Department of the Treasury
KAVIN K. MISTRY, Deputy State Treasurer
As Deputy State Treasurer, Kavin K. Mistry assists in managing the State budget and oversees Treasury’s Office of Management and Budget and the Division of Taxation. Previously, he served in the Division of Law in the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, where he mostly recently served as the Deputy Director in charge of the Financial Affairs Practice Group. During his 24-year tenure with the Division of Law, he advised on matters involving budget/appropriations, public finance, and the Division of Taxation and supervised matters concerning the Community Health Care Assets Protection Act, along with charitable estates and trusts. Additionally, he represented the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, the New Jersey Building Authority, and the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority. Kavin earned his J.D. from Rutgers School of Law at Camden and his Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Rutgers, The State University.
DENNIS ZEVELOFF, Senior Advisor to the Treasurer
Dennis Zeveloff serves as Senior Advisor to the Treasurer, using his policy expertise to provide critical support on major projects across the department, chief among them – the Governor’s budget proposal. He also serves as the Treasurer’s designee on numerous boards and task forces. Throughout his eight years with the prior administration, he held several positions, including Chief Policy Advisor to the Governor and Director of Budget and Outcomes, playing a central role in developing some of the administration’s most successful policy achievements, which ultimately led to a remarkable turnaround in the State’s finances. Dennis grew up in Bergen County and now lives in Mercer County. He holds both a JD and an MBA from Yale University, along with a BA from Dartmouth College.
MICHAEL KANEF, ESQ., Assistant State Treasurer
Michael Kanef currently serves as Assistant State Treasurer, overseeing Treasury’s Office of Public Finance, Division of Investment, Division of Risk Management, and the New Jersey Lottery. A veteran of the finance industry, he first joined Treasury in 2018 as the Director of the Office of Public Finance after a 20-year career with both Moody’s Corporation and Moody’s Investors Service, including nearly a decade as Chief Regulatory Affairs and Compliance Officer. Prior to joining Moody’s he worked as an attorney for several New York-based law firms, including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom, where he handled structured finance matters.
JO-ANN POVIA, Assistant State Treasurer
Jo-Ann Povia joined the Treasurer’s Office in 2018 and currently serves as Assistant State Treasurer, directly overseeing the Division of Property Management and Construction, the Grants Management Office, and implementation of the State Capital Partnership.
Prior to this role, she served for eight years as Chief of Staff for the Department of the Treasury and later as Associate Deputy Treasurer, directly overseeing Administration, Communications, Legislative Affairs, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Division of Purchase and Property, and the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. She also represented the Treasurer on the New Jersey Commission on Capital Budgeting and Planning, the Trenton Downtown Association and the Capital City Redevelopment Commission, which she currently chairs. She was responsible for leading Treasury’s operational response to the Covid-19 pandemic and later served on Governor Murphy’s Task Force on Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness.
Prior to joining Treasury, she served as Chief of Staff for Assemblywoman Elizabeth Maher Muoio, directing the Assemblywoman’s legislative agenda and overseeing research, constituent relations and intergovernmental relations. She also served more than a decade as Director of Research and Special Projects for the Mercer County Board of Commissioners. Before joining the public sector, Jo-Ann served many years in hospitality and hotel operations management.
ANDREA SPALLA, ESQ., Assistant State Treasurer
Andrea Spalla has served as Assistant State Treasurer since November of 2021, and currently oversees Treasury’s divisions of Pension and Benefits, Purchase and Property, and Revenue and Enterprise Services. She also serves as the Chair of the Secure Choice Savings Program Board, the Co-Chair of the State Health Benefits Plan Design Committee, and a member of the School Employees Health Benefits Plan Design Committee. She first joined Treasury in 2018 as the Director of Legislative Affairs and Constituent Relations. Prior to joining Treasury, she served as Chief of Staff to State Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker; served on the Princeton Board of Education, including two years as President; and co-founded two non-profit organizations. Before moving to New Jersey, she worked as an attorney in the New York office of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton, where she handled a wide array of corporate restructurings and international and domestic litigation.
KEITH WHITE, Assistant State Treasurer
Keith White currently serves as Assistant State Treasurer, overseeing legislative affairs and constituent relations, as well as Treasury’s Unclaimed Property division. He has spent the past three decades shaping public policy both within State government and higher education.
Prior to joining the Treasurer’s Office, he served as senior adviser to NJ Labor Department Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo, where he was integral in shaping labor policies, working with key stakeholders, including labor and business leaders, and directing workforce training funds. He also spent nearly half of his career in leadership positions with the NJ Assembly Majority Office, including director of policy for Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, as well as overseeing the development of policies centered around education, higher education, and the telecom industry.
