Advocacy

Christopher “Chris” Emigholz is the Chief Government Affairs Officer of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), the largest, most impactful statewide organization representing New Jersey businesses.

Before his promotion to Chief Government Affairs Officer, Emigholz served as NJBIA’s vice president of Government Affairs covering taxation, budget and economic development. Prior to coming to NJBIA, Emigholz worked in state government for 10 years. He was a budget director for the State Senate Republican Office for eight years and directed education policy and legislative affairs in the New Jersey Department of Education prior to that. This is his second stint at NJBIA, having served for years as the association’s workforce development and education lobbyist earlier in his career. He was also a teacher through the Teach For America program in a high school in Atlanta, Georgia, and community liaison/volunteer coordinator for an elementary school in Baltimore City.

Emigholz earned a Master of Public Policy degree from Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University. He currently lives in Robbinsville, New Jersey with his wife and three children. Emigholz is active in the community, having served on the school board, the economic development advisory council and currently volunteering as a youth sports coach.

Ray Cantor is Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA),the largest, most impactful statewide organization representing New Jersey businesses.

Cantor, an attorney whose career has included high-level positions in the legislative and executive branches of government, a former assistant commissioner and, later, chief adviser to the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), leads NJBIA’s advocacy efforts on environmental and energy matters affecting the business community.

At DEP, Cantor oversaw the offices of Legal Affairs, Dispute Resolution, and Economic Analysis in addition to advising the DEP commissioner on policy, legal, management, and economic matters. Cantor was also responsible for policy formulation related to all DEP regulations, including site remediation, NRD, air quality, water regulation, and land-use management.

A graduate of New York Law School, Cantor began his career working at the state’s Office of Legislative Services as senior counsel in the Environment, Energy, & Natural Resources section. He later served as the Assistant Commissioner of Land Use Management & Compliance at DEP until 2002 and also worked as a project consultant for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Cantor’s experience as a business lobbyist includes five years as director of Government Affairs for the Medical Society of New Jersey and then executive director of the New Jersey Apartment Association. He returned to the state DEP in 2010, where he served as chief advisor to DEP Commissioner Bob Martin for eight years.

Ford, who previously served as director of government relations for the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association (NJSFDA), brings valuable experience as a skilled researcher, legislative policy analyst and public speaker to her new role at NJBIA.

“Althea is well-respected by the business community, and the balanced, experienced and thoughtful approach she brings to advocating for New Jersey businesses will be a great asset as we expand the NJBIA Government Affairs team,” Siekerka said.

The NJBIA Government Affairs team also includes Chief Government Affairs Officer Christopher Emigholz, Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor, and Vice President of Government Affairs Elissa Frank

A New Jersey native and Edison resident, Ford began working for the not-for-profit trade organization NJSFDA in 2012 as a government and external relations representative before her promotion to director of government relations in 2018.

Prior to joining NJSFDA, Ford worked in higher education administration at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York City.

Before moving back to New Jersey, Ford was an executive assistant to Tennessee State Senate Speaker Pro Tem Rosalind Kurita, managing two legislative and district offices.

Ford is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned her master’s degree in politics and education from the Teachers College at Columbia University in 2010. She completed the New Leaders Council–New Jersey (NLC-NJ) Fellowship Program in 2012 and served on its executive board.