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Garden State Water Safety Summit 3.0

Annual Summit Recap

On December 11, 2025, more than 100 leaders in aquatics gathered at the Garden State Water Safety Summit 3.0, at the East Brunswick Community Art Center, to address safety in the spectacular waterfronts of New Jersey. The event was organized by the New Jersey Swim Safety Alliance. Many of those in attendance work in overlapping industries and even competing companies. Nonetheless, the group has embraced a goal of reducing death by drowning in New Jersey that hovers around 70 people annually by 30% by 2030. The atmosphere of collaboration, inspiration, and dedication sent those in attendance out the door with a stronger sense of “team” and an increased level of determination to save lives. You can find pictures of the day here.
 
SWIMMING FOR ALL
A key focus of this year’s Summit was on advancing diversity and inclusion within aquatic safety. Recognizing that drowning disproportionately affects underrepresented and marginalized communities, the Summit prioritized conversations and strategies to break down barriers to access. Panel participants floated a few simple ideas to address problems with no simple answers. Leading with creativity, finding representation, and focusing on families to reduce fear among adults were all discussed as ways to foster a more inclusive aquatic community. Participants explored ways to ensure that water safety programs, resources, and leadership opportunities are accessible to people of all backgrounds, cultures, and abilities.
 
COLLABORATION & ACTION
The leaders of the NJ Department of Health, waterparks, lakefronts, marine patrol,
police, community activists, ocean rescue, swim schools, swim support industries, and pool builders were all in attendance, some traveling from as far as Florida. Participants worked together in the afternoon to advance topics prominent in New Jersey’s Water Safety Strategy. Roundtable discussions delved into industry changes, progress, and new dynamics to be considered in a robust, evolving approach to water safety in New Jersey. Breakout groups reported back to the larger audience, where their input was recorded and will be shared with NJSSA’s community. The effort of each person attending the summit was essential to bringing a current, constructive perspective into 2026 and strengthening the collective voice of aquatic professionals within the state.

INSPIRATION
While progress in water safety is too often marked by somber statistics, the Summit has established a powerful tradition of sharing stories of courage and impact from within our community. By celebrating the remarkable rescues and tireless efforts of individuals and organizations dedicated to reducing drowning in New Jersey, these stories inspire action and hope. This year, through partnerships with the National Drowning Prevention Alliance and the American Red Cross, NJSSA was proud to spotlight several of these extraordinary accounts. Below is a complete list of this year’s award recipients whose actions have truly made a difference.

NJSSA’s efforts with Dolfin Swimwear and NRPA to ensure that any child in New Jersey who needs a bathing suit to learn to swim has one are exploding. The 2025 Bathing Suit and Goggle Drive achieved record-breaking results, collecting 10,985 bathing suits and 1,847 pairs of goggles, with 3,437 suits and 932 goggles/accessories delivered directly to those in need. The campaign reached 39 collection sites and partnered with 28 receiving agencies, distributing 3,000 water safety cards and raising $1,500 in donations. With a campaign history total of 16,785 suits collected since its inception, this year’s drive was bolstered by thousands of social media impressions and widespread community support, further reinforcing the message that bathing suits lead to swim lessons—and swim lessons save lives.
 
LEGISLATION
While NJSSA has begun to organize the aquatic leaders like few states in America, we aspire to join Florida and New York state and pass legislation that will address the urgency of protecting our citizens from making life-threatening mistakes because of their lack of awareness of the power and dangers presented in our beautiful water bodies and waterfronts.
2025 concluded with two major legislative achievements for water safety advocacy in New Jersey. Most notably, May was officially recognized as Water Safety Month, a move that will help deliver critical safety information to a wider, more diverse audience across the state. Building on this momentum, NJSSA is actively working to encourage similar designations at the community level. As we continue this vital outreach, support from our network will be essential to reach local leaders and amplify the impact of water safety messaging.
Also discussed at the summit was an Every Child a Swimmer” bill introduced in New Jersey to require our state to develop and distribute water safety information at public and non-public schools. This bill has now passed both legislative houses and will be signed into law. The Summit’s legislative panel included advocates for this bill. They talked about swimming being the first sport children should get into. We hope that giving information to every school-aged child in NJ can make that a reality.
 
