Term Expires 12/31/2026
Email: dscarangella@leonianj.gov
Committees: DPW Committee (Chair), Human Resources Committee (Member), Fire Committee (Member), Board of Police Commissioners (Member)
Liaison Appointments: Environmental Commission, Shade Tree Commission, Mayor's Advisory Committee on Racism & Racial Equity
About Councilwoman Scarangella:
President of the Northern New Jersey Chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), Secretary of the New Jersey State Chapter of NOW, Chair of the North Jersey Sierra Group, Chair of the New Jersey Sierra Club LGBTQ+ Section, Co-Chair of the Bergen County LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, and co-founder of the Resistance Café. She is a member of the Time is Now Action Coalition, the Bergen County LGBTQ+ Alliance and is Past-President of the Displaced Homemakers Network of NJ, Inc. (“the Network”). Diane was a member of the Executive Board of this non-profit organization for over sixteen years. In 2021 she was awarded the Network’s 2021 Champion of Women’s award in recognition of her history of advocacy for economically disadvantaged women.
As an activist dedicated to gender and racial equity and environmental justice, Diane has emphasized the development of intersectional collaboration. Some of the programs created under her leadership include panel presentations highlighting “Asian American Women Changing Our World,” “Women in Environmental Leadership,” “Women in Politics,” and “Fresh Justice: Creating a Safe Space for Uncomfortable Conversations on Race.” She is particularly proud of national events coordinated under her leadership, such as “The Condor & the Eagle” film showing and panel presentation on environmental justice from an indigenous peoples perspective, and “The Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Codes,”, a film on white domination through colonization accompanied by a Q&A with the author, Steven T. Newcomb.
Diane obtained an MA in Counselor Education from NYU, a second MA in Adult Education from Teachers College - Columbia University, Certificates as a Myers Briggs Type Indicator Practitioner and in Fund Raising Management and, most recently, a R.A.C.E Training for Mental Health Professionals Certification. She began her career in 1985 as the counselor and coordinator of programs of service customized to address the needs of displaced homemakers, single parents, teen parents, women on welfare, limited English speaking adults, and women in the trades.
In 1992, Diane was recognized by the New Jersey Department of Education as New Jersey Equity Leader of the Year. She has authored resource manuals for practitioners that focus upon Survival Skills for Displaced Homemakers, Job Search Strategies and Resources for Changing Times, and Humanizing Welfare - The Carl Perkins Act Creating Change. Diane has recently retired from her career in program development, grants writing and management for Bergen County Technical Schools and Bergen County Special Services School districts, a position she held for over 35 years.
