The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association and its eligible members in good standing are preparing for a contested election for two delegate-at-large positions. This year's election, which begins on July 14, 2025, will be conducted via the NJSFDA app. All eligible members in good standing will receive an email with instructions on downloading the app and outlining the voting procedure.
The NJSFDA has asked the candidates to provide basic biographical information as well as their perspectives on three topics. The questions are meant to give members information needed to make informed decisions about which individual is best suited to fill this open Board position.
The following are the answers from each candidate.
Antonietta E. Cuoco
- Manager/owner of Cuoco Funeral & Cremation Services, Somerville, NJ (2021- present)
- Sister of Rocco M. Cuoco, funeral director and member of the Middlesex and Somerset County Funeral Directors Association
- Funeral home assistant/intern (1990-2000)
- Associate funeral director at the Bongiovi Funeral Home, Raritan, NJ (2001 to present)
- District secretary of the Middlesex and Somerset Funeral Directors Association (2015-2017)
- District vice president of the Middlesex and Somerset Funeral Directors Association (2017-2019)
- District president of Middlesex and Somerset Funeral Directors Association (2019-2021)
- Past vice president of Immaculate Conception School Board Advisory, Somerville, NJ (2006-2010)
- Recipient of the Boys Scouts of America 2017 Tribute to Woman Award
- Member of Somerville Elks Lodge No. 1068 (2003-present)
- Member of the Somerville Civic League (2022-present)
- Member of NJSFDA and NFDA
The funeral industry is navigating significant changes–from attracting and keeping qualified staff to adapting to evolving preferences for how remains are handled after death. What role do you believe the NJSFDA should play in helping members respond to these challenges?
What motivated you to run for office this year?
Why now–and why you?
I am writing to formally announce my candidacy for the position of delegate-at-large and to share with you the passion and purpose behind this decision.
Over 36 years ago, I began my journey in funeral service under the mentorship of Anthony C. Bongiovi Sr., past delegate-at-large, and his daughter, Anna Louise Bongiovi, Past President of the NJSFDA.
Their unwavering dedication to our profession shaped my own path, empowering me to be the proud owner of Cuoco Funeral & Cremation Services established in 2021. To this day, I remain an integral part of the Bongiovi Funeral Home.
Throughout my career, I have witnessed firsthand the evolving needs of our communities and our profession. I believe that strong relationships are the cornerstone of effective funeral service.
My commitment to community involvement through church, civic, charitable and funeral organizations has enabled me to earn trust, build connections and support families with empathy and care. We must use the past, present and future and apply them to the betterment of our profession.
In my personal life, I have been blessed with 30 years of love and support from my husband, Stephen. I am the mother to an amazing 16-year-old daughter, Bellina, a stepmom to Stephen and Jordyn, along with son-in-law Tyler, and “Nonna” to Luca. In addition, I am the eldest of four children, the youngest of whom, Rocco M. Cuoco, is also a funeral director and a member of Middlesex and Somerset County Funeral Directors Association.
As a licensed funeral director and proud member of both the NJSFDA and National Funeral Directors Association, I have always strived to uphold the highest standards of service. I understand that change is constant, and I believe that innovation–grounded in our values and guided by our experience–is essential to the growth of our profession.
Choosing funeral service as a career is one of sheer and total dedication. Contributing to a professional association like ours is not just an honor, it’s a responsibility. My time as a district officer of the NJSFDA has allowed me to support initiatives that protect and preserve our field while mentoring the next generation of professionals.
Now, I am ready to take the next step and continue that service as your delegate-at-large. With your support, I will bring a steady voice, fresh ideas and a collaborative spirit to help strengthen our association and ensure we remain leaders in funeral service.
I humbly ask for your vote and thank you for the opportunity to serve.
Rosa E. Hernandez
- Started working at Jorge Rivera Funeral Home in 2004
- Currently working at Warner-Wozniak Funeral Service and Marrocco Memorial Chapel
- Graduated Mercer County Community College: Funeral Service in 2012
- Advisory Board for Eastwick College Funeral Service (2014-2022)
- Hudson County Funeral Directors Association vice president (2015-2017)
- Hudson County Funeral Directors Association first Latina woman president (2017-2019)
- Preceptor of a Mercer County Community College Funeral Service student (2018-2021)
- Current delegate-at-large, NJSFDA Board of Directors (2020-present)
- Advisory Board for American Academy McAllister Institute (2023-present)
The funeral industry is navigating significant changes–from attracting and keeping qualified staff to adapting to evolving preferences for how remains are handled after death. What role do you believe the NJSFDA should play in helping members respond to these challenges?
