Chad Bruner, Chair

Mr. Bruner was installed on the Board in September, 2012. Mr. Bruner’s term will expire June 30, 2029.

Mr. Bruner is currently in his 25th year at the County of Gloucester and has held many management positions such as Deputy Human Resources Director, Director of Health and Senior Services, Deputy County Administrator, and County Administrator – a position he has currently held since 2007. 

In addition, he has been appointed and re-appointed by multiple Governors to serve on State Boards.  His first appointment was in 2002, with subsequent re-appointments, to the South Jersey Port Corporation which oversees Port related operations in Camden County, Salem County and now Gloucester County with its Port of Paulsboro which is the first new port built on the Delaware in over 50 years.

Mr. Bruner earned his BBA from Emory University and MBA from Rowan University.

Chad resides in Sewell, NJ.

Larry Salva, Vice Chair

Mr. Salva was installed on the Board in September 2013. Mr. Salva's term will expire June 30, 2025. 

Mr. Salva recently retired as Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Comcast Corporation. Larry is a CPA in Pennsylvania and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Financial Executives International.

He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation.

Mr. Salva received a B.A. degree in Accounting/Administrative Studies from Rowan University.

Larry resides in Philadelphia, PA.

Jean Edelman, Secretary

Ms. Edelman was installed on the Board in January 2014. Ms. Edelman’s term will expire June 30, 2025.

Ms. Edelman is an inspirational author, speaker and educator—a leader and advocate for physical and mental health during these challenging times. She is an expert in wellness, nutrition, and macrobiotic/plant-based cooking.

Along with her husband Ric, Jean is co-founder of The Truth About Your Future, where she shares her enthusiasm and passion for mindful living, extreme self-care, nutrition, and the pursuit of balance in a busy world via podcast, newsletter articles and in her books, The Other Side of Money and The Squirrel Manifesto, a children’s money book co-written with her husband.

Ms. Edelman is a director of John Marshall Bank, and on the boards of the Northern Virginia Therapeutic Riding Program and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts. She and Ric are also benefactors of the Edelman Center for Nursing at the Inova Health Foundation, the Jean Edelman Indoor Riding Arena at NVTRP, and Rowan University’s Edelman Planetarium and Edelman Fossil Park.

Jean holds a degree from Rowan University in Home Economics, Consumer Economics, Marketing and Nutrition, where she has a long legacy of leadership. She was the first woman to be elected president of Rowan’s Student Government Association, and she received the Distinguished Senior Award, the university’s highest student honor. She was later named Alumnus of the Year. In 2018, Jean was named one of the region’s “Women to Watch” by South Jersey Biz.

Jean resides in Great Falls, VA.

Brenda Bacon

Ms. Bacon was installed on the Board in September, 2013. Ms. Bacon’s term will expire June 30, 2027.

Brenda J. Bacon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Brandywine Living. Ms. Bacon co-founded the company in 1996. 

Ms. Bacon served as Chief of Management and Planning, a cabinet-level position under New Jersey Governor James J. Florio from 1989 to 1993. During President Clinton’s first term, Ms. Bacon was on loan to the Presidential Transition Team as co-chair for the transition of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Ms. Bacon is a board member and past chairman (2013-2015) of the Board of Directors of Argentum (formerly the Assisted Living Federation of America) where she advocates on behalf of the senior living business and the families they serve.

Ms. Bacon is an independent director of two NYSE Boards. She was elected by the shareholders of FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN) in 2006.  FTI Consulting is an independent global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political & regulatory, reputational and transactional.  She serves as chair of the Nominating, Corporate Governance, and Social Responsibility Committee and serves on the Compensation Committee. Ms. Bacon was elected to the inaugural Board of Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE: HGV) in 2017 when Hilton split into three public companies (Hilton, Hilton Grand Vacations, and Park Hotels and Resorts). She serves on both the Audit and Governance Committees.

In 2013, Governor Christie appointed Ms. Bacon to the Rowan University Board of Trustees. In 2017, Ms. Bacon was honored with the Virtua Health Humanitarian of the Year award. In 2022, Ms. Bacon was inducted into the American Seniors Housing Association Hall of Fame. In 2000, Ms. Bacon was a founding member of the Boys and Girls Club of Camden, where she served as a Board member for several years and continues to advocate for the children of Camden.

