Alex Torpey is the 48th Village President of South Orange, and the youngest in the Village’s history (as well as one of several young mayors currently serving around the US). Alex was elected and sworn into office in May 2011 and will serve a four year term through May 2015.Alex’s past service to South Orange includes serving on the South Orange Public Library Board, the Citizen’s Public Safety Committee, and as the volunteer Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordinator. Alex is currently an active member and EMT at the South Orange Rescue Squad, which he has been with since June 2010.
Alex acquired his B.A. in the Political Science of American Law and Government from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, where he served as student government president for two years and worked for the school newspaper and radio station. He also founded Hampshire’s Public Safety and Health Committee, Hampshire’s tennis team, and was involved with the founding of the Department of Public Safety’s student security program. Alex’s course of study included looking at political science, legal philosophy, behavioral economics, public policy and anthropology. His senior thesis was a 14 month research project on the history and implications of alcohol policy in the United States, which included organizing a Five College conference on tackling alcohol abuse problems on college campuses. Alex is currently completing a master of public administration and public policy program in emergency management and counter-terrorism at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Professionally, Alex owns Veracity Media, a small consulting business focused on new media, communications and technology. Alex has given lectures, published professional articles, regularly attends conferences, and helped connect professionals in the new media field through his collaborative ‘New Media New Jersey.’
Alex is an avid reader, writer, hiker, photographer, hobby tennis player and drummer who can often be found in his free time camped out in the local Starbucks with a stack of books about constitutional government, history or quantum physics or engrossed in the latest TED talk.
A graduate of Columbia High School, he and his family lived in Maplewood for 10 years before moving to South Orange in 1998.
Select Published Writings
In addition to his writing which regularly appeared in the News-Record, Alex has written many articles that have been published in various newspapers and professional websites. Some favorites are listed below:
- The Implications of the Organization of Data. In Social Media Today: http://socialmediatoday.com/alextorpey/147793/implications-organization-data
- The Importance of Debate. In Governing People: http://governingpeople.com/alextorpey/16102/importance-debate
- Encouraging unique (and non-partisan) government innovation in arts and culture. In GovLoop: http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/encouraging-unique-and
- Does Smart Grid Mean Smart Data? In The Energy Collective: http://theenergycollective.com/alextorpey/44308/does-smart-grid-mean-smart-data
- Emergency Training for South Orange Residents, Including You. In the South Orange Patch: http://southorange.patch.com/articles/emergency-training-for-south-orange-residents-including-you
