RWJBarnabas Health announces new appointments to corporate board

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RWJBarnabas Health announced on Tuesday the appointment of a new chair, vice chair, and founding chair, and three new trustees to the health system’s corporate board, effective immediately. The new members will serve three-year terms, with opportunity for two additional terms.

This is the second corporate board since RWJBarnabas Health became a unified health system in 2016.

Marc Berson was named chair of the corporate board. He has served as vice chair of the board since 2016 and his affiliation with the hospital system is longstanding. Berson has been chairman of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of New Jersey, both RWJBarnabas Health facilities.

“I look forward to building upon our corporate board’s strategic vision for the health system and helping execute on initiatives that are in progress,” Berson said in a statement. “The chairmanship enables me to further my commitment to improving the delivery of health care services and ensuring that quality and affordable health care is a priority.”

Lester Owens, who was named vice chair, has served on the corporate board since its inception in 2016 and is a long-time trustee of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick.

Jack Morris, founding chair, is the outgoing chair of the corporate board. Morris will retain chairmanship of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. He also serves as a board member of the RWJ University Hospital Foundation.

Wilfredo “Fred” Caraballo, is the new corporate board trustee. Caraballo is a recently retired, tenured member of the law faculty at Seton Hall University School of Law where he serves as the law school’s associate dean.

Dr. Robert Johnson, was named corporate board trustee (xx-Officio). Johnson is dean of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and interim dean at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.  He is a professor of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Celeste Warren is a new corporate board trustee. Warren has been employed at Merck & Co. Inc. for more than 20 years and is currently vice president of Human Resources, Global Diversity, and the Inclusion Center of Excellence.

Leaving the corporate board are Albert Gamper Jr., Brian Leddy, Gary Lotano and Brenton Saunders.