RELEASE: Gottheimer Hosts Fifth District “Hometown Heroes” Awards

Above: Gottheimer with Eightieth Anniversary Hometown Heroes.

MAHWAH, NJ — U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) honored local lifesaving first responders, veterans, volunteers, community leaders, and residents during his Fifth District Hometown Heroes Ceremony, held at Ramapo College. 

Watch Gottheimer’s Hometown Heroes Ceremony here.

Gottheimer honored 16 residents as Fifth District Hometown Heroes to acknowledge their dedication to helping improve the lives of their neighbors, families, and communities.

“If you tune into cable, or go onto social media, there is far more attention these days on what’s going wrong with America, and far too little attention on what’s going right. But then, stories crop up here and there of an EMT who has saved countless lives and volunteered decades of service or a young student going above and beyond to help those less fortunate,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “You realize that we just don’t spend enough time showcasing all of the good that happens every day — not enough time recognizing what it means to be a great citizen in the greatest country in the world.”

Among many other heroes, Gottheimer honored: 

• Anthony Lupardi Jr. and Mark Lupardi, firefighters who are brothers with decades of experience contributing to the community of Closter, responding to thousands of calls including the World Trade Center on 9/11. 
• Walter Hutchinson, who has been Bergen County Sergeant since 2002 and helped perform life-saving CPR on a 5-year-old child while he was out driving with his family.
• Rebecca Miller Pringle, a Desert Storm Veteran, constantly advocates for veterans by connecting them with housing and always gives back to her community by supporting organizations like Make-A-Wish, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Bayonne military museum.
• Lil Corcoran, the Executive Director of the Women’s Right Information Center (WRIC), has overseen the dramatic expansion of WRIC programs and had a 2017 resolution from the New Jersey State Assembly sponsored by Assemblywoman Huttle of Bergen County recognizing her efforts to end domestic violence. 

Read about this year’s Hometown Heroes below:

Dr. Scott Fisher, Leonia — Scott has served in the Army since 2009, achieving the rank of U.S. Army Major, and continues to serve our country in the active reserves. Scott worked for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon and is a veteran of both the war in Iraq and Afghanistan — where he received a Bronze Star for counterterrorism activities. In addition to serving as a councilman for Leonia, he is a volunteer firefighter, and also serves as Police Commissioner and Office of Emergency Management Liaison. Scott is the author of two books: “Axis of Evil World Tour” and “Work Hard for the Kims.” Scott is an Assistant Professor in the Security Studies Department at New Jersey City University.

Daniel “Dan” Zambrano, Westwood — In 2024, Dan worked to get Downtown Westwood’s beloved European Copper Beech Tree in Veteran’s Park, which is more than 232 years old, nominated and accepted on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Big and Heritage Tree List. Dan also helped organize Westwood’s first Juneteenth Tree Planting Celebration, and as a part of the Westwood Arbor Fest, organized an “adopt a drain program.” This initiative encourages Westwood neighbors to adopt storm drains, keeping them free of debris to help combat flooding. As the Chairman of the Westwood Shade Tree Committee since 2022, Dan has worked tirelessly to improve Westwood’s approach to the local tree canopy — which helps protect our environment and, by making temperatures cooler, can help reduce utility bills.

Rebecca Miller Pringle, Hillsdale — Rebecca is the Senior Vice Commander for the Bogota Post 5561 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, a nonprofit comprised of veterans and military service members who testify before congress and meet with lawmakers to ensure our veterans are considered in all legislative decisions. Rebecca is also a decorated Desert Storm Veteran who served in the Army for four and a half years, earning several awards and medals for her work both in the military and in our communities. As a volunteer for the non-profit, Homes for Veterans — Rebecca helps raise awareness and make homes more accessible for veterans with disabilities, while also helping homeless veterans find housing, raising funds to build homes for homeless veterans. Rebeca is a licensed real estate Broker, serving military families by helping them find their dream home. In her spare time, Rebecca supports fundraisers for organizations such as Make-A-Wish, VFW, and the Bayonne military museum.

