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

Radhika Balasubramani

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

Ana DaSilva

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.

Sophie Hatcher

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.

Shaan Mody

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.

Sindhu Suresh, Ph.D.

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.

Mark Yackanich

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.

Tiffany Zhao

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

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.

Jack Campanella

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.

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 the director of government relations for the Pinelands Preservation Alliance.

Shirin Sood

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.

Lu Wang, Ph.D.

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

Yug Yadava

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).

Krystinna Arevalo

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.

Ian Crawley, Ph.D.

Ian is a Quantum Computing Researcher at Nokia Bell Labs.

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.

Susan Knox, Ph.D.

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.

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.

Ilissa Whittaker

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

Chang Yaramothu, Ph.D., FAAO

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.

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.

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.