NYC Session Speakers

The following speakers are scheduled to speak during the Tri-State College Diversity Summit in New York City.

Pamela T. Miller, Esq.

Medco Foundation

Executive Director

Pamela T. Miller, Esq. is Vice President, Sustainability and Community Investment at Medco and also serves as Executive Director of the Medco Foundation. Medco is the world’s leading pharmacy benefit management company and a member of the Fortune 50. Pamela is responsible for Medco’s environmental, economic and societal advancement initiatives as well as Medco’s relationships with the White House, Congressional leaders, key federal agencies focused on sustainability issues, and numerous collaboratives and think tanks in which Medco participates. Pamela also leads several other major initiatives within the company. Prior to this role, Pamela served as Vice President, Market Strategy and Development and as Vice President, Policy, Strategy and Solutions for Medco.

Prior to joining Medco in 2003, Ms. Miller served at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey as vice president, enterprise planning and quality, leading its government programs, strategy formulation process, and enterprise program management office, for more than 10 years. Prior to that, Ms. Miller was Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Health Services for the New York City Department of Health, director of the Hudson County Department of Environmental and Public Health, in New Jersey and National Director for Minority Initiatives and Occupational Health for the American Lung Association.

Ms. Miller is a Commissioner, New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, and a Board member of the Women’s Association of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Ms. Miller is also a member of the American and National Bar Associations, the Links, Inc. and Jack and Jill of America, Bergen County Chapters. She is a past president of the Garden State Bar Association, New Jersey’s oldest and largest membership organization of African-American lawyers. Ms Miller was appointed by former New Jersey Governor, Jon S. Corzine, to serve on his Blue Ribbon Panel on Financial Restructuring.

Ms. Miller is an awardee of the Black Alumnae of the Year, Seton Hall University Law School 2003; and recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award, Girl Scouts of Bergen County, 2001; Urban League of Hudson County’s Outstanding Achievement Award, 2004; Thurgood Marshall College Fund Award for Excellence, 2005; National Bar Association Award for Outstanding Service, 2005; the Bergen County Black History Award for Professional Achievement, 2005 and the 2007 Corporate Trailblazers Award, the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey. Ms. Miller was honored by the Garden State Bar Association in June 2007 with its highest award for professional achievement and community involvement. In 2008, Ms. Miller was honored by the Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce for her business accomplishments and commitment to economic vitality in the region.

Ms. Miller holds a BS in natural science from Saint Peter’s College. An attorney, she also holds a Juris Doctorate from Seton Hall University School of Law and is admitted to practice law in New Jersey and to the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Miller is a frequent speaker at national forums on health policy, sustainability and community investment isuues.

She resides in Bergen County, New Jersey and Washington, DC with her two children.

Johanna Steans

Esurance

Leadership Development Program Manager

Johanna has over 25 years of experience in training and development that includes designing professional development programs, training courses, and materials; delivering courses; and providing organizational development consulting. She joined the Esurance corporate training team in 2007, where she currently develops and provides program oversight for Esurance’s diversity and inclusion efforts, as well as designs and implements leadership and management training and development programs.

Prior to Esurance, Johanna owned and operated JTS Enterprises Group LLC, a privately held corporation assisting businesses, corporations, government agencies and organizations in developing and successfully implementing their strategic business operations and technology objectives through executive consulting and professional services. Johanna provided executive management and strategic and tactical oversight of the organization including organizational, program, and business development; key staffing and resource hiring and development; and client marketing, relationship development, maintenance, and retention.

Prior to JTS, Johanna owned, operated, and provided executive leadership to Advanced Computer Technologies (ACT), which launched operations in October 1988 and incorporated in 1993 as Adcomptech International, Inc. This business provided professional services to a wide range of private and public clients, both domestic and international, primarily from the information technology industry. Some of the services offered included organizational, business, and technical consulting; technical training program development; training materials design and development; training delivery; technical writing; and help desk design, development, and support.

