Matthew Bonasia has been appointed as New Jersey Institute of Technology‘s chief of state government affairs. The role aligns with the Newark-based higher educational intuition’s restructuring of its government and community relations operations as well as its 2030 strategic plan.
Bonasia begins his NJIT tenure immediately and will lead efforts to develop and implement strategies for representing the university’s interests at the state level while proactively identifying opportunities to advance key institutional priorities in collaboration with a broad range of campus and governmental partners. He will split time between Newark and Trenton, where NJIT has not previously had a physical presence, and be responsible for maintaining and cultivating strong and mutually beneficial relationships with government officials, legislators and staff, policy leaders, advocacy organizations and others.
Bonasia brings extensive governmental experience to his new role at NJIT. He most recently served as chief of staff for state Sen. Joseph Lagana, Assemblywoman Lisa Swain and Assemblyman Chris Tully. He also previously worked for the Democratic Committee of Bergen County, the transition team of County Executive-elect James Tedesco, the New Jersey Democratic State Committee and as campaign manager for Linda Greenstein for Senate and Wayne DeAngelo and Dan Benson for Assembly, among several other posts.
Bonasia will work in partnership with federal consultants as well as Angela Garretson, NJIT’s chief of public and community affairs, whose responsibilities center on representing the university and advocating for its interests at the local level, particularly as they relate to the city of Newark, Essex County and community organizations.
“NJIT is a university that is deeply committed to its public mission, which includes being a partner to the state of New Jersey and to our local community. In order to expand upon our impact at both levels and to develop the strategic relationships that will enable us to do so, this is a necessary and exciting step,” NJIT President Teik Lim said. “I am very excited for Matthew to join our team and look forward to the work that he, Angela and our federal consultants will do for the benefit of NJIT and for the people of our federal, state and local communities.”
