JWU Faculty

Our skilled professors and instructors bring countless hours of experience to the table.

Professor interacting with a student in a lab classroom

At Johnson & Wales University, our faculty know you and your career goals. They love what they do whether it’s teaching, researching, or mentoring—and it shows: JWU has consistently ranked on U.S. News & World Report in the Regional North’s Best Colleges Overall — and, as a student, you will get to see what it really means to live your passion. Since they are experts in your future career field — many have worked in your industry — they share real experience and current business challenges in class.

Providence Faculty  Charlotte Faculty


Faculty by Campus

Meet some of our faculty members:

Cara Sammartino, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., College of Health & Wellness (Providence)

Associate Professor Cara Sammartino

As the department chair for JWU’s Public Health program, Cara Sammartino has led the program into tremendous growth and has provided countless students with opportunity in Rhode Island and beyond.

Sammartino’s passion for the state extends into her work and research. She has collaborated with local stakeholders from the perspective of the state and also from the perspective of private insurers, working with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), Xerox Healthcare, the Office of Health Insurance Commissioner (OHIC), and the Rhode Island Senate Policy Office of the General Assembly.

In 2021, a grant of more than $300,000 was awarded to Associate Professor Samantha Rosenthal, Department Chair Sammartino, and Associate Professor Jonathan Noel to study the relationship between mobile screen time and depressive symptoms among college students. Read more about this project.

Full Bio: Cara Sammartino, Ph.D.


Thomas J. Delle Donne, College of Food Innovation & Technology (Providence)

JWU Providence Assistant Dean and Faculty Expert T.J. Delle Donne

As a Johnson & Wales undergraduate, TJ Delle Donne was awarded Best Young Chef in the Northeast region by the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. A frequent contributing writer and expert panelist to Flavor & the Menu Magazine and Executive Chef of The Flavor Experience, Delle Donne addresses modern approaches to food knowledgeably and with a historical perspective.

Full Bio: Thomas J. Delle Donne


Mari Dias, Ph.D., College of Arts and Sciences (Providence)

JWU College of Arts & Sciences Faculty Expert Mari Dias

Mari Dias received a Fulbright scholarship that sent her to the University of Zululand in South Africa. There she trained graduate students in education theories and techniques. She holds a certificate in grief counseling (GC-C) and passed a national exam through ADEC (Association for Death Education and Counseling).

Dias remains active in the field of Counseling Psychology by serving as the vice president of the Lindsay Ann Burk Memorial Fund, which deals with dating violence, and works with the Changing Lives Through Literature program at the RI Department of Corrections maximum security facility.

Full Bio: Mari Dias


Sarah Malik, Ph.D., College of Hospitality Management (Charlotte)

Professor Sarah Malik

Associate Professor Sarah Malik is fascinated with wine. She says when she started teaching, she saw the potential for helping people truly understand wine. “I saw the importance of educating myself by digging deeper. When I started studying, I didn’t know enough.”

Her love of vino gradually grew during the many years she worked in the hotel and restaurant industry. She attended Manchester Metropolitan University in Manchester, England, where she studied hotel catering and institutional management, and Oxford Brookes University, where she earned a master’s degree in business administration. She fine-tuned her skills while working as a food and beverage manager for Hilton International in Manchester, where she focused on ordering various wines and updating inventory. At that time the company sent her to Switzerland to study menu engineering.

Later Malik started a job there teaching hospitality operations classes. Moving to Switzerland changed the course of her professional and personal life. During that time, she served as a visiting professor at JWU’s Providence Campus and she hasn’t looked back.

Full Bio: Sarah Malik

Faculty Experts for Media Requests

JWU Faculty Experts