Jorge Santos is the Chief Real Estate and Investments Officer of the Newark Alliance. Jorge has an extensive background in real estate development, serving in senior leadership roles in local and state government over the past decade.

Before his current role at the Newark Alliance, Jorge was the Chief Real Estate Development Officer at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the State of New Jersey’s economic development arm. In that role, he led the Authority’s real estate and tax credit programs including the Historic Property Reinvestment Program, Brownfields Redevelopment Program, and Aspire. He also provided oversight over the Authority’s direct real estate efforts including management of the New Jersey Bioscience Center and Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center. Before leading the Real Estate Division at the Authority, Jorge served as Chief of Staff to the CEO during the COVID-19 Pandemic helping to manage intergovernmental affairs and coordinate the disbursement of hundreds of millions of dollars of pandemic aid.

Before joining state government, Jorge served in a variety of roles in local economic development in the City of Newark including senior roles at the Newark Alliance, Newark Community Economic Development Corporation, and Brick City Development Corporation. In these roles, Jorge led the City’s efforts to expand Riverfront Park and worked closely with government and civic leaders to manage the City’s response to the Amazon HQ2 RFP. Prior to his career in economic development, Jorge worked in a variety of roles in politics and government, including serving as an aide to Governor Jon Corzine and Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein.

Jorge holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a dual master of public policy/master of city and regional planning degrees from Rutgers University, the Edward J. Bluestein School of Planning and Public Policy. He was a fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics and serves on the board of the Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District. Jorge lives in the Forest Hill neighborhood of Newark with his wife, two daughters, and their cat.