Monmouth Assisting Community Through Services, or ACTS — a public-private partnership initiated by the Monmouth County board of county commissioners in 2018 — announced that Peter Boynton, director of housing stability, Affordable Housing Alliance and Kathy Collins, former executive director, MonmouthCares, will serve as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the Monmouth ACTS Advisory Council starting this year.

Boynton and Collins succeed Mary Pat Angelini, former CEO of Preferred Behavioral Health Group and previous MAAC chair, and Ginger Mulligan, previous MAAC vice chair.

“We’re excited to welcome Peter and Kathy as Monmouth ACTS’ new leadership and would like to applaud Mary Pat and Ginger for their dedicated years of volunteer service on behalf of Monmouth ACTS, where they helped structure and grow the initiative to help connect residents to human services within Monmouth County,” Monmouth County Commissioner Susan Kiley, liaison to the Department of Human Services, said.

Boynton has dedicated his entire career to ending poverty and homelessness in the region and lives out the life motto, “Do the most good!” He earned master’s degrees in counseling and forensic psychology, and is pursuing a doctorate in apologetics and leadership. Boynton leverages his vast knowledge base and various positions to create networks of affiliated agencies that are able to organically resolve issues through shared insight, resources and experiences. Before taking the position as MAAC chair, he served as co-chair of Monmouth ACTS’ Housing & Homelessness Hub.

Collins, who recently retired after 22 years as executive director of MonmouthCares, has been active with Monmouth ACTS since its inception. She served in various roles, including the Leadership Committee, Executive Committee, Communications Team and Positive Youth Development Hub. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Collins adapted MonmouthCares’ Community Resource Network to include broad-based human services into its online resource directory to help the community find help where needed. She was instrumental in formalizing Monmouth ACTS’ Community Engagement Network, a strategic grassroots approach that facilitates outreach and engagement through a network of community and faith-based organizations.

“We’re pleased to welcome the next generation of Monmouth ACTS leadership,” Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone said. “With Peter and Kathy leading the charge and utilizing their years of experience in the social services realm, I am confident the Monmouth ACTS initiative will continue to grow and change lives in Monmouth County for the better.”