Team | GovSTEMScholars

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 selection committee, Advisory Board members also contribute throughout the year by participating in conferences, guiding research projects, and mentoring Scholars.

Krystinna Arevalo

Advisory Council

Krystinna Arevalo is an alumna of the Governor’s STEM Scholars class of 2024. She is a first-generation college student at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is pursuing a double major in 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Research Advisor

The Governor's STEM Scholars Research Advisor provides scientific and technical leadership, guiding Scholars as they design and carry out their team research projects. In this role, Research Advisors 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.

Alumni Selections Committee

The Governor's STEM Scholars Alumni Selection Committee is comprised of GSS alumni who bring firsthand experience as Scholars to the admissions process. Serving as the first stage of review, Alumni Selection Committee members evaluate applications and help identify the next class of New Jersey's future STEM leaders.

Nishi Agrawal, 2024 Class

Pomaah Agyen-Kumah, 2025 Class

Niranjana Ananth, 2023 Class

Petros Antonoglou, 2026 Class

Pranati Bankupalli, 2025 Class

Prerna Bankupalli, 2025 Class

Suchit Basineni, 2024 Class

Giancarla Burgos, 2023 Class

Charly Castillo, 2021 Class

Seidy Castillo, 2024 Class

Tiffany Chan, 2026 Class

Amy Chen, 2024 Class

Diana Leigh Corbett, 2021 Class

Shreya Dutt, 2025 Class

Sean Fialcowitz, 2025 Class

Catherine Gan Ung, 2023 Class

Audrey Gang, 2023 Class

Santiago Gonzalez, 2026 Class

Riya Goyal, 2025 Class

Jo Anastasia Harkins, 2025 Class

Madeline Heng, 2023 Class

Leah Inzana, 2025 Class

Emmanuel Ishola, 2023 Class

Claire Jiang, 2024 Class

Navneet Kalatheeswaran, 2025 Class

Jophy Lin, 2026 Class

Charlotte Liu, 2024 Class

Aliza Lopez, 2022 Class

Nidhi Mandrekar, 2024 Class

Haley Mody, 2025 Class

Justin Ng, 2026 Class

Hung Nguyen, 2019 Class

Bryan Oko, 2026 Class

John Palacios, 2026 Class

Eva Patel, 2025 Class

Yash Pathak, 2025 Class

Khushi Prajapati, 2024 Class

Kaavya Pratikantham, 2025 Class

Manya Rana, 2026 Class

Amisha Rastogi, 2026 Class

Ravi Sangani, 2026 Class

Josephine Serrano, 2025 Class

Aum Shah, 2026 Class

Julia Silberman, 2018 Class

Marisa Syed, 2023 Class

Vjosa Ukella, 2023 Class

Aaron Joaquin Vivanco, 2025 Class

Juliana Yang, 2020 Class

Kevin Zhang, 2025 Class

Staff

The Governor's STEM Scholars staff are experienced professionals in education, organizational management, and communications, dedicated to the success of every Scholar and the long-term growth of New Jersey's STEM workforce pipeline.

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.