Amalia Duarte
Amalia Duarte of Mendham Township was part of a wave of women who ran for public office after the 2016 presidential election. She won a seat on the Mendham Township Committee in 2017 and became the first Democrat and Latina to serve on the governing body. She drew support from residents across party lines, running on a platform of greater transparency, accountability and investment in recreation and infrastructure. She won re-election in 2020, setting a record for earning the highest number of votes in a local contested election.
Until her election to Chair of MCDC, Amalia served as Chair of the MCDC Elected Officials Caucus, a forum for building relationships across communities and sharing best practices. She earned a B.A. at New York University in journalism and political science. She worked as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times, The (Bergen) Record and People magazine. She shifted into corporate communications at Lucent Technologies, a spinoff, Avaya, and later was the global Communications Director for Citigroup’s Operations & Technology unit.
Currently, she works as the Public Affairs Director for ECLC of New Jersey, a nonprofit provider of schools and services for children and adults with special needs. She is a board member of the Alliance of Private Special Education Schools of North Jersey and is Chair of the Public Relations Committee for ASAH, a statewide organization for schools/agencies serving individuals with special needs.
Amalia serves as a board member of Head Start of Morris County; the Schiff Nature Preserve; the Sharing Project; Brookside Community Church; and is a Board member emeritus with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, New Jersey Chapter. She founded and chairs the Mendhams Stigma-Free Task Force, which works to raise awareness around mental health and substance use and to foster an inclusive community environment. The Task Force has organized parent workshops on youth mental health issues; family support; cannabis education; and how to cope with stress during COVID. In early 2020, the Task Force provided community forums to promote healing and hope after the tragic loss of teens who died by suicide.
Amalia Duarte is Chair of the Morris County Democratic Commitee.