Members and Committees
Note: The Board Chair and the President serve as ex officio, nonvoting members of every standing committee.
ANTHONY ABRANTES (appointed 2024)
BA – Montclair State University
Current: Assistant Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Eastern Atlantic State Regional Council of Carpenters
ERIC BROPHY (appointed 2026)
JD – Seton Hall University School of Law
BS – University of Scranton
Current: Chair, Government & Regulatory Law, CGS Law
MODIA BUTLER (appointed 2025)
MA – Rutgers University
BA – Franklin and Marshall College
Current: Partner at Mercury Public Affairs
LEONARD CARR (appointed 2026)
Current: Managing Director, PDT Partners
TARA COLTON (appointed 2026)
MA – Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs
BA – Wesleyan University
Current: Executive Vice President & Chief Economic Security Officer, New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)
MARY A. COMITO (appointed 2017)
MA – George Washington University
MBA – St. Johns University
BA – SUNY Albany
Current: Insurance and Financial Advisor, State Farm Insurance
FRANCIS M. CUSS (appointed 2009)
MB, BChir – Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London, UK
BA Natural Sciences, MA – King’s College, Cambridge University, UK
FFPM (Fellow Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine)
FRCP (Fellow of Royal College of Physicians)
Former: Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, R&D – Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (Retired)
Former: Senior Vice President, Discovery & Exploratory Clinical Research, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Former: Senior Vice President, Schering-Plough Research Institute; Director of Pulmonary Clinical Research, Glaxo
MICHELLE DeANGELO BUCCERI (appointed 2026)
BA – Montclair State University
Current:
MARIE-MARTHELLE GUERVIL (appointed 2026)
MA – New Jersey City University
BA – Montclair State University
Current: Special Assistant to the CEO at RWJBarnabas Health
TRACY HIGGINS (appointed 2021)
JD – Harvard Law School
AB – Princeton University
Current: Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law and Co-Director, Leitner Center for International Law and Justice
ARLENE QUINONES PEREZ (appointed 2026)
JD – Rutgers School of Law-Camden
BA – Rutgers University
Current: Equity Partner and the Director of Diversity & Inclusion, DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin, LLP
SHEILA ROSTIAC (appointed 2024)
MBA – Centenary College
BS Accounting – Leigh University
Current: Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief Diversity Officer, PSEG
KENT SLUYTER (appointed 2016)
BS Mathematics – Lafayette College
Former: President of Prudential Annuities
Student Representatives
- Jameson Klinsky – Student Trustee (appointed 2025)
- Miriam Awwad – Student Trustee (appointed 2026)
Non-Voting Members
PRESIDENT JONATHAN KOPPELL (appointed 2021), non-voting
PhD – Political Science – University of California, Berkeley
MA – Political Science – University of California, Berkeley
AB – Government – Harvard College
Current: President, Montclair State University
Former: Vice-Provost for Public Service and Social Impact, Arizona State University; Senior Advisor to the Provost, Arizona State University; Dean, Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions, Arizona State University; Director, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University; Director, Associate Director, Millstein Center for Corporate Governance & Performance, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Faculty Representative
JASON WILLIAMS (appointed 2026), non-voting
Ph.D., Administration of Justice, Texas Southern University
M.A., Criminal Justice, New Jersey City University
B.A., Criminal Justice, New Jersey City University
Current: Professor, Justice Studies
Trustee Emeritus
GEORGE J. HILTZIK
JD – Columbia University School of Law
BS – Cornell University
Current: Principal at Hiltzik Strategies
Former: Senior Executive, N. S. Bienstock talent agency
Former: Vice President for Policy and Planning and other positions at National Broadcasting Company; legal positions in various firms