Team | GovSTEMScholars

GSS Advisory Council

The Governor’s STEM Scholars Advisory Board is comprised of STEM leaders from academia, government, and industry who are committed to mentoring, educating, and inspiring New Jersey’s future STEM workforce. While their primary role is to serve as the program’s admissions committee, Advisory Board members also contribute throughout the year by participating in conferences, guiding research projects, and mentoring Scholars.

Shivani Aggarwal

Advisory Council

Shivani Aggarwal is an alumni representative on the Governor's STEM Scholars Advisory Council. She was a member of the Class of 2017. Currently, she is a Consultant with the New Jersey office of the Boston Consulting Group, spending most of her time with the Healthcare practice area.

Dina Ameen, Ph.D.

Advisory Council

Dina Ameen is the Skin bio-delivery Lead for Kenvue. In this role, Dina oversees skin bio-delivery capability at Future of skin health platforms is located Skillman, NJ.

Krystinna Arevalo

Advisory Council

Krystinna Arevalo is a recent alumna of the Governor’s STEM Scholars class of 2024. She is a first-generation sophomore student at the University of Pennsylvania, studying Neuroscience and Health & Societies.

Radhika Balasubramani

Advisory Council

Radhika Balasubramani is a Director in Large Molecule Science and Technology Organization in Manufacturing Division at Merck & Co, Inc.

Jack Campanella

Advisory Council

Jack Campanella, a Governor's STEM Scholars 2019 alumnus, is a Robotics Engineer, previous Walt Disney Imagineer, Researcher with Vijay Kumar at the GRASP Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, President of the Rowan Robotics and Automation Society, and appeared on America’s Got Talent as part of Verge Aero’s performance.

Ian Crawley, Ph.D.

Advisory Council

Ian is a Quantum Computing Researcher at Nokia Bell Labs.

Ana DaSilva

Advisory Council

Ana DaSilva is a 2018 Governor’s STEM Scholar alumna and a Lecturer at New Jersey City University, where she holds a dual appointment in the College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education.

Lucas Dorazio

Advisory Council

Lucas Dorazio has been a practicing chemical engineer at BASF where he leads a team of scientists developing fluid catalytic cracking catalysts to support the refining industry.

Ricardo Garcia

Advisory Council

Ricardo Garcia is an alumni representative on the Governor’s STEM Scholars Advisory Council. Ricardo was a member of the Governor’s STEM Scholars class of 2018-2019, and graduated in May 2019.

Sophie Hatcher

Advisory Council

Sophie Hatcher works as a Staff Engineer at Stryker in Mahwah, New Jersey, where she works on the design and development of knee replacement implants in the Joint Replacement division of the company.

Michael W. Klein, J.D., Ph.D.

Advisory Council

Michael W. Klein is the director of government relations for the Pinelands Preservation Alliance.

Susan Knox, Ph.D.

Advisory Council

Dr. Susan Knox currently works in Healthcare Professional Marketing at Amgen, a biotechnology company, supporting an antibody drug that treats Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder and Immunoglobulin G4-related disease.

Shaan Mody

Advisory Council

Shaan Mody is a 2025 alumnus of the Governor’s STEM Scholars program and a current medical student at Rowan–Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Shirish Patel

Advisory Council

Shirish Patel serves as Director of the Project Engineering Group at Public Service Electric & Gas Company, where he provides strategic leadership and technical oversight for major power system infrastructure and capital projects.

Shirin Sood

Advisory Council

Shirin Sood is an alumni representative on the Governor’s STEM Scholars Advisory Council and a member of the 2024 Governor’s STEM Scholars class.

Alexandra Sun, Ph.D.

Advisory Council

Alexandra Sun is a research chemist at Merck & Co., where she is designing innovative automation and high-throughput experimentation tools for drug development.

Sindhu Suresh, Ph.D.

Advisory Council

Sindhu Suresh leads the Grid Platform Management division of Utilities technologies which encompasses planning, implementing, and managing the utility technology and digital needs for PSE&G Electric Operations.

Lu Wang, Ph.D.

Advisory Council

Lu Wang is a Senior Scientist with the Small Molecule Process Research & Development group at Merck & Co.

Ilissa Whittaker

Advisory Council

Ilissa Whittaker is a Staff Engineer in Hip Product Development for Stryker Orthopaedics in Mahwah, NJ.

Mark Yackanich

Advisory Council

Mark Yackanich is a seasoned advisor, business operator and investor with expertise building businesses at the intersection of enterprise software, digital video, data and advertising.

Yug Yadava

Advisory Council

Yug Yadava is a 2023 Governor STEM Scholar alumnus. He is currently a first year medical student at the Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (KansasCOM).

Chang Yaramothu, Ph.D., FAAO

Advisory Council

Dr. Chang Yaramothu, PhD, FAAO is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Technology and Biomedical Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), with a focus on brain injury and neural plasticity.

Tiffany Zhao

Advisory Council

Tiffany Zhao is a Senior Data Scientist at Instagram, where she currently works on Instagram Reels Monetization.

GSS Research Advisor

The Governor’s STEM Scholars Research Advisor provides scientific and technical leadership to the program, guiding Scholars as they design and carry out their team research projects. In this role, Research Advisors mentor students, offer subject-matter expertise, and help ensure projects are both rigorous and impactful.

Karla Esquilín-Lebrón, Ph.D.

Research Advisor

Karla Esquilín-Lebrón, Ph.D. is a Microbiology teaching instructor in the Biochemistry and Microbiology Department at Rutgers-New Brunswick.

GSS Staff

The Governor’s STEM Scholars staff are experienced professionals in education, organizational management, and communications, dedicated to strengthening New Jersey’s STEM ecosystem and supporting the success of every Scholar.

2025 Governor's STEM Scholars

Anthony Cicatiello

President, Research & Development Council of New Jersey

Anthony Cicatiello is President of the Research & Development Council of New Jersey. Tony has served on the Rutgers University Board of Governors, as Chairman of the Commission on the Future of the State Colleges in New Jersey, and on the National Communications Advisory Council of The Ohio State University.

Kim Case, J.D.

Executive Director, Research & Development Council of New Jersey

Kim Case, J.D. serves as Executive Director of the Research & Development Council of New Jersey. As Executive Director, Kim assists in setting the Council’s agenda, advises its leadership on issues related to the Council’s mission of advancing R&D in the state, and runs the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Alise Roderer

Director, Governor's STEM Scholars

Alise Roderer is the Director of the Governor’s STEM Scholars (GSS) where she is responsible for all aspects of the program, including ensuring all elements are aligned with organizational mission and vision, Scholar recruitment and selections, event and conference implementation, and fundraising and donor management.

Meet the 2025 Governor's STEM Scholars. A class made up of 111 high school and college students from all of New Jersey's 21 counties. When they graduate from the Governor's STEM Scholars in May 2025, the will join an alumni network of nearly 1,000 STEM students and professionals.