Meet the Senators
Sucheta Ahlawat
Sucheta Ahlawat, Ph.D., is a Professor of Marketing at the School of Management and Marketing. Sucheta earned her Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts. She has served in numerous leadership roles, including her current service as Chair of the University Senate. Sucheta is committed to the principles of shared governance and working to create a healthy and vibrant university community.
Charles Boateng
Past experiences include: University Promotion Committee (Member), Political Science Program (Coordinator), Kean Student Delegation to the University of Chicago Model UN Simulation Conference (Faculty Advisor), MA in Political Science (Coordinator), US Government Foreign Service Grant (Faculty Advisor), Vice President of Kean University Federation of Teachers, 1995 Presidential Search Committee (Member), Kean University Faculty Senate (Member & Parliamentarian), and Kean Student Delegation to the Model African Union Simulation Conference in Washington, D.C.(Faculty Advisor).
Consuelo Bonillas
Consuelo Bonillas, Ph.D., has been a resident faculty member since 2003. She is Professor of Public Health and currently the Program Coordinator for the Public Health and the Women’s & Gender Studies Program. For 20 years, Dr. Bonillas has secured external funding of over $2.3 million to support research projects to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes and to reduce adolescent pregnancy in New Jersey. Dr. Bonillas has a Ph.D. in human sexuality education from Widener University, a M.A. in social psychology from Syracuse University and a B.A. in psychology from Mount St. Mary’s University. Dr. Bonillas was born and raised in Arizona. Her parents emigrated to the U. S. from Mexico to give her and her sisters a better life.
David Brandwein
David Brandwein, Psy.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Advanced Studies in Psychology. David has been at Kean University since the 2007-2008 academic year. A forensic psychologist by background, David earned a Psy.D. in School-Child Clinical Psychology from Pace University and helped develop the Kean University Psy.D. Program in Combined School-Clinical Psychology. David is excited about the opportunity to serve as a senator and is committed to the principle of shared governance and amplifying all voices to create a healthy, vital and functional university community.
Ron Dowdell
Ron Dowdell has been an employee at Kean University for the past 31 years and has seen administrations come and go. He is currently the Assistant to the Dean in the College of Education and is dedicated to any initiative that will help Kean to renew its reputation for excellence. Becoming an R2 institution will undoubtedly be an arduous and daunting task, and he believes this will be nearly impossible to achieve without the input of tenured faculty and staff. Armed with the knowledge that not only do we need monetary capital, but also human capital, he hopes that our new administration will realize that replenishing the ranks of tenured faculty is indeed a wise investment that will pay dividends for years to come.
Rachel Evans
Rachel Evans started her career at Kean University in Fall 2004. She is Coordinator and Artistic Director of the Kean Theatre Conservatory. Current service includes being the Senate Representative to the Board of Trustees, Chair of the General Education Committee, and a member of the General Education Curriculum Task Force. Past contributions to the university community include membership on the University Planning Council and the 2011 MSCHE Steering Committee. In 2019, she received the Presidential Excellence Award for Distinguished Service in recognition for her work reviewing all curriculum sheets for compliance with the 120 cr. state mandate. She has been the proud recipient of seven Students Partnering with Faculty grants.
Dan Gover
I have taught at Kean for 35 years. I have served on the Senate, the Union Executive Committee, the Promotions Committee, the CLA RTR Committee, as Coordinator of the World Literature course, among other duties.
Aaron Gubi
Aaron A. Gubi is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Advanced Studies in Psychology within the Nathan Weiss Graduate College. His research focuses on child maltreatment/trauma and diversity issues in professional training and practice. He has authored or co-authored over two dozen papers with students and colleagues, and presents regularly at local and national conferences. He also maintains practice through part-time work as a psychologist. He hopes to work with colleagues within the senate to promote collegiality university-wide and to promote infrastructure within the university that supports the development of early-career faculty, lecturers and staff.
Matthew Halper
Matthew Halper, D.M.A., is Professor of Music in the Music Conservatory at Kean University where he was awarded the 2006 Presidential Excellence Award for Creative Work and Scholarship, and is Artistic Director of Ars Vitalis: The New Jersey New Music Forum. He received the D.M.A. degree in music composition and theory from the University of Maryland and holds an M.S. degree in applied mathematics, an M.A. degree in composition and theory, and a B.S. degree in electrical engineering. He received a Whitaker Reading Prize from the American Composers Orchestra for his orchestral work Stalin’s Wake: Recent performances of his Trio in Taiwan include the National Theater and Concert Hall in Tapei. He has received several awards from ASCAP and is a 2000 and 2006 recipient of a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship.
