NEW BRUNSWICK – Betsy Ryan, Esq., president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Hospital Association, was honored with the George H. Cook Alumni Award, presented May 1 at Rutgers University. Ryan, a 1982 graduate of Rutgers’ Cook College, is one of three 2016 recipients.

This award is presented annually to alumni whose outstanding accomplishments in professional or volunteer work reflects dignity and distinction on their alma mater. The Cook Award is the highest honor presented by the Cook Alumni Association to undergraduate alumni.

The award, established in 1976, commemorates the life of George Hammell Cook (1818-1889) whose efforts helped to bring Land Grant College status to Rutgers and to create the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

“The education and the experiences I had here at Cook are truly key to the successes I have had in my career,” Ryan said at the awards ceremony. She cited the nurturing environment, student government experience and lifelong friendships as highlights of her undergraduate career.

As NJHA president and CEO, Ryan has led the not-for-profit healthcare trade association since 2008 in providing advocacy, education, quality improvement initiatives and other services to the state’s 111 hospitals and more than 300 post-acute care providers. She also oversees the Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey, a nonprofit affiliate that provides education and community health support, as well as NJHA Healthcare Business Solutions, a for-profit group purchasing program. She has held numerous positions in the law, government and non-profits.

Ryan served on the N.J. Board of Medical Examiners, the Clinton-Gore transition team and the Corzine and McGreevy transition teams. She has been the recipient of many honors, including being named in 2016 as one of the most powerful people in healthcare by NJBIZ, in 2013 as one of New Jersey’s Women to Watch and the 2012 Garden State Women of the Year in Health Care. She resides in Florence with her husband and son.