Zoila Cassanova is an Attorney for the New York State Unified Court System and has worked in the areas of Medical Malpractice, Civil litigation, Criminal litigation, Election Law, and Labor law. She is also the former court attorney to the Manhattan County Surrogate.

Ms. Cassanova holds a Bachelors of Science in Labor Relations, a Masters of Science in Education, and was a licensed New York State Teacher. She received her Jurist Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she served as a member of the Diversity Council. Zoila is a Seton Hall Centennial Scholar and a New Jersey Hispanic Bar Association Scholarship recipient, as well as an inductee of the Academic Honor Societies: Delta Kappa Phi and Kappa Delta Pi.

For six years, she served as a member of the board of Directors of YouthCollege, Inc. a non-profit urban youth outreach organization. Ms. Cassanova believes that in order to truly succeed we need to mentors others and give back. She is a strong supporter of mentorship opportunities and has mentored for over twenty years. Zoila has participated with programs such as NJ LEEP and the Passaic Valley High School pipeline program. In addition, Ms. Cassanova has also volunteered her legal skills by reviewing immigration documents for unaccompanied minors and undocumented adults, as well as participated in “Know your rights” outreach events. She also volunteers as a beef stew cook for Eva’s Village in Paterson, NJ and has provided toys, as well as volunteers, for the 4CS community services, Inc in Paterson, NJ.

Zoila is a parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, where she served as a Eucharistic Minister and Auction committee co-chair.

Ms. Cassanova is admitted to practice law in New York, New Jersey, and the United States Supreme Court. She resides in Wayne, Passaic County, New Jersey with her husband and two children.

COUNTY COMMISSIONER CASSANDRA “SANDI” LAZZARA was elected to the Board in 2016. A Paterson native and lifelong Passaic County resident, her commitment and desire to serve the residents of Passaic County runs deep. She was raised to embody the spirit of a public servant and to serve others with integrity, competency and loyalty.

As a County Commissioner, County Commissioner Lazzara has twice served as Chair of the Passaic County Human Services Committee, a committee that provides services to the county’s most vulnerable. Additionally, she served as co-chair of the Planning and Economic Committee, which includes the county’s Economic Development Division, Public Housing Agency and County Historian. Assignments also included liaison to the Passaic County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Advisory Committee, the Board of School Estimate and the Passaic County Planning Board.

Current committees on which County Commissioner Lazzara serves include Health & Human Services, Administration & Finance and Budget. She serves as a representative to the Passaic County Youth Services Commission and is afforded the opportunity to collaborate with a team of professionals who are determined to provide youth with the services and support necessary to help them realize their full potential. Other committees County Commissioner Lazzara has served on include Law & Public Safety and Public Works.

As a working mother of two grown sons, Anthony and Joseph, she is aware of how hard it is to make ends meet today. She works closely with the Board of County Commissioners, County Administrator and Passaic County staff to examine every expenditure and ensure that the taxpayers of Passaic County get the most value out of their hard-earned money.

County Commissioner Lazzara has spent over twenty-five years in education promoting the welfare of children, schools, and the community. She holds a B.A. in Human Ecology from Montclair University and an M.Ed. in Administration & Supervision from William Paterson University. County Commissioner Lazzara worked for the Woodland Park Board of Education in multiple capacities, including teaching. Involved with educational issues on the local, county, state and national levels, County Commissioner Lazzara has proven to be a strong advocate for public education. County Commissioner Lazzara knows the value of good government.

COUNTY COMMISSIONER ASSAD R. AKHTER was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Passaic County Board of County Commissioners in 2016. He was elected in November 2017 to fill the remainder of that term and then re-elected in 2018 to a full three year term as County Commissioner.

Prior to being a County Commissioner, Assad worked for Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ) over the course of 11 years in both his Washington and New Jersey Congressional offices. In his capacity as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Congressman, he was directly responsible for managing the local district offices and staff for the 9th Congressional District of New Jersey. Before that assignment, Assad served as the Legislative Director in the Washington, DC office where he oversaw the Congressman’s legislative agenda and staff as he was tasked with coordinating the Congressman’s position on the House Ways & Means Committee, as well as staffing his assignment on the House Homeland Security Committee. During his time as Legislative Director, Assad was able to work on a number of momentous pieces of legislation including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act - all of which were keystones to President Obama's legislative agenda during his first term. Assad currently serves on the Board of Directors at the Paterson YMCA, the Board of Directors at the Paterson Alliance and on the Corporate Advisory Council for the Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts.

As a County Commissioner, Assad serves on the Law & Public Safety and Planning & Economic Development Committees. He also is also assigned as a County Commissioner liaison to the Passaic County Board of Social Services, the Board of School Estimate, and the Open Space Advisory Committee

Assad graduated from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the School of Diplomacy and International Relations. He graduated from the Honors program and also received the Undergraduate Leadership Award from the School of Diplomacy and International Relations at graduation. Assad and his wife Saira are proud to be homeowners in the City of Paterson.

COUNTY COMMISSIONER JOHN W. BARTLETT was first elected to the Passaic County Board of County Commissioners in 2012. In his years as a County Commissioner, he has served on all of the Board’s standing committees. As Passaic County’s representative on the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, County Commissioner Bartlett helps prioritize and oversee $2+ billion in annual infrastructure improvements in our region. Since he joined NJTPA, more than $115 million in federal infrastructure funding has flowed into Passaic County, supporting projects from major road improvements on Routes 46, 3, 23, and 80, to completion of the county’s section of the 103-mile Morris Canal Greenway historic site, to safety improvements protecting vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

From 2013 to 2016, County Commissioner Bartlett served on the Passaic County Board of Social Services. At his initiative, PCBSS launched an effort to make Social Services more accessible to immigrant communities by publishing information about social services for the first time in Arabic, Bengali, and Spanish, as well as English. From 2009 to 2013, County Commissioner Bartlett served as the founding Chairman of the Board of Friends Of Passaic County Parks. Under his leadership, the foundation launched a summer concert series and opportunities for local residents to sponsor memorial benches, trees, plaques, and other commemorations for lost loved ones.

Educated at Harvard Law School, County Commissioner Bartlett is a Partner in Murphy Orlando LLC. He has been recognized with the highest professional peer-review rating, AV-Preeminent, from Martindale-Hubbell, and as one of the New Jersey Law Journal’s “Forty Under 40” promising young attorneys in 2010. Before law school, County Commissioner Bartlett received a B.A. degree with honors from Brown University and was a Raoul Wallenberg Scholar at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He wrote for The Associated Press in Israel, and served as communications director for the national anti-crime organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids in Washington, D.C. County Commissioner Bartlett lives in Wayne with his wife Dr. Khyati Y. Joshi and their son.