Kerrie Joyce 
Even though Hudson County is just across the water from Manhattan’s vibrant arts scene and a landscape bursting with industry, Hoboken and Jersey City are home to residents who either commute or employ their talents within the Garden State. While getting to know your neighbors nowadays is increasingly rare, The Hoboken Girl reached out to a few locals with one-of-a-kind careers, who are thoroughly dedicated to pouring back into their communities. Read on to learn more about your neighbors and how they find fulfillment in the ways they make a living.
Casey Fayan | Ferry Boat Captain
Casey Fayan is a NJ native and Jersey City resident of four years who has worked as a NYC Ferry Captain since November of 2018. His journey towards becoming a Captain was not always a direct route, as he originally studied to be a history teacher at Arcadia University in Philadelphia. Casey’s path curved towards the maritime industry in college when an old friend he played lacrosse with told him about a summer job working on ferry boats in Philadelphia. Casey worked several stints on the boat over the course of five summers, which is where he first learned how to drive boats. After graduation, he went about careers as a teacher and a pilot, among other jobs trying to find the right fit, eventually making his way back to boats.
On flying, he said “ It was a really neat experience. It was the coolest thing, but I couldn’t see it as a long term thing. It’s a lot of looking at gauges and a lot of technical stuff that you don’t have on boats. Not being worried about falling out of the sky seemed like a bit of a better option for me.”
Casey’s main inspiration and “guiding voices” in his life are his parents. “My dad’s a pilot, so that was part of the flying. Luckily I had him, because he could tell me everything I needed to know.” He also credited his parents with “Always leading him in the right direction.”
Having grown up in a relatively landlocked area in South Jersey, he said that this was a trade he initially “Wouldn’t begin to know how to get into.” However, he eventually found that once he entered the maritime world, there was a tight-knit, supportive community ready to guide him towards where he is now. “It could be as simple as working as a deckhand on a small ferry somewhere, and it all leads to the same thing.”
Regarding his New Jersey roots, Casey valued the community and variety the state has to offer from a cow town rodeo in deeper South Jersey to Cape May beaches to the nature in inland North Jersey, describing it as, “Like its own little country.”
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Bess Fifer | Casting Director
Photo Credit: Yellowbelly Photography
Bess Fifer was born at Englewood Hospital, but spent most of her childhood in Atlanta, Georgia. Her family’s connections to Tenafly and Teaneck meant the Garden State was never out of reach.
Bess eventually returned to the Northeast in 2004 after studying exercise science in college in Alabama. Despite her original plan of becoming a physical therapist, Bess pivoted after an aptitude test highlighted her compatibility with working in drama and casting. She first moved to New York to pursue casting, and has lived in Jersey City since 2020.
After college, Bess took master classes in drama and theater, eventually landing a door-opening internship at Bernard Telsey Casting.
Having been a performer herself growing up, she described the social pressure in college from people who told her “You should do something that’s serious, a ‘real job’.”After realizing that more traditional career routes wouldn’t be for her, she turned to the online, 700+ question test for clarity. “I made my way through, did a couple internships, but ultimately landed a casting internship, and found out that, luckily, the test was right, and I really do have the aptitude, and definitely 20 years later, and I’m really thankful that I took that random test.” Today, she is an Emmy-nominated casting director who has worked on award-winning projects, including the Apple TV series Severance.
Aside from the aptitude test, Bess said that her main source of career guidance is Rachel Tenner, a casting director with whom she currently works on Severance. She first worked with Rachel as an associate on another Ben Stiller-directed project The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Bess credited another “incredible” mentor of hers and fellow New Jerseyer, Julie Schubert, who currently works on The Diplomat. Bess said that she considers herself lucky to have a supportive “casting family” in an otherwise competitive industry, saying I’ve had some really great mentors in my life and some very wonderful supportive people.”
As far as Jersey City and its famous arts scene goes, Bess credited Purdie Baumann, or as she called her “The Mayor of Palisade,” for introducing her to productions being shown on this side of the Hudson. She also praised Jersey City + Hoboken’s accessible outdoor space and “astounding” food scene.
Victoria Moyeno | Development Manager for the Hoboken Historical Museum
Victoria Moyeno is a “proud fourth-generation Hobokenite,” dedicated to Hoboken’s history and its future. She described the dramatic transformation of the city from her childhood versus today, expressing grief for the loss of some of the city’s small-town charm and mom + pop shops and admiration for some of the upgrades in the city’s parks and beautification efforts. “Still,” she said, “Hoboken’s essence always shines through— and that’s why I love it so much.”
Victoria is the Development Manager for the Hoboken Historical Museum. As part of her role she said, “ I design, implement, and oversee strategies to raise funds and build relationships that support the Museum’s mission and growth. That means organizing fundraisers like the beloved Hoboken House Tour, coordinating workshops like Intro to Calligraphy, writing grants, and collaborating with local businesses. It’s a unique role that combines so many of my passions — history, arts, writing, and Hoboken itself.”
She attended NJCU in Jersey City, earning a degree in Marketing and Management, which has allowed for flexibility to pursue all of her passions, and she has previously worked in fashion, law, and writing — even here at The Hoboken Girl. Outside of the museum, Victoria owns a marketing agency, Street Smart Social, which is dedicated to helping small businesses and organizations. She also serves on the Executive Board of the LUPE (Latinas United for Political Empowerment) fund.
