NJIT Board of Trustees Adds Three New Members

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) announces the appointment of three new members to its Board of Trustees, including two alumni.

Joining the Board of Trustees are Robert Cohen '83, '84, '87, Diane Montalto '82 and Dennis M. Toft, Esq. “In addition to Robert and Diane being alumni of NJIT, these new Trustees bring with them impressive science and technology backgrounds,” said Joel Bloom, president of NJIT.

Cohen is the vice president and general manager of the Global Research and Development Business Unit in the Joint Replacement Division at Stryker Orthopaedics. Stryker, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, offers innovative products and services in orthopaedics, medical and surgical, and neurotechnology and spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes.

Cohen leads all joint replacement division implant and robotics product development, research and development operations, regulatory affairs, clinical outcomes research and advanced technology groups.

Cohen’s illustrious career spans over 30 years in the biotech industry. He holds over 25 patents, has been published dozens of times and is the recipient of NJIT’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2012.

Montalto is currently managing real estate development projects and supporting hospitality industry ventures.  She also spearheads the fundraising campaign for Hearts for Hunger, a nonprofit charity which she founded in 2015. This has led to a successful partnership with the Center for Food Action in Englewood, New Jersey, which funds weekend food enrichment programs for select north Jersey school districts.

Montalto previously worked at Par Pharmaceutical for nearly 20 years and held a variety of senior positions in areas that include corporate engineering, facilities management and information technology. Par, a subsidiary of Endo Pharmaceutical, is a highly focused generics and specialty-branded pharmaceutical company delivering quality medicines to patients in need through excellence in development, manufacturing and commercialization.

Toft is a renowned environmental lawyer who applies a keen understanding of science and the complexities of regulator process when addressing the wide range of issues that his clients face.

Highly regarded as one of New Jersey’s leading Brownfields redevelopment practitioners, Toft regularly appears before the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and in state and federal courts. Toft played a key role in the adoption of the New Jersey Brownfields and Contaminated Site Remediation Act, and more recently in the development and adoption of the New Jersey Site Remediation Reform Act. He received his J.D. from Columbia University Law and his bachelor’s degree in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.