Alumni, advisers and friends of New Jersey Institute of Technology are among BINJE’s Best Hispanic Business Leaders for 2026, a statewide recognition announced during Hispanic Heritage Month that honors more than 100 leaders across business, education, government and community service.
The honorees reflect the reach of the Highlander community, which includes graduates and university leaders as well as supporters who help expand opportunities for NJIT students. Their connections span service on the Board of Trustees and Hispanic and Latinx Leadership Council (HLLC), scholarship support and other contributions to the university’s mission.
BINJE will recognize the honorees at a Nov. 10 event at Seton Hall University, held in partnership with the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey and Seton Hall’s Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute.
The honorees connected to NJIT include:
- Elisa Charters ’92, ’93, co-vice chair of NJIT’s Board of Trustees and founder of Juegos AI Lab, is a longtime advocate for the university and a founding member of its Hispanic and Latinx Leadership Council (HLLC).
- Rolando “Roly” Acosta, president and CEO of JAG Companies, is a founding HLLC member, scholarship supporter and recipient of the 2026 Newark College of Engineering Spirit Award whose late father, NJIT alumnus Juan A. Gutierrez, is honored through an endowed scholarship.
- Francisco Cortes, president of the New Jersey State Veterans Chamber of Commerce and chairman and CEO of The Setroc Group, serves on NJIT’s HLLC.
- Luis De La Hoz, chairman of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey and a senior vice president at PNC Bank, previously served on NJIT’s HLLC.
- Gabriel Rodriguez ’10, a New Jersey assemblyman representing the 33rd Legislative District and former mayor of West New York, earned his management degree from NJIT.
- Patricia Campos Medina, president of Latina Civic Action, supports NJIT’s HLLC and the Medina ’75 Family Scholarship alongside her husband, alumnus Bob Medina ’75, chair emeritus of the NJIT Foundation Board of Directors.
- Wilda Diaz, a health care entrepreneur leading Excellent Home Health Care and Above and Beyond Home Care Services, previously served on NJIT’s HLLC.
