The West Windsor councilwoman said she will resign her post to take position until recently held by Pam Hersh
By: David Campbell
Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kristin Appelget has been named Princeton University’s director of community and regional affairs, Ms. Appelget confirmed Monday.
As part of her move, she will be leaving her position on the West Windsor Township Council, where she has served since 1999, on May 8. Ms. Appelget said Monday that the university did not ask her to give up her elected position, but said rather she offered to do so herself.
"I thought it would be appropriate given fact the university owns significant properties in West Windsor," she continued. "I thought I should remove potential or perceived conflicts of interest."
She will assume her new position at Princeton on May 22, succeeding Pam Hersh, who left the university in February to become vice president of government and community affairs for Princeton Healthcare System. Ms. Hersh served as the university’s director of community and state affairs since 1990.
Ms. Appelget is a fourth-generation resident of West Windsor. A magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she worked in the financial services industry until 2002, when she left UBS PaineWebber to take the helm of the Princeton chamber.
"My new position will allow me to bring my experience as a lifetime local resident, my time in local government, my involvement in community organizations and my love of Princeton together to continue the university’s tradition of active outreach to our neighbors," Ms. Appelget said.
"It’s just a great career opportunity for me," she continued. "I consider myself to be an academically inclined person. Working at a university was very appealing to me."
She said the chamber’s board of directors is expected to move "fairly quickly" to find her successor.
University Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee called Ms. Appelget an excellent leader and "attentive listener" who is widely respected in the community.
"She is thoughtful, approachable, creative, persistent and hard-working," Mr. Durkee continued. "I can’t imagine a better person to take on the many and demanding responsibilities of this critically important and uniquely challenging position."
Ms. Appelget was elected to a four-year term as West Windsor Township Council in 1999 and was re-elected in 2003. She served twice as president, in 2000-2001 and again in 2003-2004, and once as vice president, in 1999-2000.
At Princeton, Ms. Appelget will oversee and strengthen the university’s relationships with the five area municipalities and two counties in which the school is located. She will work with government officials on issues such as transportation, land use, planning, zoning, approval processes, affordable housing, economic development, civil rights and human rights, volunteer engagement and university contributions, Princeton said.
Under the new appointment, responsibility for the university’s relations with the state of New Jersey will be reassigned to Director of Public Affairs Karen Jezierny, who was appointed director of public affairs in 2004 and was Ms. Hersh’s predecessor as director of community and state affairs.
Karen Woodbridge, associate director of community and state affairs, will be promoted to the position of director of community relations in the reorganization, under which the name of her office will revert to its original title of Office of Community and Regional Affairs, the university said.
"These changes significantly increase Princeton’s capacity to become engaged in local, state and regional matters, and to encourage additional relationships between the university and members of the community," said Mr. Durkee.

