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Sangeetha Ramsagar
Portal Innovations

As inaugural executive director at Portal Innovations, Ramsagar leads strategy and operations for the Innovation Hub at Health & Life Science Exchange of New Jersey (HELIX NJ) in New Brunswick.

After being named to the post in February, Ramsagar oversees strategy, operations and ecosystem development for the 30,000-square-foot life sciences incubator, advancing its mission to accelerate the formation and growth of next-generation startup companies in New Jersey.

She is also responsible for member recruitment, programming and strategic partnerships designed to connect founders with investors, industry leaders and commercialization resources.

Powered by Portal Innovations, the incubator space is designed as a catalytic center for life sciences innovation, bringing together universities, health systems, startups and global companies for research, education and commercialization.

Ramsagar brings more than 20 years of experience across pharma, biotechnology commercialization, venture strategy and portfolio development.  Most recently, she served as founder and CEO of Kronos Health, where she advised emerging biotech companies on commercialization planning and portfolio strategy.

Dustin Riccio
St. Joseph’s Health

After taking the helm of St. Joseph’s Health in January 2024, Riccio is working to sharpen the Paterson-based system’s focus on access, quality and regional growth. Over the past two years, he has concentrated on boosting operations while reinforcing St. Joseph’s role as a critical safety net in North Jersey.

As the largest employer in Passaic County and one of the biggest providers of charity care in New Jersey, St. Joseph’s team includes more than 5,000 skilled providers and 1,000 expert physicians. It’s also considered to be one of the leading clinical and academic centers in the U.S.

Besides St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson and St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center in Wayne, the network’s footprint includes a state-designated children’s hospital in Paterson, an outpatient facility and cancer center in Totowa and outpatient wound-healing center in Wayne. It also has comprehensive home care; multiple ambulatory care centers; and a medical group with more than 350 primary and specialty care doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants at over 65 locations.

In 2025, St. Joseph’s earned “A” hospital safety grades from The Leapfrog Group at both its Paterson and Wayne hospital, recognizing the facilities for their efforts to provide high quality care to those in need.

Christopher Rinn
VNA Health Group

As president and CEO of VNA Health Group, Rinn leads New Jersey’s largest nonprofit provider of home health, hospice and community-based services. With over 2,300 employees serving more than 125,000 patients annually, it is also one of the largest and most trusted organizations of its kind in the U.S. Within New Jersey, Neptune-based VNA says it reaches a population at-risk children, the elderly, those with disabling or chronic illness and people at the end of their lives.

Before assuming the top post in August 2023, Rinn refined the organization’s government relations strategy as chief government relations and community health officer, emphasizing engagement at the local, county, state and federal levels.

Prior to VNA, he served as CEO at VNACJ Community Health Center. He is also a former acting health commissioner for the state, appointed by Gov. Chris Christie in 2017, and assistant New Jersey Department of Health commissioner.

As part of his current role at VNA, Rinn remains active in broader public health discussions, joining New Jersey leadership in workforce and policy forums.

His professional accolades include being named as an NJBIZ Health Care Hero in 2023 and an NJBIZ Forty Under 40 honoree in 2010.

Vanessa Rissetto
Culina Health

As co-founder and CEO of Culina Health, Rissetto is advancing the six-year-old telehealth platform’s mission to transform access to clinical nutrition care across the United States.

Under her leadership, Culina Health has raised $20 million in venture funding and established itself as a trusted provider for physician referrals, helping integrate registered dietitians into mainstream care delivery. The company, which is in network with most major insurance plans, has served more than 10,000 patients and continues to scale its impact while improving health outcomes through evidence-based, personalized nutrition counseling.

A clinician-, women- and BIPOC-owned company, Culina Health earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Rissetto herself was recognized as a 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in the New Jersey region.

The registered dietician nutritionist brings more than a decade of experience, including leadership roles at New York University and Mount Sinai Hospital. Her clinical expertise includes gastrointestinal disorders, bariatric surgery support, weight management, PCOS and family nutrition. She is a nationally recognized voice in the “food as medicine” movement, frequently contributing to media and speaking at major industry forums.

