Get the free Morris County Fall Bucket List
60+ of the best things to do across Morris County this fall. Apple picking, corn mazes, hayrides, fall festivals, haunted attractions and cider donuts. Straight to your inbox, free.
Every town in Morris County has people who show up. They open the doors, run the events, sit on the boards, answer the late emails, and make this county a better place to live, work and spend a Saturday.
Shop Morris County is the largest local guide for Morris County, covering all 39 towns. We spend every week writing about the events, businesses and organizations that make this county what it is, and the same names keep coming up. So this year we are putting a spotlight on them.
The Morris County 26 is our first annual list of 26 people making an impact in Morris County in 2026. There were no applications, no nominations and no fees. These are people our team chose because we see their work in the community, from the business community to Main Street, the arts, health care, education and the nonprofits that hold it all together.
Here is the 2026 class.
Business Builders
1. Meghan Hunscher
President & CEO, Morris County Chamber of Commerce and the Morris County Economic Development Corporation
Hunscher leads a chamber representing more than 750 member organizations and runs the county’s economic development arm, the team working to bring businesses to Morris County and keep them here.
2. Kevin Murphy
Director of Business Development, Morris County Chamber of Commerce
Murphy works one on one with businesses across the county, connecting members to the people, events and opportunities that help them grow. Few people know more Morris County business owners by first name.
3. Michelle Feldman
Director of Economic Development, Morris County Economic Development Corporation
Feldman works on business attraction, retention and expansion, the behind the scenes work that turns an empty storefront or office park into jobs.
4. Nichole Russell
Education & Marketing Director, Women’s Business Center at the Women’s Center for Entrepreneurship, Chatham
Russell helps entrepreneurs, especially women business owners, get the training, connections and confidence to launch and grow.
Main Street Champions
5. Jennifer Wehring
Executive Director, Morristown Partnership
Wehring leads the organization behind downtown Morristown’s events, beautification and business support, keeping the county seat a place people want to spend the day.
6. Stephen Crighton
Executive Director, Downtown Denville Business Improvement District
Crighton leads the team behind Downtown Denville, one of the most active small town downtowns in the county, packed with events that keep local shops and restaurants busy all year.
7. Karen Giambra
Executive Director, Madison Area Chamber of Commerce
Giambra keeps the Rose City’s business community connected and celebrated, from networking events to the chamber’s annual awards dinner.
8. Portia Levasseur
President, Downtown Morris Plains
Levasseur leads the volunteer run nonprofit working to grow downtown Morris Plains through events, small business support and community programs.
9. Max Gray
Founder, Chow Town Food Tours
Gray is getting people to walk, eat and discover independent restaurants in towns like Denville and Madison, one tasting stop at a time.
Film & Entertainment
10. Janice Kovach
Commissioner, New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission
As more film and TV productions look to New Jersey, Kovach is one of the commissioners helping bring them here. Appointed to the commission in 2019, she is also a former president of the New Jersey League of Municipalities and co-founder of the River Town Film Festival. For Morris County, which now markets more than 150 filming locations through its Film Committee, that work matters.
Arts, Culture & History
11. Allison Larena
President & CEO, Mayo Performing Arts Center
Larena is leading MPAC through its $65 million expansion and restoration in Morristown, including the new Ilene and Bruce Jacobs Arts & Education Center.
12. Tom Loughman
President & CEO, Morris Museum
Loughman is steering the Morris Museum’s next chapter, including preservation of the historic 1912 Oaks Mansion and a push to welcome more families, schools and visitors.
13. Amy Curry
Executive Director, Morris County Historical Society
In the nation’s 250th year, Curry and the Historical Society at Acorn Hall are keeping Morris County’s history alive and accessible for a new generation.
Health Care
14. Saad Ehtisham
President & CEO, Atlantic Health
Ehtisham leads the Morristown headquartered health system with 21,000 team members and eight hospitals serving 7.5 million people across New Jersey.
15. Trish O’Keefe, Ph.D., R.N.
President, Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center
O’Keefe leads one of the most respected hospitals in the region and was named Grand Marshal of the 2027 St. Patrick’s Day Parade of Morris County.
Education
16. Dr. Anthony J. Iacono
President, County College of Morris
Iacono was named the 2026 Chief Executive Officer for the Northeast Region by the Association of Community College Trustees and has made ROI-NJ’s Influencers Power List for seven straight years.
17. Dr. Hilary Link
President, Drew University
Link was named to the NJBIZ 2026 Power Players list for education, recognized for putting the Madison university at the forefront of where higher education is headed.
18. Dr. Gary B. Crosby
President, Saint Elizabeth University
Crosby, the university’s eighth president and a 2026 ROI-NJ Influencer in higher education, is leading the Morristown school into its next era.
19. Dr. Anita D. Champagne
Superintendent, Morris County Vocational School District
Champagne leads the district where students are earning college degrees before their high school diplomas.
Nonprofit Heroes
20. William Draper
Executive Director, Veterans Valor
Draper leads the Morristown nonprofit creating Healing Gardens for veterans and their families, peaceful spaces for reflection and community. Its Art of Valor fundraiser brought the county together this spring.
21. Carolyn Lake
Executive Director, Interfaith Food Pantry Network
Lake leads the Morris Plains based network that distributed more than 1.2 million pounds of food last year to families and seniors across Morris County.
22. Joann Björnson, LSW
CEO, Family Promise of Morris County
With more than three decades in human services, Björnson has spent 18 years helping Morris County families facing homelessness find stable ground.
23. Kiran Handa Gaudioso
CEO, United Way of Northern New Jersey
Gaudioso leads the Cedar Knolls based United Way, working to help struggling working families across the region get ahead.
24. Diane Williams
President & CEO, JBWS
Williams leads the Morristown organization that has supported survivors of domestic abuse for nearly 50 years, helping them build safe, independent lives.
25. Gordon Dahl
Dahl stepped up from running the Mission’s thrift stores to lead the Morristown organization that has served people facing homelessness and addiction for generations.
26. Kelly Miller
President & CEO, Eleventh Hour Rescue
Since 2005, Miller’s no kill rescue has saved dogs and cats who were out of time, and events like Puptoberfest bring the whole county out to support it.
Know Someone for the 2027 List?
The Morris County 26 comes back every year. If you know someone making an impact in Morris County, send their name and why to info@shopmorriscounty.com.
Congratulations to the 2026 class. If you made the list, share it and tag us. Morris County should know who you are.
Have a Morris County event coming up?
Share it with Morris County.
Festivals, fundraisers, 5Ks, school nights, grand openings. Send us the date, time, place and a flyer, and our team will reach out about getting it in front of Morris County.
Enjoying our Morris County coverage?
Add us as a preferred source and our stories show up higher in your Google results.
Add as a preferred source
