{"id":210344,"date":"2021-11-08T16:56:45","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T16:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/?p=210344"},"modified":"2021-11-08T16:56:45","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T16:56:45","slug":"cristina-pinzon-08","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/2021\/11\/08\/cristina-pinzon-08\/","title":{"rendered":"Cristina Pinzon \u201908"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was a time when Cristina Pinzon \u201908 expected her career path to lead to law enforcement. \u201cOr maybe intelligence,\u201d she says, thinking back to her years as a high school student in Elizabeth, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a teenager, I participated in the Police Explorer program,\u201d she continues, \u201cand I went as far as enrolling in John Jay College of Criminal Justice. I learned pretty quickly that I was on the wrong track, though. I started researching alternative academic programs ranging from education to the performing arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montclair State caught her eye and after a campus visit, she decided to apply to the Journalism and Digital Media program. \u201cThe campus was beautiful, of course,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut I also saw that the broadcast journalism students were being well prepared for their careers. I went through a very competitive application process, and I was thrilled to be accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pinzon worked as a line producer for CNBC and an Associate Producer for News 12 New Jersey before joining the communications team of then New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. Her next role, as a Legislative Staffer for New Jersey\u2019s 20th Legislative District, turned out to be one of her favorite jobs. \u201cIt was a major eye opener,\u201d she says. \u201cI worked with stakeholders, helped develop policy, wrote press releases and talking points, and planned events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon, more opportunities were coming her way. She served as a commissioner and chairperson for the Elizabeth Housing Authority, as a board member and advocacy chair for the Young Women\u2019s Christian Association of Union County, and as trustee of an internationally known nonprofit that provides emergency shelter for women and children who are victims of abuse. In addition, Pinzon has held various senior positions for political campaigns across the State of New Jersey, several of which won by historical margins.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Pinzon decided to parlay her skills and experience into a successful public relations and communications firm.\u00a0Stateside Affairs<\/a>\u00a0brings creative marketing solutions, strategic thinking and effective problem-solving to the high-profile organizations, legislators and policy makers on its client roster, a list that includes Queen Latifah, the Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, Governor Phil Murphy and Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver. Pinzon and her team of eight have garnered state and regional attention for their work in public affairs, print and digital communications.<\/p>\n

Pinzon has been included on Insider NJ\u2019s list of Top 100 Millennials and NJBIZ\u2019s 40 Under 40 list, recognized by Make the Road New Jersey\u2019s as a Comunidad, Dignidad & Poder leader in immigration advocacy, and received the 2019 Boy Scouts of America Tribute to Women Award.<\/p>\n

Pinzon is an alumna of Emerge New Jersey, a premier political training organization for Democratic women in the state. Currently, she serves as an executive board member and Vice President of Latina Civic Action and as executive board member of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Pinzon was featured in NJBIZ as a Next Generation Leader and in ROI Influencer: Women in Business. The firm was recognized as a finalist in the 2021 Reed Award competition, which recognizes excellence in political campaigning and advocacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine that it all started with one client,\u201d Pinzon says about the launch of Stateside Affairs. \u201cThe firm grew pretty quickly after that. I thought I would be overwhelmed, but the training I received at Montclair State was top-notch. By the time I graduated, I had produced a show, acted as both reporter and anchor, did photography and editing, and more. I felt prepared for all of my career roles, including starting and growing my own business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among her favorite Montclair State experiences was producing \u201cCarpe Diem,\u201d the University\u2019s award-winning, weekly half-hour magazine show that airs on Comcast and Cablevision. \u201cIt was such a big deal to see our work on TV,\u201d she says. \u201cIn addition, the classes were small, which made the program and department feel like family. I stay connected with my classmates through social media and I try to attend the annual get-togethers on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pinzon makes a point to stay updated on her alma mater\u2019s growth. In fact, as her own business expands \u2013 she now has a staff of eight \u2013 she hopes to develop working relationships with Montclair State professors and students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI especially like seeing how diversity has evolved at Montclair State,\u201d she says. \u201cDiversity is important to my business and I am proud that my own staff reflects Filipino, Colombian and Italian roots. Our perspectives contribute to the firm\u2019s ability to reach communities throughout the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pinzon\u2019s success is the result of talent, hard work, and the right education. Pinzon would add to this the importance of pursuing things that are outside one\u2019s comfort zone. \u201cThis is especially important during your college years,\u201d she advises. \u201cCollege is your opportunity to meet and learn from experts. Ask as many questions as you can and start building your network!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bringing excellence to public relations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":210295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-77_alumni-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210345,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210344\/revisions\/210345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}