Dr. Ryan Saadi
Tevogen Bio

Along with founding Tevogen Bio, Saadi serves as CEO for the six-year-old clinical-stage specialty immunotherapy biotech. Headquartered in Warren, Tevogen’s mission revolves around developing affordable, safe and easy-to-administer T cell therapies for the treatment of infectious diseases, cancers and neurological disorders.

Along with securing three U.S. patents, Tevogen has nine additional patents pending. A major milestone in Tevogen’s quest to make therapies more accessible was the launch of Tevogen.AI, along with its partnership with Microsoft. Then, last summer, the company signed a lease that more than doubled the size of its headquarters to centralize R&D, strategy, regulatory, AI-related initiatives and future biosimilars work.

Saadi, an infectious disease expert and public health advocate, received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2023 for his efforts to address the significant unmet needs of large patient populations through Tevogen. He is also among the innovators, leaders and catalysts from across various sectors that will be recognized this May as part of the New Jersey Innovate 100 initiative.

Saadi recently said the company is exploring potential acquisitions to complement its immunotherapy and AI platforms in order to support a mission “to evolve into a sustainable, revenue-generating healthcare enterprise.”

Dr. Kenneth Sable
Hackensack Meridian Health

Sable was tapped to serve as president of Hackensack Meridian Health’s acute care hospital division as part of a series of leadership changes last year aimed at enhancing patient care, streamlining operations and driving innovation across the Edison-based network.

In the newly created role, Sable is responsible for directing the activities of the acute care hospitals and establishing current and long-range objectives, plans, programs, and policies in alignment with overall strategic plan and mission.

An 11-year veteran of HMH with nearly three decades of health care experience, Sable was previously president of the network’s southern market. In a November 2025 interview, he stressed the importance of “removing barriers and making sure our patients have a trusted connection with Hackensack Meridian Health, no matter where or when they need care.”

“As New Jersey’s largest hospital and primary care network, we are proactively addressing capacity management by ensuring that patients receive the right care in the right place and at the right time. Part of that means reducing unnecessary emergency department visits and giving our communities more access to care outside the hospital. We’re expanding virtual care, outpatient and ambulatory services, and mobile clinics, making high-quality care easier to reach,” he said.

Linda Schwimmer
New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute

As the longtime president and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, Schwimmer leads the Trenton-based organization’s mission of improving health care quality and safety, expanding access to good care and controlling costs for employers and consumers.

A respected voice in the national movement to promote quality, safety and transparency in American health care, Schwimmer was also appointed to one of 10 transition teams ahead of Gov. Mikie Sherill taking office in January 2026. Schwimmer was picked to serve in a group focused on affordable health care in the wake of Washington’s Medicaid cuts.

Additionally, under Schwimmer’s leadership, the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute advanced TeamBirth NJ, a program funded by the New Jersey Department of Health that seeks to strengthen shared decision-making in maternity care at 40-plus birthing hospital partners. Her work also extends to the local level, where the Quality Institute’s Mayors Wellness Campaign works with over 400 mayors to make their communities healthier places to live, work, play and age.

Besides helming the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, Schwimmer is chair of the Leapfrog Group, a national employer organization promoting patient safety and transparency.

Steve Setteducati
New Concepts for Living

Since becoming CEO of New Concepts for Living in 2016, Setteducati has overseen expansion of the not-for-profit provider of community residences, day programs, and therapeutic services for adults living with individual and developmental disabilities.

Founded in 1981 by a group of parents whose developmentally disabled children were transitioning into adulthood, NCFL has flourished under Setteducati, a former mayor of Emerson, to become New Jersey’s premier provider of services through its high-quality programs.

The Paramus-based organization recently expanded its North Jersey footprint with new community residences, including homes in River Vale, Mahwah and Wyckoff, that provide 24/7 support for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. NCFL also added a state-of-the-art property in Mahwah designed for medically fragile individuals.

At its achievement center in Paramus, NCFL introduced an accessible library filled with 3,000 books and media to support learning, engagement and socialization. It joins the two-year-old center’s other offerings, such as day programs; prevocational and life skills; recreational spaces and physical, occupational, behavioral and speech therapy.

