Chamber of Commerce has new leader

Dr. Ronald G. Silikovitz says he has a tough act to follow.

Silikovitz, who is a state licensed psychologist, has been on the Board of Trustees of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce for 10 years and will be taking over as president of the organization.

Recently retired from his practice, Silikovitz will replace Tez Roro, a real estate professional.

“Tez Roro rescued us during Covid and moved us in many directions,” Silikovitz said. “She’s increased our membership dramatically.”

Silikovitz has been a resident of West Orange since 1976. He and his wife Arlene were born, educated, and married in Philadelphia. They are parents of two adult sons, Andy and Harvey. They also have two cats.

They moved to West Orange when Silikovitz got a job in Manhattan at the Manhattan Developmental Center.

“We didn’t want to live in Manhattan,” he said. “We’ve been in the same house since then.”

At the Center, Silikovitz worked as a psychologist for five years, under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Klein. And it was Klein who inspired Silikovitz to go into his own practice.

“He taught me everything I know about the practice—how to dress, office furniture, how to get patients, how to document things. He taught me everything I didn’t know,” said Silikovitz.

Silikovitz opened his own independent practice in West Orange in 1985. He’s had four or five different locations—all in West Orange. He’s provided both psychotherapy and forensic psychology consulting services. He is also a consultant for the Public Defender’s office, the Department of Child Permanency and Protection, the Division of Disability Services, and the Division of Developmental Disabilities.

He has been active in the New Jersey Psychological Association (NJPA) and has served as secretary, treasurer, and chair of the Committee on Legislative Action and as president of the Society of Psychologists in Private Practice, Ethics Committee secretary, and Forensic Committee chair.

Silikovitz has had staff privileges for many years at the Morristown Medical Center Department of Psychiatry and at Bonnie Brae.

He was awarded the NJPA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and the Bonnie Brae Residential Treatment Center Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.
Silikovitz will remain active in several NJPA committees and in his peer supervision group.

He was the founder and first president of the New Jersey chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts and remains active on its board. He’s very excited to remain on the board.

“I went to a meeting of that organization in 1998 and really fell in love with it,” Silikovitz said. “The organization has a hundred members now. They are celebrating their 25th anniversary in September of 2025.”

With all Silikovitz is involved in, he will have plenty to do during his retirement from his private practice.

He also plans to travel some. “See places we haven’t been,” he said.

To learn more about the West Orange Chamber of Commerce, please visit: https://westorangechamber.com/

  Chamber of Commerce, West Orange