Marcela Ospina Maziarz, MPA | Thomas Edison State University

Advisory regarding Southern California wildfires

On behalf of everyone at Thomas Edison State University, we hope that students affected by the wildfires in Southern California remain safe. The University is offering accommodations to students affected by the wildfires:

Students who are directly impacted by the fires and who are currently registered in courses for the November 2024, December 2024 and January 2025 terms have the option of receiving a free eight-week course extension without mentor approval; or, a 100% tuition credit for their course(s) to a future term. Affected students should submit a Request for Course Extension Form or a Request for Course Withdrawal Form indicating “Southern California wildfires” as the reason for the request. Please note that TECEP exams in these terms cannot be extended, nor credited for tuition after the exam has been taken.

Impacted students who are currently on a course extension for the September 2024 and October 2024 terms can request a second eight-week extension on their current term at no additional cost.

Request an Accommodation: Students affected by the wildfire and evacuations who need an accommodation should contact the Office of the Registrar by email at registration@tesu.edu or by phone at 609-777-5680. Accommodation requests should be submitted by January 24th. Requests after that date can be accommodated if the student provides documentation of the reason for the late request.

Vice President for Community and Government Affairs

Marcela Ospina Maziarz, MPA, serves as vice president for Community and Government Affairs. Reporting to the president and serving on President’s Cabinet, Maziarz leads the University’s efforts advocating for the Thomas Edison State University mission and for students on the federal, state and local levels and plays a pivotal role in expanding Trenton and Mercer County relations for the University.

Prior to joining the University, Maziarz served as deputy commissioner (Health Systems) for the New Jersey Department of Health, where she oversaw licensing, inspections and enforcement of regulations for approximately 4,000 licensed healthcare facilities, the certificate of need program and major funding programs such as charity care and graduate medical education. She played a key role in the COVID-19 pandemic response and vaccination rollout among the state’s underserved communities — leading community outreach through door-to-door campaigns in Trenton and directing a team in successfully increasing vaccination rates for traditionally at-risk communities across 30 of the state’s municipalities with the highest social vulnerability index. During her tenure, Maziarz led a strategic plan focused on restructuring government policies and interventions to address poor outcomes for minority mothers in the state. The strategic intervention led to the creation of the New Jersey Maternal Care Quality Collaborative and the award of $12.75 million for the state to create replicable health interventions to eliminate preventable deaths and morbidities.

She has strong experience working within and across the government and community affairs landscape having served as assistant director of Budget and Fiscal Analysis in the New Jersey Senate Democratic Office as well as a public information officer for the New Jersey Department of Labor.

Maziarz holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Rutgers University-Newark and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Her professional accolades include Senator Loretta Weinberg’s Women of Power List (2016-2020); ROI Influencers — People of Color, 2020; and the Rutgers Faculty Award for Academic Excellence (2010). Noted for her expertise in government administration, public policy and analysis with a focus on health equity, Maziarz has a wealth of experience in legislative affairs and consensus building.