Jeanne Otersen is Chief of Staff for the
Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE).
HPAE represents 13,000 nurses and health care
professionals in New Jersey and Philadelphia,
and is affiliated with the American Federation
of Teachers. Jeanne has been with HPAE for 22
years and previously served as Strategic Plan
Coordinator and Public Policy Director for the
health care union. Jeanne has coordinated major
conferences and membership mobilization,
community outreach, coalition-building and
legislative campaigns and supervised the policy
and research staff.
Prior to her work at HPAE, Jeanne was a
consultant to women’s, environmental and labor organizations on legislative, political
and community campaigns. She held positions as Program Director/Acting Director for
the NJ Environmental Federation, worked on the Policy and Public Relations Staff for
the Committee of Interns and Residents and was Executive Co-Director for New Jersey
Citizen Action (NJCA), where she was the founding director.
Jeanne has provided testimony and has been a constant advocate for New Jersey’s
nurses and health care professionals. She was listed in NJ Biz and NJ Spotlight as
Most Powerful Advocates/Lobbyists from 2013-2016. She received the NJ Citizen
Action Leadership award in 1998 and 2002 and a NJ Assembly and NJ Senate Citation
in 2002.
Jeanne serves on the Board of Citizens Policy and Education Fund. She also serves
on the NJ Citizen Action Health Care Committee and NJ AFL-CIO Health Advisory &
Lobbyist Committee.
Jeanne has long been involved with the New Jersey Work Environment Council, thanks
not only to her work at HPAE, but also the fact that she is married to WEC’s founding
director, Rick Engler. Jeanne worked with Rick in the early eighties on the New Jersey
Right to Know Campaign.
Jeanne has two children, Caitlin and Connor and Rick has two children, Alex and Brian.
Jeanne was born and raised in New Jersey.