Commissioner Virginia E. "Ginny" Haines
Chairwoman: Human Services and Social Services
Term Expires: 12/31/2025
Phone: 732-929-2004
Email: CommissionerHaines@co.ocean.nj.us

Commissioner Virginia E. “Ginny” Haines, a lifelong resident of Ocean County, brings years of public service and leadership experience to the Board of Commissioners.

Commissioner Haines of Toms River, was first appointed to the board in January 2016. She was the second woman only to serve as a Freeholder, then Commissioner in Ocean County. She was sworn into her third three-year term on Jan. 4, 2023.

Commissioner Haines serves as Chairwoman to the Ocean County Department of Human Services and the Ocean County Board of Social Services. Commissioner Haines works closely with Human Services and Social Services and their affiliated partners in making certain programs and services are in place to help the most vulnerable and needy citizens in Ocean County.

Social Servces is a lifeline for thousands of Ocean County residents assisting them in keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads. The mission of the Board of Social Services is to serve County residents in the administration of approximately 60 programs including General Assistance, SNAP and Family Care. Commissioner Haines serves as a member of the Board of Social Services.

As chairwoman of the Ocean County Department of Human Services, Commissioner Haines has extended her support to the Ocean County Homelessness Trust Fund created in 2023 to help support programs for the homeless and the annual Code Blue program. The trust fund is overseen by a task force of individuals that focus on bringing people out of homelessness and work to prevent it from occurring.

As the former Chairwoman of the Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation, Commissioner Haines worked to bring important improvements to many Ocean County parks including the creation of all-inclusive playgrounds to many County parks making recreational activities available for all County children.

Under her leadership, the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund Program preserved thousand of acres of open space including farmland and environmentally sensitive areas throughout the County. Its largest purchase is the almost 8,000 acres known as the Forked River Mountains.

Commissioner Haines now serves as the Board's alternate representative to the Southern New Jersey Commissioners Association. She served as association President in 2022.

Prior to joining the Board, Commissioner Haines served as the Executive Director of the New Jersey Lottery from July 1994 to February 2002.

Commissioner Haines also served as state 10th Legislative District Assemblywoman from 1992 to 1994. She served as the New Jersey General Assembly Assistant Majority Whip. She also served on the Toms River (formerly Dover Township) Township Committee in 2002. She was Clerk of the New Jersey Assembly and also served as a Legislative Aide for state Senator Robert Singer.

She served as Director of the Board in 2019 and Deputy Director in 2022.

Commissioner Haines has closely worked with the Jersey Shore Council of Boy Scouts, the Monmouth/Ocean Foodbank now known as Fulfill, the Ocean County Heart Association, and the United Way. She is an active member of the Rotary Club of Toms River and the Toms River Student Loan Fund Board.

She also has served as a speaker and mentor for the Christine Todd Whitman Excellence in Public Service Series.

Among her many awards, she has been recognized with the Distinguished Citizen Award, and the Loyal Buffalo Award from the Jersey Shore Council of Boy Scouts, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ocean County Girls Scouts. She was named a Paul Harris Fellow, a Melvin Jones Fellow, New Jersey Law Enforcement Association Recognition, Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Citizen of the Year by the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce. Commissioner Haines also is an inductee of the Lakewood High School Hall of Fame and serves as the Regent for the Joshua Huddy Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Commissioner Haines is the former National Republican Committeewoman – New Jersey since 2004 until july of 2024 and had served as a co-vice chair of the Republican National Committee Northeast Region since 2013. She also served as a delegate in 2008, 2012 and 2016 for the Republican National Convention and has represented the state on numerous committees.