Ms. Bacon received her undergraduate degree from Hampton University and her Master of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Brenda resides in Voorhees, NJ.

Anthony Calabrese 

Mr. Calabrese was installed on the Board in February, 2022. Mr. Calabrese's term will expire June 30, 2025.

Mr. Calabrese is the founder and former President and CEO of United Computer Sales & Services. Mr. Calabrese has served on the Rowan University Foundation Board of Directors since 2002 and currently serves as Chair of the Board of Managers of the Rowan Innovation Venture Fund. He is a member of the Philadelphia chapter of the Financial Managers Society, the South Jersey Chamber of Commerce, and the New Jersey Government Finance Officers Association. He was also on the Governor's Information Technology Transition Team in 2002. Mr. Calabrese earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Rowan University

Anthony resides in Voorhees, NJ.

Michael Carbone

Mr. Carbone was installed on the Board in September, 2017. Mr. Carbone’s term will expire June 30, 2029.

Michael Carbone is Senior Vice President, TD Bank Group and Regional President, Metro PA/NJ Market. He oversees all retail and commercial bank services and profit centers, consumer and commercial lending and government banking within the market.

He is former Chairman of the Board for the Committee of 70 and continues to serve on their Board, as well as serving on numerous other boards, including the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey Audit Committee, Penn Cardiovascular Institute, and Rowan University Rohrer College of Business Executive Advisory Board.

Mr. Carbone has been recognized for his community involvement with the Anti-Defamation League Americanism Award (2013), the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Breath of Life Award (2010), was named the “Man of the Year” by the Boys and Girls Club of Camden County (2010) and received American Red Cross award as "Man of the Year" (2012). In 2014, he received Rowan University’s Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society Award and was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma.  Michael was recognized by Rowan University as a “Distinguished Alumnus” at their commencement ceremony.

Michael is a graduate of Rowan University (formerly Glassboro State College), where he earned a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Economics and has Accreditation in Advanced Financial Analysis from Michigan University in 1987.

Mike resides in Mullica Hill, NJ.

Joseph Cosgrove

Mr. Cosgrove was installed on the Board in April 2024. Mr. Cosgrove’s term will expire June 30, 2029.

Mr. Joseph Cosgrove is a recognized innovator across the healthcare services industry who brings over 30 years of experience successfully transforming healthcare companies through exceptional periods of profitable growth and shareholder returns. He most recently served as the President and Chief Executive Officer for Leiters Health. Prior to his role at Leiters Health, Mr. Cosgrove served as the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer for Pentec Health.

Before leading Pentec Health, he served as Vice President and General Manager for several operating units of Cardinal Health, Inc. His early career was distinguished by increasingly responsible executive roles at DuPont Pharmaceuticals Company and Neuman Health Services, Inc.

He currently serves on the board for Leiters Health, Arizona State University, Discovery Ministries, Titan Aviation Group LLC, Rowan University (EAC) and Rowan University’s Board of Trustees.

Mr. Cosgrove received his B.S. in Business Administration/Marketing from Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.

Joe resides in Mullica Hill, NJ.

Dr. Thomas J. Gallia 

Dr. Gallia was installed on the Board in August, 2015. Dr. Gallia’s term will expire June 30, 2027.

Dr. Gallia is Vice President Emeritus of Rowan University. In his long career with the University, Dr. Gallia held past positions of Vice President for University Relations, Senior Advisor to the President, and Chief of Staff. Dr. Gallia received his bachelor's degree in biological and physical sciences as well as master's degrees in science teaching and school supervision and curriculum develop from Rowan University. He received his Ed.D. in science education from Rutgers University.

Tom resides in Glassboro, NJ.

Barbara Armand Kushner 

Ms. Armand Kushner was installed on the Board in February, 2022. Ms. Kushner's term will expire June 30, 2025.

Ms. Armand Kushner is the President and CEO of the Armand Corporation, a construction management company headquartered in New York City. Armand Corporation maintains offices at three locations and holds a portfolio of projects and assignments including housing, educational facilities, disaster recovery, public buildings, transportation, transit and program management.

