been more important than they are now in the wake of a historic government shutdown. From the funds they've raised to provide a million nutritious meals to their regular volunteer visits to our warehouse, we're grateful for their continued support."
NJBankers Seen on Social
November 7, 2025:It was a packed house yesterday at our BSA Conference, which provided bankers with guidance on protecting their banks from evolving threats.
The event was hosted by Justina Rousseau of K2 Integrity and began with Sheri Levine-Shea of the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking addressing attendees on how they can help prevent human trafficking and an upcoming event they are hosting in partnership with NJBankers in February.
Raji Sathappan of Mercadienled a panel of regulators from the OCC and Philadelphia Fed, who spoke about different BSA hot topics. Dominic Hulick of Mercadien spoke about FinCEN’s proposed AML Program Rule and its alignment with National AML/CFT Priorities.
Sriram Tirunellayi of Abrigo explored the evolving role of predictive and generative AI in financial crimes, and Jennifer Friesz of Forvis Mazarsspoke about Suspicious Activity Reports and ways to identify and report potentially suspicious transactions. The day was closed out by Ryne Cornacchia of Wolf & Company, P.C., who addressed best practices for governance, validation and AI models.
Thank you to our event sponsors - K2Integrity, Mercadien and Refine Intelligence - who make events such as this possible. And thank you to all of our speakers and attendees who helped make the event a success!
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NJBankers, Banking Industry Featured in NJ Business Magazine
NJBankers and a number of our member banks were featured in New Jersey Business Magazine's Special Section on banking this month. This section showcases the strength of our industry, with articles focused on AI, fraud prevention, and giving back.
Endorsed Provider Happenings An Endorsed Service Provider has an exclusive relationship with NJBankers for their products and services.
Read the Compliance Hub Question of the Week:
"We have a customer who withdrew $15,000 from their account at a branch, but then another $500 from that same account via an out-of-network (foreign) ATM on the same business day. How should we file the CTR – and should we include the ATM transaction?" here.
From S&P Global Market Intelligence, access the report "See the Big Picture for Banks & Private Markets in 2026: Private credit shaking up the banking landscape” here.
Read the Abrigo blog "AI use cases in banking: A roadmap to smarter decisions & stronger outcomes" here.
Global Payments now offers Genius, a POS system that makes it easier to run your business. Learn how you can set your merchant services apart and deepen your business relationships here.
Read the Bank Marketing Center article "Is there anything AI can’t do for community banks? Let's ask AI" here.
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New Jersey Bankers Association, 411 North Avenue East, Cranford, NJ 07016, (908) 272-8500
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