Don Marks
Don Marks, Psy.D., is an associate professor (Fall 2021) and the director of clinical training for Kean's Doctor of Psychology program in Combined School and Clinical Psychology. He has been at Kean for 10 years and served in numerous leadership roles. Don is the former Secretary of the University Senate, and he has served as chair of the University Curriculum Committee for four years (2017-2021) and the General Education Committee for three years (2014-2017). He is also an IRB chair and a member of the University's newly formed Human Research Protection Council.
Luis Martinez
Luis Martinez specializes in dance, fitness, and movement arts and education for the Exercise Science and Physical Education programs in the School of Health and Human Performance.
As the artistic director of Kean Dance Theatre and the Kean University Dance Ensemble from 1989-2015, he created over 70 works that have been performed nationally and have collaborated with the School of Fine and Performing Arts to choreograph and perform in many programs and events for the Theatre and Music Conservatories for various University-sponsored health awareness and fundraising programs. He has assisted students with their interests and pursuits in establishing dance clubs such as Ritmo Latino, and the Afro-LatinX Dance Project.
Judy Pena
As a Kean alumna and employee for over 7 years I am honored to have the opportunity to offer my time in service to Kean's University Senate. My experience at Kean is well rounded as I have worked on the administrative side in the Office of the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, and am currently working on the academic side in the ESL Department. I believe that my knowledge and experience of how the administrative and academic sides work will be an asset to the University Senate and most importantly give back to the Kean community and provide my support as a leader and mentor for others.
Pablo Pintado-Casas
Pablo Pintado-Casas is a professor at Kean University, where he teaches a variety of courses in linguistics, contemporary Spanish literature, and culture. "My main goal is to engage all of my students as citizens of the United States and the World. I aim to develop critical thinking, creativity and communication skills. I also instill civic values in my students, as future Spanish teachers. Chief among these are respect, tolerance, virtue and knowledge".
Nicole Rodriguez
Nicole Rodriguez began her career at Kean University in June 2000. During her tenure, she has worked for several offices within the University including University Relations, Conference Services and Disability Services. She now serves as the Director for Community Standards and Student Conduct where she investigates, manages and adjudicates various types of cases from mental health concerns, harassment, assault, alcohol and drugs. She is a two time alum of Kean University having earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Masters of Arts in Communications. She offers the Senate an experienced administrator capable of demonstrating inclusivity while considering the matters relevant to the welfare of Kean University.
Andrea Rosa
Andrea Rosa, B.S., M.P.A, has served at Kean University for over 22 years in various capacities. Currently she is the Curriculum Management Assistant Director for the Office of the Registrar. Her responsibilities consist of Managing curriculum, Program degree audits, the University catalogs, Course catalog, the Curriculum Management System, Student Assistants and assist with other areas when needed. Andrea was also involved with the 120-credits state mandate project. Her focus is to serve our community for a better tomorrow.
Dina Rosen
Dina Rosen is an Assistant Professor in the Early Childhood Education Program. She has served as coordinator of the undergraduate program and on faculty search committees. She has served on the Senate Professional Handbook Committee, Library Committee, and Distance Education Committee. Dina is excited about the possibility of serving as a Senator and is committed to continue the Senate's efforts to find new ways to achieve shared governance.
Benito Sanchez
Benito Sanchez, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Finance and has worked at Kean since 2007. He has been a Finance program coordinator and currently serves as Accounting and Finance Assessment coordinator. Sanchez has extensive experience in curriculum and assessment issues at the department, college and university levels. He has served on the General Education Committee, University Curriculum Committee, College Curriculum Committee, Department Curriculum Committee, of which he is the current chair, and the University Assessment Committee.
Gail Verdi
Gail Verdi is the Executive Director of Kean University's School of Curriculum and Teaching, as well as an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Kean's Graduate TESOL Program. Her research interests include literacy development, process writing, urban education, second language education, and the influence second languages and dialects have on student success. She recently co-chaired the Middle States Compliance Report Sub-Committee with Jane Webber and has also served on the Writing Emphasis Committee and the University Curriculum Committee.