COVER STORY: Dr. Susan A. Cole, the eighth president of Montclair State University—and the first woman to hold that title—has worked hard to ensure that New Jersey’s second-largest and fastest growing university continues to earn its reputation for academic and extracurricular excellence.

Featured Article: Changing the Face of New Jersey’s Legislature - New Jersey will see many new faces in the 213th Legislative Session, which begins in January 2008. Nearly one quarter of the current legislators will not return due to retirement, lost primaries, or losses in November races. Depending upon your point of view, this may or may not be good news.

COVER STORY: Patricia (Pat) Bell is a truly unique woman. She is a successful executive, a philanthropist and, her top priority, a successful mom to her son, Doug. Anyone who knows Pat recognizes that she attacks every situation with determination and drive. She makes things happen through hard work and a caring attitude.

Featured Article: The National Camp Association says that more than six million children will head to summer camp this year. In addition to raingear and swimsuits, more parents than ever before may be packing prescription medications for their kids.

COVER STORY: Mildred Crump: Mildred is exactly the type of woman we envisioned when we created the Garden State Woman of the Year “Gets It” Award. She is a successful mother and a clear leader in her profession – initially as a Braille teacher and now in local government. She is an activist in her community, in the country and globally. She serves others with passion and integrity.

Featured Article: Time to Get in the Game: We’ve all heard the reasons women don’t get involved in politics: we’re too busy, it’s too sleazy, one person can’t make a difference. Well, put that away—it’s time for us to get in the game. Here’s why; the next three years will be a trifecta for New Jersey politics.

COVER STORY: Susan Treiser, MD:Susan Treiser, co-founder and co-director of IVF New Jersey, is one of the few female board-certified Reproductive Endocrinologists in her field. IVF NJ offers expertise in a wide range of services for men and women. The state-of-the-art facility has its own full-scale operating suite, and plenty of treatment and consultation rooms to ensure efficiency.

Featured Article: Introducing Your Child to Classical Music: Will listening to classical music make your children smarter? Scientists have conflicting opinions and results in relation to experiments bout the Mozart Effect—a theory based on the popular belief that listening to classical music can stimulate an individual’s general intelligence.

COVER STORY: Elizabeth Christopherson: Television as a learning tool for all ages? For Elizabeth Christopherson, Executive Director, NJN (New Jersey Network), this concept is a “no brainer.” NJN Public Television and Radio is the New Jersey broadcasting network providing access to award-winning programs and services that emphasize the unique needs of New Jersey.

Featured Article: A Model Opportunity: Jennifer Padolina, a former runway model, joined New York Life Insurance Company as an agent in 1996, with no previous experience and little knowledge for the financial services industry. A year later, she was the New Jersey office’s “New Agent of the Year” and on her way to becoming a member of the Million Dollar Roundtable, a prestigious spot reserved for the top agents in the field.

COVER STORY: Diane Turton, Pat Hoferkamp: The North meets the South this issue as Garden State Woman Magazine invites two of the state's leading real estate experts to give us their insight on the big question:What’s happening in the New Jersey real estate market now? Pat Hoferkamp, Burgdorff ERA’s President and Diane Turton, President of Diane Turton Realty detail everything from trends and forecasts to real estate as a career.

Featured Article: New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program: The news is traveling fast that New Jersey is the “solar capital” of the U.S. and an EPA Energy Star award winner for four years running. While the federal government stalls on comprehensive energy solutions such as the best way to leverage renewable energy sources and encourage greater efficiency, the NJ Board of Public Utilities has quietly and independently developed one of the leading clean energy markets in the nation.

COVER STORY: Ruth C. Lipper: The Women’s Association of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) recently welcomed Ruth C. Lipper, of Summit, as the fifth President of the integral leadership council dedicated to promoting, advocating and funding the nation’s sixth largest performing arts center.r.

Featured Article: Eliminate the Confusion, not the College: If you were to create a new state made up entirely of women, its population would make 75 cents on the dollar, one in six would live in poverty, and its citizens would be twice as likely to lack insurance. This “51st State of Women,” as imagined by Carmen Twillie Ambar, Dean of Douglass College, illustrates the collective status of women today and makes a persuasive case for keeping the doors open at Douglass College.