Meet Our Team
Richard Henning
President & Chief Executive Officer
Richard W. Henning currently serves as president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Utilities Association. In this position, he provides strategic direction and sets policy for NJUA members and represents utilities in various political and governmental activities in the State of New Jersey. This would include legislative, executive, administrative, and regulatory state governmental operations.
Mr. Henning advocates before the state legislature and regulatory agencies to achieve policies that promote the interest of utilities and their customers in the provision of safe, reliable, environmentally conscious and affordable services. He also coordinates with NJUA members’ public affairs activities to represent the industry’s mission and vision to media and to industry organizations.
Before joining NJUA, Mr. Henning was senior vice president of Communications and External Affairs for Suez North America, now Veolia. Rich joined Suez in 1989 and assisted in transforming the company from a local, regional utility into a leading national environmental and water services leader. Earlier in his career Rich held management positions with GE, RCA and Panasonic, and was a sportswriter for The Record newspaper.
He served as chairman of the board of governors for Hackensack University Medical Center and helped direct its merger with Meridian Health. He then served as Chair and Co-chair of Hackensack Meridian Health Hospitals Corporation for three years. Mr. Henning is currently chairman of the board of directors for Pascack Valley Medical Center, a Hackensack Meridian Health hospital.
In addition, he served as a member of the board of directors for the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation and an executive board member of the New Jersey Utilities Association. He is also active in the New York State Water Wise Council and the American Water Works Association.
Mr. Henning earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, where he also taught communications as an adjunct professor.
Christina Gordillo Farrell
Vice President
Christina Gordillo Farrell is a seasoned veteran of both the utility industry and state government with more than fifteen years of experience. As Vice President, she oversees government and regulatory affairs strategy development, with a focus on strengthening relationships with elected and industry stakeholders across New Jersey, as well as identifying and advocating for industry policy priorities.
Ms. Farrell initially joined NJUA as the Director of Government and Public Affairs then was promoted to Senior Director of Government and Public Affairs before her appointment as Vice President in 2022.
Immediately prior to joining NJUA, Christina held a role as an associate director for Monmouth University, tasked with creating and managing strategic partnerships with relevant community and business leaders.
Ms. Farrell served as a lobbyist for the New Jersey Realtors Association, the state’s largest trade association. She lobbied on local, state, and federal issues affecting the industry and served as the Legislative and PAC manager.
Before her work with NJR, she was the Senate Republican Office’s Senate Environment and Energy Committee aide, where she worked on complex energy issues and developed strong relationships with elected officials and staff on both sides of the aisle, as well as key industry stakeholders.
Christina has completed numerous leadership training courses and sits on the Board of Trustees for CASA of New Jersey, where she is a member of the Executive Committee and is Co-chair of the Resource Development Committee. She is also a Governing Member of the Women’s Political Caucus of NJ.
She received a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Policy, Institutions and Behavior from Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Joseph M. Gurrentz, PH.D.
Director of External Affairs
A self-described “civic-minded scientist,” Gurrentz is widely known in Trenton as a vocal advocate for affordable, sustainable, reliable and secure utility service in New Jersey.
Gurrentz, of Haddonfield, served over the past three years as a policy analyst for the New Jersey Senate Majority Office, while also working as a post-doctorate science and politics fellow at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics. He earned his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at the University of Texas in Austin.
As part of his work for the Senate Majority Office, Gurrentz managed the development, stakeholder engagement and passage of energy, environmental, and labor-focused legislation. His work required significant collaboration between state legislators, regulators, stakeholders, and staff to reach consensus.
Moreover, Gurrentz monitored regulatory actions and developed policy positions for the Senate majority, which is ideal experience for his enhanced role with the NJUA as it sets its aggressive legislative agenda for the remainder of 2024, Henning said.
As a scientist, Gurrentz also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, for three summers, studying proton radiography. In his unique role, he installed and maintained fiberoptic and vacuum pump systems for scientists investigating material behaviors under high explosive conditions for national security. At the University of Michigan, where he earned his undergraduate degree, Gurrentz researched earth-abundant energy materials for affordable, scalable solar-powered chemical fuels production.