The NJSFDA has a critical role to play as both an advocate and a resource hub for its members. Like many industries, we face staffing shortages, increasing burnout and shifts in consumer expectations. The NJSFDA must continue to lead by providing guidance, continuing education and legislative advocacy. This includes helping members stay ahead of trends in the rising cremation rate, green burials and alternate methods of dispositions while also supporting recruitment and retention efforts through training programs, mentorship and workforce development initiatives such as the five-states Northeast Funeral Service Partnership.
Within the past few months, the NJSFDA was able to have a say in the licensing restructure bill and the natural organic reduction bill. We have also fought against other pieces of legislation to help to protect our industry and the families we serve. By having open dialogue, innovation and professional standards, the NJSFDA can empower its members to adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.
What motivated you to run for office this year?
I’m running for reelection to my current delegate-at-large position because I care deeply about the future of our profession and the well-being of those who serve within it. I’ve witnessed firsthand the challenges that we face from emotional fatigue to regulatory pressures, and I believe our collective voice is now more important than ever.
I want to continue to help shape the policies and initiatives that protect the integrity of our work, support our colleagues, and promote sustainable practices that reflect the changing needs of the families we serve each day.
Why now–and why you?
Now is the time for proactive, empathetic leadership. Our profession is at a turning point, and we need individuals like me, a millennial Latina director, who understands both the traditional values of funeral service and the need to evolve with modern expectations.
I bring a balanced perspective, grounded in hands-on experience, collaborative problem solving, and a genuine commitment to serve. I can contribute to the NJSFDA’s mission by listening, engaging and acting with integrity, ensuring that we not only preserve what makes our profession special, but also prepare it for a strong future–a future that looks very promising for people like me, a first-generation Latina funeral director.
Thomas E. Weber Jr.
- Second generation owner/manager of Weber Funeral Home, Inc., Riverton, NJ
- NJ licensed funeral director Since 2000
- Graduate of American Academy McAllister Institute
- Graduate of Rutgers University, School of Business with a bachelor of science degree in Business Management
- Retired vice president and senior relationship manager, Middle Market Commercial Lending for TD Bank, N.A. (formerly Commerce Bank) with 21 years’ experience, from 2002 to 2023
- President of the Burlington County Funeral Directors Association from 2018 to 2025; vice president from 2016 to 2018
- Member of the Audit Committee for the NJSFDA since 2022
- Member of the NJSDFA Contract Committee for the executive director/CEO, 2025
- Grew up living above the family funeral home and began actively assisting my father in my early teens
The funeral industry is navigating significant changes–from attracting and keeping qualified staff to adapting to evolving preferences for how remains are handled after death. What role do you believe the NJSFDA should play in helping members respond to these challenges?
The NJSFDA has continually evolved to meet the needs of our members and demands of our profession. That evolution comes in part from adjusting to the needs of the membership over time, based on the input of our members and their elected representatives.
However, our profession doesn’t operate in a vacuum and much of what the NJSFDA deals with on our behalf is responding to various outside demands that seek to influence and regulate our industry.
As we have seen in recent years with a variety proposed legislation (the licensing bill, natural organic reduction, standalone crematories, crematory building location restrictions), there are many forces that can put pressure on our profession and ability to operate in the State of New Jersey.
It is with strong, skilled and knowledgeable executive leadership, along with the commitment and knowledge of our elected leadership, that the NJSFDA has become the “trusted voice” in the State of New Jersey for deathcare-related issues and information. It is the valued reputation of the NJSFDA that gives us a “seat at the table” to provide consultation and input to our legislators when these pieces of legislation start moving through the process.
The recent licensing bill is a prime example of how the NJSFDA leveraged its influence to reshape proposed legislation in order to serve our membership and profession well into the future with regard to staffing concerns. Understanding that not all of our members agree with the final approved licensing bill, there was a lot of thoughtful in-depth discussion over many sessions of our Board meetings where our elected district presidents and elected officers talked through the many facets and potential impact of this legislation, the ways to “make it work” in addressing the biggest roadblocks to licensing qualified funeral directors and embalmers, protecting our profession from claims of religious or other discrimination that could potentially undermine our entire professional status and ensuring integrity for our licensing process. It wasn’t easy, and it’s not perfect, but it was approached thoughtfully and thoroughly.
