| The unforgettable evening will include exceptional cuisine and desserts prepared and served by Hudson County Community College (HCCC) Culinary Arts Program chef-professors and Culinary Arts students; a presentation of the Foundation’s Distinguished Service Awards; retrospective celebrating the College’s 50th anniversary; and a Silent Auction for a VIP Mets game experience for two at Citi Field, dinner and an overnight stay for 10 at Skylands Manor in Ringwood, NJ, and a tour for six of the HCCC “50 Years of Excellence” exhibit at the Museum of Jersey City History. Tickets to the 2025 HCCC Foundation Gala may be purchased online at https://www.hccc.edu/community/foundation/events/gala.html. • Gabriella Borrero, Founder and Owner, No Plan B/The Next Generation Network, will host. A consultant and entrepreneur, Ms. Borrero specializes in business coaching, event strategy, and public speaking. Her exclusive network includes more than 80 women in business. • Distinguished Service Award Recipients: Provident Bank and Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey. • HCCC alumnus and Celebrity Guest Chef Brian Edgar Lopes, known for his dishes at Michelin–starred establishments and appearances in Beat Bobby Flay, Chopped, and Alex vs America, will circulate and chat with guests about the evening’s featured flavors and cuisines on Thursday, December 4, 2026, at 6 p.m. HCCC Culinary Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street, Jersey City, NJ. About Hudson County Community College Hudson County Community College serves 24,000 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 Arts/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 four 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. HCCC was a finalist in seven categories of last year’s American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) “Awards of Excellence” and earned 2024 CEO of the Year, Faculty of the Year, and Student Success Awards. In 2023, HCCC received the Outstanding Member Institution Award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). For the fifth consecutive year, HCCC was selected as one of only a few community colleges in the United States to be named among the “2025 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 also earned the Campus Prevention Network Seal of Prevention in 2025, 2024 and 2023 for demonstrating leadership in digital prevention programming focused on student safety, well-being, and inclusion. The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) recently named the College the inaugural recipient of the 2025 ACCT national “Impact and Success Award.” |
