Alumni Leadership

Officers of the Alumni Association

Ralph Jimenez ’02 (Newark, NJ)
(2020-2022 elected term)
President

Ralph Jimenez received his B.A. in Information Systems with a minor in Management in 2002. As a charismatic new alumnus, he quickly became a member of and chaired the NJIT Young Alumni Club. As an active participant within the alumni community, Ralph was then able to serve on the Alumni Association of NJIT board of directors as Secretary. 

With his degree grounded in both technology and business, Ralph was poised for a career in Product Management. He has been in the Product Management space for 12+ years, serving in a number of different industries including Real Estate, Payments, Technology and Financial Services.  Keeping abreast the latest trends in his field, Ralph took an interest in Agile Software Development, leading him to obtain his Certified Scrum Product Owner® designation.  Currently, Ralph is a Senior Manager within the Strategic Initiatives group at Prudential Financial.

In his spare time, Ralph enjoys biking, hiking, snowboarding and staying connected to friends and family. 

Vatsal Shah PE, Ph.D. ’08H, ’09, ’15 (Green Brook, NJ)              ​
(2020-2022 elected term)
First Vice President

Vatsal is a lifelong Highlander, having graduated with honors from NJIT in 2008 with his BS,  2009 with his MS, and in 2014 with his Ph.D in Civil Engineering.  Vatsal is a proud graduate of both NJIT's Newark College of Engineering and the Albert Dorman Honors College. Vatsal serves as Vice President of the Alumni Association. He is also an adjunct professor in NJIT’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and has been named a Faculty Fellow of the Albert Dorman Honors College in Spring 2019.

Vatsal is the Principal Engineer of ANS Geo, a full-service civil engineering consulting firm with offices across the US and nearly 40 staff.  Vatsal currently manages the firm, and is technical lead for a multitude of civil, geotechnical, and environmental projects.   He was voted nationally as the "Young Engineer of the Year" in 2019 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, and was named the “Face of Civil Engineering” by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2012.  Vatsal was also one of the youngest Professional Engineers licensed in the State of New Jersey and is licensed as a Professional Engineer in multiple states.

In July 2014, Vatsal was the first recipient of the NJITGeNext Award which is presented by NJIT’s Alumni Association for their professional accomplishments, community engagement, and service to their alma mater as well as exceptional accomplishment in any field of endeavor which brings honor to NJIT. Vatsal remains active at NJIT and with the future STEM community with his over 15 years of involvement in the Raytheon and National Society of Professional Engineers’-sponsored MATHCOUNTS Competition Program as well as co-founding NJIT’s Engineers Without Borders chapter in 2007.  Vatsal maintains personal work-life balance with very effective time management and by spending free time enjoying outdoor activities, ice hockey, fitness and spending time with close friends and family to whom he attributes much of his drive and success.

Alfred Martinez ’10, ’18 (Clifton, NJ)
(2020-2022 elected term)
Second Vice President

Alfred S. Martinez received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from NCE in 2010 and is expected to receive his MS in Mechanical Engineering from NJIT in 2018. Currently, Alfred is a Senior Mechanical Estimator for cost consultant, Ellana, Inc, holding previous project management and estimating positions with Durr Mechanical Construction, Inc. Alfred is also Chair of the New York Metro Regional Alumni Club. In his free time, Alfred enjoys spending quality time with his family and playing golf.

Joseph G. Stanley, PE, PP ’78, ’85 (Morristown, NJ)
(2020-2022 elected term)
Vice President At Large

Joseph G. Stanley is a Senior Vice President at Mott MacDonald (MM). He is a recipient of the NCE Outstanding Alumnus Award, and Alumni Achievement Award.  He is a member of the Newark College of Engineering Board of Visitors and a former chair of the Industrial Advisory Board for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has been an adjunct professor in the Civil Department and has served on various university committees.  Joe's work primarily involves designing water supply facilities.