Lil Corcoran, Ridgewood — For the past eight years, Lil has been the Executive Director of the Women’s Right Information Center (WRIC), a life-saving nonprofit dedicated to assisting with trauma-healing, providing career services, legal consultations, and housing assistance. Lil has overseen the dramatic expansion of WRIC programs and services, accelerating its work during the pandemic and doubling its efforts to become the one-of-a-kind program it is today. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Lil works with individuals who have experienced trauma, intimate partner abuse, severe grief, addiction and more. Lil has become a certified equine therapist who uses her love of horses to support victims of abuse. Lil has also educated thousands of students, teachers, Crisis Response Teams and more — passing along her incredible knowledge and skills to reach even more of those in need of help.  

Hackensack Fire Deputy Chief John Ingallinera and the Hackensack Fire Department Fourth Platoon, Hackensack — John has served as a member of the Hackensack fire department for 27 years, and a Deputy Chief in charge of the Fourth Platoon for more than eight years. When a woman had fallen onto the train tracks of the intersection, she tried to climb a tree branch. The branch broke, and she fell further into a ravine and broke her leg. Under John’s leadership, members of the Fourth Platoon successfully executed a high-angle rope rescue, a specialized type of rescue operation that involves extracting people from steep terrain using ropes, to reach the woman who had fallen below. Together, our Hackensack Firefighters quickly accessed the scene, stabilized the victim, and helped connect her with emergency medical care.  

Jennifer Charnow, Woodcliff — Jennifer is the mayor-appointed Stigma Free coordinator for Woodcliff Lake and works to educate others about how to promote a healthy, safe, substance, and stigma-free environment for children. Jennifer also created the Parent Academy program which teaches anyone, especially parents of the Pascack Valley, about things like mental health, substance use, and parenting support. Jennifer is now in her third year as the Co-President of the Pascack Hills High School Parent Factuality Association and she also serves as Vice President of the Wilder Family Foundation — a charitable foundation that her family runs in Fort Lee to help fund religious events, promote public safety, and assist the homeless. 

Steve Rogers, Tenafly — Steve is the Chief Executive Officer of the Kaplan JCC on the Palisades, where he has worked to build and expand the community center. Steve is also a member of the national board of directors for the Americans for Ben Gurion University. Since 2019, Steve has been the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for NJY Camps, an organization dedicated to creating meaningful and inclusive summer camp experiences to foster Jewish community, Jewish identity, and connection to Israel for young people. Steve was appointed by Governor Christie to serve on the New Jersey – Israel Commission and is a recipient of the Temple Emanu-El Founders’ Award and the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Erich Holzer Community Service Award.  

Allison Lim, Ho-Ho-Kus — Allison spearheads the Ho-Ho-Kus Community Garden, posting stories and updates to promote and inform the public about the community garden, which cultivates organic produce for our neighbors in need by planting and harvesting produce, providing education to the public, arranging for tours, leading volunteers, and collecting donations. As of November, the Ho-Ho-Kus Community Garden has harvested 730 pounds of produce under Allison’s leadership, with most of that being donated to local nonprofits to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to feed the hungry.

Devraj Dhupar, Upper Saddle River — As the Co-President and Founder of the Saddle River Day High school chapter of the HELP Foundation, Devraj raised nearly $50,000 over three years to support four children at an ashram — an orphanage — in India throughout their entire stay there. Devraj has even visited once before. While there, he played games and tutored the children there. Once he returned home, Devraj recorded a video discussing the experience and presented it to the student body, parents, and faculty to bring awareness and enroll even more students to join the HELP Foundation. Devraj is a HELP Foundation Outstanding leadership award recipient and with college on the horizon, Devraj remains committed to raising funds and awareness for the Foundation.  

