2023 Women in Government Panel

By Colin Ward | Published April 10, 2023

As Women’s History Month came to an end, Kean University hosted a “Women in Government” panel that explored roles in government and the pathways they took to get there. 

The event, which was a collaboration with Thomas Edison State University, included several women leaders who explained their journey to their current positions, pointing out that it always included perseverance and hard work.

Panelist Kellie Drakeford LeDet, Kean’s chief government affairs officer,  recounted her illustrious career that included stints in politics, government, and business.  

LeDet first worked on Lieutenant Governor Doug Wilder’s campaign when he ran for Governor of Virginia. Wilder won and became the first African-American Governor of Virginia. 

 “Nothing was ever planned. Even the day I was born it was a blizzard, Friday the 13,” LeDet said. 

After working on other numerous campaigns, LeDet became the first African-American regional administrator for the Small Business Administration. LeDet grew emotional while talking about the support that she had from her late grandmother, who always told her that she would make it to the White House. 

She did make it to the White House too, as a guest under former President Barack Obama.

 “[Obama] walks around this room, shaking everyone’s hand and he sees me and gives me this great big hug,” LeDet said. “Someone asked if I knew him like that, yeah I know him like that!” 

Angela R. Garretson, Chief External Affairs Officer, at New Jersey Institute of Technology, was raised in a single-family household in Hillside, NJ. She ran for school board after college and won. 

Once elected, Garretson traveled a lot through the Young Elected Officials Network. She saw this as a valuable learning experience for working with her community. 

Garretson became a councilwoman in Hillside, and then later the mayor of Hillside. She and her team got a better understanding of business and business development by meeting with every local business in Hillside. Garretson said she did this because she cared for the people of her community and wanted to assure them that they had everything they needed. 

“My work ethic and what I expect of others was always don’t expect someone to do something that you wouldn’t do yourself,” Garretson said. “But it doesn’t mean everyone is going to love that.”

Jennifer Keyes-Maloney, Associate VP of Government and Community Relations, was born in New Jersey, but moved many times as a child. She ended up back in her home state, attending The College of New Jersey. After graduating college, Keyes-Maloney began working for a direct consumer firm. She worked during the day and went to law school at night. 

“It really required you to balance the idea of work life and academic life,” Keyes-Maloney said. “I knew so much more about life because of the work I was doing.” 

Shante D. Palmer, Vice Chancellor for External and Government Relations,  was born and raised in Montclair, NJ, and is one of seven children. She studied at Montclair University and got her master’s degree at Rutgers Newark.

Palmer worked at the National Labor Relations Board where she worked with lawyers on employer and union issues for seven years. Palmer then worked at Montclair State University for three years, before transitioning to Rutgers. 

“The most important part was that I not only utilized my mentors, my colleagues, and my peers to navigate what made sense for me and my career at the time,” Palmer said. “I was guided by my passions and my purpose.”

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