McCarthy and Wong bring their business acumen and passion for community service to help control taxes, promote responsible development, and enhance the Bernards Township experience.

The Bernards Township Democratic Committee (BTDC) is pleased to announce its endorsement of Ana McCarthy and Lily Wong for the two open seats on the Bernards Township Committee. McCarthy and Wong will run on the Democratic line in the June primary and November general elections.

The Bernards Township Democrats enthusiastically endorsed McCarthy and Wong at its committee meeting. “We’re thrilled that Ana and Lily have chosen to bring their professional accomplishments, leadership, and love for our community to help make Bernards Township even more desirable for people to call home, children to thrive, and small businesses to locate,” said Elizabeth Graner, BTDC Chair.

The campaign will officially kick-off on Saturday, May 6, at 11:00 am, at the Pleasant Valley Park Pavilion, 3405 Valley Road in Basking Ridge. Other Democratic officials and candidates from the county and state will also be in attendance.

Ana McCarthy has lived in Bernards Township for 26 years with her husband, Michael. They have a daughter, Alissa, who attended and graduated from Bernards Township public schools, and their beloved labradors, George and Sam.

McCarthy was a senior executive at Citi for more than two decades. She led the company’s global strategy for hiring and developing diverse talent, fostering an inclusive work environment, and ensuring management accountability. Afterward, she joined the Forte Foundation as the Director of Corporate Partners, responsible for new business development. Now, she is the principal of a business consulting firm headquartered in Bernards Township.

McCarthy has a long record of community service in local nonprofits, the schools and township government. Since 2015, she has served on the Board of Directors of the Greater Somerset County YMCA. She was an officer, and chaired the annual fundraising campaign for five years, bringing in essential support to this community organization.

She has served on the township Golf Advisory Committee since 2017, and was a member of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee. McCarthy was an active volunteer within the schools,as a parent advisor to the former William Annin Middle School Ski Club; Co-Chair of Ridge High School’s Balloons in June fundraiser and the Teacher Appreciation luncheons.

She also volunteered as an assistant coach for seven years in the town’s recreation basketball program.

Ana received a Masters in Education, Counseling and Organizational Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BA in Biology from Lafayette College (now Lafayette University).

“As a longtime resident of Bernards Township, I want to preserve what is best in our community while addressing areas of opportunity for our community to further excel. Being entrusted to serve on the Township Committee to help lead and influence our pathway forward is an honor I take quite seriously,” said McCarthy. “I will bring a different voice into our local government, which is now composed of members from a single political group. Better solutions are developed when alternative perspectives are considered and our community will reap the benefit. I’m excited and proud to be running with Lily Wong, who brings talent, enthusiasm to serve, and a unique set of experiences to our community.”

Lily Wong, her husband, Jeff, and three children, moved to Bernards Township in 2020. She was recently appointed by the mayor to serve on the Bernards Township Municipal Alliance, which strives to educate our youth about the damaging effects of addiction to tobacco, alcohol and drugs.

She co-founded a summer camp for kids focused on hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering, arts and math and currently serves as program director. Previously, she had various roles in corporate finance, strategic planning and business development at Pfizer and was an auditor of publicly-traded companies and not-for-profit organizations at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Lily earned a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from The University of Pennsylvania and Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

“Born to immigrants of modest means in public housing to graduating Harvard Business School, my life journey has proved that education, entrepreneurship, tenacity, and motivation are powerful tools for lifting an individual’s intellectual, financial, and community standing,” Wong said. “The same goes for our community; we must invest in our community with our time, education, experience, and expertise so our children are prepared for the opportunities of the future and so there is a greater sense of connectedness among our residents. I hope to help our town develop new programs like restaurant week to support local businesses which will create more jobs and tax revenue for the community. We have a wonderful town with a great school system, services, and parks that support better health and community spirit. I’m honored to be considered for a seat on the Township Committee so I can work to make Bernards Township even better and am thrilled to be running with Ana McCarthy, an amazing advocate for our community.”

To learn more about the campaign, please visit Ana McCarthy and Lily Wong for Bernards Township Committee at McCarthyWong.com.

Photo credit: Berit Bizjak