Dr. Kevin Belfield is Dean of the College of Science and Liberal Arts and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science at NJIT. Belfield is an inductee into the National Commission of Cooperative Education Co-op Hall of Fame, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the American Chemical Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. His research interests range from developing contrast agents for early cancer detection and new paradigms for photodynamic cancer therapy and 3D high density optical data storage.

Belfield has over 250 publications, holds over a dozen U.S. patents and serves on several editorial advisory boards of scientific journals. Most recently, Belfield is PI of a grant from the National Science Foundation entitled “Chemistry, Sustainability and the Circular Economy”, which aims to prepare Chemistry PhD graduates to formulate impactful research questions to address some of society’s greatest challenges.

Appointed by Governor Murphy, Shawn M. LaTourette is responsible for formulating statewide environmental policy while directing programs that protect public health and ensure the quality of New Jersey’s air, land, water and natural and historic resources.

A lawyer and policymaker with more than 20 years of experience in environmental protection, LaTourette began his career defending victims of toxic exposure, including organizing and advocating for the needs of vulnerable New Jersey communities whose drinking water was contaminated by petrochemicals. Throughout a career shaping environmental law and policy, he has served in executive roles and as a trusted adviser to governments, community and non-profit organizations, and leaders in industry and infrastructure, while also litigating high-stakes lawsuits involving environmental, energy and public health concerns.

Born and raised in New Jersey, LaTourette graduated magna cum laude from Rutgers University and earned his law degree summa cum laude from Rutgers Law School, where he was the class salutatorian and the recipient of multiple environmental and governance awards, and published scholarship on environmental law, natural resource damage and climate issues.

Chris Testa is a Supervising Administrative Analyst in the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (OEM). He is the civilian manager of the Hazard Mitigation Unit, which is housed within the Recovery Bureau of the New Jersey State Police. The Unit currently administers over $400M in FEMA grants distributed across all 21 of NJ’s counties. Chris also coordinates Hazard Mitigation Planning at the local level, supplying technical assistance and reviewing plans prior to submission to FEMA. Mr. Testa was OEM’s lead in the development of the 2014 and 2019 NJ State Hazard Mitigation Plans. He has a BS in Environmental Studies from Stockton University, and a MS in Environmental Policy Studies from NJIT. Prior to his work with the NJSP, he was employed by specialty contractor Henkels and McCoy as an Environmental Manager on PSEG Electrical Transmission projects. Following DR-4021, the remnants of Hurricane Irene, Chris worked as a Community Hazard Mitigation Planner for FEMA. Prior to that, he was Special Projects Coordinator for the Hunterdon County Soil Conservation District.

Dr. Maurie Cohen is a professor and chair of the Department of Humanities & Social Sciences at NJIT and director of its Science, Technology and Society program. He is a co-founder and Management Team member of the Future Earth Knowledge-Action Network on Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production and a co-founder of the Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative . Cohen is also the Editor of Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy , an open-access journal dedicated to the wide dissemination of academic research and professional insights on sustainability science and studies.

Cohen has published a number of books on sustainability and environmental policy, and holds a master's degree in urban and regional planning from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in regional science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ken Colao is a recognized leader and entrepreneur in the construction industry with more than 40 years of experience as a principal of several major firms, working on domestic and international high-profile projects.

As Founder, President, and CEO of CNY, Ken leads an innovative solutions-oriented Manhattan-based company that is credited with leading change in the industry, including “open shop” construction that changed an otherwise all-union New York City labor marketplace for large-scale development. Ken enthusiastically challenges the norm, creating value and leading CNY with a purpose that demonstrates how businesses can be a force for good. An early adopter of ESG and SDG initiatives in the construction industry, he drives CNY management to deliver its proven best practices and expertise, including its social standards for equity and inclusion, technical excellence, sustainability practices, and its objective to attain “B” Corp status.