Johanna played a prominent and active role in Sacramento’s business community as well, taking a leadership role as President of the Board of the Sacramento Women’s Center, being awarded the 1993 and 1996 Private Sector Minority Enterprise of the Year award by Sacramento’s Minority Enterprise Development Conference; being listed in Who’s Who Worldwide; being appointed to the White House Conference on Small Business in 1995 by then California Congressman Vic Fazio; as well as receiving an appointment to the California Small Business Employer Advisory Committee in 1997.

In 1997 Johanna was a member of a diplomatic trade mission to South Africa sponsored by the U.S. Commerce Department to promote business relations between the U.S. and South Africa and in 2003 she participated in another diplomatic trade mission to South Korea. As a delegate to the 1997 FCEM (Les Femmes Chefs’ d’Enterprises Mondiales) Worldwide conference in Cape Town, South Africa, and the 2003 FCEM Worldwide conference in Mauritius Island in the Indian Ocean, Johanna represented United States women-owned businesses as a keynote speaker in sessions with business owners and delegates from over 50 countries.

Johanna worked with a White House Conference on Small Business committee to address the topic of Technology and the Information Revolution. She was also actively involved in the Sacramento Metro Chamber serving on the Business and Economic Development Committee, which promotes business development, expansion, and retention in the Sacramento region, and she participated in the 2003 Leadership Sacramento program for local business leaders. Additionally, Johanna was active in the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), participating on the local NAWBO Sacramento Board, as well as providing input and leadership to statewide, regional, national, and international NAWBO committees.

Other organizations in which Johanna has been actively involved include the Northern California World Trade Center (NCWTC), Los Rios Community College District, MESA/C3 Program (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement), and IAEC (Industry Advisory Education Council).

Johanna grew up in a large Nebraska family and met her husband at the University of Nebraska. She is married with three children and four grandchildren. In her spare time, she enjoys her family, biking, swimming, international travel, and business mentoring for entrepreneurial enterprises.

ChaChanna Simpson

Twentity.com, LLC

President

ChaChanna Simpson is a speaker, life coach, radio host, author of Life After College: What Your Parents and Professors Never Taught You, and owner of Twentity.com LLC — a company that helps recent college grads adjust to life after college. She has been featured in The Fairfield County Business Journal, The Stamford Advocate, Power 104.1 FM’s radio show What’s Good Hartford?, Her Journey Magazine, 89.5 FM’s radio show Black Introspectives, Channel 12′s Education Notebook and 12 on the Money television programs, empowering twentysomethings with real, no-holds-barred advice on successfully transitioning into life after college.

Her company, Twentity.com, started as a simple website dedicated to advising recent college grads on their next steps after graduation and providing answers to questions such as: how to find an apartment, what is life insurance and why do twentysomethings need it now, how to meet people after college and more.

This idea came to her when she walked into her own apartment for the first time and was hit with the realization that she was the one who was supposed to get the light and cable turned on. “Don’t they come with the apartment?”

A graduate of The College of New Rochelle, NY, this Norwalk, CT resident is an active member of Business Networking International, Give ‘N Take Network for Women, The Urban Professionals Network, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Abby Kohut

Staffing Symphony, LLC

President

Abby Kohut, who is known on the web as Absolutely Abby, is the President of Staffing Symphony, LLC. In the past 15 years, Abby held positions such as Senior Director of Recruiting for Kaplan, Interim Director of Recruiting for Continuum Health Partners, and Manager of Global Recruiting for Alpharma. Abby’s articles on AbsolutelyAbby.com and her bi-weekly Career Wake Up Calls inspire job seekers to stay motivated as they continue their search for their ideal job. Abby has presented to over 100 groups and was recently interviewed on ABC’s Good Morning Connecticut, WKTU-FM, WOR-AM, WDVR-FM, and the Joe Franklin show on Bloomberg Radio. Her books “Absolutely Abby’s 101 Job Search Secrets” and “Absolutely Abby’s Top 12 Interview Questions Exposed” teach candidates secrets about the job search process that other recruiters won’t tell you. Abby was selected as one of the top 100 influential people online according to Fast Company Magazine and was named as one of “The Monster 11 for 2011: Career Experts Who Can Help Your Job Search”. Since 2010, Abby has been on a mission to help one million job seekers.

