CNJ+ February 2025

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CNJ+ MEDIA SPOTLIGHT: JONATHAN BARNETT By Surabhi Ashok

Medicaid/J.A.C.C. Covered Service Wanting to further his efficacy as a policy pro fessional and realizing that a law degree would give him the skills needed to advocate for issues close to his heart, Barnett applied to and joined a joint-degree program at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and the University of Michigan Law School. Com pleting the program in four years, he left with a Masters in Public Affairs and a J.D. law degree. In policy school, he delved into the analysis of societal issues and solutions, which comple mented the law education, discussing the na tion’s governing systems and the power it held to act on those issues. “Pursuing the joint graduate degree gave me the opportunity to think in new ways about the various social and economic issues I encoun tered in my work at the Department of Agricul ture and in Governor Murphy’s office,” Barnett said. Kickstarting his legal career, he joined a clerk ship for Chief Justice Stuart Rabner of the New Jersey Supreme Court, one who Barnett as tounds as a mentor and dedicated public servant. He said that clerking for the state Supreme Court provided him a unique opportunity to observe the decision-making process and strategies in volved for several intricate cases. Working now as an attorney at Elias Law Group, an organization focused on election and voting You have always been there for your mom, and now GoldenYears Care is here for you such as agriculture, computer science in educa tion, health benefits, and rural poverty. Call UsToday For ATour or Info! (732) 851-6640 www.GoldenYearsCareNJ.com • Medical AppointmentTransportation • Around-the-clock attention • Physical & OccupationalTherapy In House • Free Door-to-DoorTransportation • Delicious Food Options (Spanish, Russian, Italian & more) • Onsite & Offsite Activities: (Ping Pong, Zumba, Shopping Excursions, Museums, Crafts,Trips to the Shore and much more) • Onsite Hairdresser Serving Monmouth, Middlesex & Ocean Residents Conveniently off Rt 33 and NJTurnpike Exit 8 108 Woodward Rd. Manalapan, New Jersey If your loved one needs care during the day, trust GoldenYears Care to put them in good hands! rights and representing Democratic campaigns, Barnett hopes to contin ue to expand his knowl edge in law and policy and champion for the issues he cares about, he said. “My childhood in Millstone and my life since then have taught me that … dreams that seem far-off or unat tainable are really with in reach, with hard work and communities sup porting you,” he said.

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Jonathan Barnett, a current attorney at Elias Law Group, detailed his experiences growing up in Millstone, getting a graduate policy and law degree, and starting his career in an interview with CNJ+ Media. His time in Millstone consisted of Boy Scouts, PACE Youth Development Cooperation, and participation in sports and church as a child and extracurriculars such as Model UN, the academ ic team, and political awareness club as a high school student. Barnett said he was able to develop his sense of community and service early on in his life and stayed committed to these values throughout high school and college. “My most formative memories of my child hood in Millstone revolve around the people I met and spent time with friends I remain close with to this day, teachers and mentors who in spired and encouraged me, and wonderful mo ments with my family,” he said. Barnett’s involvement in his history classes and politically oriented clubs at Allentown High School, along with his emerging awareness of the country’s issues during Former President Obama’s second administration, helped him find his fascination for policy. He went to George Washington University in Washington, D.C. in order to follow his passion for understanding and helping to resolve com munity issues. “My high school

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courses and extracur riculars seeded my in terest in the work that I continue to do today,” he said. Graduating college in 2016, Barnett went from working at the United States Depart ment of Agriculture to Phil Murphy’s guberna torial campaign in New Jersey to the governor’s office itself as a policy analyst. Through these positions, he was able to home in on focus areas

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