Kessler PR Group CEO Karen Kessler, whose 30-year career includes counseling high-profile clients around the world and mentoring professional women here at home to advance their careers, will be honored with the prestigious Caren Franzini Award at the 10th Annual New Jersey Women Business Leaders Forum, powered by NJBIA, in Atlantic City, Sept. 25-26.
NJBIA will also honor two inspiring women whose careers in the nonprofit sector have made a profound impact in New Jersey. Mary Gay Abbott-Young, who led the Rescue Mission of Trenton for more than 35 years until her retirement in June, will receive the Legacy in Leadership Award for her life’s work feeding the hungry, housing the homeless and helping the disenfranchised access the programs and services that can help them rebuild their lives.
Kiran Handa Gaudioso, CEO of United Way of Northern New Jersey & president, United for ALICE, will receive the inaugural Women for Change Achievement Award for her mission-driven work to improve the lives of impoverished families. Gaudioso is a dedicated advocate for New Jersey’s 1.2 million ALICE households (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), serving as their voice in Trenton to advance meaningful policy changes.
The NJBIA Women Business Leaders Forum is the largest professional conference for women in New Jersey, bringing together thousands of corporate and nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, students, and women just embarking on their professional path to learn, be inspired and become empowered. The networking, TED-style talks, and breakout sessions led by experts are designed to help women forge successful careers, build businesses, and increase diversity in corporate leadership and boardrooms.
Karen Kessler – The Caren Franzini Award
The annual Caren Franzini Award honors the legacy of the former longtime chief executive of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, who died in 2017. Franzini worked with seven governors from 1994 to 2012 to promote entrepreneurial development and economic growth, particularly in New Jersey’s largest cities. After her tenure at the NJEDA, Franzini served on NJBIA’s Board of Trustees until her death at age 57.
“The Caren Franzini Award is an honor bestowed on individuals who by their quiet and behind the scenes ‘get things done’ way, inspire and empower others to achieve professional excellence,” said NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka.
“Karen Kessler truly embodies the spirit of this award. She has built a hugely successful public relations business that is globally renowned for reputational management and crisis communications, she serves on numerous boards of directors, and she is a rock star when it comes to mentoring others wherever they are on the career path,” Siekerka said.
As the founding president and CEO of the Monmouth County-based Kessler PR Group, Kessler counsels clients and attorneys on sensitive issues including regulatory inquiries, personnel matters, business practices, and criminal and civil litigation. She represents high-profile celebrities and entities in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.
Kessler is a member of the New Jersey Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct and in 2023 was appointed as Commissioner of the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission. She has served for 10 years as a director of Northfield Bank where she chairs the compliance and information technology committee. She also has served on the boards of public companies and leading nonprofits in finance, healthcare, and education.
Kessler is a sought-after speaker at conferences and events, including the New Jersey Women Business Leaders Forum, as well as the New Jersey Bar Association and the Institute for Continuing Legal Education. She has served as board chair of Atlantic Health and Rutgers University Business School Institute for Ethical Leadership and as a visiting Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
Mary Gay Abbott-Young – Legacy in Leadership Award
The Legacy in Leadership Award recognizes an individual whose long-tenured career is distinguished by public service, business achievements, and mentorship of young women. NJBIA’s 2024 recipient of this award, Mary Gay Abbott-Young, has been the voice of the marginalized and homeless for nearly 50 years who strategically guided the nonprofit Rescue Mission of Trenton through its most challenging times.
Abbott-Young first came to the Rescue Mission in 1978 as a program coordinator, bringing a unique blend of compassion, persistence and toughness needed to help people in a downward spiral reclaim and rebuild their lives. She was named CEO in 1986 and led the organization for 35 years before stepping back to the role of president when her son, Barrett Young, took over as CEO in 2021. She retired from the Rescue Mission in June after nearly five decades of service.
“As the first woman to lead this 109-year-old nonprofit, she built a team of hard-working like-minded colleagues who shared her passion for feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and providing opportunities for those who are seeking recovery,” Siekerka said. “She has been the heart and soul of Rescue Mission and leaves a lasting legacy. Our communities and the Rescue Mission client population have been lifted by leaps and bounds because of her dedication and commitment.”
Kiran Handa Gaudioso – Women for Change Achievement Award
The inaugural Women for Change Achievement Award, which honors exceptional leadership and advocacy in advancing important causes to promote positive change, will be given to Kiran Handa Gaudioso, who in just four years as head of the United Way of Northern New Jersey and its research arm, United for ALICE, is already making a big impact.
“Kiran grew up in an ALICE family, giving her a deep understanding of the impossible choices working ALICE families face daily because their earnings are barely above the federal poverty level,” Siekerka said. “Under Kiran’s leadership, this United Way has deployed the ALICE insights to incubate replicable solutions that are unlocking opportunities for ALICE workers to achieve financial stability in New Jersey and across the country.”
In her CEO role, Gaudioso also serves on the United Ways of New Jersey Executive Board. Additionally, her commitment to equity extends to volunteer efforts as a trustee for several like-minded organizations. These include Edwin Gould Foundation, an accelerator that supports nonprofits’ work to improve educational equity, and Rising Tide Capital, a Jersey City-based nonprofit that works to transform communities through entrepreneurship.
In 2024, Gaudioso was appointed to the New Jersey-India Commission by Gov. Phil Murphy. She also served as co-chair of the Third Sector Advisory Council in 2020 to work with public sector leaders across the state to develop relief, recovery, and re-imagination strategies to support ALICE during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Photo caption: (L-R) Kiran Gaudioso, Karen Kessler and Mary Gay Abbott-Young will be honored at the 10th Annual New Jersey Business Leaders Forum, powered by NJBIA, on Sept. 25-26 at Bally’s Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City.
About the New Jersey Women Business Leaders Forum
Now celebrating its 10th year, the New Jersey Business Leaders Forum, powered by NJBIA, is a two-day event on Sept. 25-26 that includes executive TED-style talks, multiple breakout sessions led by expert panelists and numerous networking opportunities. Thousands of women and men have attended this annual event since it was launched in 2015 to help advance women build successful careers and diversity the C-suite and boardroom.
Sponsors of the 2024 NJBIA Women Business Leaders Forum help make this event possible and include:
- Amazon
- Association Member Trust
- AT&T
- Atlantic City Electric
- BCG Securities Inc
- Bergen New Bridge Medical
- BlackHawk Data
- CGI
- Citizens Bank
- Delta Dental of New Jersey, Inc.
- Dorno
- FemGevity
- Fidelity Investments
- FocusNJ
- Girls Scouts of New Jersey
- Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey
- Hussmann Corporation
- Insperity
- Johnson & Johnson
- Junior Achievement of New Jersey
- Manufacturing Counts
- Marketsmith, Inc.
- Marotta Controls
- Metlife
- New Jersey Society of CPAs
- New Jersey American Water
- New Jersey Business Magazine
- New Jersey Resources Corporation
- NJBIA HR
- NJM Insurance Group
- Otsuka
- Panasonic Corporation of North America
- PNC Bank
- Prager Metis CPAs, LLC
- Primepoint HRMS & Payroll
- RWJBarnabas Health
- Sandler Training
- Subaru of America, Inc
- TD Bank
- YWCA Northern NJ
