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NJCU Appoints Andrés Acebo Interim Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Trustees
JERSEY CITY, N.J. | New Jersey City University (NJCU) has announced the appointment of Andrés Acebo as Interim Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Trustees within the Office of the President at the institution, effective February 1.
At NJCU, the Chief of Staff is a senior adviser to the President on institutional planning, policy and program development and is responsible for facilitating effective decision-making and coordinating the execution of strategic initiatives. Additionally, the Chief of Staff provides close coordinative support to the President as an ongoing liaison for external governmental affairs issues. The Secretary to the Board of Trustees provides oversight and coordination to the Committees of the Board, prioritizes issues between the President, the Board of Trustees and other stakeholders, and ensures maintenance of records of the Board.
Acebo most recently served on the vetting and due diligence team for the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and Alliance for Latinx Leadership and Policy (ALLP) partnership to identify U.S. Department of Justice presidential nominees for the Biden/Harris transition.
In his private practice, Acebo has counseled and represented governmental entities, higher education institutions and public school districts, and closely-held corporations. His practice focuses primarily on employment and labor, education law, and government/public entity law. He has also regularly been retained by governmental entities to conduct independent special investigations into alleged public official and employee misconduct and adverse employment actions.
NJCU President Sue Henderson said: ““We are thrilled to welcome Andrés to NJCU. He will make valuable contributions to our institution in this critical leadership position. Andrés’ career experience working with partners on the state and federal legislative front and with leaders in higher education, public schools and the private sector and his knowledge of Jersey City and Hudson County will lead to much success in this role. We are thankful for his willingness to serve our university.”
Acebo has been recognized as a Rising Star by New Jersey Super Lawyers, a Top Latino Lawyer by Latino Leaders Magazine, a Top Lawyer under 40 by the Hispanic National Bar Association, and as a Diverse Attorney of the Year by the New Jersey Law Journal.
He currently serves as a Deputy Regional President of the Hispanic National Bar Association and Chair of the Special Committee on Cuba.
Acebo has published several articles concerning the cross-section of race, law, politics, and public policy with the Columbia Journal of Race and Law, The Brown University Policy Review, the Seton Hall Legislative Journal, and the Rutgers Race and the Law Review.
Prior to entering private practice, he clerked for the Honorable Jonathan N. Harris, J.A.D. (retired) in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey. Acebo is honored and thrilled to join the President's Office at NJCU — an institution deeply connected to the community that shaped him.
He was born and raised in Hudson County to Cuban exile parents and he's a proud product of its public schools. He was the first in his family to attend college, graduating from Brown University, where he was a senior editor of the Brown Journal of World Affairs and a volunteer at the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service. He received his legal degree from Rutgers Law School, where he was elected president of the Association of Latin-American Law Students, vice president of communication of the HNBA Law Student Division, and managing symposium editor of the Rutgers Race and the Law Review. Andrés also served as a constitutional law research assistant and a pro bono mediator with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Acebo is actively involved in civic engagements and non-profit activities to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity broadly. He currently serves as board member of the Cuban American Alliance for Leadership and Education. The non-profit was recently awarded the Non-Profit of the Year Award by the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.
About NJCU
New Jersey City University is an institution of higher learning with an audacious goal: the development of our students, our city, our communities, our state, and the world beyond. We are a game-changing force for our students and their families. Whether our students are enrolled in one of our 47 undergraduate and 30 graduate programs, NJCU provides an affordable, diverse environment, and an exceptionally supportive faculty—all of which prepares them to be critical thinkers in a global landscape.
We’re also changing the game for our city, our communities, and our state. As the educational anchor institution in Jersey City, we’ve established partnerships to ensure the area’s growth directly benefits our students and community members. We seek to improve the lives of everyone in the Garden State, whether creating a home for the arts, bringing educational programs to K-12 students, offering bachelor’s degrees in partnership with community colleges, or providing professional development opportunities for adults.
At NJCU, we’re not just educating minds, we’re nourishing souls and lifting communities. We’re changing the game.
Contact:
Ira Thor, Senior Director of University Communications and Media Relations | ithor@njcu.edu | 201-200-3301