Meet the Division Leadership

Felice K. Vazquez, Esq, 
Senior Vice President of Planning & Special Counsel to the President, Kean University

Felice Vazquez currently serves as Special Counsel to the President and Senior Vice President of Planning for Kean University, her alma mater where she received a B.A. in Psychology and her M.A. in Public Administration. Ms. Vazquez received her Juris Doctorate from the Rutgers School of Law while working as a law clerk at Weiner Lesniak LLP, where she continued to work as an attorney upon graduation and admission to the New Jersey BAR in 2007. Serving out of the Office of the President, Ms. Vazquez overseas Strategic Initiatives designated as Presidential Priorities, the Wenzhou-Kean Campus in China and serves as the President’s Liaison to the Wenzhou-Kean Board of Directors. She also handles matters that are legal in nature, compliance related; as well as project management including, International Studies, Career Services, the Human Rights Institute, Holocaust Resource Center, Diversity Council, and Kean Skylands. Additionally, as Senior Vice President of Planning, Ms. Vazquez oversees the Campus Planning division consisting of planning, design, construction, facilities, grounds, maintenance, transportation, utilities and environmental health and safety.

Ms. Vazquez has legal experience representing a wide array of practice areas, including, property rights agreements, intergovernmental relations, public-private partnerships, project financing and general representation of private, public and non-profit entities. Prior to joining Weiner Lesniak LLP as an attorney, Ms. Vazquez held several titles with the City of Elizabeth, including Legislative Aid to the Mayor, Public Information Officer and Assistant Director of Planning and Community Development heading the Economic Development, Public Information and Constituent Services divisions. During this time her responsibilities included planning, developing, and implementing policies for the most efficient management of department staff, programs and projects.

As a legislative specialist, Ms. Vazquez served the Mayor of Elizabeth with successful effort to support the extension of the Urban Enterprise Zone legislation. She participated in the preparation, assessment and implementation of economic and community development proposals, projects, grants and requests for proposals. During her work as Public Information Officer, Ms. Vazquez oversaw the daily media relations, information collection and dissemination and special events coordination for the City of Elizabeth. At the time she also supervised the writing of speeches, articles and press releases and dealt with state and national legislative issues as well as areas of information systems management, grant proposals and constituent services. Ms. Vazquez has served on numerous boards, councils and non-profits including: the Elizabeth Development Company Advisory Board, the Elizabeth Planning Board, the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary Commission, the New York and New Jersey Comprehensive Port Improvement Planning Council, Elizabeth and Union County Democratic Committees and The Road to Justice and Peace Inc. Ms. Vazquez was also appointed by the Governor and served for seven years as a Commissioner of the Board for the New Jersey Education Facilities Authority.

Steven Remotti
Vice President of Planning

Steven Remotti, Kean University’s Vice President of Campus Planning, is responsible for ensuring every Kean student, faculty, staff member and guest have a the best possible experience while on Kean’s properties. Steve oversees every aspect of Kean’s facilities and physical imprint for all U.S. campuses. This responsibility encompasses everything from campus development, site master planning, capital building projects, construction and interior renovation projects to new furniture, new carpet, day-to-day repairs, sustaining campus infrastructure, daily custodial services and routine grounds maintenance. All event set ups, along with seasonal preparations, remediation and restoration from all weather related events, the Kean Shuttle Service and auto repair shop also report to Steve.

Jessica Goldsmith Barzilay, MSW
Assistant Vice President for Global Initiatives

Jessica Goldsmith Barzilay, MSW serves as the Assistant Vice President of Global Initiatives at Kean University. Jessica oversees the Center for International Studies (CIS), The Human Rights Initiative (HRI), the Holocaust Resource Center (HRC) and the Diversity Council. In this role she drives Kean’s international engagement efforts and shows that a Kean education takes place in and out of the classroom, on and off campus, and all over the world.

Kean’s Global Initiatives are designed to cultivate globally-adept students who are prepared to engage and compete in an interconnected world. The HRI shines a light on human rights issues across the globe, inspiring the next generation of leaders to create a more just and peaceful world. The HRC reinforces ongoing awareness of the Holocaust among students, teachers and community members. The Diversity Council empowers school districts to explore diversity-related themes including bullying, Holocaust and genocide education, civil rights, and confronting human rights abuses. CIS welcomes international students from all over the world, sends students across the globe to study and hosts an active exchange with Wenzhou-Kean University in China

Jessica comes to higher education with over 20 years of experience in executive positions in the non-profit and for-profit sector.  She served as the Chief Administration Officer at a statewide disability agency overseeing operations and state contracts. She served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Planning for an internet startup. In addition, she is a successful grant writer, speaks on disability and caregiving issues, taught in Kean’s School of Social Work and served as Kean’s Director of Career Services.

John C. Raue, MPA, CPM
Assistant Vice President for Strategic Initiatives

John C. Raue, MPA, CPM currently serves as the Assistant Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, acting as the Deputy to the Senior Vice President of Planning. In his role, he oversees several units within the Division of Strategic Initiatives, including the Office of Career Services and Kean Skylands. Established in 2015, the Strategic Initiatives division plays a pivotal role in coordinating innovative projects, cultivating strategic partnerships, and spearheading special initiatives for the University. Before joining Kean University, John was the Senior Policy Advisor for two different Department Commissioners at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD). In this capacity, he was a key member of the Department's Executive Leadership team, responsible for overseeing special projects and managing a staff of over 100. His responsibilities included supervising the Appeals Tribunal and the Board of Review areas of Unemployment Insurance. He also represented the Department on several boards and authorities, including the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority, the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, the New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone, and the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

A proud lifelong resident of New Jersey, John attended Seton Hall University as an undergraduate and earned his Master's in Public Administration from Kean University. He currently resides in Allentown, New Jersey with his two daughters Elizabeth and Abigail.

Dr. Cary Anderson
Executive Vice Chancellor for Wenzhou Kean University

Dr. Cary Anderson is the Executive Vice Chancellor for Wenzhou-Kean University (WKU). In this position, he collaborates to internationalize the student and faculty population of WKU, expand the research enterprise, maintain educational excellence and ensure student success, in order to achieve the growth targets.

Prior to joining WKU, he was the Vice President for Student Life and Associate Provost at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. While there, he led student and faculty exchange, joint program development, study abroad and international student recruitment and support, with a particular focus in China. As the vice president for student life, he led the creation of a learning environment that enhanced student development and the overall student experience. He held various University roles overseeing institutional effectiveness, online education, institutional research, academic budgets, served as Interim Dean of the College of Professional and Liberal Studies, and was the Middle States Institutional Accreditation Liaison Officer. He taught history, law and policy courses in the Interdisciplinary Doctor of Education Program.

In addition to numerous conference presentations, workshops and addresses to a variety of professional organizations, Dr. Anderson was the Editor of the NASPA Journal and has served as a member of various editorial boards. He has served as the chairperson for numerous accreditation visits, and has consulted in the area of accreditation. Dr. Anderson graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa and earned a Master of Arts degree at Loyola University Chicago. He completed his doctorate at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 2010, Dr. Anderson completed a program at Harvard University Graduate School of Education Institute for Educational Management.