Covenant House Appoints Virginia S. Bauer Senior Vice President

NEW YORK, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ — Virginia S. Bauer, who served as CEO and Secretary of the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission, and is a Commissioner of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has been named Senior Vice President at Covenant House, the nation’s largest privately funded nonprofit agency in North and Central America helping homeless youth.

A widely respected advocate for children and families, Ms. Bauer first gained national prominence as an activist on behalf of families of 9/11 victims following the death of her husband David in the World Trade Center.

In making the announcement, Covenant House’s incoming President Kevin Ryan called Ms. Bauer “one of the most effective and inspiring advocates for the voiceless I have ever met. Ginny’s life is a master class in faith, optimism and service to others. She will be a tireless fighter for our kids.” On February 2, Mr. Ryan will become the fourth president in the history of Covenant House.

Ms. Bauer will lead Covenant House’s efforts to develop and implement strategies to increase financial support for the agency’s work in the Americas from private sources. The agency serves more than 70,000 homeless youth each year in six countries: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

“The Covenant House mission is to serve suffering children of the street, and to protect and safeguard all children,” said Ms. Bauer. “This mission deserves the full support of everyone who cares about our kids and our future, and my role will be to reach out and build new partnerships for the funds we need to serve more kids better.”

In her role as Commerce Secretary, Ms. Bauer was New Jersey’s lead advocate for business, headlining efforts to strengthen the Garden State’s business attraction and retention programs, managing the Urban Enterprise Zone program, promoting the state as a premier tourism destination and otherwise maintaining the state’s standing in the global marketplace.

After losing her husband on 9/11, Ms. Bauer worked closely with Congressional leaders and the White House toward the enactment of 9/11 victim legislation, spearheaded efforts to enact tax relief legislation for surviving family members and is participating in the development plan creation for the World Trade Center. Subsequently, she served as Director of the New Jersey Lottery in 2003-04.

In addition to her Board position with the Port Authority, Ms. Bauer serves on the Boards of several prominent non-profit and educational organizations in New Jersey.

Ms. Bauer is a graduate of Rosemont College. She is the mother of three and resides in Red Bank, New Jersey.

ABOUT COVENANT HOUSE

Founded in 1972, Covenant House is the largest privately funded agency in the Americas helping homeless kids, providing 24/7 crisis care and ongoing support at 21 facilities, www.NINELINE.org, Covenant House NINELINE (1-800-999-9999) and www.covenanthouse.org.

SOURCE Covenant House