About the Somerset County, New Jersey
Film Commission

Monica Weeks works with two New Brunswick based organizations. She is Crossroads Theatre Company’s Director of Operations, and Marketing; also the Executive Director of Hub City Jazz. Prior to joining these organizations, she worked in strategic business development, sales, and marketing at several companies.  Notable is her 16 years as Managing Director of National Retail Stores at The New York Times where she managed a budget of $46 million. 

Her career spans two very distinct paths, starting with a highly successful 30-year+ stint in the Publishing/Media realm. In addition to the Times, she spent 6 years in Corporate Sales at Essence Magazine where she worked with some of the leading marketers in the world including Coca Cola, Mercedes Benz, and Kraft Foods. Her efforts resulted in multi-million dollars in revenue generation and corporate sponsorships that stand to this day. 

Monica’s greatest strengths are her creativity, drive, and leadership.  She thrives on challenges particularly those that expand an organization or individual brands.  Her most recent project paired corporate and community partners with the New Brunswick public schools to build more out of classroom training and opportunities for students to play with professional musicians and became the centerpiece of Hub City Jazz’s evolution to a not for profit organization.  Her efforts resulted in the creation of “Protégé to Pro” music labs and improvisation training students from the New Brunswick District schools with over 40 hours of beyond the classroom experiences since 2016.  Weeks has also spearheaded an eclectic mix of marketing projects.  Her passion for the arts has led to her partnering in creating two jazz festivals: The New Brunswick Jazz Festival, now in its 15^th year, and Asbury Park LOVES Jazz, which launched its inaugural weekend in August 2015. She also serves as Producer of Hub City Jazz Festival, formerly the New Brunswick Jazz Festival. That event draws jazz enthusiasts from 32 states and is a signature event for The City of New Brunswick.  In 2018, the festival added a new event—A Salute to Latin Heritage Community Concert held at the local high school.  The concert was created by Ms. Weeks to offer high end entertainment events at no charge to underserved residents of the City of New Brunswick.  Programming that reflects cultural diversity is an important part of the organization’s mission.  She is also proud that in 2019, Hub City Jazz established the Michael S. Davis Scholarship for New Brunswick graduating high school students majoring in performing arts or attending an HBCU. 

As a sought-after consultant, Ms. Weeks was retained by the Somerset County Democratic Party to run the 2017 campaign for the County ticket.  The campaign and strategy proved successful with the election of the first Democrat to be elected as Somerset County Clerk in County history.  And, while not a win for the ticket, Shanel Robinson, an African American candidate, missed election by just 1,000 votes.  That experience gave the ticket a huge momentum the next go around and she won by a large margin. Weeks is very proud to be a part of the team that elected the first African American Freeholder to hold office in Somerset County.  She is also the first Democrat to win a seat in over 40 years.

Weeks is very active in local charities, and service organizations.  She stepped down as Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the Crossroads Theatre Company, to lead the organization as it’s Director earlier this year.  She also chaired the theatre’s fundraising gala for several years.  She is also past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Archie N. Chiles Scholarship Fund. She has received  leadership and community service awards from National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa Sorority, Inc., Epsilon Alpha Chapter (2019), Zakee Bowser Foundation(2107) and Greater New Brunswick Chapter of the NAACP (2015).

 Her present participation includes serving as a member and Arts Chair for the Central Jersey Chapter, The Links, Incorporated; she is a Silver Star, and Arts and Fundraising Chair of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Nu Xi Omega Chapter. Weeks also serves on the advisory committee of the Malcolm Bernard HBCU College Fair of NJ.  She is also an active member of the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens. 

Most recently, Ms. Weeks was included in the  New Brunswick virtual exhibit: The Women Who Shaped New Brunswick,  marking the 100^th Anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement.  Her volunteer work over the 40 years as a resident of Middlesex and Somerset Counties includes:  The Malcolm Bernard HBCU College Fair of NJ; The Sisters to Sisters Network of Central NJ; The Ronald McDonald House, New Brunswick; The Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children; and NJ Black Issues Convention.  She was also a founding member of The Friends of Crossroads; and a past PTA President, and Board of Trustees member of the Franklin Charter School.

 Monica holds a Bachelor Degree from Rutgers University and is enrolled in the Masters of Communications and Media there.  In her free time, Weeks is an avid tennis player, and a new golfer. Her newfound passion for the links led to her co-founding Swing Out Sistas, a women’s golfing group.  She is the proud mother of a wonderful son, Tyler Weeks.