Festival founder, mentor and teacher, health counselor and…Biker?

There are whispers that the original Asbury Park Jazz Festival, the one created under the direction of Dina Parker-Todd in 1989, might just have a return engagement late this summer! The City last showcased the festival in 2014. It had a long, successful run with Ms. Parker-Todd at the helm, but by the time she retired in 2005 after 35 years with the City, the festival had long been in other hands, some of those outside of the City. 

Ms. Parker-Todd reflected on past special events. “Over the years, the City always looked for events that might increase tourism – things like the Easter Parade and before that the Baby Parade. Those beloved events had been around for decades.” Ms. Parker-Todd thought it was time for something new. Fresh. Initially, she partnered with Brookdale Community College and their radio station, 90.5 FM and the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce. The first idea was a series of Jazz weekends, which morphed into the idea of one, big annual festival, and the Asbury Park Jazz Festival was born. 

Her first job in the City in 1971 wasn’t very jazzy. She began working for the City as the secretary for the Rodent and Insect Control Department, under a State job program following the 1969 Asbury Park “riots”. Her tenure with the City took her many places.

Ultimately, she worked for every City department, except for Police and Fire. She later transitioned from the State Jobs Program to Code Enforcement.

After revamping that office she became the secretary for the Planning Board, and then supported two City Managers, beginning with Sam Addeo, followed by Terry Weldon — who was charged with racketeering in 2002 and ultimately sentenced to 58 months in prison. Ms.Parker-Todd’s time working with the newly appointed City Manager, Terry Reidy, was brief because she had already submitted retirement papers. 

Between 2005 and 2010, Ms. Parker-Todd created a non-profit – Faith-Based Initiative Human Development Group, later renamed FBIG. Then, through a Workforce Investment Grant, she created programs to support young people at-risk who were looking to get their lives on track. The programs taught them job interview techniques, how to prepare a resume, job readiness, various job-training skills, and more. “We showed them there were possibilities they could reach for and hold onto,” she says. “We showed them there was hope.” 

“This kind of work is my passion. The teacher. The counselor. That is the soul of my heart. I’ve always been a teacher at heart,” she says. 

By 2012, she had joined the New Jersey Pan African Chamber of Commerce, Inc (NJPACCI) an organization she had been aware of for some time, but did not immediately seek an office position or a leadership role. In 2015, she was elected president and from the inside she became aware of issues that needed to be corrected so that the organization could grow. She started by working to re-establish their non-profit status.

Now on steadier footing and with Ms. Parker-Todd as immediate past president, the organization is planning a big event for August 24-25, 2024. The festival will be held on the campus of Brookdale Community College, Lincroft. The all-day event will be similar in scope to the African American Festival, held at PNC Arts Center in previous years. The focus of the event as the title indicates is on health, particularly health issues that affect those from across the African diaspora. Todd-Parker noted that “Pan African” takes in not only those who live in America, but all who identify as African. Information on the festival, including how to purchase tickets, can be found here.

“We are diving into Black and Brown communities that have been neglected or ignored. We are going to be talking about prostate cancer, sickle cell disease and maternal and infant mortality, areas where the rate of death is higher in our communities,” Ms.Parker-Todd says. 

Although she didn’t grow up here, Ms. Parker-Todd was right at home in Asbury and Neptune when she took that first City job in Asbury Park all those years ago. She is a member of the Reevey family, original occupants of Eatontown and what is now Ocean Township. Even though she grew up a “military brat” in Highland Falls, N.Y., right next to West Point, she frequently came home with her mother, who was a Reevey. “So when we were here,” she says, “I spent my time in Eatontown and Pine Brook. “Her local home was on West Park Avenue, Wayside, Ocean Township. four other properties on West Park are still owned by the Reevey family. 

Although she is passionate about her work and other projects, Dina Parker-Todd is also passionate about riding. She has biked across country, around the country, in the Carribean, and in Paris. Sure can’t judge a book by its cover!!