Barbara served on the Rowan University Board of Trustees from 2004-2009 and served as a member of several other boards and associations including the Southern New Jersey Development Council, New Jersey Economic Growth Council, Camden Area Health Education Center, Inc., Lourdes Health System, Arts and Business Partnership and formerly served as President of the New York National Chapter of Professional Women in Construction.

Among her many achievements and accolades, Ms. Armand Kushner was awarded the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce Women Who Shine Award in 2017 and named one of the Top Women in Commercial Real Estate by N.Y. Commerce Magazine in 2010. 

Barbara received a B.A. in Mathematics/Natural Science from Thomas Edison State University. She also received an honorary doctorate degree from Rowan University’s Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering in 2016.

Barbara resides in New York, NY.

George S. Loesch 

Mr. Loesch was installed on the Board in February, 2012. Mr. Loesch’s term will expire June 30, 2028.

Mr. Loesch worked at Campbell Soup Company in senior level sales and marketing positions for 30 years, and is currently employed with Conner Strong and Buckelew.

He serves on the New Jersey Board of the United States Tennis Association and is Chairman of the Board for Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, NJ. He also serves on the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Iona College and a master’s degree from Iona’s Hagan School of Business Administration.

George resides in Mt. Laurel, NJ.

Nikitas Moustakas, Esq.

Mr. Moustakas was installed on the Board on February 14, 2024. His term will expire June 30, 2026.

Nikitas “Nick” Moustakas is a founder and the managing partner of Moustakas Nelson LLC, a law firm based in Haddonfield, New Jersey. His practice focuses on corporate and business counseling, trademarking, information technology, healthcare, employment, and other transactional business representation, for clients ranging from individuals and startups to publicly traded institutions. Nikitas also regularly assists clients in locating and securing financing and partners and otherwise negotiating and bringing deals to the closing table. Prior to embarking on his legal career, for almost two decades Nikitas owned and operated a successful restaurant in Philadelphia. 

Nikitas is a first-generation immigrant from Greece and has spent his life giving back to his community in various capacities. He is currently the Deputy Mayor of Mount Laurel Township, and has served on Council since 2021.

Mr. Moustakas presently also serves on the board of the Inspira Health Network Foundation and is a past board member of both the American Lung Association, New Jersey Chapter and the Capital Health System Foundation. He is also the President of the American Hellenic Lawyers Association and the President of the Greater Philadelphia Greek-American Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Nikitas is incredibly proud to support scholarships for students in the Philadelphia, New York, and Southern New Jersey community to attend college.     

Nikitas completed his undergraduate degree at Temple University and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Philadelphia University, a Juris Doctor degree from New England School of Law, and an LL.M. in Taxation from Villanova University.

Mr. Moustakas resides in Mount Laurel, NJ.

Nick Petroni 

Mr. Petroni was installed on the Board in February, 2022. Mr. Petroni's term will expire June 30, 2028.

Mr. Petroni recently retired from Petroni & Associates, LLC, a firm of certified public accountant and registered municipal accountants where he was owner and managing member. He previously served on the Board of Trustees including terms as vice chair and secretary of the Board. He currently serves as Facilitator of the Finance Council for Saint Bridget University Parish. Mr. Petroni is licensed in the State of NJ as a Certified Public Accountant-Inactive, Registered Municipal Accountant-Inactive, and a Public School Accountant-Inactive. He earned a Certificate of Education Achievement in Governmental Accounting and Auditing as well as a Certificate of Education Achievement in Not-for-Profit Core Concepts from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Nick graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting from the University of Notre Dame.

Nick resides in Glassboro, NJ.

Virginia Rowan Smith 

Ms. Smith was installed on the Board in February, 2011. Ms. Smith’s term will expire June, 2028.

Virginia Rowan Smith is Chairman, as well as on the Board of Directors of Inductotherm Corp. and the Inductotherm Group Worldwide, headquartered in Rancocas, New Jersey.  The Inductotherm Group, leading manufacturers of melting and thermal processing and production systems for the metals and materials industry, is a global company with manufacturing facilities around the world.

Now celebrating 37 years at Indel, Inc., she first joined the firm as Manager of Advertising & Communications for Inductotherm Corp. in the fall of 1984.  In early 1990, she was appointed Director of Advertising and later Vice President - Corporate Communications for Indel, Inc. In addition to those responsibilities, in 2002, Ms. Smith became a Group Vice President for the Inductotherm Group—responsible for worldwide corporate advertising—as well as a member of the Management Advisory Board.  In 2010, she was appointed Chairman of Inductotherm Corp. and Chairman of Inductotherm Group in 2016.