With a wide variety of talents, Victoria found her way to her current position at the museum after Executive Director Bob Foster reached out to her about it. She described Bob as her biggest inspiration, and one of Hoboken’s “most unique characters.”
“He’s been Director almost as long as I’ve been alive, and his dedication to the Museum is unmatched. What I admire most, though, is his free spirit and lighthearted approach to leadership. He makes the work feel less like “work” and more like creating cool things with a friend. I cherish that.”, she said of working with Bob.
In her first year, Victoria and her team brought back the Hoboken House Tour, the Secret Garden Tour, the Hoboken Baby Parade, and launched a workshop series and a Hoboken-themed coloring book.
Growth and curiosity-driven, Victoria’s favorite part of working at the museum is the wide variety of visitors she meets on any given day, from a neighbor of 20 years to a solo Scottish tourist. She hopes for the museum to eventually expand its footprint, saying, “We have a small space at 1301 Hudson Street in a historic shipyard building, which is perfect — but there’s so much more we could share. From artifacts to lectures, art classes to educational programs, I’d love to make our offerings more accessible across different neighborhoods in Hoboken.”
Leah Ryan | Engineer
Leah Ryan is a civil engineer working as a Construction Manager on Hoboken’s ferry and bus terminal renovations, which will restore the main hall to its condition before being boarded up in the 1970s. Originally from West Milford, Leah studied engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology of Hoboken and has remained in the Mile Square since 2017.
Finding her path to construction management was a natural product of her education, “I knew I would want to do engineering, I just didn’t know what kind. And then, when I was at Stevens, I had an internship doing construction management, and I really enjoyed it, being able to go into the field and see progress made in front of you,” also noting that she preferred the hands-on approach as opposed to other internships she had in architecture.
The most rewarding part of her career, she said, is the camaraderie amongst colleagues. “I think what would surprise people almost is how close our teams can become when we are seeing each other more than our loved ones, we’re spending so much time together.” she said. “You get so close, and we just really care for each other.”
She also noted that the “bad rap” construction workers get as being mean or angry people couldn’t be further from the truth in her experience as a woman in a mostly male-dominated field. She described her co-workers as “teddy bears” who look out for the younger crew members who are earlier in their careers. Leah also noted her admiration for the women who came before her in her field, whose hard work made it possible for her to be where she is today.
She is especially proud of her current work on the Hoboken Terminal project, and hopes to do similar community-focused work in the future, saying “These skylights are insane, they’re called laylights. They’re going to be really beautiful when they’re all done with new facilities and office space.This restoration can also be used by the public.”
In her eight years in Hoboken, Leah noted her own perspective of the city changing rather than changes in the city itself. Starting out in the chaos of being an 18-year-old college kid eager to be near the city, and now being a 25-year old living with her boyfriend, planning to grow their lives in the community as adults.
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Tracy Severe | Associate Director of Public Relations at AILEY
Tracy Severe is a Hudson County resident of 11 years and the Associate Director of Public Relations at AILEY, an organization and dance institution dedicated to furthering the vision of founder Alvin Ailey. Tracy’s specific focus within the organization is as the Associate Director of Public Relations of AILEY II. Tracy describes it, saying, , “ AILEY II Is our second company to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and then the Ailey School, which is a training ground for aspiring dancers from three to 25.” Tracy said, “In my role I work in collaboration with media to amplify the impact of the Ailey organization to further our founder, Alvin Ailey’s legacy, which is through dance performances, training, education, and community programs for all people.”
After studying Health and Sciences at Sacred Heart University, Tracy was accepted into an Occupational Therapy master’s program, a decision she ended up deferring for a year to decide whether it was truly what she wanted to do as a profession. Spending the deferral year at internships and making different connections, she decided she wanted to pursue a master’s degree in PR at Iona University, eventually landing an internship with AILEY, which is where she discovered she could combine her two passions — dance and public relations. After her internship, she worked with PR agencies before realizing she would rather work with one brand. When she was ready to make that transition, AILEY happened to have an open role, and “the rest is history.”
Eight years into her work with AILEY, Tracy considers one of her biggest accomplishments to be a collaboration with the Whitney Museum on a large-scale exhibition celebrating Alvin Ailey. Another highlight was working on the Champion Tears Collection, developed with designer Tremaine Emory, bringing dance and Alvin Ailey’s legacy into the world of sportswear.
One of Tracy’s main inspirations in her work is public relations trailblazer Inez Kaiser. “[Kaiser] paved the way as the first Black woman to start and run her own PR firm,” Tracy said, “I looked up to her and her accomplishments and the perseverance that she had in the PR industry. Especially during the Civil Rights Movement, is certainly admirable. Her work to break racial barriers has definitely paved the way for young black professionals like myself.”
Regarding Hudson County’s change in the past decade, Tracy expressed the importance of mom + pops that are “the heart” of the community, which she hopes never go out of business. Currently based in Jersey City, she also said she loved the “growing diversity of its residents.” Tracy said, “I’ve been able to meet so many different people from different backgrounds and cultures and from meeting people from workout classes I’ve done.I feel like there’s a lot of community events and festivals, so there’s always opportunity to meet new people, which is always great.”
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