Gary Richardson

Richardson Consulting

President and CEO

Gary Richardson is President and CEO of RICHARDSON CONSULTING that specializes in Diversity Education. He is a Certified Diversity Facilitator and lead Air National Guard instructor for the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute in Cocoa Beach, FL. Gary is also a Certified Mediator for both the Department of Defense and the Onondaga County Court System and has conducted several mediation sessions resulting in positive resolutions.

Since 1999, Mr. Richardson has trained and educated organizations on sensitive topics such as sexual harassment, conflict resolution, and diversity and inclusion. He trains over 1000 participants on an annual basis and delivers an entertaining presentation that keeps audiences engaged from start to finish. In 2004, he was appointed as the Equal Opportunity Officer for 174th Fighter Wing, Air National Guard Unit in Syracuse, NY and in 2009, he was chosen as the Air National Guard Equal Opportunity Officer of the Year. He has been the Honorary Speaker for Empire State College Commencement Ceremonies and is regularly invited as a Keynote Speaker on college campuses across the State of New York.

Mr. Richardson is an 18-and-a-half year veteran of the New York State Police and serves as Station Commander of the SP Schuyler Barracks in Frankfort, NY. Gary is also the Diversity Chairperson for CNY SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management).

Gary resides in Clay, New York with his wife Sheila.

Michelle Brown

IntuAction Coaching

President

Michele Brown brings to executive coaching over twenty five years of corporate experience in marketing and intellectual properties management. Most notably as Vice President for M&M/Mars Inc., Director of Licensing & Women’s Marketing for the National Basketball Association, as well as owner and president of MSB Marketing Consultants, a consulting firm servicing clients in the sports, entertainment and fashion industries.

Her niche is coaching professionals and senior level executives and their teams in the areas of personal and leadership development, team dynamics, and work/life balance. She combines highly effective interpersonal and communication competencies together with strong intuitive skills to bring about extraordinary results in her coaching partnerships.

In addition to being a Certified Executive Coach, Michele is a Certified Professional Behavior and Values Analyst and is a certified TriMetrix™ Talent Systems specialist. She is also President of WomEnpower Corporation an organization devoted to building self esteem in women.

Other affiliations include member of the Board of Directors of the NJ Professional Coaches Association, President of the North Bergen, New Jersey chapter of Business Networking International as well as mentor and member of the Network of Executive Women.

Stanley Back

Intentional HR

President

Stanley is an HR professional and career coach in private practice and works with individuals one-on-one and in groups. His human resource background makes him uniquely qualified to help clients navigate the company hiring process.

Stanley’s specialty is working with people who are ‘stuck’ in the transition process and find it difficult to get back on target. His work can include fine-tuning a resume to highlight value rather than effort; developing a targeted marketing strategy to focus conversation and brand; building a robust network for contact and support and/or preparing for critical interviews including techniques to lessen the competitive landscape, answer difficult questions and engage the interviewer.

Stanley’s work is based on a consultative sales model. He advises clients to stop looking for jobs, and instead, look for needs.

Prior to forming Intentional HR, Stanley provided corporate HR services at the VP/Senior Director level at Prudential Securities and American International Group. Representative titles include First VP and HR Consultant for Finance, Law, Compliance, Global Risk Management, and Security; Director, Organization Development; VP, Operations Development and Senior Director, Corporate Training & Development.

Stanley is a product of CUNY – He received his B.A. degree in Sociology/Psychology from CCNY and his M.S.W. from Hunter College. In addition, he has studied HR and coaching at NYU and Cornell University, NYS School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Stanley is a lifelong New Yorker. He was born and grew up in The Bronx, played and lived in Manhattan and for the last 30 years has been a resident of Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.

Shandy Arroyo

National Grid

Leadership, Talent & Change Department

Shandy Arroyo works for National Grid, an international electric and gas company in the Leadership, Talent & Change Department where she is responsible for providing leadership development for all National Grid employees, globally. She was previously in the Professional Learning & Development organization where she designed and delivered professional development opportunities for management (non-union) employees at National Grid in the US and UK.

