RUTGERS - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Vice President
• Vice President, State Government Affairs

Dave Weinstein has been Vice President for State Government Affairs since shortly after he joined Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in July 2014. With more than 20 years in public policy, communication and reporting roles, Mr. Weinstein has substantial public, private and nonprofit experience crafting, reforming and explaining public policy in New Jersey. During his time at Rutgers, Mr. Weinstein has successfully advocated for the University's interests in the Legislature and the Executive Branch, expanded relationships between the State of New Jersey and Rutgers experts, and enjoyed success collaborating with policy makers throughout state government. Before joining Rutgers, Mr. Weinstein spent four years in the first-term policy office of Governor Chris Christie overseeing a broad policy portfolio that included higher education and health care. During that time, he helped plan and implement the largest integration of public research universities in the country's history (New Jersey Medical and Health Sciences Education Restructuring Act of 2012). Mr. Weinstein also helped develop the $1.25 billion capital bond program that brought New Jersey institutions of higher education a first significant infusion of public investment for capital improvements since the 1980s. Earlier in his career, Mr. Weinstein was deputy communications director at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) under Governors McGreevey, Codey, and Corzine. Mr. Weinstein began his career as a journalist. A stint in Red Oak, Iowa was followed by a return to New Jersey and time at The South Brunswick Post and The Princeton Packet, The Burlington County Times, in Willingboro, and The Associated Press, in Trenton. A Moorestown High School graduate (1993), Mr. Weinstein earned a master's degree in public relations from Rowan University (2008) and his bachelor's degree, in English, from Elizabethtown College (1997).

Job Titles:

• Senior Administrative Assistant, External Affairs

Job Titles:

• Vice President for Federal Relations

Francine Newsome Pfeiffer is the Vice President for Federal Relations at Rutgers. She directs the University's Office of Federal Relations in Washington, DC, where she has worked for more than 20 years. She and her staff represent the University on a wide variety of federal appropriations and policy issues, including those impacting student aid programs, institutional governance, research and innovation, immigration, and tax and regulatory matters. The office works closely with the New Jersey congressional delegation and national associations of higher education, and also facilitates University engagement with federal funding agencies. Ms. Pfeiffer and her staff collaborate with administrators, faculty, staff, and students from across the institution to advance the University's federal interests. Ms. Pfeiffer has served in a variety of leadership roles in the higher education community in Washington, including chair of the Council on Government Affairs at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, an association representing more than 200 public universities in North America. She has also served as chair of the Council on Federal Relations Steering Committee at the Association of American Universities (AAU), the association of leading research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. At the AAU, she has also chaired working groups on the humanities and higher education/student aid. She is a frequent speaker at national higher education meetings on federal policies affecting higher education and on effective University engagement with Congress. Ms. Pfeiffer is a New Jersey native and a Rutgers graduate. She began her career in Washington with a White House internship with the Domestic Policy Council. She then worked briefly for the Washington Workshops Foundation, an educational foundation in Georgetown, before joining Rutgers' federal relations staff. Ms. Pfeiffer resides in Annapolis, MD, with her husband and two children.

Job Titles:

• Vice President, Government and Fiscal Affairs

George J. LeBlanc is Vice President for Government and Fiscal Affairs and comes to Rutgers with over 30 years of public policy experience in state and local government, the vast majority of which has been in various capacities in the New Jersey Legislature. Prior to joining Rutgers, Mr. LeBlanc served the Senate Democratic leadership and caucus in several senior management roles over the course of 17 years. As Deputy Executive Director of the Senate Democratic Office, he managed daily operations and supervised all policy and communications staff. As Director of Budget and Fiscal Analysis, Mr. LeBlanc led the development of budget priorities and advised on political strategy for the Senate President, Majority Leader, Budget and Appropriations Committee Chair and the Senate Democratic caucus. Mr. LeBlanc negotiated 14 annual appropriations acts on behalf of the Senate Democratic Majority over the course of four executive branch administrations. He was also instrumental in developing communications strategy on budget-related issues with senators and external communications staff. In addition to his budget management role, Mr. LeBlanc was directly involved in the enactment of several rounds of pension and health benefit reforms, the historic restructuring of New Jersey's system of higher education, several open space and higher education bond acts, and the energy reforms that brought competition to electricity generation markets. Mr. LeBlanc's legislative career in New Jersey began with the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services (OLS), where he worked in the dual capacities of senior fiscal analyst and committee aide for over nine years. He staffed both Senate and Assembly natural resource committees, drafted bills and led an energy policy working group that provided the foundation for subsequent energy deregulation legislation enacted in 1999. Mr. LeBlanc's professional experience began in the Michigan House of Representatives where he was a legislative analyst covering the judiciary and transportation committees. He also worked for the City of New York under the administration of Mayor Ed Koch. Mr. LeBlanc earned a bachelor's degree with high distinction in history and French from Wayne State University, as well as a master's of arts degree in political science from the University of Michigan. He also spent his junior year at the University of Paris, Sorbonne and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He and his wife live in Hunterdon County. They are the parents of two daughters.

