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The following article appeared in NJ CEO magazine and is reproduced here with permission.

MAKING HISTORY

A legal visionary guides a museum into the future

BY SUSAN BRIERLY

When it comes to her career, Jo Ann Burk is all about championing change.

In 1987, as the legal ranks were filling with female associates, women partners were still scarce. So Burk joined four other attorneys to found Cuyler Burk, P.C., in Parsippany.

“I was particularly proud to manage a highly visible commercial law firm with major corporate clients in the late 1980s - a time when women attorneys just weren’t doing that in New Jersey,” says the Chester resident and Seton Hall law school grad.

When she’s not in her office or a courtroom, you’ll likely find Burk at Macculloch Hall Historical Museum in Morristown, where her mission is preserving the past.

“This wonderful 1810 home was the residence of prominent families for five generations,” she says. “It’s seen its share of politicians, military heroes, business entrepreneurs and artists.” Indeed, past visitors include President Ulysses S. Grant and Commodore Matthew Perry. Burk sits on the board of the nonprofit museum, which boasts one of the state’s finest collections of furniture and art from the 18th and early 19th centuries.

“It’s a real pleasure to help launch events and exhibits, like the museum’s private collection of works by 19th-century political cartoonist Thomas Nast,” she says. This year Burk is taking her efforts to a new level, volunteering to launch a corporate membership program, which invites businesses to sponsor museum events.

Burk has taken on new professional roles too.

In 2007, she became CEO and majority shareholder of Cuyler Burk and was ranked by NJBIZ magazine as one of the state’s top 50 female business owners. Her firm also received its Women’s Business Enterprise National Council certification. It’s a fitting designation for a company that’s always been managed by a woman.