Jacqueline Carrera Fay is the daughter of an African-Cuban mother who arrived in the United States in 1971 and has lived her entire life in New Jersey, graduating from Rutgers University, majoring in Communications, and minoring in Women’s Studies. Professionally, she is the Chief of Staff to New Jersey Assemblyman Anthony Verrelli, whose District 15 includes Central Jersey municipalities such as Ewing, Hopewell, Lambertville, Lawrence, Pennington, Trenton, West Windsor. Jackie spent five years as the owner and operator of an innovative retail business in Princeton, Grit + Polish, and before that spent two decades as a human resource benefits manager in large pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer and Aventis.

Jackie is passionate about telling the full story of American history and has supported SSAAM in planning events and fundraising. People are still talking about her family oxtail recipe enjoyed at SSAAM’s 2021 Oxtail Fest!