About the PR Team

​Jen Scarpati, Founder & Executive Director

I'm a mother of two boys, an attorney, and I'm passionate about both community service and education. 

A wise person once said to me: "No one can ever take away someone's education," and I take that very seriously. Schooling can and should be a youngster's most valuable asset, and I believe that no child's economic status should determine his or her academic trajectory. No child should walk into school fearing the stigma of having inadequate school supplies. No child should be expected to excel in school without the proper tools. 

Prior to co-founding Project Readiness with Annie Peters, I worked to pair children with backpacks full of age-appropriate school supplies through Volunteers of America's Operation Backpack in NYC, and through a grassroots effort at Nourish NJ. In working with Nourish NJ, I was struck at the magnitude of the need in Morris County and Project Readiness was born.