Dr. Gary Small
Hackensack Meridian Health

Since 2020, Small has been physician-in-chief for behavioral health at Hackensack Meridian Health. As part of that role, Small oversees professional and administrative activities within behavioral health care transformation services for the state’s largest and most integrated network.

Also chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center, Small is known for his innovative research on brain health and ways to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. He has studied and developed lifestyle and memory training programs for improving cognition and healthy aging, which have been made available throughout the U.S. and abroad in senior centers, hospitals and other community sites.

Small has written more than 500 scientific works and received numerous awards and honors. Scientific American magazine named him one of the world’s top 50 innovators in science and technology and he is the author of 12 popular books, including The New York Times bestseller “The Memory Bible.” Additionally, the mental health expert is regularly featured in media and blog posts, where he provides commentary on topics ranging from anxiety and brain health to behavioral responses to current events.

Mark Sparta
Hackensack Meridian Health

Ahead of the July 2025 retirement of Mark Strauder as chief operating officer of Hackensack Meridian Health, Sparta was named as successor at the nationally ranked health care system. As COO, Sparta leads operational and management functions for HMH’s 18 hospitals, patient care services, clinical joint ventures, ambulatory services, facilities and construction, real estate and network-wide clinical services.

A 30-year veteran of HMH, Sparta’s background includes serving as president and chief hospital executive of Hackensack University Medical Center. Sparta joined HMH as a staff physical therapist and steadily progressed through various leadership posts. His accomplishments include spearheading the development of the Helena Theurer Pavilion at Hackensack University Medical Center, as well as expanding ambulatory and urgent care services in the northern region. Before the most recent promotion, Sparta was president of the network’s northern market.

In a November 2025 interview discussing HMH’s focus on expanding access to care, Sparta shared, “There’s no question that we need to meet people where they are … Patients are discerning consumers, rightly demanding greater choice, convenience and transparency. This is driving a lot of innovation in care delivery.”

Sarah Trent
Valley Wellness

As the founder and CEO of Raritan-based Valley Wellness, Trent runs one of the top dispensaries in the state.  Since opening in late 2022 as the first standalone, woman-owned, independent medical dispensary in New Jersey, the store has gone on to receive state approval to offer adult-use cannabis sales.

The attorney and former public defender with the Legal Aid Society is also the force behind NJ Cannabis Certified, a 15-hour educational certificate program taught virtually in conjunction with community colleges across the state that is geared toward those interested in working in the industry or wanting to learn more about cannabis.

A well-known advocate for the industry, Trent was recently recognized as an educator of the year during Cannademix’s 2025 community awards program for New Jersey’s cannabis space. She also just launched a new YouTube series called “Dispensaries Diaries” that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the day-to-day operations at Valley Wellness. It aims to capture the highs and lows of building and growing a locally owned cannabis business in New Jersey.

Deborah Visconi
Bergen New Bridge Medical Center

Now in her ninth year as president and CEO of Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, Visconi continues to promote positive change at one of the nation’s largest public hospitals. In January, she began her term as 2026 chair of the New Jersey Hospital Association, a 108-year-old organization made up of hospitals, health care systems and post-acute providers across the state.

A veteran of NJBIZ Power lists and awards programs, Visconi is widely regarded for leading Bergen New Bridge’s transition from its former for-profit management model to an award-winning nonprofit community asset. As the largest hospital and licensed nursing home in New Jersey, the Rutgers University clinical affiliate features 1,000-plus beds, a 24/7 emergency department, behavioral health services, substance abuse treatment and long-term care. In February, Bergen New Bridge celebrated the completion of a $10 million emergency department expansion that increased capacity from 19 to 47 beds and added specialized areas.

As part of an effort to reinforce Bergen New Bridge’s critical role in health care delivery, Visconi has done a great deal to expand reach beyond the walls of the hospital. As a Latinx hospital leader, she has prioritized the unique issues and needs of underserved and minority communities in ongoing outreach efforts.