Joe likes to help young people, and at MM he manages the Early Career Professionals Steering Committee, which gives talented employees beginning their professional careers the chance to do research and provide input into the operations of the company. He is the Chairman of the Morristown Planning Board. He is also the former Chair of the NJ Section of the American Water Works Association and serves on two national committees for the organization. 

Additionally, Joe has been instrumental in starting and successfully building the Alumni Weekend program.

Muhammad Elgammal, PE, PMP ’12, ’15 (West Orange, NJ)
(2019-2021 elected term)*
Vice President At Large

Muhammad is a Senior Civil Engineer for Stantec’s Aviation practice in the NYC Office. He provides engineering services for Aviation facilities throughout the region and beyond.

Recently he was the Project Engineer for JFK’s Runway 13L-31R and part of the lead design team for The Redevelopment of EWR’s Terminal One— New Jersey’s largest transportation infrastructure design-build contract valued at $1.41B, with the overall program award amount of $2.72B.

Muhammad is a licensed Professional Engineer in the States of NJ and NY. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the John A. Reif, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Outside his roles at work, Muhammad serves as the Chair of the Young Alumni Association, is a member of the Board of Trustees Campus Life Committee, and a Member of the Committee on Younger Members for the American Society of Civil Engineers.

In 2016, Muhammad was honored as Young Civil Engineer of the Year for ASCE's Central Jersey Branch and was nationally recognized in 2017 as a ‘New Face of Civil Engineering’ by ASCE-- for his outstanding contributions and personal achievements that represent the bold and humanitarian future of civil engineering.

Muhammad attributes himself as an avid mentor and mentee. He credits much of his success to his willingness to expose himself to challenges and opportunities in all forms. Muhammad received his B.S. in Civil Engineering, with honors, and his M.S. in Critical Infrastructure from the Newark College of Engineering at NJIT.

*completing an unexpired term.

Dania Shahzad, ’13 (Rutherford, NJ)
(2019-2021 elected term)
Secretary

Dania Shahzad received her BS in Business Management from SOM in 2013.  Dania is also a graduate of the Albert Dorman Honors College and served on the Honors Student Council. Dania is an Associate Manager within the Project Management Office at PGIM Fixed Income.  Based out of Newark, NJ, Dania works with various groups across the organization to accomplish business objectives ranging from managing system upgrades to adapting to new regulatory laws for the business.  Dania is the co-chair of the Prudential / NJIT Corporate Club. 

Alumni Association Board Members

Paul S. Attallah ’05, MBA ’15 (Kearny, NJ)
(2020-2022 elected term)
EMBA Alumni Chapter

Paul is a Global IT Sales Consultant for Cyxtera Technologies, where he originates leads and uncovers new opportunities through financial industry channel partners, serves as a business development resource to identify and cultivate new partners within the financial industry segment, and serves as an internal resource and subject matter expert for colocation/data center opportunities generated by the CenturyLink’s financial vertical and Cyxtera's sales executives. Paul has served on the Executive MBA Alumni Chapter since 2016, and was elected co-chair in 2018. Paul also serves as an Adjunct Professor at NJIT in the Martin Tuchman School of Management.

Marvin S. Cohen ’66 (Alexandria, VA)
(2020-2022 elected term)
Washington, D.C. Metro Regional Club

Vincent L. Cerone ’82 (Denver, CO)
(2019-2021 elected term)
Colorado Regional Club

Vince is a product specialist for HP, one of the worlds largest technology companies ranking 55 on the Fortune 500. He focuses on introducing new disruptive technologies to traditional markets,new markets and HP resellers.

Vince’s career in the technology sector spans almost 40 years, 27 of which were spent at Xerox. Starting as a programmer/systems consultant, Vince eventually transitioned into an account management role. He spent most of his career working with large companies in the NY//NJ area in the engineering, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and utility sectors.

In 2015 Vince moved to Denver CO to spend his free time outdoors hiking, skiing and biking.