Ms. Arroyo joined National Grid in March, 2009. She has previous experience at Cablevision, Bed Bath & Beyond and Marsh USA, Inc, an insurance services firm. She has held positions in learning & development for those companies as well as in Human Resources with positions as a generalist, recruiter and HRIS analyst. She has led system implementation efforts in order to automate and improve current processes at National Grid.

In addition, Ms. Arroyo is an adjunct professor at New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, New York for their master’s program in Instructional Technology.

Ms. Arroyo graduated from Queens College – City University of New York with a BS in Psychology in 1999. She received her MS in Instructional Technology from the School of Education at New York Institute of Technology in 2005. She is a member of the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD).

She resides in Levittown, New York.

Kareem Yusuf

IBM Industry Solutions Division

Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions

Kareem Yusuf is the VP of Mergers & Acquisitions in IBM Software Group’s Industry Solutions Division.

Dr Yusuf has been with IBM for 12 years, joining IBM’s software development lab in Hursley,
UK after completing a Ph.D from the University of Leeds, focused on Decision Support Systems for Civil Engineering construction. He started as a Technical Support Engineer providing Level 3 support for WebSphere MQ, specializing in Java based messaging. Dr. Yusuf then moved into Technical Sales, working for and later managing a WebSphere Worldwide Technical Sales team, covering integration products and architecture. He subsequently moved into Strategy and then Product Management roles, covering various aspects of the IBM WebSphere Portfolio, including SOA Strategy, eCommerce and Application Infrastructure.

In his current role, Dr Yusuf manages all M&A activity for the Industry Solutions Division, ranging from target selection and assessment, to deal execution and integration of the acquired company. Outside his day to day duties, he maintains an active interest in all things technical, with a particular interest in digital media and programming languages. He is the author of “Enterprise Messaging Using JMS and IBM WebSphere.

Michael J. Ciunci

Valassis

Talent Development Specialist

Mike has worked for Valassis for 6 years and has focused his Human Resources Career on Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Learning and Development, and has been a driving force in the advancement of the Valassis company culture through local and company wide Diversity, Inclusion, & Accountability initiatives.

For the last 2 years Mike has served on the steering committee for Valassis’ internal Diversity & Inclusion initiative, called ECHO. ECHO’s mission is to mirror our communities and our world by building new ideas, fostering growth and ensuring our products are engaging and relevant to the consumers we ultimately serve. We do this by: Driving success and inspiring cultural change, push to achieve a workplace where every associate feels included, valued and respected, strive to provide an environment that is diverse in thought, experience, people and action, and enhance relationships with co-workers, customers, suppliers and the community through greater understanding and appreciation of differences.

Mike has been responsible for driving, creating content, and facilitating mandatory company-wide Diversity training, assisting in creating and driving corporate best practices and monthly ECHO Observances, and for helping Valassis reach out to the communities in which we work, live, and serve.

Mike has a Bachelors Degree from Central Connecticut State University in History with an African-American History concentration. His passion for Diversity, Inclusion, and Multiculturalism has been a driving force in both his career and personal life.

Pam Guest

Accenture

Senior Director – Corporate Functions & Enterprise Workforce Human Resources

Pam is currently the Accenture Corporate Functions and Enterprise Workforce Human Resources Business Partner. Most recently, Pam served as the Accenture Management Consulting (AMC) Human Resources Service Delivery Lead and the HR Champion for Accenture Development Partnerships, or “ADP” (a nonprofit organization providing high-quality consulting services to donors, NGOs, and other nonprofit entities working in developing countries). Pam maintains an ongoing relationship with ADP in serving as a Senior Executive advisor to client projects.

Pam joined Accenture (then Andersen Consulting) in 1991 upon graduating from the University of Massachusetts with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. She spent her early years working on various systems integration and change management Consulting projects, focused primarily in the Aerospace and Defense and Healthcare industries.

Pam next moved into Human Resources, specializing primarily in HR operations/delivery, talent supply chain management, and talent strategy with a particular interest in promoting inclusion and diversity. Pam’s HR roles have included geography, operating group, and growth platform focus. Her present Corporate Functions and Enterprise Workforce HR responsibilities and ongoing involvement with ADP align well with her experience and reflect a keen personal interest in these dimensions of Accenture’s business.

