By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – Virginia “Ginny” Aiken Gormley will be inducted into the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame this week at a reception being held at Harbor Pines Golf Club. She is one of six outstanding women being inducted during the Hall’s 30th anniversary celebration being held Thursday.
Gormley is being recognized for her contributions and commitment to the residents of Atlantic County in the field of social services.
“This is so not Ginny,” she said upon learning AtlantiCare CEO Michael Charlton nominated her for the award. “It’s a real compliment and I appreciate it. I worked for them for many years and AtlantiCare has been very kind to me.”
Proceeds of the event will benefit high school seniors who plan to pursue a career that will help them blaze their own trails and contribute to the betterment of the community.
Gormley grew up in Margate, went through the Margate schools, and attended Atlantic City High School. She attended University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where she graduated cum laude in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in history and government and a minor in English. After college, she taught English and became chair of the English Department at Lewis Junior High School in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Gormley soon found herself wanting to go back to school. She debated a career in law or social work, chose the latter and attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, where she obtained her Master of Social Work degree in 1980. Her focus while there was Social Policy and Planning and School Social Work. An internship led her to a job at the NJ Department of Corrections Division of Juvenile Services where she helped to develop alternative education programs for incarcerated youths at Harborfields Detention Center in Egg Harbor City.
She said she gravitated toward children who were on the edge and often avoided by others.
“I liked those boys when no one else wanted to work with them. I liked helping them and getting them back in school,” she said.
She worked at the New Jersey Office of Legislative Services between 1979-1982 as a committee aide for the Assembly Municipal and County Government Committee and as a legislative analyst for the Judiciary Committee. That’s when she met her husband, then-NJ Sen. Bill Gormley.
“I knew his name and saw him at the State House,” she said. “That’s who hired me when they needed staffing.”
They married and raised their blended family in Margate, where she continued to pursue a career, motherhood, and supporting her husband. Together they have four children, now all in their 50s, three boys and a girl. All have gone on to have successful careers and families of their own.
“Marrying Bill, I knew what I was getting into,” she said. “Working at the State House, I knew the system. I’m not political really, and we are both interested in history, so it was good. Now it’s 42 years later.”
Although she lived in Princeton when she worked for the state, the sand in her shoes led her back to Margate, where she uses the beach as a street to get around.
“I walk on the beach almost every day,” she said, pointing to the view of the ocean from her kitchen. “I love watching the sandpipers and the seagulls. I’m a nature girl.”
During the 1990s, she worked for the Family Division of Superior Court where she was responsible for division operations and case management, including matrimonial, child abuse, domestic violence, and juvenile delinquency.
“It was the hardest job in my life. It was challenging but very rewarding,” she said.
Finally, she spent the last 10 years of her career working for the AtlantiCare Foundation as director of Child Health and Wellness, which involved community outreach in early childhood development and maternal child health.
“AtlantiCare Foundation liked us to be out in the community,” she said.
Her volunteer work is extensive. She was heavily involved in the Shirley Mae Breast Cancer Fund, participated in the R.E.A.D. pet therapy program in the Atlantic City schools and hospital, founded Atlantic City Friends of Music at the Sovereign Avenue School in Atlantic City, was a member of the AtlantiCare Art Committee and the Atlantic City branch of the American Association of University Women.
She is a past board member of the Margate Community Church, Atlantic County Chapter of the American Red Cross and is a former Literacy Volunteer of America. She was also a member of Covenant House and Atlantic City Youth Build.
A philanthropist as well, in November 2025 she and her husband, along with Lee and Sandra Levine of Longport, donated the funds needed to establish a scholarship for students at Stockton University as they work to obtain their MSW degree and develop skills that address social, emotional and behavior issues in society.
“I’m delighted to donate this money, especially now when there is such a mental health crisis,” she said at the time. “My MSW has served me very, very well over the years. It takes you a lot of places, and so we want to prepare more people for this important work.”
Today, she volunteers for something close to her heart – protecting and preserving the marine environment as a member of Sustainable Margate, the city’s green team.
Gormley said her interest in the environment started in the early 1970s when she was a young mother and the big discussion was whether to use cloth diapers or the new disposable ones.
“That was my coming of age and formed who I am,” she said.
She can often be found spinning the color wheel and asking children questions about turtles, trees and other flora and fauna of Absecon Island, the ocean, and the bay. She is a lover of trees and has vowed not to use any type of mulch in her garden beds, only native plant species as a ground cover to keep down the weeds.
“She supports initiatives that promote environmental education and community awareness, including speaking with children and families about the importance of caring for and protecting the environment,” Sustainable Margate Chairman Steve Jasiecki said. “We are grateful for her support in raising awareness and advancing our shared commitment to sustainability and are grateful to have her as part of our team.”
She is proud to have led the charge in reducing single-use plastics by encouraging the use of reusable bags. On Thursday, she passed out mesh produce bags that she hopes people will take to the grocery store to discourage the use of film bags in the produce section.
Gormley has been honored with many awards over the years, including the Jewish National Fund Tree of Life Award for Community Service, American Red Cross Humanitarian Award, and the South Jersey March of Dimes FDR Award for Community Service.
She is also active at the Margate Community Church where 2013 Hall of Fame inductee and current ACWHOF board member Brenda Taube of Margate also worships.
“She has spent years quietly strengthening the fabric of our community, always choosing service over recognition,” Taube said. “She never seeks the spotlight. If anything, she avoids it, which makes this honor all the more meaningful.”
Taube said both the church and the green team are pleased to see one of their own honored in this way.
“Her contributions come from a place of genuine care for others and a deep commitment to the betterment of Atlantic County. We are grateful for her example and thrilled to see her selfless work acknowledged,” Taube said.
Along with fellow-inductee Monica Coffey, also of Margate, Taube will introduce her at the induction ceremony.
Other notable women being inducted in the 2026 Class of the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame are Lillian Frisko for Education, Brett H. Matik for Business, Cydnee L. Phoenix for Community Service, Sadhna Singh for Volunteerism and Glen Ann Stoll for Medicine/Health Science.
Follow the Atlantic County Women’s Hall of Fame on Facebook or at www.acwhof.org.
Copyright N.Lo Communication, LLC 2026
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