Eight Burlington County women will be honored for their leadership, achievements and service to their communities during the 2025 Outstanding Women of Burlington County Awards Reception.
For more than two decades, the Burlington County Commissioners and Burlington County Women’s Advisory Council have honored local females for their contributions to elevating women and improving our communities. This year’s recipients will be recognized on Sept. 30th at a reception at the Riverton Country Club in Cinnaminson. The reception will provide opportunities for friends, family and community members to celebrate the often unknown or unpublicized accomplishments of women in Burlington County.
“For far too long, the contributions of women were downplayed or ignored, so it’s gratifying to help lead a county that is home to so many outstanding women and to celebrate their achievements and contributions,” said Burlington County Commissioner Director Dr. Felicia Hopson, who serves as liaison to the Women’s Advisory Council. “Each of these women has their own unique story, and each of them has had a significant and lasting impact on Burlington County.”
Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel, also a liaison to the Women’s Advisory Council, congratulated this year’s honorees.
“The women we are honoring have stellar accomplishments in their fields, and they have gone above and beyond for their communities,” said Commissioner Eckel. “We are excited to spotlight them and their achievements. By recognizing them, we hope to inspire more women to take on leadership roles and reach higher.”
Tickets for the awards reception are $85 (plus Eventbrite fees) and are now available. They can be purchased online at https://2025BurlcoOutstandingWomen.eventbrite.com.
All proceeds from the reception tickets are used for the Women’s Council scholarships, which are awarded annually to graduating high school students.
In addition to ticket sales, there are sponsorship opportunities available for this event. Those interested in a sponsorship message in the event program should email womenscouncil@co.burlington.nj.us for ad rates and sponsorship levels. Sponsorship information is also available at https://2025SponsorsBurlcoOutstandingWomen.eventbrite.com .
This year’s honorees are:
Business: Hillary Chebra, Director of Government Affairs for Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey (CCSNJ). Chebra has served with the CCSNJ since 2020 and is the organization’s go-to for legislative activities and business advocacy in Trenton. She attends legislative hearings, meets with lawmakers, researches legislation and prepares position papers, and also helps execute the Chamber’s policy-driven events.
Prior to working at the Chamber, Chebra served in the Office of Governor Phil Murphy in both the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Cabinet Affairs. She also spent more than four years on the staff of then-Assemblyman Troy Singleton, rising to the position of chief of staff before moving to the Governor’s Office in 2020.
Chebra also serves on the Rowan University Alumni Board.
Community Service: Rev. Dr. Leslie Robin Harrison, Senior Pastor of the Mount Zion AME Church. Dr. Harrison has been a licensed minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church for more than 16 years and has led the Mount Zion AME Church since 2017.
The church is more than 125 years old and is a historical landmark in Riverton and Burlington County. Among her many roles with the church, Dr. Harrison serves as a pastoral counselor specializing in helping others battle substance use disorder. She is Board Treasurer for the New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition, an organization that helps to bridge the continuum of care for substance use disorder. Dr. Harrison works as a Bereavement Coordinator and Spiritual Counselor for Bayada Home Health Care and is the founder of Let It Flow Inc., an organization that advises and mentors young women entrepreneurs. She is also an adjunct professor for the School of Christian Ministry at Eastern University in Philadelphia.
In Riverton, Dr. Harrison serves on the Riverton Borough Committee and is also a longtime volunteer with the town’s Historic Preservation Committee and the Riverton 4th of July Committee.
Health Care: Sarah Fawcett-Lee, Senior Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer for Virtua Health. In her role, she oversees all of the health system’s philanthropy initiatives and charitable fundraising to support Virtua programs and services, including the Virtua Eat Well programs to improve nutrition and reduce food insecurity, and the system’s mobile health and cancer screening unit. Her leadership role at Virtua offers her the opportunity to focus on the prime reason why patients and their families give back: to express gratitude. She has been praised for her passion for health care philanthropy, along with her ability to forge partnerships.
Fawcett-Lee is also a Fellow for the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy and serves on the faculty of the AHP’s Madison Institute.