Through the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Pam obtained her Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification in 2008 and her Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification in 2010. In addition to being a member of SHRM, Pam is also a member of the HR Association of Central Connecticut and the HRACC Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Additionally, Pam has engaged in numerous diversity and inclusion events in CT and NY and co-sponsors a regional diversity and inclusion roundtable.

Pam resides in Meriden, Connecticut with her husband and two children. Her personal interests include racewalking, reading, camping, and serving as a fan at her kids’ sporting events.

Thomas E. Matlock

Johnson & Johnson

Diversity Recruiting Manager

Thomas Matlock is a talent management and recruiting professional dedicated to assisting college students and young professionals launch their careers and prepare for success in the corporate world.

Currently, Thomas is the University Diversity Recruiting manager for Johnson& Johnson. In this role he is responsible for identifying, building relationships and recruiting diverse students. As part of his responsibilities, Thomas spends a significant amount of time providing advice and career coaching to college students and young professionals through one-on-one discussions and by delivering various career development workshops.

Prior to this position, Thomas held a variety of roles with Johnson & Johnson including Sales, Operations and Human Resources. He has also held recruiting, career development and diversity related positions at Motorola and L’Oreal USA.

Thomas possesses a Bachelors degree in Communications from the University of Virginia.

From a personal perspective, Thomas is a former college athlete so you can often find him in the gym or working out somewhere. You will rarely find him without his ipod because he loves music. Thomas has a new found interest in acting after playing a role in a corporate video. He is married and resides in Central New Jersey.

Rod Colón

RodColon.com

Career Coaching

Rod Colón has a unique perspective on what it takes to succeed in today’s global economy. Rod shares his 24 years of experience as a corporate HR management insider, outside agency recruiter, professional networker and career coach through an unusual yet common sense approach to networking and career management. His in-depth knowledge of international staffing, recruiting and networking gives Rod a unique ability to both coach and consult today’s professionals and executives around the world.

Rod uses his passion, energy, and creativity to support others. He coaches professionals in the art of leveraging relationships that maximize personal networking opportunities. Rod also uses this hands-on approach with corporations as they confront the new business paradigm in which an organization’s success requires professionals to optimize their use of both internal and external networks. As he reminds his members, mastering the subtle techniques of using these networks is vital to the success of both the professional and the organization.

Career Coaching with Rod Colon is an example of Rod’s unique and creative approach to fostering the critical career skills of trust, accountability, and integrity in all his clients. Through sessions designed to teach both basic cookbook job search techniques as well as advanced network development strategies designed to long outlive the current search, Rod reveals the depth of his career management experience and shares the wisdom he has acquired over the years. He demonstrates the power of networking as a giving and sharing activity, and aggressively challenges professionals to be relentless in building their networking skills while managing their careers as the CEO of ME, Inc.

Today Rod Colon leads the way in the education of networking as a core career management activity through networking events, career coaching programs, conference calls, training seminars, job openings, channel partnering and networking libraries. Rod encourages members to share their networking experiences and questions through conference calls and urges members to become proficient with networking-oriented applications such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogs and Facebook.

Rod is a published author. His first book, Win the Race for 21st Century Jobs, discusses the need for networking and human relationships as a major part of any job search and career management strategy. Rod also co-hosts a new and interactive weekly call-in program entitled Your Career is Calling: Your Weekly Appointment for Career Choices, Decisions and Success from Rider University’s 107.7 FM.

Rod is a graduate of Georgian Court University and a board member of the Georgian Court University Alumni Association. He has been featured on ABC-TV “Tiempo” with Joe Torres, Latin Trends, Newark Examiner, Princeton Review and has received numerous awards and citations in both print and online media. His innovations have attracted a growing audience of business professionals who recognize and appreciate his gift for leadership, his command of both traditional and emerging business trends, and his unfailing desire to mentor, coach, train and advise in all matters related to career management and personal growth.

