RLA 2024-2025 Cohort
Joining us for the 2024-2025 cohort of the Rutgers Leadership Academy are 39 Fellows who represent all four chancellor-led units.
Deneen K. Blow (she/her)
Senior Director of Administration
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine & The Center for Dermatology
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Nominator: Phil Mesisca
Christine Cahill (she/her)
Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Advisor
Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences
Nominator: Dilafruz Nazarova
Carmen R. Castro (she/her)
Assistant Director, Business Services & Program Manager
School of Social Work
Nominator: Sharon Fortin
Itzamarie Chévere-Torres (she/her)
Director, Office of Postdoctoral Advancement
University Academic Affairs
Nominator: Henry Turner
Letitia Dean
Associate Director, Research and Sponsored Programs
Office for Research
Nominator: Diane Ambrose
Omar Dewachi
Associate Professor and Chair Elect
Anthropology, School of Arts and Sciences
Nominator: Robin Leichenko
Kandace Diedrick
Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Programs
School of Business, Rutgers Camden
Nominator: Oscar Holmes IV
Malica T. Dock
IRB Assistant Director
Office for Research
Nominator: Hila Berger
Katy Gray (she/her)
Assistant Dean, Douglass Discovery & Academic Programs
Douglass Residential College
Nominator: Leslie Danehy
Jesus E. Gualario
Manager, Administrative Services
School of Health Professions
Nominator: Karen Shapiro
Daniel B. Horton (he/him)
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology; Pediatric Rheumatologist
Pediatrics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Nominator: Brian Strom
Manuel “Manny” Jimenez
Associate Professor
Pediatrics, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Nominator: Brian Strom
Matthew Keller
Assistant Director Business Operations and Animal Facilities
Office for Research
Nominator: Jeetendra Eswaraka
Krista Klein (she/her)
Acting Associate Dean
Honors College
Nominator: Anne Newman
Regina Koury
Associate University Librarian
Rutgers University Libraries (Camden)
Nominator: Caroline Muglia
Fina Liotta
Associate Teaching Professor & Undergraduate Coordinator and Advisor
Chemistry, Newark School of Arts and Sciences
Nominator: Frieder Jaekle
Zoe Makropoulos
Assistant Director
Rutgers Future Scholars
Nominator: Kim Williams
Joann “Jo” Choi Messina (she/her)
Associate Teaching Professor & Assistant Director of Business and Technical Writing
Writing Program, English, School of Arts and Sciences
Nominator: Lynda Dexheimer
Vivian Molina (she/her)
Manager of Student Clinical Compliance
Student Affairs, School of Nursing
Nominator: Yvonne McClendon
Jennifer Gladys Mulle (she/her)
Associate Professor
Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Nominator: Martin Blaser
Sieglinde O’Connor
Assistant Director, Business Analysis and Quality Assurance
Research Financial Services, Office for Research
Nominator: Lamar Oglesby
Gregory L. Peck (he/him)
Associate Professor of Surgery & Associate Professor of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy
Acute Care Surgery and Clinical Epidemiology & Surgery
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Nominator: Brian Strom
Danielle Phillips-Cunningham
Associate Professor
Labor Studies and Employment Relations, School of Management and Labor Relations
Nominator: Adrienne Eaton
Donnell Pierre
Associate Director, Advisement Center
School of Nursing
Nominator: Kyle Warren
Caryn Radick (she/her)
Digital Archivist, Special Collections and University Archives
Rutgers University Libraries
Nominator: Adriana Cuervo
Nadia Rago-Iddrisu
Department Administrator, Academic Success
School of Nursing
Nominator: Kyle Warren
Doaa Rashed
Associate Teaching Professor and Director of the Language Engagement Project
English, School of Arts and Sciences
Nominator: Thomas Stephens
Aaron Reevey
Associate Director, Access & Administration
Rutgers Future Scholars
Nominator: Kim Williams
Amy Rockman
Director, Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence
Office of Clinical and Health Affairs, Rutgers Health
Nominator: Vicente Gracias
Julie E. Roncinske (she/her)
Assistant Dean III
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Dean’s Office
Nominator: Suneeta Ramaswami
Michelle Ruidiaz-Santiago (she/her/ella)
Executive Assistant
School of Public Health
Nominator: Paul Duberstein
Nuria Sagarra
Professor and Department Chair
Spanish and Portuguese, School of Arts and Sciences
Nominator: Laura Ramirez Polo
Phoebe Stapleton
Associate Professor
Pharmacology and Toxicology, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Nominator: Debra Laskin
Melissa Vargas (she/her)
Associate Director, EOF
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Nominator: Nancy Cintron
Kristen Victorino (she/her)
Associate Professor, Speech-Language Pathology Program
Rehabilitation & Movement Sciences, School of Health Professions
Nominator: Celeste Domsch
Jun Wang
Associate Professor
Medicinal Chemistry, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Nominator: Longqin Hu
Kate Woodside (she/her)
Program Coordinator
Rutgers Health Services
Nominator: Barbara Bender
Julia Zappi
Senior Data Analyst
Data, Analytics & Business Intelligence, Office for Research
Nominator: Christopher Perkins
Li Zhang
Associate Professor
Department of Accounting and Information Systems, Rutgers Business School
Nominator: Jay A. Soled