An engineer with a BSCE degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Ken serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Overseers for NJIT and Chairs the Board of Advisors for the Hillier School of Architecture and Design and has received the University’s Alumni Achievement Award and is among its Top 30 Influencers. He also serves as Vice Chairman on the Board of Governors for the New York Building Congress. Ken has been an active member of YPO for 30 years serving on boards of YPO Metro, Metro Gold, and Big Apple Gold, as well as championing the 2021 YPO CIN first Global Digital Roundtable on ESG—An Emerging Influence in our Society, Industry, and Businesses and is the current Chair of CIN.

Ken was named EY Entrepreneur of The Year ® in 2017 for the New York Region in the Real Estate, Construction, and Hospitality category. EY’s global program recognizes individuals who excel in innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Dr. Omowunmi “Wunmi” Sadik is developing innovative technologies for improving human health, food safety and the environment through her research into biological sensors, surface chemistry, electrochemistry and nanostructured conducting polymers. She co-founded the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization, which is building support for science and promoting the understanding of its broader relevance to society.

She holds five patents for her work on biosensors and nanostructured membranes, has published over 200 peer-reviewed works with 400 invited lectures and conference contributions. Her inventions are driving changes in areas such as dentistry, pain management and counterterrorism. She is also the director of NJIT’s BioSensors Materials for Advanced Research & Technology (BioSMART) Center.

She received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Wollongong in Australia, and was a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. EPA. She has held appointments at Harvard University, Cornell University and the Naval Research Laboratory.

Sadik is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, The American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, The African Academy of Sciences, Jefferson Science Fellow, Brian O'Connell Distinguished Fellow and Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecturer. She received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Research & Creative Activities. She is the recipient of a NSF Discovery Corps Senior Fellowship.

Chao Yan’s company, Princeton NuEnergy has received National Acclaim for its Lithium-Ion battery recycling processes, a key aspect of the environmental dilemma — what happens to our smartphone and laptop batteries once we’re done with them? While the move to rechargeable batteries has reduced the reliance on the old-fashioned batteries, global e-waste from the discarded tech could reach a whopping 74 million metric tons by 2030.

The Princeton University-based startup, founded in 2019, was awarded the 2021 U.S. National Grand Prize by CleanTech Open, the world’s largest clean technology accelerator program, for its novel recycling strategies on lithium-ion batteries found in everything from iPhones to Tesla.

Princeton NuEnergy’s solution involves a novel plasma-based purification technology. With the company’s improved process over old recycling technology, valuable materials such as cathode and anode can be recycled, restored and reused with a fraction of the steps typically involved.

Yan’s company has received backing from Princeton’s IP accelerator program, grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, and a new partnership with the Fortune Global 500 company Wistron Corp. on a “Lithium-Ion Battery and Kickoff Pilot Project,” giving Yan recycling infrastructure to form key partnerships with major companies utilizing Li-Ion tech.

Michel Boufadel is a distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of NJIT’s Center for Natural Resources (CNR). Boufadel received his B.S. in civil engineering at Jesuit University in Lebanon, and his M.S. and Ph.D. at University of Cincinnati.

CNR specializes in assessment and remediation studies of pollution in natural settings and the evaluation of natural resources for the potential production of energy, particularly renewable energy. It is internationally known for its long-term studies of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and its efforts in dealing with Hurricane Sandy. Boufadel has been an active participant on many national committees on the environment, and prolific researcher with a statewide water quality improvement effort among the most recent grant-funded projects.

Boufadel is an expert on water, energy and water technology who brings insights into oil spills, hurricanes and global warming. His research examines sustainability, environmental engineering and science and water resources and hydraulics.

John Cays is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Hillier College of Architecture and Design. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of the Arts and Master of Architecture degree from Princeton University. He is a recognized sustainable design professional. John co-founded GRADE Architects, an architecture and interior design firm in NYC. Prior to that John was as a project manager at Robert A.M. Stern Architects. John has been active in various academic and professional associations, including serving as Northeast Regional Director for the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture from 2014 – 2017 and as a Director on the National Architectural Accrediting Board from 2017 – 2020. He currently serves on the SIGGRAPH Education and DEI Committees and is a current Board member of the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment. John was the 2021 recipient of the ACLCA Education LCA Leadership Award. He is the Author of An Environmental Life Cycle Approach to Design: LCA for Designers and the Design Market published by Springer Nature.