A graduate of Cornell University, Ms. Smith holds an M.B.A. in Marketing Management from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. She served as Account Supervisor at several large, worldwide advertising agencies, including Foote, Cone & Belding and McCann-Erickson before coming to Inductotherm. In 1998, she was inducted into Sigma Beta Delta, the international honor society for business management. 

In addition to her responsibilities with the companies, Ms. Smith has served on the Advisory Council for Doane Academy in Burlington, NJ and serves on the Advisory Board of the Lake George Land Conservancy—an arm of the Nature Conservancy. For two consecutive terms, from 1993 to 2006, and from 2009 to the present, Ms. Smith has been a member of the Board of Trustees at Rowan University.   She is on the Art Collections Committee of the Union League of Philadelphia's Legacy Foundation and has served as an officer and board member of the Northern Lake George Yacht Club in upstate New York, where her family is active in the summer.

Virginia resides in Upper Makefield, PA.

Steve Sweeney

The Honorable Steve Sweeney was installed on the Board on September 10, 2025. His term will expire June, 2026.

Steve Sweeney was New Jersey’s longest-serving Senate President and is regarded as one of the most influential legislative leaders in New Jersey history. After losing his 2021 reelection bid, Sweeney accepted Rowan University's invitation to launch a public policy center dedicated to developing bipartisan and pragmatic long-term solutions to New Jersey’s most pressing issues. He served as chair of the policy center’s advisory board until December 2023, when he announced his candidacy for governor and resigned to maintain the independence of the policy center.

Sweeney, a Democrat, served from 1997 to 2010 on the Gloucester County Board of Chosen Freeholders–the last 12 years as director. He represented the 3^rd Legislative District, which includes portions of Gloucester and Cumberland counties and all of Salem County, for 20 years in the New Jersey Senate, including a record 12 years as Senate President.

An ironworker by trade, Sweeney serves as general vice president of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, overseeing union locals in New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania. He entered public service after his daughter was born with Down syndrome, determined to make a difference in the lives of those with disabilities. As a freeholder, Sweeney oversaw the development of a special school for autistic children and also became a strong advocate for regionalizing and sharing services.

In the Senate, Sweeney passed a series of reforms designed to save New Jersey’s severely underfunded pension system. He also authored the 2% cap on local government spending that helped cut projected property tax increases in half, and sponsored legislation increasing the minimum wage, requiring earned sick leave and creating New Jersey’s Paid Family Leave program for all New Jersey residents.

Sweeney sponsored S2, “The School Funding Reform Act,” that eliminated longstanding inequities in the school funding formula and the Vocational Education Bond Act to expand workforce training. He pushed through legislation to encourage K-12 and countywide school regionalization, which was a major recommendation in the “Path to Progress” report issued by the 2018 Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup he created.

He sponsored the nation’s first Offshore Wind Act in 2010, led negotiations to bring a manufacturing facility for turbine platforms at Paulsboro and the New Jersey Windport to Lower Alloways Creek, and sponsored legislation to protect New Jersey’s three nuclear power plants in Salem County from closing

Sweeney fought for the successful merger of the state’s medical schools with their research universities to increase R&D funding. He was a staunch proponent of Rowan University’s unique affiliation with county colleges in Gloucester, Burlington and Cumberland counties, and helped Rowan obtain the state funding needed to become just the second university in the nation with two medical schools and a veterinary school.

Adam Taliaferro, Esq.

Mr. Taliaferro was installed on the Board on June 18, 2025. Mr. Taliaferro’s term will expire June 30, 2025.

Mr. Taliaferro currently serves as the Director, State & Community Engagement with Johnson & Johnson. He has held elected office as a Gloucester County Freeholder prior to serving as a New Jersey State Assemblyman representing the 3rd legislative district from 2015-2022

He is also the founder of The Adam Taliaferro Foundation dedicated to providing emotional, financial, and educational support to individuals who suffer catastrophic head or spinal injuries.

Adam resides in Swedesboro, NJ.

Ali Ishage

Jamar Hanks