Dr Raffaele “Ralph” Bernardo, Englewood Cliffs — Ralph led the creation of the Valley Health system’s Center for LGBTQ+ Care to help address the lack of dedicated LGBTQ+ healthcare services in Northern New Jersey. As Medical Director for Valley’s Center for LGBTQ+ Care, Ralph empowers his patients to feel comfortable enough to seek, and receive the care they deserve. This year, Ralph helped secure a $130,000 Women for Health grant to further support the Center’s mission of providing accessible, high-quality care to the LGBTQ+ community by improving cultural understanding among Valley’s healthcare providers.  

Hillary Joy Cohen, MD, MPH, Haworth — Hillary has bravely responded to countless time sensitive and critical situations like heart attacks, strokes, and traumatic injuries as an emergency medicine physician. As chief of emergency medicine at Englewood Health, Hillary developed protocols to improve hospital safety and quality while mentoring multiple teams of clinicians. In 2015, Englewood Health elevated Hillary to Chief Medical Officer to recognize Hillary’s remarkable accomplishments. In addition to helping run the hospital, Hillary continues to fight to address health disparities, while mentoring teams of other clinicians. This year, the institution was named a finalist for the American Hospital Association’s Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service.   

Bergen County Sergeant Walter Hutchinson, New Milford —  Bergen County Sergeant Walter Hutchinson has held the rank of Sergeant of Bergen County since 2004 and served on the police force for years. Walter helped a doctor and a father perform CPR on an unresponsive child until paramedics arrived on the side of the road. The girl was later reported to be in stable condition, and for his life saving assistance, Walter received the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office Departmental Award. Walter also coordinated across multiple police departments, to grant the Christmas wish of a young, 6-year-old boy who had brain cancer — receiving the Distinguished Member of the Year Award from the National Police Defense Foundation.  

Barbara Silvia (Posthumous), Fort Lee — Barbara was on the Fort Lee Volunteer Ambulance Squad, having first joined in 1979, and more than 40 years later, Barbara responded to more than 12,000 calls. That includes an eight year stretch in the late 1990s when she averaged more than 500 calls per year. Barbara was a 5-time Chief of the Corps, helped deliver multiple babies, and impacted countless more lives. Barbara was recognized by the Fort Lee Volunteer Ambulance Corps for her more than 40 years of service, and for serving as chief for many years. Barbara received the EMS Lifetime Achievement Award from the New Jersey Office of EMS. 

Casey William Tutunjian Ference, Demarest — Since the start of the pandemic, Casey has volunteered for the Dumont Food Pantry, collecting food donations from neighbors and delivering them back to the pantry on a weekly basis. Casey started a collection box that became “the Gift Pantry” and collected gifts, clothes, toys, books and household items for those less fortunate. As President of the Dwight-Englewood School Young Progressives Club, Casey has helped create a space for students to discuss political views and current events. Casey also collaborates with the school’s Young Conservatives club and hosts school-wide bipartisan dialogues. Casey is a founder of the Northern Valley Soccer Youth Coach Program, which helps high school students get certified as coaches — addressing a local coaching shortage and allowing high school students to fulfill their volunteer hour requirements.

Anthony “Tony” Lupardi, Jr. and Mark Lupardi, Closter — Over the course of his service as a firefighter, Tony has responded to more than 8,000 calls, including at the World Trade Center, and a 54-car pileup on the Palisades Interstate Parkway. Mark joined the Closter Volunteer Fire Department in the fall of 1986 and even their father, Tony Sr. was a firefighter for 70 years. The night after a strenuous rescue, Tony’s heart went into a rare arrhythmia where he needed immediate medical attention. All of the first responders that came to his rescue, were all those he spent years teaching how to respond to medical emergencies. Among those first responders was his brother Mark. Together, they were able to save Tony’s life.

Daniel O’Brien, Emerson — Dan has served as a firefighter for 50 years, having joined the Westwood Fire Department at just 18 years old. This past November, Dan loaded up a trailer with sixteen generators and personally drove them down to North Carolina to support relief efforts for Hurricane Helene. 

Below: Gottheimer honors local Hometown Heroes.

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