Robert Reitknecht

Operations Manager

Robert is an Operations Manager who is known for building and motivating teams, improving the customer experience, and consistently adding revenue to the bottom line. He is an accomplished, hands-on leader with a successful record of embracing new challenges in operations, sales support, customer service and human resources. Through business optimization and cost containment, he reduces operating expenses while improving sales and customer loyalty.

With a passion for human resources and organizational effectiveness, Robert is an excellent listener and persuasive communicator who consistently increases customer and employee retention rates with “knock your socks off” service, both internally and externally.

Robert’s career centers around the hospitality industry. He has worked as an operations manager, general manager, human resources manager, and a consultant. In this capacity he has developed and managed profitable ventures and been acknowledged for reducing costs. Specific accomplishments include:

• Achieving 115% over goals exceeding multiple profit center targets.
• Managing and coordinating the build out of a multi-million dollar fitness center increasing fitness center gross profits by 35%
• Initiating continuous operations improvements that lowered costs by 30%
• Recruiting, hiring, developing, and managing 25 member teams creating and implementing safety administrative programs to ensure compliance with state and local health department standards and meet insurance regulations.

Robert holds a degree from Sullivan County Community College and has completed numerous courses and seminars in professional development from the American Management Association, Skill Path, and the Connecticut Human resources Council. He is a member of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management- CT and a Panel board member for the National Diversity Council.

Robert is currently in transition, seeking an operations management role in the hospitality or services industry.

Natasha Bowman, J.D., SPHR

Walmart Stores, Inc.

Market Human Resources Manager

Natasha Bowman, J.D., SPHR is currently the Market Human Resources Manager with Walmart Stores, Inc. She has 10 years of progressive Human Resources experience with a versatile track record across varying industries. As a Market Human Resource Manager for Walmart, she guides and leads the Human Resources services, policies and programs for a workforce of 3,000 employees across eight retail units in the Metro New York area. Prior to this role, she provided for the oversight and strategy of employment compliance matters for the US business and Puerto Rico for Walmart Corporate with a primary focus in the areas of: Wage and Hour (FLSA), EEO, ADA, Employment Verifications, Federal/State Regulatory Compliance, and Consent Decree Management. Natasha is also an Adjunct Professor in the Master’s of Professional Studies Program at Georgetown University. In addition to her roles with Walmart and Georgetown, she has lead the Human Resources function on a regional level for a national manufacturing company as well as managed the Human Resources function for a mid-sized law firm.

Natasha holds a J.D. from the University Of Arkansas School Of Law where participated in Walmart’s Stores, Inc. Legal Internship Program and was a law clerk for the Fayetteville, Arkansas office of Littler Mendelson. During law school, Natasha was inducted as a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal honor society and placed regionally in the American Bar Association’s Client Counseling Competition. Natasha has also been an author and researcher for several labor and employment law related publications.

Natasha has held the Senior Professional in Human Resources designation since 2009.

Digna Figueroa

Guardian

Manager, Agency Management Development

Digna is a marketing and training professional with over two decades of solid product training and marketing experience. Background with assisting firm management and financial professionals, on professional development, case consultation – Advanced Market concepts, training on life, annuity and brokerage product platforms, including the development of marketing and training materials, concepts, sales ideas and illustrations.

Prior to joining Guardian as a Manager in Agency Management Development, she worked at MetLife as Director of Infrastructure Development in the Practice Development Group where she was responsible for the development of programs, processes and tools for Agency Sales Directors and Managing Associates, as well as Training Directors. In addition, she worked closely with the Financial Solutions Group to successfully deliver training in the Advanced Markets arena.

Digna’s financial industry experience began at The Mutual of New York (The MONY Group) where she spent 22 years before AXA/Equitable purchased the firm in 2004. During her tenure at MONY, she worked closely with Financial Professionals, providing case consultation and training for both the life and annuity product lines, including the development of marketing materials, sales ideas and illustrations. At AXA/Equitable she was the National Director of Training & Sales Department of AXA Advisors, LLC for 3 years responsible for developing and implementing securities and operations training for Financial Professionals, field managers, support staff and AXA Advisors home office employees.

