UPDATED on March 22: The event date has been changed to October 14.

This is a special year for New Jersey Policy Perspective, as we celebrate 15 years of advancing progressive policy in the Garden State.

It was this week back in 1997 (February 27, to be exact) that founder Jon Shure filed the articles of incorporation and officially created NJPP. As the articles state, NJPP’s foremost purpose was – and remains – “to inform people in order to generate intelligent discussion and debate of public policy issues.”

(NJPP’s first media hit came in the same week, when Charles Stile mentioned the nascent organization in a Trenton Times column.)

Since then, we have published dozens of in-depth reports on tax reform, budget policy, corporate subsidies, and other important issues. Journalists call us for quotes and context, editorial writers endorse our ideas, legislators invite us to testify, and policy makers solicit our input. In short, NJPP has emerged as one of the most credible progressive voices on the state’s pressing issues.

And we have delivered results. NJPP has played a crucial role in advancing the most important progressive state policies since 1997: an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, increased fiscal transparency, the adoption of Paid Family Leave, tighter accountability for corporate subsidies, and a fairer tax code.

We’ll be reflecting on these and other accomplishments – and looking at where we go from here – throughout the year, both here on our website and at a series of events that will include special issue briefings for our donors.

On October 14, we will gather to officially celebrate our 15th anniversary and to honor Ray Bramucci, a former NJ Commissioner of Labor and US Assistant Secretary of Labor, for his lifetime commitment to progressive values. Remarks by former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley will provide a capper to the event. Look for more details on this in the coming weeks.

As we look back at 15 years of hard work for all New Jerseyans, we thank all of you for your support in making it possible.

About NJPP

New Jersey Policy Perspective is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that researches and analyzes economic issues to find fair and progressive solutions that benefit all New Jerseyans.

About Ray Bramucci

Ray Bramucci directed New Jersey operations for Sen. Bill Bradley from 1979 to 1989 after a 22-year career at the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. From 1989 to 1993, he served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor, and from 1998-2001 he served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employment and Training Administration under President Bill Clinton.

About Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley represented New Jersey in the U.S. Senate from 1979 to 1997. In 2000, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President. He graduated from Princeton University where he was a star basketball player, winning an Olympic gold medal in 1964, and a Rhodes Scholar. He played basketball professionally for the New York Knicks from 1967 to 1977, and was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.