First-Generation Rutgers Alumni National Leaders in Senior Care

Phil Scalo and Roberto Muñiz influence with compassion the care of millions in nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, and affordable housing for seniors, as well as others in need of aging services.

Phil Scalo grew up in Lodi, New Jersey, his family’s home close enough to the aviation plant where his father worked that he could walk there when it snowed or if their car broke down. In the early 1970s, Scalo enrolled at Rutgers College in New Brunswick. He was the first in his family to go to college.

In the same period, Roberto Muñiz, who had lived the first 14 years of his life in Puerto Rico, moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey with his mother and their sprawling family, where they struggled to make ends meet. Through volunteering in high school at a hospital that gave him free meals, Muñiz made connections who helped him find his way to Livingston College at Rutgers in Piscataway. He, too, was the first in his family to go to college.

Today, Muñiz and Scalo—who each went on to earn two Rutgers degrees and become steadfast supporters of the university—are prominent leaders guiding policy affecting nursing homes, assisted living facilities, affordable housing for seniors, in-home care, and other aging services.

“What are the odds of two first-generation Rutgers students winding up leading national organizations in the same sector?” says Scalo, founder of Bartley Healthcare, a senior care company located in Jackson, New Jersey, who is serving his second term as chair of the American Health Care Association (AHCA). Through the AHCA’s partnership with the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL), the organization that Scalo leads is the largest association in the United States representing long term and post-acute care providers, with a membership of more than 15,000 facilities.

Muñiz, who has been president and CEO of the Piscataway-based Parker Health Group for more than 25 years, is chair of LeadingAge, a national association serving more than 5,400 nonprofit aging services member organizations and other mission-driven organizations serving older adults.

Between the for-profit and the nonprofit associations they lead, Scalo and Muñiz advocate for policy on behalf of millions of seniors and those who care for them. They travel often to speak at meetings and conferences and frequently go to Washington to influence a wide range of polices for senior care services.

“We're touching millions of lives every day with what we do,” Muñiz says. “I'm very happy and proud to be able to do that.”

A Burgeoning Need

The influence of these two Rutgers alumni is vast in a field that is growing exponentially as the Baby Boomer generation ages. Forecasts are that America’s population above the age of 65 will almost double from 46 million to 90 million by 2050.

“One of our main objectives is to be able to help set the right policies that can address the needs of older adults in this country,” Muñiz says. “I want to be able to make a difference for people who often can’t speak for themselves.”

Scalo and Muñiz advocate not only for the seniors needing care, but support those who work as caregivers and administrators in the growing field.

As the number of seniors needing care is increasing, “the ratio of available caregivers is going down,” Scalo says. “This continues to be a big challenge.”

In his advocacy to encourage people to consider careers in senior care, Scalo cites the rewarding role that caregivers can fulfill.

“There are so many dedicated and compassionate people who take care of those who are having difficulty,” he says. “Caregivers can make such a big difference, not only for the person getting the care, but for families.”

Muñiz advocates for careers in senior care and strives to promote it as a viable career opportunity for many. “We have a responsibility to make people aware of our field,” he says.

Muñiz has connected with Rutgers on a number of levels. He was instrumental in a Parker Health Group gift to the university’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 2023 to establish the Parker Health Group Geriatrics Division. The new division, part of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, will focus on enhancing care for seniors through applied research, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration, and has enlisted fellows. An adjunct faculty member for the medical school, Muñiz delivered its 2024 convocation address.

He also is a senior health fellow and instructor at Rutgers’ Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, where he encourages students in the Rutgers Health Administration Program to pursue careers in aging services. In December, he established the Parker Health Group Graduate Scholarship in the Bloustein School for students in the program.

“In embracing the challenges and opportunities within aging care,” Muñiz wrote in a column for the Rutgers University’s Health Administration program’s annual report, “students can help define what it means to grow older in the modern world.”

Giving Back to Rutgers

Scalo, who earned an undergraduate degree in history from Rutgers College and a juris doctorate from Rutgers Law School in Newark, has supported the university in many ways. He was a longtime member of the Rutgers University Foundation Board of Directors, serving as chair of the board from 2019–2022, and now serves on the university’s Board of Trustees.

A high school football player and wrestler, Scalo competed on the Scarlet Knights varsity lightweight football team and was a four-year letter winner. As an alumnus, he has been a generous donor to Rutgers Athletics, including establishment of the Scalo Family Wrestling Lounge which opened in the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center in 2019. He also was a founder of the Rutgers Leadership Academy—now known as the Office of Rutgers Leadership Development and Strategic Partnerships—which focuses on identity, career, and leadership development for Rutgers student-athletes.

Scalo says his involvement today in senior care leadership relates to a mindset he learned playing sports. “It goes back to my days at Rutgers being on a team,” he says. “A team achieves more together.”

As for Muñiz, who earned an undergraduate degree in public health from Livingston College and a master of public administration degree from the Rutgers–Newark School of Public Affairs and Administration, he says he is extremely grateful for the opportunities that Rutgers provided him as he moved up to be a national leader in aging services.

“My high school guidance counselor told me that I wasn’t college material,” he says. “I never imagined I would have the opportunity to be where I am today.”

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