Women History Month Spotlight on TZG's CEO Trish Zita

“My advice to young people is to stay curious and follow what interests you. Your career is a zigzag, not a straight line. Every choice leads to the next—if you take an internship, it could shape where you end up. And if you hate it? That’s just as valuable because it informs your next move.” Her own path proved that.

Determined to turn that passion into a career, Zita sought out every opportunity to learn and grow. She juggled night classes to earn a master’s degree at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Center of Government while working full-time in the New Jersey Assembly Majority Office. “My parents were immigrants, and they instilled in me their values that if you worked hard, and sought out opportunities you could be successful,” she shared. “They were right. Through determination, and lots of hard work, I’ve been able to create opportunities, take risks and succeed.”

Zita first began lobbying for the Chemical Industry Council of NJ (CICNJ), now the Chemistry Council of NJ, a trade association that represented the pharmaceutical, chemical and petrochemical industries—an unexpected opportunity she was, at first, hesitant to embrace.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to lobby. It wasn’t how I saw myself,” Zita admits. But a mentor’s advice—Joe Devaney, her boss at the Assembly office—changed everything: “If you want to effectuate change, the only way to do it is from the inside. You won’t make an impact from the outside—go in and help them think differently.”

At CICNJ, Zita realized the real challenge wasn’t just advocating externally but convincing her own members to rethink their approach. “The hard part was being in these board meetings, giving my legislative update and then telling people in the room why they weren’t 100% right, why they should think a little differently.”

That test became the foundation of her lobbying career. “It was truly a learning ground for me to become a really good lobbyist because I had to lobby my own members before I could lobby the legislature.”

After nearly six years at CCNJ, Zita was ready for a new challenge. She joined Capital Public Affairs (CPA), a contract lobbying firm, where joined Adam Kaufman—the man who would later team up with her to co-found The Kaufman-Zita Group.

In 2012, Zita found herself in one of the biggest fights of her career: the battle for marriage equality in NJ. With her ability to shift perspective from within, Zita and her team convinced several legislators and the then-Senate President Steve Sweeney—who had previously opposed the Marriage Equality and Religious Exemption Act (S1)—to change his stance. “He became a supporter and actually posted the bill and it passed in the Senate.”

That Senate victory set off a legal chain reaction that allowed Kaufman Zita Group’s client, Garden State Equality—New Jersey’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group—to file a suit challenging then-Governor Christie’s veto. That suit then became the tipping point that led the New Jersey Supreme Court to recognize same-sex marriage in 2013.

Beyond the wins and the policy victories, Zita’s influence is reflected in the people she uplifted along the way. One of her greatest superpowers is her ability to delegate and empower those around her. She has helped shape many careers, including two of TZG’s Executive Vice Presidents, Eric Orlando and Beth Dohm.

At CPA, Zita hired Orlando as a Legislative Research Associate. But she didn’t just give him a job—she invested in his growth, giving him the space to take on more responsibility and prove himself. Under Trish’s leadership, Orlando worked his way up to Executive Vice President at TZG, where he now mentors junior lobbyists and leads many of the clients he inherited from her.

“She had to trust me and be confident in my abilities…Not every leader steps back and lets someone else take the reins, but she did…Because she was willing to step back and let me take on that responsibility, I was able to grow.” Orlando shared.

Dohm witnessed this same trust when Kaufman and Zita left CPA to start The Kaufman Zita Group—and again when Zita took over after Kaufman retired.

“Trish saw my dedication, experience, and ability to help take this business to the next level, and she was the one who tapped me for an executive leadership role,” Dohm shared. “She’s a master class in business, politics, and government—strategic, thoughtful and never rattled. She leads with the three Cs—calm, cool and collected—and even after all these years, I continue to learn from her.”