Judith Sheft Chosen to Lead Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology as Executive Director

Published: Friday, December 20, 2019
PRESS RELEASE
Contact Information: Media Relations, mediarelations@njit.edu or 973-642-7042

The New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology (CSIT) today announced that it has named Judith A. Sheft as its executive director. Sheft, who has an extensive background in fostering opportunities for early-stage New Jersey companies and for the next generation of New Jersey entrepreneurs, will officially take the helm of the CSIT beginning January 13, 2020.

In August 2018, Governor Murphy signed legislation re-establishing the former New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology as the CSIT. Comprised of representatives from the public and private sectors, as well as academia, the Commission is tasked with leading the way in promoting the state as a home for academic and technological research, development, and commercialization.

Sheft brings nearly two decades of expertise in New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem to her new position. She spent the past 18 years as an associate vice president at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).

“New Jersey already has the resources necessary to restore its innovation ecosystem to preeminence, including globally-recognized academic institutions and a highly talented workforce,” Sheft said. “I am honored to accept the executive director position and am excited to work with the Commission members and our partners throughout the Garden State to ensure that entrepreneurs worldwide know all that the state has to offer.”

At NJIT, Judith oversaw Venturelink, formerly the Enterprise Development Center, the university’s high-tech accelerator/incubator, which falls under the auspices of the New Jersey Innovation Institute at NJIT. She was also responsible for managing the university’s Office of Technology Development and creating programs and policies focused on patent creation, intellectual property (IP) valuation, and the strategic use and protection of IP assets — elements that are crucial to emerging technology companies. In recent years, Sheft focused her efforts on helping further strengthen the health information technology (HealthIT) cluster in the state through the HealthIT Connections program funded in part by a grant from JPMorgan Chase through its Small Business Forward initiative. Earlier this year, Sheft was appointed Associate Vice President, Strategic Relationships & External Affairs: Senior Advisor to the NJII President Dr. Donald H. Sebastian.

“It is with a mixture of sadness and pride that we congratulate Judith on her appointment to this important new role for New Jersey,” said Sebastian. “Judith created our first technology commercialization office working for me over 17 years ago and has become a leading figure across the State’s entrepreneurial circles. We will miss her leadership here, but look forward to working with a wonderful colleague in our shared mission of growing New Jersey’s technology-based economy.”

Beyond her role at NJIT, Sheft devotes much of her free time to serving on boards that help New Jersey technology companies grow, including the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (NJEDA) Technology Advisory Board and Einstein’s Alley, created to promote the vast array of resources available to entrepreneurs and innovators in central New Jersey. She was a member of Governor Murphy’s transition team and serves as a member of the New Jersey Israel Commission and the board of the Women’s Center for Entrepreneurship Corporation.

“Judith has been a vocal champion for innovation within New Jersey, and she will be a great voice for the Commission to push forward the work of the CSIT and drive the innovation economy in New Jersey,” Chairman Gunjan Doshi said.

CSIT members include the State's Chief Innovation Officer, the Secretary of Higher Education; the Commissioner of Education; and the CEO of the NJEDA. Chaired by Gunjan Doshi, InRythm Founder and CEO, the Commission also includes Senator Paul Sarlo; Senator Robert Singer; Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips; Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker; a physicist who chairs the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee; the presidents of NJIT, Rutgers University, and Stevens Institute of Technology; David Pascrell, co-chair of Government and Regulatory Affairs at Gibbons, P.C.; and Charlene Brown, regional vice-president of AT&T External Affairs. BioNJ President and CEO Debbie Hart is CSIT’s Vice Chair.

To learn more about resources available to New Jersey entrepreneurs and early-stage companies, visit http://www.njeda.com/tls or follow @NewJerseyEDA on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

One of only 35 polytechnic universities in the United States, New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a top-tier research university that catalyzes economic growth and prepares students to become leaders in the technology-dependent economy of the 21st century. NJIT is one of only 131 universities rated an “R1” research university by the Carnegie Classification®, which indicates the highest level of research activity. NJIT conducts more than $155 million in research activity each year and has a $2.8 billion annual economic impact on the State of New Jersey. Ranked No. 1 nationally by Forbes for the upward economic mobility of its lowest-income students, NJIT also is ranked in the top 2% of colleges and universities nationally for the mid-career earnings of graduates, according to PayScale.com. NJIT is ranked No. 39 nationally by The Princeton Review as a Best Value College and is rated third in New Jersey and among the top 100 colleges and universities nationwide by the QS World University Ranking® 2021.