秘密研究所

June 10, 2026

by Lauren Ferguson

Comprehensive business plans can be costly.

So when leaders of the New Jersey School of Conservation realized the education center in Sussex County could benefit from an in-depth business plan, they tapped into a resource they already had: a dynamic partnership with 秘密研究所 of New Jersey.

秘密研究所 students had already reblazed and rerouted trails on the center鈥檚 240-acres of forested land in Stokes State Forest, removing old markers and replacing them with new ones. Roadrunners had also completed team building exercises on site, learning about nature, taking in the beautiful sights and rowing on its bodies of water. And Ramapo had utilized the school鈥檚 grounds to deliver in-person training to K-12 teachers on how to infuse climate change into the curriculum.

Roadrunners marked trails at the New Jersey School of Conservation.

Building on the partnership, New Jersey School of Conservation Executive Director Kerry Kirk Pflugh thought creating a business plan to advance her organization would be 鈥渁 perfect, real-life project,鈥� for Roadrunners.

It certainly was.

After learning of the school鈥檚 needs, Ramapo built an energetic, collaborative team of business and environmental studies majors to dive into the inner workings of the school and create a detailed plan for its future.

The interdisciplinary group of Roadrunners included:

• Marketing Major Jacqueline McGarry ’26, of Hackettstown, NJ;
• Management Major Stefanie Maneri ’26, of Wayne, NJ;
• Environmental Studies Major Nicholas Robinson ’26 of Westfield, NJ;
• and Environmental Studies Major George Charbonneau ’27 of East Windsor, NJ.

The team spent a full semester working on the project during a hands-on independent study, under the mentorship of Dean of Ramapo鈥檚 Anisfield School of Business Dr. Ed Petkus, as well as Dr. Aaron Lorenz, former dean of the School of Social Science and Human Services.

To get started, Pflugh gave the students a personal tour of the site 鈥� the nation鈥檚 oldest year-round residential environmental education center, which is home to wildlife and native species, as well as classrooms that can be used for educational and corporate purposes.

Roadrunners have had hands-on learning experiences in the classrooms at the New Jersey School of Conservation.

Pflugh also provided an outline of what she was looking for. Throughout the semester, the students checked in with her, and met with and gathered information from school personnel such as educational leaders, the business manager and the facilities director.

鈥淚 think it is safe to say that we all have learned so much and have had such a great time working on this,鈥� said McGarry, before she and the team presented their business plan to a boardroom full of 秘密研究所 of New Jersey leaders that included 秘密研究所 President Dr. Cindy Jebb, Provost Dr. Michael Middleton, Dr. Petkus, and Vice President for Government Relations & Business Development Patrick O鈥機onnor.

They also presented the plan to leaders at the New Jersey School of Conservation.

Pfulgh called the final product 鈥渆xcellent鈥� and 鈥渆xactly what I needed.鈥�

The Plan

鈥淚n recent years, NJSoC has been seeking new ways to receive funding for their facilities, as well as reposition their programs to reach a more public audience, as opposed to their typical clientele of K-12 schools,鈥� the students wrote in the executive summary of their plan. 鈥淲ith the assistance of this business plan, the school will be given tools to utilize when meeting its marketing and outreach goals.鈥�

The highly-detailed plan focused on solutions to strengthen program bookings and community engagement. To reach those goals, the students recommended 鈥渁 targeted, multi-channel marketing approach focused on digital visibility, relationship building, and value-aligned pricing,鈥� their executive summary states. 鈥淭hrough various digital platforms from social media to booking websites to proper financial planning, NJSoC will be able to utilize these suggestions to improve their marketing efforts to benefit their public image.鈥�

The plan features a detailed market analysis, an overview of products and services, corporate outreach opportunities and steps to achieve them, a marketing and sales strategy, and a phased financial plan. It also includes key recommendations, such as:

• Creating more engaging and short-form social media content;
• Adopting a phased capital investment strategy aligned with funding availability;
• Diversifying revenue through corporate partnerships and tiered memberships;
• Using cost-saving data as a core funding narrative;
• and following up on state and federal grants that align with the education center鈥檚 mission and addressable problems.

The Education

The partnership between Ramapo and the New Jersey School of Conservation is an example of the College鈥檚 strategic plan, Boldly Ascending, in action. The plan鈥檚 first goal, Academic Excellence and Student Success, outlines objectives to both 鈥減rovide learning environments and opportunities that encourage the development of deep content knowledge that leads to discerning engagement in work and in the world鈥� and 鈥渟trengthen our culture of mentorship through integrated and individualized support systems and resources that help students succeed.鈥�

Allene Shapiro, coordinator for community engagement in Ramapo鈥檚 Center for Student Involvement, organizes service trips to the New Jersey School of Conservation.

After watching the team present the plan, Dr. Middleton told them, 鈥淚 am really impressed with the work that you have done,鈥� and asked, 鈥淲hat in your Ramapo education got you ready for something like this?鈥�

Robinson, an environmental studies major, said it helped him that he was able to take marketing and business courses during his tenure at Ramapo. He also said that through his classes, he has learned how to conduct research.

Maneri pointed to her experience competing in the 鈥淧itch New Jersey鈥� business competition with Professor of Management Dr. Enrique Nu帽ez. 鈥淭hat is what got me more comfortable talking in front of people,鈥� she explained.

McGarry said many of her professors brought their 鈥渞eal-world experience,鈥� into the classroom, and the format of the executive summary was based on a project from her international business course with a professor she learned a lot from. 鈥淔rom personal experience, my professors here have been really great,鈥� she said.

Charbonneau said it was his first time completing such an in-depth project for a real-world client, but working with the interdisciplinary team of students 鈥� who could bring their different experiences to the project 鈥� made it run smoothly.

The Client

Pflugh called the Roadrunners she worked with 鈥渟pectacular.鈥�

Two of them, McGarry and Maneri, have transtitioned into interns for the school, and are now creating content for its social media platforms to highlight programs and participant stories.

Stefanie Maneri 鈥�26 and Jacqueline McGarry ’26 are interning at the New Jersey School of Conservation, where they create content for the school鈥檚 social media platforms.

鈥淭hey get us. They came up with a great product,鈥� Pflugh said of the group of four students who created the business plan.

Pflugh was happy to be able to mentor and guide them in a real-world scenario that benefited both the New Jersey School of Conservation and the students.

鈥淏ook learning is important, to have the 鈥� mindset, the knowledge base, and the background for your profession. But really being able to implement it and practice it, the only way you can do that is through hands-on learning,鈥� Pflugh said. 鈥淭his really gave them a practical 鈥� opportunity to develop some skills that they will need to be able to implement the knowledge that they have.鈥