Gov. Phil Murphy has nominated his longtime communications director and key advisor, Mahen Gunaratna, to serve on the board of directors of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, one of the state’s most prestigious panels.
He will replace Ralph Caputo, who resigned from the State Assembly in 2023 to take a seat on the Horizon board.
Murphy has also nominated his deputy chief of staff, Michelle DeAngelo-Bucceri, to serve on the Montclair State University Board of Trustees, and his chief counsel, Kate McDonnell, to the Rowan University/ Rutgers Camden Board of Governors. Brady O’Connor, a former Murphy aide, gets a seat on the Ramapo College of New Jersey Board of Trustees.
Gunaratna joined Murphy’s senior staff as communications director on January 16, 2018. He previously worked for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, several members of Congress, and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign before coming to New Jersey.
He left briefly in 2022 to become chief public affairs officer and senior vice president of Everytown for Gun Safety, along with their two grassroots networks, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action. He returned to the Murphy staff in January 2023.
Gunaratna helped design a messaging strategy that enabled the governor to speak directly to the people of New Jersey during the COVID pandemic. The plan helped Murphy become the first Democratic governor in 44 years to win re-election to a second term.
He is a resident of Westfield and will need signoff from the three Union County senators. DeAngelo-Bucceri will need the support four senators from Bergen.