Digna earned a Bachelors of Science in Marketing from the University of St. Peters and is currently enrolled in the Master of Organization Behavior (MAOB) program at Fairley Dickson University. She is Series 6 licensed, a certified representative of the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) as well as Certified Synchronous Facilitator; and has recently completed the ASTD – Sales Coaching for Business Impact Certificate.

Andrea M. O’Neal

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity

Program Manager

Andrea M. O’Neal is a Program Manager of the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Career Program. In addition to co-managing SEO’s Investment Banking internships, she serves as a university liaison and campus recruiter, identifying thousands of internship candidates annually and helping students to build competitive professional skills. Andrea has been selected for prominent speaking engagements including the 2009 & 2010 National Association of Black Accountants Eastern Regional Student Conference, the 2010 American Small Business Alliance / HBCU Career Marketplace and the2010 Yale Black Solidarity Conference.

Prior to joining SEO, Andrea worked for 5 years as an investment banker in the Equity Capital Markets group at Merrill Lynch. In her role, Andrea was responsible for managing the execution of equity-related capital raising transactions and stock exchange listings for corporate clients. She has been a member of the banking teams behind some of Wall Street’s leading and most celebrated equity deals, including the Initial Public Offering of Visa and the historic $21 billion IPO for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China – the world’s largest-ever IPO at the time. Beginning her career in New York, Andrea’s responsibilities at Merrill Lynch carried her to financial markets across the globe, affording her the opportunity to live and
work abroad for four years in various parts of Europe and Asia.

Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics from Brown University. She currently resides in New York, originates from Atlanta and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

L. Joy Williams

LJW Community Strategies

Political Strategist, Entrepreneur, Speaker

L. Joy Williams is a political strategist and Founder of LJW Community Strategies, a boutique government and public affairs firm based in New York. Ms. Williams has also been featured on BET, Pacifica Radio in New York and Los Angeles, is a frequent contributor on NY1’s Inside City Hall, Loop21, and The Brock Report. She is also a co-host of the Blacking It Up! and serves as a strategic advisor organizations across the country. widely popular podcast to elected leaders and organizations across the country.

Widely recognized as a highly effective asset, Ms. Williams has served in a variety of career-defining positions. Recently Ms. Williams served as deputy director of community relations to former New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson. She went on to become Thompson’s political director in his 2009 mayoral campaign. Peers and mentors alike applauded her invaluable contributions during the challenging campaign.

L. Joy begin her career in politics as a Field Volunteer for the McCall for Governor campaign in 2002, she served as Campaign Manager for New York State Assembly Member Karim Camara, a GOTV Supervisor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Kerry/Edwards 2004 Presidential campaign, the Election Supervisor for Pacifica Foundation/WBAI Radio in New York, and has served as a Strategic Advisor to a number of elected officials and community leaders. She was a special assistant to former New York City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and a program assistant at Demos, a nonpartisan public policy and advocacy organization.

Following the 2009 mayoral campaign, L. Joy founded LJW Community Strategies which offers strategic planning for elected leaders and community organizations, professional development for government and political staff, campaign planning and strategy for candidates and organizing training for community based organizations. In addition, the firm produces the Women In High Places event series which promotes career growth and networking opportunities for women in government, politics, and community affairs related professions.

L. Joy attended Hofstra University and is very active in her local community. She serves on a number of boards and organizations including founding Chairman of Higher Heights of America, 1st Vice-President of the Brooklyn NAACP, and board member of the Bedford Stuyvesant YMCA.

R. Fenimore Fisher

R. Fenimore Fisher Group, LLC

President and Founder

R. Fenimore Fisher is the President and Founder of the R. Fenimore Fisher Group, LLC, a global diversity and inclusion consulting and arbitration firm focused on workplace strategy and workforce and commercial dispute resolution. A tenacious change agent, Fisher applies years of best practices in areas of diversity and inclusion specific to the following areas: workplace strategy and workforce measurement, leadership development, alternative and dispute resolution, and labor and community relations. Fisher previously served as Vice President of Diversity Initiatives and Analysis for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. He held responsibility for the company’s diversity goals program for over 50,000 members of management, contractor compliance and employment analysis/diversity metrics for the company’s U.S. based workforce of more than 1.3 million associates. Fisher also led the Company’s Employment Practices Advisory Panel.

