RUTHERFORD, NJ – Felician University announces four new members of the Board of Trustees. John Bitar, Esq., Dr. Melissa Cepeda ‘15, Dr. Charles Flynn, Jr. and Mark Sparta, FACHE were welcomed to the Board at the October 17 meeting held at the Renaissance Hotel in Rutherford, NJ.

John Bitar, Esq., is a partner at Windels, Marx., Lane & Mittendorf. His practice includes Corporate & Securities, Financial Transactions, Public Finance & Not-for-Profit, Health Law, Infrastructure Development & Finance, and COVID-19 Response & Resources. Mr. Bitar attained his BA in English from Bates College and his JD from Rutgers University, School of Law in Newark.

Dr. Melissa Cepeda ‘15, is a Senior Specialist of Medical Risk Management at The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. In 2020, she helped launch and manage a COVID-19 hotline for New Jersey and New York with the NJ Poison Control Center. A Felician University alumna, Ms. Cepeda earned her BS in Biology and went on to earn her Doctor of Pharmacy at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is a currently pursuing her MBA of Pharmaceutical Management.

Dr. Charles Flynn Jr. is President Emeritus of the College of Mount Saint Vincent where he served as president for 21 years. He is the author of White Land, Black Labor: Caste and Class in Late Nineteenth Century Georgia and co-editor of Race, Class, and Politics in Southern History, which won an Outstanding Book on Human Rights by the Gustavus Myers Center. He has also authored numerous scholarly articles on related subjects. Dr. Flynn earned is BA in History from Hamilton College, and his MA and PhD in History from Duke University. He is also a graduate of the Institute on Educational Management at Harvard University.

Mark Sparta, FACHE is the President of the Northern Region for Hackensack Meridian Health, where he has served in numerous capacities since 1988. He is also the Executive Vice President of Population Health for HMH, and is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing daily operations at the flagship hospital, HackensackUMC. Mr. Sparta facilitates internal partnerships with multiple organizations and agencies. He attained his BS of Physical Therapy from Ithaca College and earned his MPA in Health Policy and Management from Seton Hall University.

Jim D’Agostino, Chairman of the Board remarked, “We are honored to have four such prestigious new Trustees. They have committed themselves to the mission of Felician University and we look forward to working together in support of the University’s continuing work of graduating the high-skilled, ethical industry leaders of the future.”