Outgoing, passionate and excitedly sarcastic, Gina Golba could one day be the next Neil Simon. Well, that's a bit of a stretch, but even she would agree –  Hoboken houses quite an impressive individual who encompasses an astronomic appreciation and passion for creativity and the finer arts.

Manifest destiny might not be exactly what pulled Gina into this square mile two years ago, but she considers it to be one of the best decisions she's made. After apartment hunting the upper and lower sides of Manhattan, she realized that she was seeking a neighborhood that embodied what Hoboken can offer, but that wasn't Hoboken. She ultimately decided that there is no place like Hoboken itself and therefore unpacked her bags.

What attracted her to call the 07030 home? The neighborhood itself. Gina's a big fan of simply walking the city. "I walk around all the time,” Gina says. "It's so nice to just see what's going on around me, to walk through the parks and go down by the water and take everything in." But the pleasant views aren't the only things that won her rent check. Gina says there are "so many places to meet up with people for coffee, a drink, dinner.”  It fits everything she was looking for. You could probably catch her at La Isla, the 3 Forty Grill, or Michelina's when she's not roaming the pier with coffee in hand.

A travel writer for a small ship expedition company for four years, Gina has struck gold in terms of what many of us long for in our careers. Lindblad Expeditions is dedicated to environmental and education travel, sailing to incredible faraway places that are usually difficult for the casual traveler to visit on their own, such as the Galapagos Islands, Antarctica, the Arctic…  all seven continents! The perk of being a travel writer? Gina is full-steam-ahead on a career that melds two areas she's passionate about: travel and writing.  She hopes, one day, to have the opportunity to write more creatively about her own personal travels. When she's not earning a paycheck, Gina focuses on a major artistic goal… a two-part live theatre play.

When you're a kid, your aspiration is to one day be a major league baseball player, a superhero, a doctor, a dinosaur, or a rock star, but those childhood dreams tend to get left behind with your baby teeth. Gina's dream, however, has grown exponentially. She has always wanted to act and has been enrolling in classes for over 10 years. It is evermore growing in her life as something that she can envision herself making a career out of, but throughout it all has realized a lack of appreciation for live theatre due to it coming off as too hoity-toity to the majority of Generation Y. With the fear that there is a lost connection to live theatre, Gina has big plans of completing a two-part play that represents her own youthful sense of humor. A play that would come with an environment where the audience can become more active with the show, but it would be as casual and inexpensive as going to the movies (well, maybe a matinee movie, these days).

When Gina isn't writing Tony-winning plays and getting caught up on worldly travels, her typical days consist of triathlons and establishing world peace. No, but really. With an incredible sense of humor, a passionate career and a love and talent for the arts (as well as two different colored eyes), Ms. Golba is an exceptional young Hobokenite who, despite a busy work and social life, finds time to create art and reach her goals.

Every week hMAG posts Faces articles featuring someone from the community because, after all, hMAG is all about the community.
Do you know someone we should interview for an upcoming article? Pitch your idea to editorial@hmag.com and we might include you or someone you know on hmag.com or an upcoming issue of the magazine!

All candidates MUST live or work in Hoboken and agree to have their picture posted.