Eric Shuffler is the principal and founder of River Crossing Strategy Group. Previously, he served as Counselor, chief policy adviser and speechwriter to New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey and Dick Codey. In these positions over two consecutive Administrations, Eric was a senior adviser managing key policy initiatives and strategic functions of the Governor’s office.
Eric also served as Chief of Staff at the New Jersey Department of Transportation and was the Director of the New Jersey Office of Recovery and Victim Assistance after the 9/11 terrorist attacks where he led the State’s efforts to assist families and secure federal recovery dollars. Before coming home to New Jersey, Eric spent ten years in Washington, DC with his last position being Chief of Staff to United States Senator Bob Torricelli.
Eric was named to Governor Phil Murphy’s 2018 Transition Leadership Team as a Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications and was called "a longtime New Jersey political insider with strong relationships across the state” by the State’s leading political website.
Eric oversees all of River Crossing’s client strategy and interactions and specializes in applying his tactical and substantive expertise to solve complex governmental issues. His background is in public policy and communications and he has extensive experience in developing communications programs and building coalitions to advance policy objectives. He has significant bi-partisan, high-level legislative, and Gubernatorial relationships in the Statehouse and throughout New Jersey. He believes deeply in the value of personal and regular client communication as part of an effective lobbying partnership.
Eric graduated from the University of Michigan and cum laude from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University where he went to school in the evenings while working on Capitol Hill.
Eric has appeared on the Politickernj.com Power 100 List, was recognized in Insider NJ's 2017 Insider 100: Policymaker's Edition, and serves on the Board of the Drumthwacket Foundation.
Eric is also the President and Co-owner of the Staten Island FerryHawks, a professional minor league baseball team.
He is passionate about his family, his wife Amy and two sons, Madden and Brody, coaching little league baseball, serving as the PTA President at his son’s public school, and the Mets and Giants.
Kevin P. McCabe is a partner and director of Public and Political Affairs at River Crossing Strategy Group. Kevin joined the firm in 2020, bringing extensive political and governmental experience to the role, including a decades-long career in NJ. He served as the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development under Governor McGreevey, and as the Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Woodbridge.
McCabe was included in ROI’s Power List 2022 & 2023: Consultants. He has consistently been included in NJ Globe’s annual Power List, being recognized by the publication in each edition since its inception in 2018. Most recently, Kevin was recognized on the 2023 NJBIZ Power 100 List.
Since 2013, McCabe has been the elected Chairman of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization (MCDO), and was recently re-elected to his fifth consecutive term. Additionally, McCabe joined the Port Authority of NY/NJ Board of Commissioners in 2017, and currently serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee, Vice Chair of the Finance Committee and a committee member on the Finance and Operations Committees.
Previously, McCabe served as President of the Carpenter Contractor Trust (CCT), a labor-management cooperative that serves as the marketing arm of the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters and its union contractor associations. During his presidency, he has led the Trust from a single state entity to a multistate, multimillion-dollar organization.
In addition to having served as an adjunct professor at Kean University, teaching Labor-Management, Kevin co-authored a book entitled, "Not Just Getting By: The New Era of Flexible Workforce Development," which explored challenges faced by single mothers as they try to improve their family's financial well-being.
He also serves as a board member of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University and as a trustee for the New Jersey Hall of Fame Foundation.
In 2016, McCabe was awarded the Hubert H. Humphrey Friend of Labor Award from the Middlesex and Somerset counties AFL-CIO Labor Council. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree in the School of Public Affairs & Administration from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Kean University.
Kevin currently resides in Metuchen, New Jersey, with his wife, Laurie, son, Conor, and daughter Ciara Ann.
Janellen Duffy leads the firm's education practice and co-leads the non-profit advocacy practice. She has over 20 years of experience in government, non-profit, and philanthropic sectors as an advisor to top policymakers and other state leaders. Over this time, Janellen has worked for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and as the Education Policy Advisor and Director of Policy for Governor Corzine. She has also held leadership positions at the Newark Charter School Fund and as the founding Executive Director of JerseyCAN, the board of which is co-chaired by Governor Kean. In these roles, Janellen has led major policy initiatives such as the creation of the NJ school funding formula (2008), an NJ school construction funding initiative (2009), and several other policy accomplishments related to education standards, funding, and promoting high-quality school options.
Doug Hritz has extensive experience guiding both governmental agencies and private entities through complex legislative and regulatory processes. At River Crossing Strategy Group, Doug has successfully worked the legislative process to help numerous client bills get signed into law. He has a wealth of bi-partisan legislative and staff-level relationships cultivated over a decade of serving in senior positions both in and out of government. He helps to lead the firm’s renewable energy practice and is passionate about working on economic development and transportation issues at the local and state level.
Doug was raised in Middlesex County and it’s where the roots of his interest and passion for government, advocacy and political campaigns took hold and were developed.
