Jose Lozano, Luis De La Hoz/Carlos Medina and Bob Menendez appeared in our Top 25 rankings. View them here.
Allison Ladd
Director of Economic and Housing Development
City of Newark
Ladd has focused on implementing Mayor Ras Baraka’s equitable growth strategy: Harnessing the many billions of dollars of new investment in Newark to create opportunities for all residents in employment, affordable housing, homeownership and more.
Carissa Lawson
Anchor
News 12 New Jersey
The thirst for trusted information during the pandemic has turned many to News 12, which saw a huge boost in viewers. Those tuning in during the morning hours found Lawson, an Emmy-nominated anchor who has spent a decade covering New Jersey news.
Robert Lee
Director of community outreach
Jingoli
Lee continues to be an under-the-radar person who has a huge impact in Atlantic City. He serves as the go-to coordinator for the numerous community outreach projects that Jingoli undertakes. He served in a similar role when the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino opened.
Thai Lee
CEO
SHI International
She no longer lives in New Jersey, but her company is still one of the state’s biggest in revenue (more than $11 billion) and employees (more than 5,000). The state can only hope that one of the world’s quietest billionaires keeps calling New Jersey her corporate home.
Lei Lei
Dean
Rutgers Business School
Lei is not just the head of the state’s top business school, she’s regularly voted one of the school’s top professors. She was the founding director of the Rutgers Center for Supply Chain Management and is considered a national thought leader on the subject.
Nadine Leslie
CEO
Suez
Leslie has more than 25 years of industry experience in operations, management, compliance, client relations and due diligence. She is widely considered one of the top CEOs in the state — and one of the few females of color to hold the position.
Jose Linares
Partner
McCarter & English
A legend and inspiration in the profession, Linares returned to private practice last summer after breaking ground as the first Hispanic to serve as chief judge of the U.S. District Court of New Jersey and the first Cuban-born district court chief in the U.S.
David Lopez
Dean
Rutgers Law School – Newark
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Lopez became co-dean of Rutgers Law School in 2018 after being the longest-serving general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Dee Marshall
CEO
Diversed & Engaged
Since 2012, Marshall’s firm has been doing what many companies suddenly realized this summer they should be doing: Creating a workplace that will help companies attract and retain diverse talent, diverse suppliers and diverse consumers.
Jeffrey Martinez
Executive VP
PNC
Martinez, recently honored by the Unanue Latino Institute at Seton Hall University, serves as territory manager for the Eastern Region, a role that will have him overseeing more than 1,200 branches from Florida to New York.
Rick Martinez
Founder and president
Senor Sangria
Martinez is ultimate example of an entrepreneur who became an overnight sensation after a decade of work. His product, which he started out making for friends, then began selling it out of his car, is now widely available throughout the state.
Sabeen Masih
VP, public affairs
Capital Impact Group
Her work as a top-flight and public affairs expert is enough to garner her recognition. But the honor would not be complete without highlighting her leading role in bringing awareness to toxic workplace issues involving women in Trenton and around the state as part of a task force.
Ramelle Massey
Owner and president
Massey Insurance Agency
Founded in 1975, her business has grown into the largest insurance agency in Newark, a full-service independent insurance and risk management firm specializing in commercial business and risk management insurance, as well as auto, home and personal insurance.
Cheryl McCants
President
Impact Consulting Group
Her minority- and woman-owned strategic communications firm took a hands-on approach to helping others when the COVID-19 pandemic hit by diverting its focus from its core business and dedicated itself to creating a supply chain that would help supply PPE.
Shadae McDaniel
City leader
All Stars Project of New Jersey
McDaniel heads one of those urban nonprofits that not enough people — or companies — know about. She has helped enrich the lives of more than 35,000 inner-city youth since starting in Newark in 1999, connecting young people to the corporate world.
Brandon McKoy
President
New Jersey Policy Perspective
The head of NJPP has found his stride during the pandemic, as he and the organization he heads have spoken forcefully and confidently on the issues surrounding COVID-19. Whether you agree or disagree with his positions, you know they come from research, not reactions.
Citi Medina
Founder/Co-founder
Medina=Citi/=Space
Medina is becoming one of the most influential digital strategists in the state, working with many government organizations. As the co-founder of =Space, he operates one of the only minority-owned incubators in New Jersey. He is also a leader in the LGBTQ and Latinx business communities.
Roberto Miller
General manager
Amazon
Miller is in charge of ACY1 — or what Amazon calls its fulfillment and sortation center in West Deptford. He is the company’s highest-ranking official of color in New Jersey, where Amazon will soon become the state’s largest employer.
DeAnna Minus-Vincent
VP, social impact and community investment
RWJBarnabas Health
Minus-Vincent is a trailblazer in helping bridge the communication between underserved communities and healthcare. She is spearheading a program that will implement a social determinants of health screening tool across the RWJBH footprint.
Raj Mukherji
Assemblyman (D-Jersey City)
State of New Jersey
The young assemblyman continues to pave a path for South Asians in New Jersey politics. Mukherji’s name can be found as a sponsor or co-sponsor on any number of bills that would benefit minorities in the state.
Kimberly Mutcherson
Dean
Rutgers Law School – Camden
A graduate of Columbia Law School, her scholarly work often revolves around the intersection of family law, health law and bioethics. She also writes on issues related to reproductive justice.
