The Nonprofit Behind Downtown Woodbury
About Us
Main Street Woodbury is a nonprofit with a simple belief: when
downtown thrives, the whole city feels it. Since 1997, we have
supported small businesses, run community events, and worked
to keep historic Woodbury active and full of life.
Our Mission
Making Sure Downtown Woodbury Has a Future
We believe a downtown is more than an address; it is the heart of the city. Main Street Woodbury works to keep that heart beating and thriving so
locals a proud to live here and visitors are glad to visit.
Our mission is to preserve Woodbury's historic character and drive economic renewal through
strategic downtown design, small business support, public programming, and community collaboration.
What's at Stake
Every empty storefront is a missed
opportunity, and every filled one is a
win the whole neighborhood shares. A healthy downtown keeps dollars local, draws people in from across the region, and gives Woodbury a center worth gathering around.
Our Approach
We work on four fronts at once: bringing people together around shared goals, promoting downtown to the region, improving how the district looks and functions, and helping local businesses grow. It is a proven model, followed by revitalized downtowns nationwide and shaped to fit Woodbury.
What Guides Our Work
The Values Behind Everything We Do
Historic Preservation & Stewardship
Woodbury's historic buildings are part of what makes it Woodbury. We work to protect that character while helping these spaces serve the community today, not just stand as reminders of the past.
Economic Vitality
A downtown lives or dies by its businesses. We support the ones already here, recruit new ones to fill vacant storefronts, and draw the investment that keeps us working for the long haul.
Community & Inclusivity
Downtown is at its best when it is for everyone. We work to keep Woodbury open, friendly, and inclusive, a place where residents and visitors alike feel part of something.
Collaboration & Partnership
We do not do this alone, and we would not want to. Main Street Woodbury works alongside city leaders, business owners, volunteers, and regional partners, because downtown only prospers when everyone pulls in the same direction.
The People Behind the Work
Meet the Board
Gerald O'Connor
President
A financial advisor of nearly three decades who now puts that experience to work helping a downtown, not just a portfolio.
Ronald J. Uzdavinis, Esq.
Vice President
A lifelong Woodbury resident who has
practiced law in the city for years and has spent over a decade working to strengthen its downtown.
Jennifer Maurer
Secretary
Longtime resident, co-owner of Edward's Hairstyling, and a Ghost Tour enthusiast who simply loves being part of this community.
Peg Sickel
Treasurer
Born and raised in Woodbury with family roots here since the 1800s, she lives by one rule: leave things better than she found them.
Mrs. Mary Carter
Trustee
A lifelong resident and Main Street volunteer of more than twenty years whose passion is making downtown a place people love to live, work, and shop.
Sandy Uzdavinis
Trustee
A retirement and financial services veteran who brings decades of steady
stewardship
to the work of bringing downtown back.
Scott McCoy
Board Member
An electrical engineer who loves a challenge and has carried that same drive from restoring Woodbury's old city to building its future.
Karl-Anthony Jones
Board Member
A hospitality executive of twenty-five years who leads business education here, helping local enterprises find their footing and grow.
Leadership
Meet Main Street Woodbury’s Executive Director
Though she has spent the last twenty years in Maine, Denise was born and raised in NJ and is thrilled to be back. Throughout her career, she has built a reputation for creating strong community partnerships, championing local businesses, and developing innovative programs that strengthen regional economies.
Prior to joining Main Street Woodbury, Denise served 14 years as Executive Director of the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, where she led strategic planning, tourism and relocation marketing initiatives, workforce development programs, business advocacy efforts, and large-scale regional events.
During her tenure, she successfully launched youth leadership initiatives, expanded community engagement, strengthened relationships with local and state partners, and helped increase economic visibility for the region. Denise’s professional background also includes extensive experience in communications, public relations, and fundraising.
A skilled public speaker and creative strategist, she is passionate about helping communities thrive through collaboration, innovation, and business growth.
In addition to her corporate accomplishments, Denise is a professional photographer who enjoys capturing all of life’s most treasured moments. She has been happily married for 32 years, is the proud mother of two wonderful adult daughters, and loves spending time with her two dogs. Denise is excited to work alongside Woodbury’s business owners, residents, community partners, and local leaders to enrich the quality of life throughout the city while creating new opportunities for economic vitality, downtown development, and long-term business success.
How We Got Here
The Story of Main Street Woodbury
Main Street Woodbury, Inc began in 1997 with a simple conviction: that a historic downtown is worth fighting for. Broad Street had the bones of a great district, its architecture, its history, its place at the center of the city, but like a lot of American downtowns, it needed people willing to do the steady work of bringing it back.
A group of residents and business owners decided to be those people, and the organization has carried that work forward ever since.
The years since have not always been smooth. The organization has seen turnover and stretches where its work was quieter than it should have been. But the mission never changed, and neither did the people who kept showing up for it.
Over roughly the last six years, that persistence has brought nearly one million dollars in collaborative grant funding into Woodbury, and grown the Farmers Market into the top ranked market in New Jersey.
That brings us to now. The organization has new energy behind it, a dedicated board, a full time Executive Director and a team to move the organization and the city forward – and our downtown is already showing signs of what is possible.
Real work, in a Real Place, Since 1997
1997
Serving downtown
Woodbury
#1 in NJ
Top-ranked
farmers market
~$1M
In grants brought into
Woodbury
$500K
Collaborative funding secured
for Woodbury
Help Write the Next Chapter
The best chapters of this story are still unwritten, and they'll be written by
people who care about this city. If that's you, here's where to begin.