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July 26, 2019
Dear Governor Murphy,
My name is Kristen Maclean and I am a fifteen year veteran of State service. I have two
Bachelor's Degrees and a Masters Degree in Public Policy. I am also a former Eagleton Institute
of Politics Harold A. Martin fellow. As of July 23, 2019 it was my honor to serve the taxpayers of
NJ as the Director of Policy and Interim Records Custodian for the NJ Schools Development
Authority. I loved my job. I loved my employer. I still do. I loved it so much, I endured a three
hour a day commute for fifteen years without complaint.
I believe in and am completely committed to the mission of the Authority - to provide state of the
art school facilities to NJ's children and to do it responsibly. Prior to that role, I served as the
Communications Director and before that the Director of Policy and Regulatory Development,
and the legislative Liaison. My job is a significant responsibility and I take it seriously. At one
time, I had seventeen direct reports.
I have served with honor under four different Administrations - Codey, Corzine, Christie and
you. Under Codey, I was brought in to a School Construction Corporation that was on the verge
of collapse. I worked alongside a dedicated Executive Team and Board to reinvent a new
Authority that would better execute the vision of the legislature, instill financial and program
controls that would prevent waste and mismanagement, strengthen the Corporate Compliance
function, and get the entire operation entrusted for refunding. I personally wrote sections of the
law that created the SDA and the entire law that refunded the program.
Under Corzine, I went door to door of every single member of the legislature meeting in their
offices to provide the information needed to instill confidence in a refunding campaign. I was
crouched on the floor of the Senate chambers providing statistics in real time to then Senator
Joe Doria, my friend and teacher. I sat on the floor of the Assembly at 2:30 in the morning
listening to a passionate speech from then Assemblyman Cryan regarding the morality of
providing this funding and urging his colleagues to act. Obtaining the $3.9 Billion was one of the
greatest professional accomplishments of my life. Since that time, I have personally appeared to
testify dozens of times before the legislature or provided briefings to the CEOs who did.
Once funding was obtained, I created, developed and executed numerous programs at the SDA
to support our work. One of those programs is the NJGIVS scholarship program in cooperation
with HESAA. A scholarship that connects the students we serve with post-graduate support in
pursuing valuable careers in the construction trades. This program brings our mission full circle
and continues our focus on the future of our children. I also created and implemented an
in-house SMWBE training program to educate small, women and minority owned business on
how to do business with the State. At the time, the Executive Team was skeptical that it could
be done. It is now in its ninth year.

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I was shocked and dismayed to be terminated this past Tuesday alongside 27 former
employees, new hires, who were identified as being unqualified for their positions through
multiple recent investigations. In addition to the 27, three employees were terminated (myself
included) who were long standing leaders of the SDA with extensive experience and
qualifications. It made no sense. Neither the Interim CEO nor the Chief Counsel could look me
in the eye - they were visibly upset. I wasn't able to say goodbye or even retrieve my
belongings. It was a humiliating experience and my reputation has been damaged for it.
I was disheartened to read in Politico that the reason for my termination was "performance
issues". Everyone who has ever worked with me knows there is no truth in that. In fact, all of my
performance evaluations have been stellar - scoring within the top one percent year over year.
Not one word of reprimand or displeasure exists anywhere regarding my performance. I was a
trusted leader - the entire Executive team and Board held me in high regard and respected my
initiative and intelligence. In fact, at the May 2019 SDA Board meeting when the Board named
Manny DaSilva Interim CEO, the only other action it took that day was to also name me the
Interim Records Custodian for the Authority. The Chairman sang my praises and thanked me for
stepping up to take on the additional responsibility.
Then, I read the correction in Politico that my termination was because my job was "redundant".
My ability to move seamlessly in a variety of roles and be effective is one of the reasons I've
been consistently promoted. I wasn't in a newly created position - I had held the position
previously during the Corzine Administration. There was no one else serving as the Records
Custodian or writing Policy. There is no one now dedicated to those functions. Therefore, my
position was not "redundant". So what has changed since the May 2 board meeting when I was
appointed?
The majority of my work since being publicly praised at the May meeting, has been complying
with multiple investigations. I spent two days being interviewed by Carmagnola & Ritardi and not
one word appears in the report about my job function being "redundant" or unnecessary. Since
the May Board meeting, I provided a fifteen page statement after another lengthy interview in an
EEOC complaint filed by the former CEO. Finally, I was the only SDA employee working under
subpoena served by the SCI to provide thousands of pages of documents, each one needing to
be reviewed and potentially redacted for privilege. Why would the SDA fire the only employee
working under subpoena in an ongoing SCI investigation? It doesn't make sense.
I want my job back. I want to work alongside the Executive Team and the Board to once again
reform and prepare the SDA for refunding. I want to help accomplish a successful legislative
campaign. I want to work to create the internal processes that will be needed after I draft the
policies that will effectuate the recommendations the internal audit team made to the Board. I
want to work in my office, in the center of the Office of Chief Counsel to review and redact
thousands of pages of documents so that the SCI investigation can be thorough and end
quickly. I want to execute the Executive Team's vision to prepare for the next round of projects
because the need across the state is still so great. I am a parent to two small children and there

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are so many facIlItIes where you can't help but wonder - would I let my kIds go to that school?
That's how we 3" need to think, lhat's how we provrde laser focus on our purpose and be their
voice.

Someone needs to do lhe heavy IIfting and WIthout resentment, Without a
word at negativity' Because above all else, I am a ProfessIonal who believes In the value the
SDA brings lo the people at the state. Lel me take these past few days as sick time. Is
true, I've been sick to my stomach since Tuesday Let me go back to my Job assistmg the SCI
so that investigallon can conclude and lhe SDA can truly move torward. RIghl wrong. I can
start Monday.

Sincerely,

Kristen P. MacLean