The Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders recognized Brynn McKinney at
their Aug. 28 meeting for winning the title of Miss New Jersey’s Outstanding Teen 2019. Brynn represented New Jersey at the national pageant in July that was held in Orlando, Florida and she placed in the top 10 out of 50 contestants.
Brynn is 15, a resident of Sewell, and attends Gloucester Catholic High School. Her school ambition is to obtain a clinical doctorate degree in Psychology. Freeholder Director Robert M. Damminger said, “We are proud that New Jersey’s representative for Outstanding Teen hails from Gloucester County. She is a role model to many young and old.”
Freeholder Jim Jefferson, Liaison to the Department of Health and Human Services, explained that Brynn McKinney’s platform, which focused on fighting anxiety, is making an impact on educating her peers about mental health.
Jefferson said, “Brynn is an example of what is right with our young citizens today. She is an advocate for mental health and has collaborated with GoZen informational program to educate youth about anxiety and positive coping skills, lobbied for NJ BillS-2861, requiring health curriculum for public school students in grades kindergarten through 12 to include instruction on mental health, and recruited a team to support National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She’s going to have a great future and we wish her continued success.”