Carolyn Welsh
NJ Sharing Network

After joining NJ Sharing Network in 1999 as a hospital services manager, Welsh took the helm three years ago as CEO of the state’s federally designated nonprofit responsible for the recovery of donated organs and tissue. During her more than two decades with the New Providence-based organization, Welsh has worked with NJ Sharing Network staff, local hospitals, community partners, and hundreds of volunteers to achieve record growth in lives saved and enhanced through donations and transplantations.

Welsh also saw the NJ Sharing Network hold its annual Transplant Growth Collaboration meetings last fall, bringing together leaders from transplant centers and hospitals to share strategies and innovations for increasing lifesaving transplants. New Jersey became the first in the nation to host this type of forum in 2024. Commenting on the latest event, Welsh said, “By working together, our state is leading the way in creating a model of partnership that not only strengthens transplantation here in New Jersey but can also inspire similar efforts nationwide.”

In 2025, NJ Sharing Network recorded 269 organ donations and 693 organ transplants. The organization also facilitated 1,203 donations of tissue and cornea.

Debra Wentz
New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies

As president and CEO of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies, Wentz acts as a voice for providers caring for some of the most sensitive and vulnerable patients in the state. Based in Hamilton Township, the nonprofit trade association represents 164 providers of services for more than 500,000 adults and children with mental illnesses, substance use disorders, intellectual/developmental disabilities and co-occurring disorders.

After taking the helm in 1995, Wentz has transformed NJAMHAA into a high-impact organization focused on changing public perception of mental illness and sparking policy change. A seasoned advocate for mental health and addiction services, Wentz holds numerous board and committee roles at the state and national levels, including chair of the New Jersey Governor’s Council on Mental Health Stigma and member of the New Jersey Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council.

As a respected voice on behavioral health policy, Wentz frequently speaks to the media and at conferences on the topics of mental health, substance use, equity and access to care. Over the years, she’s received numerous accolades for her work – including being honored as one of NJBIZ Best 50 Women in Business in 2023 and an NJBIZ ICON Award in 2019.

Helene Wolk
Englewood Health

As executive vice president and chief operating officer for Englewood Health, Wolk oversees operations for the $1.4 billion health system, including inpatient and outpatient services, ancillary operations and information technology, across the hospital and Englewood Health Physician Network.

At Englewood Health, Wolk has led a series of transformative initiatives reshaping care delivery across northern New Jersey. She spearheaded the successful implementation of the Epic electronic health record system across both the hospital and its physician network, while also overseeing the revitalization of key clinical assets, including the laboratory and breast care center. Wolk has driven the expansion of community-based imaging, diagnostic and laboratory services – a cornerstone of the system’s decade-long geographic growth – including the development of two full-service outpatient imaging centers and guided the integration of new physician practices into major service lines.

Under her leadership, Englewood Health has also advanced its digital outreach strategy, using text-based screening reminders and self-scheduling tools to improve preventive care and help close gaps. Additionally, the 2019 NJBIZ Best Women in Business Awards honoree played a critical role in Englewood Health’s agreement to join RWJBarnabas Health.

Tatsuyuki Yasuno
Eisai Inc.

As chairman and CEO of Eisai Inc. and president of the Americas Region of Japanese pharmaceutical giant Eisai, Yasuno is based in the company’s U.S. headquarters on the ON3 Campus in Nutley. Yasuno was tapped in 2023 to take over for outgoing CEO Ivan Chueng. Before the promotion, Yasuno held numerous executive roles in Japan, Europe and the U.S. during his 35-year tenure with Eisai.

He now oversees strategic direction in North America – the company’s largest commercial region worldwide. His responsibility includes management of Eisai’s operating companies and sites in the U.S. and Canada, including its fully integrated commercial and medical organizations specializing in oncology and neurology, multiple research and development facilities, and the supply chain organization.

As a research-based firm dedicated to improving the lives of people affected by cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, Eisai’s business is split into two groups – oncology and neurology. A leader in Alzheimer’s research for decades, Eisai is among one of the few pharmaceutical companies with a drug (Leqembi) to treat the root causes of a condition that affects more than 55 million people worldwide.

2026 NJBIZ Health Care Power List Index:

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