Board of Trustees

Dr. Sanjeev Saksena MD

Medical Director & Trustee

FHRS, FACC, FESC, FAHA, FRSM
Professor of Medicine, UMDNJ–Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology
Past President, Heart Rhythm Society

Full biography »

Oye Olukotun, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA

Trustee

Dr. Olukotun is Chief Executive Officer of CardioVax Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative cardiovascular therapies. He is a co-founder of VIA Pharmaceuticals and served as its Chief Medical Officer. A board-certified cardiologist, he has more than 30 years of experience in clinical research and drug development and has published more than fifty articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

He previously founded CR Strategies, LLC, served as Chief Medical Officer of Esperion Therapeutics (acquired by Pfizer), and was Vice President of Medical and Regulatory Affairs at Mallinckrodt. Earlier he spent fourteen years at Bristol-Myers Squibb in cardiovascular research leadership roles. He received his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an MPH from Harvard University School of Public Health.

Jeffrey K. Smith

Trustee

Jeff Smith is Managing Director at the investment banking firm Berkery, Noyes & Co. LLC. He specializes in advising providers of software, information, and services solutions to the global healthcare and life science industries. He is the former CEO and President of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and previously served as President of Kluwer Academic Publishers. He is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Wisconsin.

Peter Engel

Trustee

Peter Engel is a senior accounting professional and Partner Emeritus at Aprio & Co. He graduated from Washington and Lee University and earned his MBA at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He previously served as partner at Leaf, Miele, Manganelli, Fortunato & Engel LLP. Mr. Engel brings extensive experience in healthcare and financial matters and joined the Board of Trustees of the Electrophysiology Research Foundation in 2023.

Mary Powers

Trustee

Mary Powers is a senior attorney and litigator. She attended Barnard College (A.B., 1963) and received her J.D. from Seton Hall University (1980) and LL.M. from New York University (1987). She was formerly a senior partner at Dillon Bitar & Luther, LLC and later joined Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C. She is currently Of Counsel at KW Law Associates in Chatham, NJ, specializing in tax and real estate matters with more than four decades of practice.

Donald J. Saltzman, CPA

Trustee (1982–2022, deceased)

Donald J. Saltzman had a long tenure with Leaf, Saltzman, Manganelli, Pfeil & Tendler, LLP. He provided business and strategic planning services to closely held businesses across a wide range of tax and financial matters, with specialized support for medical practitioners as well as the construction and insurance industries.

Dennis J. Bruschi, MHA

Trustee & Administrator (1987–2010, deceased)

Dennis Bruschi was a senior hospital administrator who served as Trustee and Administrator of the Electrophysiology Research Foundation from 1987 to 2010. A graduate of the University of Buffalo, he obtained his MHA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He served with distinction in the Vietnam War, later becoming Deputy Director of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and then President of Bayonne Hospital.

Morris J. Stern, JD

Founding Trustee (1982–1991, deceased)

Morris Stern was a distinguished member of the New Jersey Bar and Judiciary. He graduated from Lafayette College, obtained his law degree from Rutgers University, and earned an LL.M. from New York University. He served as a Captain in the U.S. Army (1966–1968), practiced corporate and banking law in Essex County for three decades, and was appointed to the New Jersey Bench as a Judge in 2001. He served as a Founding Trustee of the Foundation from 1982 to 1991.