Our Experts
“At JANUS Solutions, we measure the success of our work by asking ourselves daily: are real people in the real world leading better lives because of what we do?”
Tom Blatner
President & CEO
JANUS Solutions
The JANUS Team
Tom Blatner
President and Founder
As President and CEO of JANUS Solutions, Tom has led numerous strategic planning and management assistance projects in thirteen states, fourteen of New Jersey’s twenty-one counties and several of its major cities, including current initiatives with Newark Mayor, Cory Booker.
Tom leads JANUS Solutions with the kind of strategic vision that has characterized all his work. The architect of the JANUS team’s “Family Success platform” of services and initiatives, Tom brings to the company’s efforts his lifelong passion for transforming systems to create better opportunities for children, families and their communities.
Tom has held a variety of key governmental positions and has implemented major systems reforms primarily in the areas of children and family services, welfare reform and behavioral health. He is a respected authority on all areas of service delivery and has been a member of the Human Services Transition Teams for the last four New Jersey governors. His public sector professional experiences include serving as Director of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services, the state’s child welfare agency. In this role he implemented a comprehensive restructuring of the entire state-operated child welfare system around a unified, three-tiered continuum of child protection, family preservation and support, and prevention.
Tom also established and served as Director of the Office of Policy, Planning and Advocacy in the New Jersey Department of Human Services. He was responsible for redesigning and restructuring services and personnel policies and assignments for that Department. As the Director of Policy and Planning for the Department of Human Services, he also created the County Human Service Advisory Councils, local planning bodies dedicated to identifying and meeting the needs of individuals and families within their communities.
Tom began his New Jersey government career at the Division of Mental Health and Hospitals, first as Assistant Director and then as Deputy Director and Chief Operational Officer. An ardent advocate of change, Tom designed and implemented reform of the adult and children’s’ mental health system around a community-based, unified service model, including the expansion of community support services and the restructuring of state psychiatric hospitals, which he supervised. Tom was also responsible for the regulation of the county-operated hospitals. In addition, he served as the Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Corrections for Juvenile Services before leaving state service to start JANUS Solutions in 1988.
Along with his professional work, Tom has served on numerous advisory groups at the state level and has enjoyed positive working relationships with key federal, state and local officials. He holds a BA from Colgate University with a major in political science, and a Master’s degree in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Lori Maloney
Executive Vice President
A member of the JANUS team since 1992 and a principle in the firm since 1995, Lori is a leader within the organization. As an expert facilitator, strategic thinker and entrepreneurial problem solver, Lori plays an integral role in many areas of our work. She has oversight of our large-scale initiatives, system reform efforts and resource development.
Lori’s recent work for JANUS Solutions has focused on youth development initiatives throughout the State of New Jersey. She has used her leadership skills to support Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s “Nurturing and Empowering Children, Youth and Families” initiative. Lori also designed and helped launch the Newark Youth Policy Board, which provides strategic guidance to youth-related activities.
Lori guides the JANUS youth development work in Asbury Park and Camden. In Asbury Park, she oversees the support of the newly formed Youth Prevention Board. In Camden, working closely with Camden County officials and the Community Planning and Advocacy Council, Lori helped develop the Camden County Covenant for Children, Youth and Families and currently facilitates the Covenant Positive Youth Development platform. She is honored to serve as a member of Mayor Dana Redd’s Camden Youth Policy Board. Lori is also a founding director of the new National Institute for Family Success, a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that all families have access to the resources, knowledge and support they need to raise their children as healthy, productive members of society.
Lori began her career working for some of the top political leaders in the State of New Jersey, focusing on communications and policy development. Because of her exceptional skills in policymaking, she was asked to participate in a series of informal policy roundtables at the White House during the Clinton administration.
Lori holds a BA from Kean University and a Masters degree from the Eagelton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. She is a dedicated community advocate, serving on numerous boards and committing countless hours to volunteer work in the Delaware Valley region.
Gena Haranis
Senior Vice President
A member of the JANUS team since 1999, Gena brings over 35 years of direct service and public policy experience to our consultancy. She is a skilled planner, administrator, manager, trainer, group facilitator, community developer and strong advocate for children and families.
Gena provides leadership for many JANUS projects in workforce development, vulnerable populations and strategic planning. She has led projects with the Hudson County Departments of Family Services and Corrections and the Essex County Workforce Investment Board and Hospital Center. On the national level, Gena has led our work with the State of Delaware ABC Welfare Reform Initiative and the National Comprehensive Center for Fathers.
As an expert in human services and management, Gena also provides strategic leadership and expertise on the children, youth, and family initiatives led by JANUS Solutions, including the Community Planning and Advocacy Council and the United Way of Greater Union County.
For over 25 years, Gena has served in key management positions in government. Beginning as a case worker for the Division of Youth and Family Services and later a supervisor, she also worked as Special Assistant to the Commissioner of the NJ Department of Human Services, where she was charged with the hands-on implementation of key state initiatives. She served as state Project Manager for the federal Family Preservation and Support Services Initiative, and as the Director of Planning and Program Development for the NJ Division of Youth and Family Services. Gena also led the Foster Care Improvement Project, a major departmental initiative to improve the quality of the state foster care system.
Gena is a licensed social worker and holds a Masters degree in social work from Rutgers University, where she also serves as adjunct professor, focusing on direct practice and community organization skill development for graduate level students. She has presented at numerous conferences on the local, state and national levels.