How about you?
If you’re looking for a way to save lives and perhaps befriend some people with giving hearts, please consider joining our team. NJSSA is a nearly all-volunteer organization that needs your help. Please consider contributing your time, talent, and/or financial gift. NJ waters are as spectacular as the lives we’re in.
Enjoy them safely,
Learn to swim.

Thank you to all of our members, sponsors, panelists, and participants for making this day possible.

Panelists – Swimming Changes Lives

Lauren Davidson – Para Olympian Gold Medalist
Ellis Peters – SOMA for Justice
Casey McGovern- Every Child a Swimmer
Bob Selfridge – Chief Lifeguard
 

Panelists – New Jersey Legislation to Watch

Dominick Mondi- Northeast Spa & Pool Association
Jack Caucino- Lavallette Beach Patrol Captain
Sgt. Karen Fahy – NJ State Police Marine Service Unit
Bob Hazen – Stop Drowning Now, New York
Casey McGovern – Every Child A Swimmer
 

Award Winners

NDPA

West Long Branch- Patrolman Dave Bronsonski
Conrail – Paul Clawges & Barry Sanders

Lavallette Beach Patrol- Jack Caucino
American Red Cross –

Robert McIntosh – GreyWatch
 

New Jersey Swim Safety Alliance Volunteer of the Year –

John Roche, CPRE, Township of East Brunswick Recreation and Community Service Manager. Crystal Springs Family Waterpark Aquatics Director
 

Garden State Bathing Suit and Goggle Drive Lifesaver awards

Millburn Recreation- Chris Myers

 
Secaucus Recreation – Michael Pero & Allyson Ianuale
 
Program Volunteers:
     Brenda DeMassi
     Jim Josephs
 

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David is the Founder and President of National Safety Training Center and its predecessor companies – Elite Tactical Academy and Mine Brook Search & Rescue, Inc.  He is  a seasoned business leader and public safety education expert. He currently focuses on running this large training center and keeps active teaching both provider level classes and many instructor level classes.

He holds numerous certifications including:

  • American Red Cross Instructor / Trainer
    • BLS / ALS / PALS
    • Lay Rescuer
    • Lifeguarding
    • Babysitting
  • American Heart Association Training Center Faculty
    • BLS
    • HeartSaver
  • National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians Instructor
    • Tactical Emergency Casualty Care
    • Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support
    • Mental Health Resilience Officer
    • Psychological Trauma in EMS Patients

 

David has previously worked as a Red Cross employee in 2 roles:

  • Public Safety Instructor for the Northern VT Chapter – teaching corporate classes for the Red Cross
  • Lifeguard Instructor / Trainer / Educator for the National Association – Teaching the Instructor / Trainer Academies to create new Lifeguard Instructor / Trainers.

 

David lives in the Martinsville section of Bridgewater NJ with his family who are also active in the Public Safety Training / Medical training business. He is a local volunteer Firefighter / EMT, something he has been doing since 1984! David also serves as a volunteer in the US Coast Guard on a specialized deployable communications team.

Dr. Angela K. Beale is an Associate Professor, and Program Coordinator of the Health/Physical Education, Teacher Education  (HPETE) Program, in the Department of Content Area Teacher Education (CATE), in the College of Education, at Rowan University. Dr. Beale Tawfeeq’s belief as an educator and researcher are grounded in her mission of “building bridges to break down barriers” in communities, a trend that was established during her developmental years, via personal, educational,  and physical activity experiences. Dr. Beale Tawfeeq specializes in youth development through aquatic physical activity, curriculum development in health and physical education, and water safety and drowning prevention education in K-12 schools, and community-based organizations. Her recent professional include co-authoring of the most recent National Health Education Standards for the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America, 2024), a contributor and expert reviewer to the United States National Water Safety Action Plan  (2024). She currently serves as a board member and director of education and research  for Diversity In Aquatics (DIA), a non-profit 501 4c organization, whose mission is to educate, promote, and support water  safety and healthy aquatic activities for vulnerable populations, member of American Red Cross, Scientific Advisory  Council, Aquatic Sub Council; board member of the Habitheque Blue and Green Fund, which was formed to promote and  further societal awareness of emerging technologies and techniques for water conservation, ecosystem restoration and  renewable energy, while also providing a vision for scaling these advancements for global impact.