Robert C. Cohen ’83, ’84, ’87 (Basking Ridge, NJ)
(2020-2021 appointed term) 

Robert Cohen currently holds the position of Vice President of Global Research and Development and Chief Technology Officer of Stryker’s Orthopaedic Joint Replacement division. He has worked in the orthopedic medical device industry for thirty-five years and has managed research, development, manufacturing, regulatory, clinical research, quality and marketing functions. Prior to their acquisition by Stryker in 2013, Mr. Cohen held the position of Senior Vice President, Clinical and Market Development, for MAKO Surgical Corp., an orthopedic robotics company, as well as having the role of General Manager of their New Jersey implant R&D and additive-manufacturing facility.

From 2007 until MAKO’s purchase of Pipeline Biomedical, a company founded by Mr. Cohen, he served as its Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of R&D. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Product Development for Implex Corp, a developer of advanced joint replacement and spinal implants fabricated from a novel porous metal biomaterial trademarked as Trabecular Metal. Following the acquisition of Implex Corp by Zimmer Inc, a large manufacturer and supplier of orthopedic implants in 2004, Mr. Cohen served as Zimmer’s General Manager of their New Jersey engineering and manufacturing operations through 2006.

From 1984 to 1992, he held various engineering positions at Stryker’s joint replacement division Osteonics, including Director of Product Development. Mr. Cohen has over 25 patents and speaks globally at medical education conferences. He also serves on numerous boards and is the Chair of the NJIT Board of Trustees. Mr. Cohen is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Mr. Cohen has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering Management, all from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Trevor Summerfield ’16 (Manasquan, NJ)
(2020-2022 elected term)
Young Alumni Association

Trevor is a software engineer at Google. He graduated from NJIT with a Bachelors in Computer Science and minor in Applied Mathematics. He works at Google's New York office, where he works on serving infrastructure for collaboration applications and hardware. Outside of work, he enjoys baking pizzas, playing video games, and hiking.

Susana Holguin-Veras ’06 (Newark, NJ)
(2019-2021 elected term)
New York Metro Regional Club

Susana is a Principal at TheoryCo., a Newark-based digital marketing agency serving the design, architecture, and real estate industries, as well as cultural institutions. Prior to that, she served as Director of Marketing at Howard L. Zimmerman Architects and Business Development Manager at NELSON, both architecture firms located in New York City. Susana graduated from NJIT with a BS in Architecture in 2006. While at NJIT, Susana founded Studio Magazine, was an editor at The Vector, and was involved with the Architecture Student Union and the NJIT Art Club. After NJIT, she received an MS in Architectural History and Theory from the Bartlett School of Architecture in 2007, and completed coursework towards a Ph.D. in art history from Rutgers University in 2011.

Susana joined the NYC Metro club in 2016, and mentored other NJIT alumni at at Zimmerman.

Lisa Moving ’01 (Kearny, NJ)
(2019-2021 elected term)
Turner Corporate Club

Lisa Moving is a Project Manager with Turner Construction Company, one of the nation's largest General Contracting firms. Starting as a Field Engineer, she has attained over 18+ years of industry experience in cost control, change management project engineering, sales, business development, contracts, project engineering, risk and construction management. 

Throughout her career at Turner, she has worked on various construction progect types including commercial office fit-outs, data centers upgrades, infrastructure upgrades, retail and healthcare renovations.

In addition to the Bachelor of Architecture (1991) and Master's Degree in Construction Engineering and Management (2004) earned from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Lisa holds a diploma in Architecture Technology (University of Technology, Jamaica) and a Master's Degree in Real Estate, Finance & Investment (New York University 2012. 

Lisa grew up in the Federation of St-Kitts and Nevis and migrated to New Jersey in 1997.

Ed Musa ’14 (North Brunswick, NJ)
(2020-2022 elected term)
Educational Opportunity Program Cohort

Edward J. Musa Jr. graduated with his B.S. in Computer Engineering and minor in Applied Mathematics in 2004, and his M.S. in Information Systems in 2006. While at NJIT, Edward held several positions within the NJIT chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Residence Life, and the Educational Opportunity Program.
 
