Commissioner Lillian Burry is serving her sixth, three-year term, which expires on 12/31/23. Commissioner Lillian G. Burry was born in New York City, attended public schools and Wagner College, graduating Cum Laude with a B.A. Degree in Political Science & History. She was elected to the National History Fraternity and in 2005 was granted the Wagner College Fellow in Political Science.
Commissioner Burry began her public service as a councilwoman in Matawan Borough. After moving to Colts Neck, she served as Committeewoman, Deputy Mayor and Mayor, making her mark in historic preservation and open space conservation.
Elected to the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders in November 2005, she was reelected in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2017; recently in 2020, she was overwhelmingly elected as County Commissioner (former Freeholder). She served as the first female Director in 2008 and again in 2010, 2014 and 2017. She is the liaison to the Board of Elections, Planning Board, Agricultural Board, and Consumer Affairs.
Commissioner Burry was appointed to the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority serving as Vice Chair, and to the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority, where she chairs the Veterans Affairs Sub-Committee and serves on the Real Estate Sub-Committee. She was appointed by the Commissioner of the Interior, to the Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee for the National Park Service.
Commissioner Burry received many awards including: Marine Corps League Distinguished Citizen; Sheriff’s Officers Fraternal Order of Police Person of the Year; Monmouth County Historical Association’s Person of the Year; Latino American Association’s Outstanding Community Member and Eastern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce Spinnaker Award for Public Service.
Additionally, Commissioner Burry received the Outstanding Service to Agriculture Award, was Grand Marshal of the Open Space Pace Parade and received the first Count Basie Vanguard Award for lifetime devotion to the arts. In 2015, she received the M. Claire French Award, recognizing her leadership in historical preservation and in 2016 the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore honored her as a Woman of Distinction. She most recently was awarded the 2017 Silver Gull Award’s Presidential Award, as well as, the 2017 NJ Women of Achievement Award from the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs; the Monmouth Council Boy Scouts of America (BSA) “Good Scout” Award in 2019 for her leadership and commitment to service at the 20th Annual Good Scouts of Western Monmouth; the Township of Ocean Historical Museum - History Champion Award in 2019; and the Brookdale Community College’s Wilbur Ray Community Service Award in April 2020 for exceptional commitment to the community.
Working in a collaborative effort with the Soldier On organization, she found a home for homeless veterans of Monmouth County.
She was apart of a joint effort by the Vocational Schools, National Park System and the Commissioners to reconstruct Buildings 23 and 56 on Fort Hancock for the Marine Academy of Science and Technology.
Lillian has been in business for more than 40 years as owner and broker of record of Colts Neck Realty. Married to Captain Donald Burry, retired from the Coast Guard, they have one daughter, two grandchildren and three great grandchildren.