Job Titles:

• Assistant Vice President for State Government Affairs

Gloria Esther Soto is Assistant Vice President for State Government Affairs for Rutgers having served as Executive Director in the Government Affairs department at UMDNJ. Previous to that, Ms. Soto was tapped by Puerto Rico's Governor Sila Calderon to head the New Jersey office of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) in Newark, New Jersey. Ms. Soto has held executive positions in the business arena when she served as Vice President and General Counsel for the Claridge Casino Hotel in Atlantic City and Vice-President of Government Relations and Corporate Affairs for the same company. She also served as Associate General Counsel for Harrahs Casino in Atlantic City. In her position as Regional Director of Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, Ms. Soto initiated and developed alliances with community-based organizations, government, and business groups. She developed workshops and conferences relating to economic development for businesses seeking opportunities in New Jersey or in Puerto Rico. Ms. Soto has worked as a trial lawyer, general counsel, and government relations executive in various high-profile corporations. Throughout her professional career she has been elected to officer-level posts by statewide associations: President and Chair of the New Jersey Travel Industry Association and President & Chair of the New Jersey Hotel/Motel Association. In December 2005, she was elected as Chair of Latinas United for Political Empowerment (LUPE) and again in December of 2006. She is one of the organizations founding members. From 2005 to 2006 she was appointed to serve on the ABA Commission on Women Ms. Soto obtained her law degree from Rutgers Law School in Newark. She was the first Hispanic to receive the "Young Lawyer of the Year" Award from the New Jersey State Bar Association. Ms. Soto received her B.A. in Spanish-French from Douglass College (Rutgers) in New Brunswick. For her professional and community work, Ms. Soto has received several awards and recognitions. In December of 2009, she received the Mary Philbrook Award from the Women's Political Caucus. On September 26, 2007, she was inducted into the Douglass Society for her contribution in the public sector. In October of 2006, she was honored by the nonprofit organization Women Helping Women. She was selected by Save Latin America as one of the recipients of the Distinguished Puerto Rican Woman; American Hotel/Motel Lodging Magazine's Most Influential Woman in the Lodging Industry. Ms. Soto has been a member of the American Bar Association, New Jersey Bar Association, Atlantic and Middlesex County Bar Associations, Hispanic Bar Association, and International Association of Gaming Attorneys.

Job Titles:

• Associate Director of Federal Relations
• Office of Federal Relations As an Associate

Ian Grubman is the Associate Director of Federal Relations at Rutgers. His work primarily focuses on the university's federally-supported scientific research enterprise, particularly in the fields of biomedicine and health, the environment, agriculture, defense, and transportation. He is also the university's primary advocate on immigration and international issues. During his time at Rutgers, he has held several leadership positions at higher education associations, including Biomedical Task Force Chair for the Council on Federal Relations at the Association of American Universities (AAU), International and Immigration Team Lead for the Council on Governmental Affairs at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU), and Secretary of The Science Coalition. Mr. Grubman joined the Office of Federal Relations as an associate in February 2016. In this position, he was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the office, ensuring the university's compliance with federal lobbying disclosure requirements, and supervising the office's interns. He also led the university's federal advocacy for the humanities and social sciences. Before coming to Rutgers, Mr. Grubman spent eight years in the United States Senate working for the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey (2006-2013) and Senator John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV of West Virginia during his final year in office (2014). His experience on Capitol Hill centered around internal and external communications as well as health and education policy. Mr. Grubman moved to the nation's capital after graduating from Syracuse University in 2006 with Bachelor of Arts degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. A native of Bergen County, New Jersey, he now resides in the U Street area of Washington, DC.

Job Titles:

• Senior Vice President, External Affairs

Peter J. McDonough Jr. is a public policy and public affairs professional with more than 30 years experience designing, directing, and executing successful efforts to promote policy initiatives, candidates, and the interests of public and private clients. He currently serves as the senior vice president for external affairs at Rutgers University. Mr. McDonough is one of the few individuals to have served at the highest staff levels in both the executive and legislative branches of New Jersey state government as well as in the federal government. He served in the cabinet of NJ Governor Christine Todd Whitman as her director of communications and one of her principal strategic advisers. As director of communications, Mr. McDonough directed all communications efforts for the governor including media relations, speechwriting, advance logistics, and message and image development. Those efforts were designed primarily to burnish the governor's public image, to build public support for her programs, and to secure legislative approval for her ambitious legislative agenda. He was chief of staff for the NJ Department of the Treasury, where he also served as assistant state treasurer. Mr. McDonough was the youngest-ever executive director in the New Jersey General Assembly, a position to which he was appointed in 1982 at the age of 29. In this capacity, he led staff research, policy development, and communications efforts for the Republican members of the lower house of the legislature during the first term of Governor Thomas H. Kean. Mr. McDonough's federal government experience includes twice serving as chief of staff for Congressman Dean A. Gallo and as an associate staff member of the House Appropriations Committee. His federal experience also includes serving as a consultant to the US State Department and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. McDonough was a founding partner of the Princeton Public Affairs Group, New Jersey's largest and most prestigious public affairs firm. Mr. McDonough has, since 2001, served as an adjunct professor and visiting associate at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers where he teaches the institute's seminar "Perspectives in American Politics" for master's and doctoral candidates. Mr. McDonough has lectured and trained government officials and journalists in Russia, Ukraine, Kosovo, Albania, Belarus, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Botswana, and the Republic of Georgia. He was a consultant for the Agency for International Development (USAID)/National Endowment for Democracy, providing political training and counsel in Romania and Ukraine, and was an international election observer for the presidential elections in Nigeria in 2003. Mr. McDonough has served on numerous boards and commissions including the NJ Economic Development Authority, the State Building Authority, and the Mercer County Board of Taxation. He was appointed and subsequently elected as a member of the Pennington Borough Council. Op-ed columns written by Mr. McDonough have appeared in The New York Times, the Moscow Times, the Washington Post, as well as in other major newspapers throughout the US.

Job Titles:

• Executive Assistant, State Government Affairs