Edward presently works as a Cyber Security Vulnerability Assessment Manager at NBCUniversal, the third largest media and entertainment company in the world. His job responsibilities involve him protecting the firm from various types of business disruptions, as well as demonstrating all recovery efforts during an incident are completed in the least amount of time possible. Edward is currently leading an investigation on the disaster recovery standards of the technology unit in charge of supporting the Advertising Sales division - a group responsible for $10B of NBCUniversal’s $33B annual revenue. Outside of work, Edward enjoys giving back to the community by serving as the President of the NJIT EOP Alumni Cohort, as well as making contributions to his local church as its Secretary on the Board of Elders.

In addition to spending time with friends and family, Edward frequently invests his time honing his professional skills through online courses on LinkedIn Learning and Pluralsight. 

Kevin J. O'Keeffe, P.E., ’15, ’17 (Shrewsbury, NJ)
(2020-2022 elected term)
Greek Alumni Council

Kevin is a strong proponent of engaging with the NJIT community. He graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, and minored in Environmental Engineering, as well as an M.S. in Civil Engineering - Construction Engineering and Management. As a student, he was Vice President of three Civil Engineering Department clubs; American Water Works Association, Student Chapter of the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers, and Chi Epsilon Honors Society. He also was president of Kappa Xi Kappa Local Fraternity. 

Now Kevin is a licensed professional engineer in the state of New Jersey working in both Municipal and Water Resources Engineering at Middletown-based T&M Associates. His responsibilities primarily include design and specification preparation, along with project management, for various project types such as roadway reconstruction, sewer/drainage networks, and recreational park facilities, along with construction administration/inspection of land development projects. Kevin still has strong ties to the NJIT community with being a co-councilman of the Greek Alumni Board and President of the Kappa Xi Kappa Alumni Association.

Will Paul is an Applications Architect focusing on designing applications and software services that enable UPS to deliver innovative products & services to market.  Will is also a board member of Math Engineering Technology and Science Exchange, a non-profit organization focusing on STEM readiness, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment. 

L. Richard “Rick” Pedersen ’81 (Fulshear, TX)
(2019-2021 elected term)
Houston Alumni Club

Rick is the CEO of Gas Logistics Consultants. Rick provides management support to any enterprise involved in buying or selling industrial gases, with a focus on optimizing thesupply chain for industrial gas distribution, especially by over-the-road transport.
Rick obtained his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from NJIT in 1981, and an MBA from the University of Houston in 1989. He is a member of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, and helped establish the Houston Regional Club in 2016.

George Post ’61 (Clearwater, FL)
(2020-2022 elected term)
Florida Gulf Coast Alumni Club

George graduated from Newark College of Engineering in 1961. After graduation, he served as CEO of EGF Realty Services Inc., and secretary at Meridian on Sand Key Owner's Association, Inc. He eventually formed his own business, George Post & Company, a corporate real estate company. He sold the company in 2014 and currently serves as a consultant.

George has served on the faculty of New York University Real Estate Institute, as a member of the board of directors of the CEO Council of Tampa Bay, the board of advisors to The Florida Orchestra, board of directors of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, board of directors of The Tampa Bay Chamber Orchestra, and president of The Tampa Club. He has been Published in New York University's Real Estate Review and The Production Handbook by The Ronald Press.

Glenn Steiger ’70 (Glen Ridge, NJ)

Glenn Steiger is currently the Executive Consultant for the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) where he provides professional oversight to NTUA’s major generation, power supply and transmission initiatives. He was previously the General Manager of Alameda (California) Municipal Power (AMP), and the former General Manager/CEO of Glendale (California) Water & Power (GWP) where he transitioned the utility through the integration of “smart grid” technology, water and energy efficiency.  

