Celebrating New Leadership Roles at the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation

The HackensackUMC Foundation Board of Trustees has welcomed leaders in three key positions. Joseph M. Sanzari has assumed the role of chairman of the HackensackUMC Foundation Board of Trustees. In this role, Sanzari chairs the board’s Executive Committee. Samuel S. Raia is a member of the Executive Committee and is the chairman of the HackensackUMC Foundation Board of Trustees Finance Committee. Diaz is a member of the Foundation’s Executive Committee and a member of HackensackUMC’s Investment Committee.The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of HackensackUMC, connecting generous people with opportunities to make a meaningful difference.

Joseph Sanzari is president of Joseph M. Sanzari, Inc., a driving force in many significant projects in New Jersey. Projects include the renovation of the New York Giants playing field and practice facility and the safe maintenance of many New Jersey roads. Sanzari is also president of Joseph M. Sanzari, Inc., Sanzari Marine Companies, Inc. and Sanzari-Shinn LLC.

He has partnered with J. Fletcher Creamer & Son, Inc., and Gardner M. Bishop, Inc., creating Bishop-Sanzari-Creamer. Bishop-Sanzari-Creamer has taken a leadership role in major construction projects on the NJ Turnpike, NJ Highway and NJ Department of Transportation. Bishop-Sanzari-Creamer’s partnership earned national recognition for their work on the Route 4 and Route 17 overpasses, the largest highway project in the state. Through his companies, Sanzari proudly employs more than 300 people.

Sanzari is also known for his philanthropic work involving many communities, children’s organizations and local charities. Such involvement has included: loaning of vehicles for parades and community events, purchasing journal ads to support various school activities, donating manpower and equipment to help repair schools, churches and historic buildings, and donating the construction of municipal sporting fields.

Sanzari has demonstrated extraordinary commitment and generosity to HackensackUMC and is the patron of the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. His wife, Donna, who shares his dedication, is the founding benefactor of the Womens’ Health Services Education, Research and Resource Center at the medical center, as well as the Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital at HackensackUMC.

Sanzari was originally appointed to the HackensackUMC Board of Governors in 2000. Prior to assuming his current role as chairman of the HackensackUMC Foundation Board of Trustees, he served as chairman of the HackensackUMC Board of Governors.  He has served as a member of both boards as well as the board of the Hackensack University Health Network. Sanzari has also been an active member of many HackensackUMC committees: Audit, Board Development, Budget, Cancer Center Advisory, Children’s Hospital Advisory, Executive, Executive and Physician Compensation, Finance, Governance, Heart & Vascular Advisory, Human Resources, Investment, Quality and Patient Safety, and Strategic Planning.

In addition to his involvement with HackensackUMC, Sanzari won a hometown election and served as a former Republican Councilman in Ho-Ho-Kus. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Felician College, served as a formercommissioner to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and is a former chairman of the Garden State Arts Foundation.

Samuel Raia is the president and principal of Raia Properties, a real estate investment management and development firmfocusing on institutional quality assets. Its current portfolio of 3,000 apartments consists of multi-family properties located in North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma. Prior to founding Raia Properties, Raia was an executive officer for Raia Industries Incorporated, a ready-mixed concrete company founded by his father, Joseph Raia Sr., in 1930.

That company became the major supplier of construction materials serving northern New Jersey and southern New York. Raia Industries transformed from a small concrete business into New Jersey’s largest ready-mix concrete producer and a major producer of sand, gravel, stone and asphalt. The company owned and operated ten concrete plants, a stone quarry, a sand and gravel operation and asphalt plant. They had more than 150 concrete mixer trucks and a fleet of 70 dump trucks with a staff of more than 500 employees. Blue Circle Industries, of the United Kingdom, acquired Raia Industries in 1987 through a United States subsidiary.

Raia joined the HackensackUMC Foundation Board of Trustees in June of 2003. The Raia Family Foundation Laboratory on the first floor of the John Theurer Cancer Center is a demonstration of his philanthropic commitment to HackensackUMC’s caring community.

Raia also serves his community as Mayor of Saddle River, NJ, and is a member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Commerce and Industry Association. He served on Governor Christie’s Department of Transportation Transition Team. In January, 2011, he was sworn in as chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee.

Ulises Diaz, vice president, Government Affairs for Verizon New Jersey, is responsible for interfacing with NJ State Government, including the Governor's office and state legislature. He is responsible for monitoring the impact of legislation to ensure it aligns with the company's interests and goals.

Prior to his current position, Diaz served as vice president of External Affairs for United Water, where he was responsible for external affairs activities and initiatives. Before becoming vice president at United Water, Diaz served as director of Business Development and Government Relations for the company. In this capacity, Diaz headed-up a business development team and coordinated proposals and contract negotiations.

Diaz joined the HackensackUMC Foundation Board of Trustees in September of 2007. He is a member of the Board of Commissioners of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. He sits on the board of the New Jersey State Police Memorial Foundation and he is also a member of the board of the Hispanic Institute for Research and Development.

About Hackensack University Medical Center

HackensackUMC, a nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. It is the flagship hospital of the Hackensack University Health Network, one of the largest health networks in the state comprised of 1,140 beds, nearly 10,000 employees and 2,200 credentialed physicians. HackensackUMC was listed as the number one hospital in New Jersey and one of the top three New York metro area hospitals by the U.S. News & World Report for 2013-14, and has received 10 national rankings in: Cancer; Cardiology & Heart Surgery; Ear, Nose & Throat; Gastroenterology & GI Surgery; Geriatrics; Neurology & Neurosurgery; Orthopedics; Pulmonology; Urology; and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital ranked as one of the Top 50 Best Children’s Hospitals for Neurology and Neurosurgery in the 2013-14 Best Children’s Hospitals list. HackensackUMC is among Healthgrades® America’s Best 100 Hospitals in 10 different areas – more than any other hospital in the nation, is one of Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals™ for seven years in a row, and received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ 11 years in a row. The medical center has also been named a Leapfrog Top Hospital, and received 19 Gold Seals of Approval™ by the Joint Commission – more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence. HackensackUMC is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls, and remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events. To learn more, visit: www.HackensackUMC.org.   

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