Zigi Putnins

2025 marks Zigi’s 24th consecutive year in Jamboree – an  impressive streak that began when his daughter cheerfully informed him, “All Junior parents have to do Jamboree.” Thus began his journey as a backstage hero, a role he embraced before being promoted to the bright lights of the stage for the next five years.

When his oldest graduated, Zigi pivoted back behind the curtain, supporting Jamboree through managing the website, creating and maintaining the foundational processes for organizing communications and data, attending every party worth attending, keeping the cast in the loop, marching proudly in the Fourth of July parade, and filming/posting rehearsal dance videos. He even managed to squeeze in time to perform in the alumni number – and rack up two movie credits courtesy of his Jamboree connections.

Somewhere in all that chaos, Zigi picked up photography as a hobby. You may have spotted his shots on Facebook or in various local publications. He also lends his media and tech talents to community organizations, because apparently, he does not understand the concept of “free time.”

Zigi hails from “Lon-gisland,” graduated from SUNY Stony Brook, and bravely crossed the Hudson River to join Bell Laboratories in Whippany, NJ. While at Bell Labs, he doubled down on his education at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he earned his second master's degree. His career path has taken him through a tech startup, a defense contractor, and several communications manufacturing companies in the world of Systems Engineering.

Today, he’s at Verizon in Network Planning as an Associate Fellow.  Zigi and his wife Cathy moved to Ridgewood in 1984, where they raised three children who graduated from Ridgewood High School and went on to collect diplomas from a variety of other institutions of higher learning.