Glenn previously led the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC), as General Manager/CEO. Before joining MMWEC, he was General Manager of IID Energy (Imperial Irrigation District). In addition, he served in several leadership roles at Jersey Central Power & Light culminating in leading the utility’s “industry restructuring” activities as Vice President of Corporate and Competitive Affairs.  Director of Engineering and Operations with Sussex Rural Electric Coop. 

Mr. Steiger has provided energy, engineering, and strategic regulatory consulting services to utilities and major energy consumers in the Southwest.  In addition, he has provided internationally-recognized water/energy nexus and smart grid consulting services to utilities in Australia, Brazil, Thailand, China and numerous European countries.  He was honored by GridWeek with its 2010 “Excellence in Smart Grid Deployment” award and by Intelligent Utilities magazine as one of 2011’s “Movers and Shakers”.  

Glenn holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in engineering management from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Additionally, he has completed advanced executive management work at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and is a licensed professional engineer.  

Mr. Steiger was appointed by New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman to the NJ Economic Development Commission.  In addition, he has served on the Board of Public Power Inc. (APPA subsidiary); as President of the Southern California Public Power Authority; was a Board member of Western Electric Coordinating Council (WECC), and served as chair of both the California League of Cities and California Municipal Utilities Association “Water Committees”. 

Glenn, originally from Glen Ridge, NJ, and his wife, Barbara, from Boise, ID, now live in Mesa, Arizona.  They have a wonderful blended family of four daughters, one son and seven grandchildren.

Anita M. Rubino ’83 (St. Petersburg, FL)
(2020-2021 appointed term)

Anita graduated from NJIT in 1983 with a BS in Industrial Administration and went on to earn an MBA from Seton Hall University in 1986. After a 15+ year career in Human Resources Management, including Chief Human Resources Officer for Nielsen Media Research, she moved into a variety of executive leadership positions within the Nielsen Company. She then founded AMR Solutions Network, LLC, a network of businesses dedicated to providing personalized business solutions to senior leaders and their organizations. 

A generalist who specializes in strategic counseling and coaching for C level executives, she combines  expertise in organizational development and structure along with her experience in Client Relationship Management (CRM), Client Training and Support, Internet Marketing Services, Knowledge Management and eLearning as well as Business Process Management. Anita is currently the owner of EVOS Carrollwood, a fast casual restaurant in Tampa, Florida which specializes in healthy alternatives to your favorite American food.

She has a passion for providing nutritious food to children of all ages and has been working with local schools to educate them on healthy eating habits. Anita is an avid Baseball fan and supporter of NJIT's Athletic programs along with her other alumni activities. She is currently serving on the Board of Visitors for the College of Science and Liberal Arts (CSLA) and is also the Chair of AANJIT Awards Committee.

Joseph M. Racanelli ’83, ’90 (Park Ridge, NJ)
(2019-2021 elected term)
Stryker Corporate Club

Joe is currently the Senior Director of Orthopaedic Biomechanics and Device Evaluation at Stryker Corporation. His responsibilities include structural and biomechanic analysis and testing of major Stryker orthopaedic reconstructive hip and knee medical devices. Since 1983, when Joe received his BS in Mechanical Engineering at NJIT, Joe’s responsibilities have included research, design, structural and thermal analysis, testing, and program leadership. He has worked in various companies across four diverse industries: aerospace, telecommunications, elevator, and currently, medical devices, all based in New Jersey.

Joe received his MS in Mechanical Engineering from NJIT in 1990, and has continued his connection at NJIT as an Adjunct Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department. Since 2016, Joe also has had a key role in developing a stronger connection between Stryker and the more than 100 NJIT Alumni currently employed there. As the Co-Chair of the Stryker-NJIT Alumni Corporate Club, Joe organizes Stryker tours for NJIT students, faculty and leadership, and organizes NJIT tours and events for Stryker employees. Joe is also a conduit for NJIT senior Capstone projects.

A Boy Scout leader and Eagle Scout advisor for 18 years, Joe helped many boys plan and execute their Eagle Scout projects. In his free time, Joe enjoys building and fixing just about anything, especially if it has four wheels.