Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees
Meet Our Board of Trustees
Founder and Chairman
DiversityInc., West Palm Beach, FL
Managing Partner
MAR Acquisition Group LLC, Warren Township, N.J.
President
麻豆传媒
Andr茅s Acebo, the 13th President of 麻豆传媒, is the proud first-generation son of Cuban exiles and a Hudson County native who grew up in Union City, N.J., and has maintained strong ties to the community. In January 2023, he became only the third Hispanic to serve as the leader of a four-year public institution of higher education in the State of 麻豆传媒. He is the youngest known president to ever lead a public university in 麻豆传媒.
Acebo was unanimously appointed president by the Board of Trustees on July 23, 2025, after serving as interim president since January 17, 2023.
In less than two years of widely praised mission-driven servant leadership, Acebo has demonstrated extraordinary vision, guiding NJCU from a fiscal emergency to a remarkable recovery which will be a case study throughout higher ed.
In May 2024, ROI-NJ named him the in 麻豆传媒 Higher Education in the 2024 Higher Education Influencers annual publication. In September 2024, he in the 2024 NJBiz Education Power 50 List. Acebo earned the highest ranking of any college or university president in 麻豆传媒 in the 2024 Power 50. In October 2024, he was named to the 2024 ROI Power and Influencer Awards Champions of the C-Suite Top 30 and in January 2025 was selected to the 2025 ROI Influencers Power List Super 75 list.
Taking office in the midst of a financial emergency, he has steered NJCU forward. He has helped orchestrate four major strategic initiatives: the release of the NJCU Recovery and Revitalization Plan (April 2023), and introduction of the university's first Academic Master Plan (February 2024) and first Strategic Enrollment Plan (April 2023) and inaugural Student Development and Community Engagement Strategic Plan (December 2024).
In February 2024, the university unveiled a refresh of the University Mission Statement and introduced its first-ever Vision Statement.
Furthermore, Acebo has led to the University's finances being stabilized and the first balanced operating budget since 2017 鈥 less than two years after NJCU reported a $22.7 million deficit. Moody鈥檚 agreed, upgrading NJCU鈥檚 outlook from 鈥渘egative鈥 to 鈥渟table鈥 in February 2024. In November 2024, Fitch Ratings did the same. These two upgrades in rating and outlook are the first for NJCU in more than a decade.
Additionally, he has forged key partnerships with other colleges, highlighted by the Hudson Connect Program with Hudson County Community College, and similar agreements with Essex County College and Mercer County Community College. He has signed key strategic MOUs, including with the NJEA, Hudson Building Trades, GLACO, AFT Local 1839, Jersey City POBA, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County, SHCCNJ and HCLACC.
NJCU鈥檚 relationship with the Jersey City Public Schools (JCPS) has never been stronger than during Acebo鈥檚 tenure, launching partnerships with the A. Harry Moore Laboratory School for its new LIFT program and JCPS Visual and Performing Arts Program 鈥 both on the NJCU campus.
Acebo holds a B.A. from Brown University and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School. A North Jersey resident, he is a proud product of Union City public schools in Hudson County. He鈥檚 the proud father to three young children and husband to an extraordinarily dedicated educator 鈥 an NJCU alumnae 鈥 who proudly celebrate and champion their community and their roots together.
Read President Acebo's full profile
Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs
Fidelity Investments
Ms. Natalie Brathwaite is the Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs for Fidelity Investments, one of the world鈥檚 largest financial services providers. In this role, she is responsible for Fidelity鈥檚 government relations, community investing and civic efforts for 麻豆传媒 and New York and leads the firm鈥檚 advocacy and engagement efforts on a wide range of state-level issues related to investment advice.
Prior to joining Fidelity in 2017, Ms. Brathwaite spent a decade working in the public sector. Her past roles in both the nonprofit and government sectors in the United States and Canada included work in external affairs, community engagement, grant-making and public policy analysis.
Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Ms. Brathwaite received a Bachelor of Arts and Masters degrees from the University of Toronto. Ms. Brathwaite currently resides in Jersey City. She is active in her community and proudly serves on the boards of the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, the Hudson County Community College Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Hudson County, the Jersey City Arts Council and Saint Peter鈥檚 University Board of Regents.
Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Medical Group
RWJBarnabas Health
Michael Prilutsky currently serves as Executive Vice President at RWJBarnabas Health and President of the NorthEast Region since April 2022. Prior to this role, Prilutsky has held significant leadership positions, including President and Chief Executive Officer at Jersey City Medical Center since August 2016, and previously served as Chief Operating Officer in the same organization. At Montefiore Health System from 2007 to July 2016, Prilutsky was Vice President and Executive Director of the Epic@Montefiore project, overseeing a $250M initiative to implement Epic EMR across multiple locations. Additional roles include serving as Vice President for various medical services at Montefiore Medical Center, Senior Director of the Department of Surgery at North Shore LIJ Health System, and Administrator for Radiology at Beth Israel Medical Center. Prilutsky earned two Master's degrees in Healthcare Administration from the University of Kansas and the University of Kansas Medical Center between 1993 and 1995.
EdD, MPH, RN, FAAN, Maj Gen, USAF, Ret 01/20
Former Director
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Center for Women Veterans, Arlington, Va.
President and CEO
Newark Alliance
Newark Alliance, is a private/public sector-led non-profit driving inclusive economic, community, and workforce development in Newark, 麻豆传媒. Since assuming the role in December 2021, he has focused on transformative initiatives such as ending chronic homelessness, cementing affordable universal broadband access, and fostering wealth creation for Newark residents through business, real estate, and equity investment opportunities.
Weiss is also a Board Member of 麻豆传媒 Transit, the largest statewide public transit agency in the US, and 麻豆传媒 Community Capital. Previously, as Senior Advisor to Governor Phil Murphy, he tackled the State鈥檚 leading economic development and infrastructure challenges, managed 麻豆传媒's COVID-19 fiscal response, and advanced projects like the Gateway Tunnel, offshore wind development, and affordable housing. Before joining the administration, Weiss specialized in turnaround strategies for distressed cities an