Freeholder Director Elease Evans

Elease Evans was first elected to the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 2002 and was re-elected in 2005, and for the past three years she was selected by her fellow Freeholders to serve as Freeholder Director.

The Passaic County raised Freeholder is a graduate of Passaic County Vocational and Technical High School. She attended William Paterson College where she majored in Sociology and was inducted into the Sociology Honor Society. Freeholder Evans also received her Certification in Life Skills/ Career Counseling from Columbia University. Freeholder Evans accomplishments are even more noteworthy because she pursued her educational goals as a young working mother struggling to balance her family, career, and school.

Freeholder Evans and her husband Billie are longtime residents of Paterson's Eastside. Freeholder Evans is a proud mother of two sons, Don and Patrick, and daughter, Karen. Elease is also a grandmother of nine.

Elease spent thirty-three years at the Passaic County Board of Social Services before retiring in 2002, upon her election to the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders. At the Passaic County Board of Social Services, Freeholder Evans rose from a clerk/typist position to that of Senior Training Technician. While at the Board of Social Services, Elease served 24 years as the Vice President of the Professional Workers Association.

Freeholder Elease Evans learned long ago that in order to affect change in your community you need to get involved with its people at a grass roots level. Freeholder Evans has served the community well in a variety of ways.

She currently serves on the Boards of the YMCA of Clifton & Passaic and Eva's Shelter in Paterson, and as a Commissioner of the Paterson Parking Authority. She has previously served as President of the Paterson branch of the NAACP, as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Greater Paterson OIC, and as a member of the Mayor's Task Force on Crime and Drugs. Freeholder Evans also serves on the New Jersey Clean Air Council, acts as Chair of the Paterson Cancer Initiative and is a Vice Chair of the Planning and Economic Development Committee for the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA). She has been an active member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Paterson since 1979, and has served her church in many capacities including Sunday school teacher, usher, and member of both their Civil Rights Commission and Board of Christian Education.

Freeholder Evans began her political life with her election in 1985 to the first of what would ultimately be two terms on the Paterson Board of Education. She was proud when her colleagues selected her to serve as the Board's President for two years. Upon taking office in January of 2003 she has delved right in to the job and has rapidly made her mark, especially in the area of Planning and Economic Development. The Freeholder was pleased to co-host the first ever NJDEP Compliance Seminar to assist the Passaic County business community with environmental compliance issues. The seminar was organized to educate the business community about the NJDEP's upcoming "Operation Clean Sweep" which is a program to identify businesses that are not in compliance with environmental regulations.

Freeholder Director Elease Evans is focusing on an ambitious set of goals for 2006. Her main goal is to attract new businesses to Passaic County, which would create new jobs and expand the County's tax base. This, in turn, would lessen the tax burden on County residents. Also on tap for 2006 is a management review that streamline County government. Elease Evans, through her energy and commitment to Passaic County and its residents, will continue to be a force for positive change in the County of Passaic.