NJ Hall of Fame
Derek Jeter was born in Pequannock and lived in West Milford until the age of four when the family moved to Michigan. Jeter would return and spend summers with his grandparents in West Milford where he played in summer baseball youth leagues. He attended New York Yankees games with his grandparents and became a passionate fan of the team. Jeter is a shortstop who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, he is the Yankees’ all-time career leader in hits (3,465), doubles (544), games played (2,747), stolen bases (358), times on base (4,716), plate appearances (12,602), and at bats (11,195). His accolades include 14 All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, five Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and a Roberto Clemente Award.
William Fox was a pioneering motion picture executive who built a multimillion-dollar enterprise controlling a large portion of the exhibition, distribution, and production of film facilities during the era of silent film. He founded the Fox Film Corporation, the progenitor of the Twentieth Century-Fox studios, in Fort Lee in 1915 with financing he obtained from Newark’s Prudential Insurance Company. Fox ran his studios in Fort Lee until 1919 when he moved the operations to California where the studios flourished in the 1920s. In 1927 Fox produced the news series Movietone News, the first commercially successful sound film, and his acclaimed film Sunrise won the first—and still only—Oscar for “Unique and Artistic Production.”
Jon Stewart was raised in Lawrenceville and attended Lawrence High School. He is a writer, director, producer, television host, actor, and comedian. In 1999 he became the host of The Daily Show (later renamed The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), a satirical news program that dubs itself “the most trusted name in fake news.” The Daily Show has won 18 Emmy Awards. Stewart recently announced he was leaving the show after 15 years. His final show will air August 6, 2015.
Anna Quindlen graduated from South Brunswick High School in 1970. She is an author, journalist, and opinion columnist, whose New York Times column Public and Private won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992.
Quindlen is the author of seven best-selling novels (Still Life with Bread Crumbs, Rise and Shine, Blessings, Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, and Every Last One) and eight non-fiction books (A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Good Dog. Stay., Being Perfect, Loud & Clear, Living Out Loud, Thinking Out Loud, How Reading Changed My Life, and Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake). She wrote the Last Word column for Newsweek from 2000 to 2009.
Christie Patricia Pearce (formerly Rampone) grew up in Point Pleasant and was a four-sport athlete in soccer, basketball, track, and field hockey at Point Pleasant Boro High School. Rampone attended Monmouth University where she excelled as a three-sport athlete in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. She finished her collegiate soccer career with a start in all 80 games, led her team with 79 career goals and 54 assists, and was Monmouth’s record holder for goals, assists, and points in a season. Rampone is captain of the United States women’s national soccer team and has played in four FIFA Women’s World Cup finals and four Olympics. She is a 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and a three-time gold medalist, having won championship titles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics, and 2012 London Olympics. She is currently competing with Team USA at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
Carla Harris resides in Montclair and is Vice Chairman of Wealth Management, Managing Director, and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley. She was Chair of the Morgan Stanley Foundation from 2005 to 2014 and sits on the boards of several community organizations. In August 2013 Harris was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council. Harris has been named by Fortune magazine among The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America. She is an author and popular public speaker who gives impactful career guidance honed by her own experiences to corporate audiences based on her book Expect to Win. Harris is a celebrated gospel singer who has released multiple albums and performed at Carnegie Hall.
