Zaneta Rago-Craft, Ed.D., director of the Intercultural Center, was recently selected as one of three new board members of the YMCA of the Jersey Shore. The board members will help advance the YMCA’s strategic priorities across Monmouth, Ocean, and Middlesex counties, deepening its impact on the lives of the people it serves.
“I am thrilled to contribute to an organization that centers community, wellness, and belonging for all–and one that serves many of the same constituents our university considers community partners,” Rago-Craft said. “It is also a particular honor to further the Y’s impact as both a local and product of Long Branch Public Schools.”
The 55-member volunteer board supports the Y’s ability to carry out its mission of supporting youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The board provides strategic advice, establishes policies, and helps generate financial support, ensuring everyone has access to mental health services, chronic disease prevention, childcare and other life-changing services.
Y President and Chief Executive Officer Laurie Goganzer said, “As Jersey Shore residents, all three new board members are a direct reflection of our new name, the YMCA of the Jersey Shore. Their specialized expertise and insight in health and well-being for all put us in an even stronger position to serve people of all ages, incomes and backgrounds across the Jersey Shore.”
Rago-Craft brings expertise to this role as the founding director of the Intercultural Center and advisor to the president for diversity and inclusion at Monmouth University with 15 years of experience in intercultural campus support. Previously, she has worked with the New York University LGBTQ Student Center, the Center for Multicultural Education and Programs at NYU, and Ramapo College’s Educational Opportunity Fund program and Women’s Center. She has a passion for infusing social justice education into her student affairs work with a particular interest in facilitating conversations around the intersectionality of multiple identities and oppression, art as activism, feminism, anti-racism, mentoring, LGBTQIA+ representations in the media, and multiracial experiences.
The YMCA of the Jersey Shore is a cause-driven nonprofit committed to strengthening community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Based in Shrewsbury, NJ, it serves 42,000 people annually in Middlesex, Monmouth, and Ocean counties.
Read more about the selection of new board members for the YMCA of the Jersey Shore.