“We are very happy to welcome Reverend Dr. Teabout, whose leadership has helped impact and improve the lives of countless individuals within our community,” Ms. Peña said. “We also wish to acknowledge and thank Pamela Gardner, who advocated tirelessly for our students during her eight-year tenure as a member and Vice Chair.”
Reverend Dr. Snelling Teabout serves as the Director of Mission for New Community Corporation of Newark, a nonprofit organization and one of the largest community development corporations in the United States, active in housing, education, training, childcare, and economic development. In addition, she is the Founder and Pastor of Open Door Worship Center in Jersey City and an Adjunct Professor at the Fairleigh Dickinson University Petrocelli Center for Continuing Education. Reverend Dr. Snelling Teabout has been involved in education throughout her career and has experience as a Work Program Specialist, Assistant Director of Community Outreach, and Educational Opportunity Fund Student Counselor at Rutgers University; Guidance Counselor for the Newark Board of Education; and After-School Program Coordinator/Teacher and Director of Youth Services for New Community Corporation.
A graduate of Jersey City’s acclaimed McNair Academic High School, Reverend Dr. Snelling Teabout holds a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Drew University, a Master of Arts in Divinity from Princeton University, a Master of Arts in Counseling and Psychology from New Jersey City University, and Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Caldwell College.
Hudson County Community College is governed by its Board of Trustees, a group of ten voting members selected from the community, as well as two non-voting members – the President and a student representative chosen from the graduating class each year. The Governor of New Jersey appoints two trustees, and the remaining voting members are appointed by the Hudson County Executive with the advice and consent of the Hudson County Board of Commissioners. As a voting member, Reverend Dr. Snelling Teabout will serve a four-year term.
About Hudson County Community College
Hudson County Community College serves more than 20,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The College offers more than 90 degree and certificate programs, including award-winning English as a Second Language; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management, Nursing and Health Professions; and Humanities and Social Sciences. The HCCC Culinary/Hospitality Management program was ranked number six in the U.S. by Best Choice Schools. The College’s School of Continuing Education and Workforce Development offers cutting-edge, industry-recognized, stackable credentials in alignment with high-priority workforce needs.
HCCC has partnerships with major four-year colleges and universities in the greater New Jersey-New York area and beyond, accommodating seamless transfer of credits for further undergraduate and graduate education.
The College has received dozens of national awards throughout the years. In 2023, HCCC received the Outstanding Member Institution Award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). HCCC was a finalist in seven categories of last year’s American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) national “Awards of Excellence” and earned the 2024 CEO of the Year, Faculty of the Year, and Student Success Awards.
For the fourth consecutive year, HCCC was selected as one of only a few community colleges in the United States to be named among the “2024 Most Promising Places to Work in Community Colleges” by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD). HCCC was one of 22 community colleges in the nation, and the only college in New Jersey, to be recognized by ModernThink LLC and the “Chronicle of Higher Education” as a 2025, 2024, 2023 and 2022 “Great College to Work For®” and named to the 2024 and 2023 “Great Colleges Honor Roll of Distinction.”
HCCC is one of two colleges in the United States to be named a Top Ten Finalist in all three program categories for the nationally recognized 2023 Bellwether Awards, and received the 2023 Bellwether Award for the College’s cutting-edge “Hudson Scholars” program, which also won the 2024 Bellwether Legacy Award.
The College’s exemplary work in advancing student success has been recognized with the 2025, 2024, and 2023 “Leader College of Distinction” designation by Achieving the Dream, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community colleges as catalysts for equity and mobility in their communities. HCCC was also presented the Campus Prevention Network Seal of Prevention in 2024 and 2023 for demonstrating leadership in digital prevention programming focused on student safety, well-being, and inclusion.