Before joining the firm in 2008, Doug worked as the Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs for New Jersey's largest and most influential statewide transportation advocacy association, where he was at the forefront of lobbying initiatives related to the Transportation Trust Fund and infrastructure funding.
Doug previously served as the legislative liaison for Governors McGreevey and Codey and for former State Treasurer John McCormac. He is a veteran of multiple gubernatorial campaigns throughout the country and was previously employed as a public affairs associate for a prominent governmental affairs consulting firm.
Doug is a proud Rutgers University Alum. His greatest joy in life is spending time with his daughter. He loves sports and is passionate about soccer, whether it is playing the game or following his favorite club, Manchester United. If you talk to him long enough, he’s likely to quote a line from a movie, everything from Caddyshack to The Godfather.
Timothy White is a veteran New Jersey public affairs, government relations, and communications executive. He specializes in managing comprehensive issue advocacy campaigns and regulatory approval initiatives for real estate development and public utility projects. He is well respected for his work on issues related to education reform, technology regulation, and cannabis legalization/regulation.
Prior to joining RCSG, Tim founded and led the public affairs practice at Beckerman, served as Vice President at MWW Group, and was a political consultant, communications director, and campaign manager for several statewide, legislative, county, and municipal campaigns for elected office. He served as Special Assistant to Bergen County Executive William “Pat” Schuber, as Special Assistant to Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham, as Political Director for the New Jersey Republican State Committee in 2004, and served on Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop’s transition team in 2013.
Tim serves on the New Jersey City University Foundation Board and is the past chair of the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce where he continues to serve on the Board of Advisors and chairs the organization’s Public Affairs Committee. He was a Board Member of the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association for more than ten years and served on the Paramus Golf Commission.
Tim earned a bachelor’s degree from New Jersey City University (’99) and a master’s degree from the Public Administration Institute at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Tim enjoys golf, distance running, and spending time with his wife Ani and daughters Sevana and Siena. Tim is a fan of the New York Yankees, New York Jets, New Jersey Devils, New York Red Bulls, and Chelsea FC.
Stephanie Albanese is a New Jersey native with significant political, governmental, and legislative experience in both Congress and the New Jersey legislature. Steph worked in Congress as Legislative Assistant to Congressman Frank Pallone and as a field organizer on various New Jersey political and national issue campaigns.
From 2015-2021, Steph served as the Legislative Director to State Senator Joseph F. Vitale, where she coordinated all legislative activity, policy research and stakeholder engagement for the Senator, including setting agendas for the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee hearings. Senator Vitale is recognized as the leading healthcare expert in the Legislature and Steph has been his primary aide covering this area. Her work has covered all aspects of healthcare policy as well as the expansion of New Jersey’s medical marijuana program.
Steph is most proud of her work to allow victims of sexual assault and abuse more time to file a civil suit against their abuser or the responsible organization, finalizing a career-long fight for Senator Vitale. Steph received the NJ Coalition Against Sexual Assault’s 2019 Champions Award for her work on this legislation.
Steph grew up in Point Pleasant Borough and currently resides in Long Branch with her husband Matt and their two children, Sophie and Sam. She holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park in Government and Politics, and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science in Comparative Politics.
She has been repeatedly recognized in Insider NJ's Insider 100: Policymakers Publication, and has been named to Insider NJ's Insider 100: Cannabis Power List, ROI-NJ's "Women in Business" List, and Senator Loretta Weinberg's 2023 Women's Power List.
Steph is a huge fan of the Terps and the New York Football Giants and enjoys pretending to be a professional chef, reading, skiing, and the challenge of packing a car just right.
Yasmin Brissac is a Legislative Associate at River Crossing Strategy Group with significant political experience in New Jersey. At RCSG, Yasmin works with a wide variety of clients from Education to Renewable Energy and helps them navigate through the legislative process. She has cultivated significant legislative and staff-level relationships over the past years working in NJ politics.
Prior to joining the firm in 2020, Yasmin started her political career working at Middlesex County Democratic Organization, where she served as a key figure coordinating fundraisers and political events. She brings considerable experience working with local and statewide entities.
Yasmin was born and raised in Brazil until she moved to Edison, New Jersey with her family in 2008. She earned a Political Science bachelor's degree from Rutgers University in 2017.
Yasmin enjoys practicing yoga, watching documentaries and spending time with her partner Joe and their dog Jordan.
Patrick Coveny joined River Crossing in 2022 as an administrative scheduler for the firm. Previously, Patrick was a Campaign Coordinator at the Middlesex County Democratic Organization, where he worked on a number of local and county political campaigns, including managing the 2021 Monroe Township mayoral race.
Patrick, as part of his studies at Rutgers University, interned in the office of Senator Linda Greenstein and served in the role of Treasurer for the College Democrats of New Jersey organization, before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History in 2022.
In his free time, Patrick enjoys hiking, listening to music, and traveling.