Diversity and Inclusion: Blenda Pinto, Director of Corporate and Government Affairs for United Airlines. Pinto has served in this position for close to 14 years. In that role, she oversees state legislative and local policy issues and is the company’s primary liaison with state and local officials. She also serves as the Communications Chair for United’s uIMPACT Women’s Business Resource Group.
Prior to joining United Airlines, Pinto served as Associate State Director with AARP and as a Senior Associate with Cassidy & Associates. She also worked for U.S. Senator Frank Launtenberg as a constituent services representative and chief legislative correspondent.
Pinto is Chairwoman of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and she also serves on the organization’s Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council. She is a board member with the Greater Newark Convention & Visitor's Bureau and a member of the Corporate Advisory Board for the NJ Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Education: Dr. Amy Stella, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for the Northern Burlington County Regional School District. Stella has worked at NBC Regional since 2007, first as an Assistant Principal at the district’s Middle School and then as Director of Instruction for Math, Science and the Air Force JROTC. She currently oversees the district’s Office of Academics and is the JROTC advisor.
Prior to working at NBC, Stella was Supervisor of Science and the Naval JROTC at Rancocas Valley Regional High School.
She is a past president of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association and a Commissioner with the Middle States Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools.
Law: Carolyn Chang, Esquire. Chang practices family law in Burlington County and is known statewide for her legal insight and passion for children and public service.
Chang is a graduate of Rutgers University and Rutgers School of Law. She clerked for Superior Court Judges Judith Yaskin, Mary Ann Burgess and J. Wilson Noden and developed a devotion to the mentoring other attorneys. To that end, she served as a Barrister with the Thomas S. Forkin American Inn of the Courts. She also founded the Honorable Anne E. Thompson American Inn of Court, later renamed the Honorable Marie White Bell American Inn of the Courts.
Chang is an active member of the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey. She served as the association’s president in 2017-2018 and was the chair of its Social Justice Committee. She also served on the Law and Justice Committee of Governor Phil Murphy’s 2017-2018 transition team and as a member of the Advisory Board of the New Jersey Corrections Ombudsman.
She was awarded the Professional Lawyer of the Year honor by the New Jersey Commission on Professionalism in Law.
In addition to her legal work, Chang served as Mayor and Committeewoman in Westampton. She was named Woman of the Year by the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and the Woman Worthy of Honor by the Instruments of Righteousness Evangelistic Ministries.
Leadership: New Jersey Assemblywoman Andrea Katz. Assemblywoman Katz has represented the 8th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2024. She currently serves on the Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee, the Environment, Natural Resources and Solid Waste Committee, and the Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee.
During her two years in Trenton, Katz has been a fierce champion for reproductive freedom, filly funded public education and policies that make New Jersey more affordable. She has also penned legislation to strengthen the Garden State’s agricultural economy. .
Prior to her election to the Legislature, Katz served on the Chesterfield Board of Education and the Chesterfield Township Committee.
As a Chesterfield Committeewoman, Katz helped implement the town’s Parks and Recreation Master Plan and was also a member of the Chesterfield Township Alliance Against Substance Abuse. She continues to volunteer with the Chesterfield PTA and Chesterfield Public Education Fund.
Public Safety: Evesham Police Lt. Laura Brown. Lt. Brown has served with the Evesham Police Department since 2017, first as a patrol officer in the Patrol Bureau and later in Internal Affairs. Her current assignment is head of the Community Engagement Unit in Support Services. Lt. Brown has also served as a field training officer and Patrol Bureau supervisor.
During her time leading the Community Engagement Unit, Lt. Brown has developed several different programs and outreach initiatives, including the department’s Junior Police Academy and Citizens Police Academy, National Night Out, Police Explorers program, 9PM Routine program, L.E.A.D. program and “With a Cop” events. She also coordinates the police department’s social media and works with the Evesham Municipal Alliance to develop substance use prevention initiatives and activities.
Lt. Brown is a decorated military veteran who served six years with the Air Force Reserves, including assignments at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst with the 35th Aerial Port Squadron. She was also deployed overseas to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.