Effective May 8, 2025, Hoboken will have a new, Acting Business Administrator and a new Assistant Business Administrator. This week, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced the appointment of Assistant Business Administrator Caleb Stratton as Hoboken’s Acting Business Administrator and the naming of Director of Climate Action & Innovation Jennifer Gonzalez as the new Assistant Business Administrator.
The moves come following the announcement of Business Administrator Jason Freeman’s departure on May 7th to pursue a new opportunity in the nonprofit sector.
Mayor Bhalla issued a statement which reads, “Caleb Stratton and Jen Gonzalez have been integral to Hoboken’s transformation over the last decade. Together, they’ve been responsible for implementing hundreds of millions of dollars in capital projects, securing millions in grant funding and low-interest loans, and have overseen nearly every department in City Hall. Both are independently certified experts in their fields of resiliency and sustainability, and they bring more than a decade of combined Hoboken municipal experience, building and managing budgets, navigating crises, and planning for the future. Their commitment to Hoboken is commendable, and I have the utmost faith in their ability to lead our City into its next chapter.”
Both individuals have extensive experience working in municipal government. A city press release states, Stratton currently serves as Hoboken’s Chief Resilience Officer and Assistant Business Administrator. Since joining the City in 2012, he has led many of Hoboken’s capital and resiliency initiatives. He supervises the delivery of the City’s infrastructure programs, including facilitating the $392 million Rebuild by Design – Hudson River (RBD-HR) flood risk reduction project, a landmark initiative in regional climate adaptation and flood mitigation.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez has served the City since 2016, beginning as a Principal Planner before being appointed Director of Environmental Services in 2019 and Director of Climate Action & Innovation in 2024. She currently serves as the City’s Chief Sustainability Officer. She holds a Masters in Environmental Policy from Lehigh University, AICP, PP, CFM, and LEED Green Associate.
Gonzalez thanked the Mayor, saying, “Having served the City that I love for nearly a decade, I am both excited and humbled by the opportunity to become the Assistant Business Administrator. I look forward to continuing to integrate fiscal and environmental sustainability into municipal operations. I thank Mayor Bhalla for his confidence in me to fill this role.”