The licensing bill is not the fix for all the challenges facing our profession. It is just one piece of the puzzle that is continually changing. Many of us have seen the demise of in-home layouts (yes, I’ve actually experienced those!); two-day afternoon and evening viewings to one evening viewings to everything in one day to “we’re going to do something in the future;” burials as the norm with cremation as the exception; smoking in the funeral home but no food to food in the funeral home but no smoking; video monitors and slideshows instead of picture boards and 20-plus floral arrangements to just a handful. But we have all kept adapting to the changes in order to continue serving the needs and wants of the families in our communities. We have no choice but to adapt.
A strong NJSFDA with knowledgeable executive staff and elected board members, focused on the needs of our members and the many outside factors that have potential to impact our profession, allows each of us to focus on our client families and meeting their expectations.
What motivated you to run for office this year?
I have served my colleagues as president of the Burlington County Funeral Directors Association and NJSFDA Board member since 2018, with my tenure concluding this year. I value the opportunity I have had to represent my colleagues and provide thoughtful input over these past seven years contributing for the benefit of all NJSFDA members.
I am seeking a delegate-at-large position to continue my service to all NJSFDA members. I believe that both my professional experience and experience over the past seven years as a Board member provide me with valuable insight into the operation of the NJSFDA and the challenges facing our profession, which will allow me to continue to contribute to our membership as an officer on the Board.
Why now–and why you?
Over these past seven years serving as Burlington County FDA president and NJSFDA Board member, I have experienced how impactful the NJSFDA is for our membership and how my voice on the Board has been valued.
I’ve seen our legal fight with the Catholic Cemeteries, the COVID pandemic, removing the in-person requirements for continuing education, fighting for increases in the Medicaid/Work First NJ allowance, addressing concerns over the National Board Exam and New Jersey State Board Exam, the challenges and changes to our licensing requirements, working to have natural organic reduction be part of the Mortuary Board regulations and not the Cemetery Board regulations, the competing and contradictory legislation relating to standalone crematories and crematory placement restrictions, the development and growth of the Northeast Funeral Service Partnership, addressing concerns with the Division of Consumer Affairs and the Mortuary Board, providing input on optimizing VERI-NJ and EDRS and many other impactful items where NJSFDA has taken the lead to benefit and protect our members.
I have served on the recent Contract Committee for the contract renewal of our Executive Director/CEO and have been the NJSFDA representative on the Audit Committee for the past several years (since 2022), experiencing just how well our overall organization is run by our highly qualified staff and providing me with insight into all facets of the NJSFDA.
During this time, I have also transitioned from a part-time funeral director back to funeral service as my full-time chosen profession after a 20-plus year career in commercial banking in the South Jersey and Greater Philadelphia markets. My experience in commercial banking began as loan underwriter/financial analyst growing into managing a team of underwriters, developing loan structures and terms, and include more than 15 years as a vice president, loan officer and senior relationship manager.
Over that time, I handled relationships for all types of businesses including sole proprietors, nonprofit entities, government entities, public utilities and large multi-national companies, and developed/managed a portfolio of business with over $500 million in loan commitments and over $200 million in treasury/deposit accounts that generated significant income for the bank.
That experience has not only given me valuable perspective on a variety of businesses, the industry challenges they faced and the things that made them successful, but also given me a greater appreciation for the funeral profession and the work we do, which I believe have enhanced my value as a member of the NJSFDA Board.
I am the proud second-generation family owner and manager of Weber Funeral Home, Inc. in Riverton, NJ, established by my father 60 years ago in 1965. I have lived funeral service my entire life, growing up at the funeral home and working with my father from an early age. I’ve seen the changes in customs, customer choices, advances in technology, challenges with qualified and available staffing, rising costs of operation and so on. I have also seen the positive impact our membership can have when we support each other and choose dedicated funeral directors to serve each other on the NJSFDA Board.
I respectfully ask for your support and vote as a delegate-at-large for the coming term. I look forward to using my experience to continue supporting my fellow funeral directors and NJSFDA members.