Keith also served two stints at Rutgers University, the first as director of the Rutgers Trenton Academic Center for the Bloustein School of Policy and Planning, where he worked with Carl Van Horn in the formative years of the Heldrich Center’s development. More recently, he spent five years as Rutgers’ Senior Director of External Affairs. He also served as an expert on economic, workforce and policy matters for the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and as legislative director for the New Jersey Association of Counties. Keith holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky, an MPS from the Graduate School of Political Management, and an MA from Rutgers University as a Harold Martin Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics.
ROBERT M. JOYCE, Chief of Staff
Robert Joyce currently serves as Chief of Staff for the New Jersey Department of the Treasury after 25 years of service with Treasury’s Division of Taxation. Rob is a graduate of Rutgers – the State University of New Jersey, where he received a BA in Political Science and a minor in Economics.
After graduation, Robert launched his career in public service at the U.S. Economic Development Authority, working on grant funding after Hurricane Floyd struck the East Coast of the United States. That experience eventually led to a career with the NJ Division of Taxation where he served in many different service areas over the years, amassing substantial managerial experience, particularly in the areas of taxpayer services, customer service, e and taxpayer accounting. He was promoted to Taxation’s Chief of Staff and Assistant Director of Strategic Planning in November of 2017 and ultimately became Executive Deputy Director in July of 2021. In this role he served as the delegate to the Director and oversaw the day-to-day operations of the agency, which includes 1,400 employees, over 40 taxes and fees, and nearly $40 billion in annual revenues.
Throughout his career he has become synonymous with modernization and efficiency efforts, leading the Treasurer’s Special Task Force on modernizing and transforming the Division of Taxation, putting forth recommendations to streamline processes, improve taxpayer compliance, and bolster customer service, and helping to innovate the division’s operations as a whole.
JENNIFER SCIORTINO, Deputy Chief of Staff
Jennifer Sciortino first joined the Treasurer’s Office in 2018 and currently serves as Deputy Chief of Staff. She has spent nearly three decades in government communications, getting her start at the local level where she worked for the Mayor’s Office in the City of Perth Amboy. For more than two decades now, she has spent her time working for both the executive and legislative branches of State government, serving two Governors, two Senate Presidents, three Assembly Speakers, and numerous cabinet officials. Her roles have included Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications to Governor Phil Murphy, Director of Communications for the Treasury Department, Deputy Communications Director for the Assembly Majority Office, Press Secretary to Senate President Richard Codey, Deputy Press Secretary for Governor Codey, and Public Information Officer for the State Health Department.
In a part-time capacity, she is currently serving her second term on the Bordentown City Board of Commissioners as Deputy Mayor and Director of Public Safety and Affairs. Previously , she served as Mayor and Director of Revenue and Finance. She is a graduate of Rutgers, The State University, where she holds a BA in both Journalism and English.
DEBORAH DePIANO, Director of Legislative Affairs & Constituent Relations
As Director of Legislative Affairs and Constituent Relations, Ms. DePiano serves as the primary contact at the Treasury Department for all legislative matters, serving as the liaison between Treasury’s thirteen divisions, the Governor’s Office, and the Legislature. She provides input on a variety of legislative issues that support Treasury’s mission and impact the department’s divisions. She also oversees constituent services to help ensure legislators and their constituents receive timely resolutions to Treasury inquiries. She first joined Treasury in 2024 as the Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs and Constituent Relations and was promoted to Director later that year. Prior to joining Treasury, she served in the New Jersey Legislature for fourteen years as the aide to both the Assembly Budget and Appropriations committees.
DARRYL ISHERWOOD, Director of Communications
As Director of Communications, Mr. Isherwood oversees all internal and external communications for the Department of the Treasury. He has over 20 years of media and communications experience, including three years as a Senior Advisor in Governor Phil Murphy’s Communications Office and a year at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority as a Senior Advisor and Sector Lead, Film and Digital Media. Before his stint in state government, he worked as a communications consultant to some of the state’s largest companies, specializing in media relations and crisis communications. Prior to his work in communications, he was an award-winning reporter in NY and NJ, covering politics and business for NJ.com and The Star Ledger, The Times of Trenton and other major national and regional outlets.
DANIELLE CURRIE, Deputy Director of Communications
Danielle Currie rounds out Treasury’s communications team as Deputy Director, a role she assumed in 2023 after previously serving as Press Secretary. She joined the department in 2021 after serving as Press Secretary for the Assembly Majority Office. Prior to making the leap to State government, she was a reporter for the Burlington County Times and the Item of Millburn and Short Hills.
SHARON ALESSI, Executive Assistant to the Treasurer & Chief of Staff
Sharon Alessi has served the Department of the Treasury for more than 40 years, lending her invaluable assistance to 14 state treasurers over the course of six different administrations, including direct support to five state treasurers over the course of three different administrations. She ensures the day-to-day operations of the Treasurer’s Office function smoothly, coordinates planning for the state budget process, and plays an integral role in ensuring a seamless transition during changes in administrations.