THE GOVERNOR'S STEM SCHOLARS TEAM.

The Governor's STEM Scholars Team is comprised of industry, academic and government professionals who guide the organizational vision and mission.

GSS Advisory Council.

The Governor’s STEM Scholars Advisory Board is made up of STEM professionals from academia, government, and industry, who have made a commitment to the program’s mission: to mentor, educate, and inspire students in STEM in New Jersey. The primary role of the Advisory Board is to serve as an admissions committee, but Board members also participate in conferences and mentor Scholars throughout the year.

Shivani Aggarwal

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 an Associate with the New Jersey office of the Boston Consulting Group, spending most of her time with the Healthcare practice area.

Lucas Dorazio

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.

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

Michael W. Klein is a Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellow at the Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York, and an associated member of the faculty of the PhD in Higher Education Program at Rutgers University.

Braxton Plummer

A longtime player in Democratic circles, Braxton Plummer has worked up and down the state, for Senator Cory Booker when he was Mayor or Newark, and for Governor Murphy – and in numerous organizations.

Alexandra Sun, Ph.D.

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

Natasha Velikoselskiy

Natasha Velikoselskiy is a Leadership Expert, Executive Coach, Founder of LEADING WHILE HUMAN Leadership Development Consultancy, and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School.

Dina Ameen, Ph.D.

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.

Emman Ebosie

Emman Ebosie is currently the Director of the Project Management Office at Projects & Construction for Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG) and has been since 2018. Previously, Mr. Ebosie was a Manager and Principal Controls Engineer in the same department starting in 2011.

Susan Knox, Ph.D.

Susan Knox is currently a Principal Scientist at Kenvue (previously Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc.) where she leads multiple innovation programs for Listerine and has been recognized as an Emerging Technical Leader. Additionally, she is the co-lead for Women in Science and Engineering, an employee resource group at Kenvue that engages with local students to encourage participation in and exploration of STEM careers.

Justin Roskam

Justin Roskam is an alumni representative on the Governor’s STEM Scholars Advisory Council. Justin is a current pre-professional Biochemistry and Molecular Biology student with diverse research experiences, an active Emergency Medical Technician, and a 2021 graduate of the Governor’s STEM Scholars program.

Sindhu Suresh, Ph.D.

Sindhu Suresh is a senior project manager in the department of Business Analytics & Monitoring of Siemens Corporate, Corporate Technology.

Lu Wang, Ph.D.

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

Charly Castillo

Charly Castillo is an alumni representative on the Governor's STEM Scholars Advisory Council. She was a member of the GSS 2021 class. Charly is currently an undergraduate at Brown University, concentrating in Statistics and International and Public Affairs on a Security Track.

Ricardo Garcia

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.

Everett McArthur

Everett McArthur is an alumnus of the Governor's STEM Scholars Program Class of ‘19 and he has a passion for astronomy and a strong commitment to education, school choice and scientific engagement. Previously he has served as the Head of the Alumni Association at iLearn Schools from which he himself graduated from in High School.

Prasiddha Sukar

Prasiddha Sudhakar is a data and intelligence analyst at the Network Contagion Research Institute, where she uses data science and machine learning to identify cyber social threats online.

Volha Tryputsen

Volha Tryputsen is a Statistician at Johnson & Johnson with 8+ years of pharmaceutical experience providing innovative statistical solutions for diverse array of projects spinning through all the phases of drug discovery and development across different therapeutic areas with the focus in Neuroscience and Oncology.

Yug Yadava

Yug Yadava is an alumni representative on the Governor's STEM Scholars Advisory Council and a fourth-year biological sciences major at Rowan University's Honors College.

Karla Esquilín-Lebrón, Ph.D.

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

The Governor's STEM Scholars Research Advisor provides scientific and technical thought leadership and support to the Governor's STEM Scholars, specifically advising and mentoring the team research projects.

GSS Staff.

The Governor's STEM Scholars staff are career educational, organizational, and communications professionals who are committed to building stronger STEM ecosystems within New Jersey.

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.

Arling Moctesuma

Program Assistant, Governor's STEM Scholars

Arling Moctesuma is a Program Assistant with the Research & Development Council of New Jersey, where she provides support to the Governor’s STEM Scholars with program development, media relations, and recruitment strategies.

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.