Joining the company in 2004 as Director of African American and Mature markets, Fisher was instrumental in developing national and regional relationships with key external constituents enabling the company to successfully enter new communities and increase its investment in women and minority owned businesses. In 2006 Fisher was named Senior Director of Employment Analysis leading the creation a new department for the Office of Diversity.

An attorney by training, member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, Fisher developed a focus in the area of alternative dispute resolution and diversity compliance while serving as the Executive Director for the Rainbow/PUSH Wall-Street Project, a civil rights organization founded by the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. He serves on the diversity task force for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, is a member of the New Jersey Association of Professional Mediators, and holds arbitration certifications from both the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the National Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB). He spent the initial years of his career monitoring the procurement and employment practices of corporate America. He has served on expert advisory panels for both Monster.com and DiversityInc. He currently serves as a member of the corporate advisory council for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and was awarded the Founders Award from the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund for dedicated community service.

Fisher holds a B.S. in Economics from Louisiana State University and a Juris Doctorate from Ohio Northern University. During his last year of law school, Fisher served as a judicial extern for Chief Justice Thomas Moyer of the Ohio State Supreme Court.

Richard C. Jones

Hofstra University

Associate Professor of Accounting

Dr. Jones is a certified public accountant and has a B.S. in accounting from Drexel University and a Ph.D. in accounting from Rutgers University.

Dr. Jones’ business experience includes six years as a vice president at banking corporation, where he was a divisional controller. In addition, for three years he was a member of the staff of the Financial Accounting Standards Board where he specialized in public utility issues. Dr. Jones began his professional career as a staff auditor with a global public audit firm.

Dr. Jones has served as a discussant and reviewer for several academic conferences and academic and professional journals. He has authored or co-authored accounting articles that have appeared conference proceedings and professional journals. Dr. Jones also co-authored a book on revenue recognition and authored a chapter on international accounting and auditing issues for the Accountants’ Handbook.

Dr. Jones’ research interests include auditing, auditor’s decision-making behavior, and international accounting and auditing standard setting.

Dr, Jones has received several awards for teaching excellence, including the Hofstra University Frank G. Zarb Dean’s Outstanding Teacher Award (2002), the Hofstra University Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award (2001), and the Dominic Marsicovetere Faculty Award for Outstanding Dedication to the Students (1999).

Dr. Jones is a member of the American Accounting Association, the American Institute of CPAs, and the NY State Society of CPAs.

Caitlin Flynn

New Jersey Women and AIDS Network (NJWAN.)

Program Coordinator

Caitlin Flynn is the Program Coordinator for the New Jersey Women and AIDS Network (NJWAN.) NJWAN provides HIV/AIDS education, prevention, advocacy, health/wellness and treatment adherence programs to women who are infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
As Program Coordinator she manages all education and prevention programs as well as advocates for the public policy the best serves NJWAN’s constituents. As a Rutgers University Institute for Women’s Leadership Scholar she coordinated statewide social action projects revolving around issues of gender, violence and HIV. In 2006 she developed the “Women, Education and HIV” high school awareness campaign that is still currently in use. In 2008 Caitlin moved away from implementing this program to continue research on gender violence and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Caitlin has written several published works on this topics including HIV as Violence: The Sub-Saharan African Woman’s Experience of HIV, Violence and Education. In 2009 Caitlin worked with the Monteverde Institute and Global Pact in Costa Rica on sustainable community development. After returning from Costa Rica, she continued her research on HIV/AIDS and international human rights law and presented her findings at the New Jersey Consortium of Women Studies. In spring of 2009, Caitlin served as a delegate to the UN Conference on the Status of Women.

Caitlin remains committed to empowerment initiatives that utilize solidarity, self determination and critical thinking to challenge social norms.

Nazish Amir-Siddiqi

New Jersey Diversity Council

Vice President

Canadian-born, Nazish Amir-Siddiqi currently lives in New Jersey. Nazish has a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Ottawa (Canada) and a Masters in Health Administration (MHA) from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. She has worked in the healthcare industry for over ten years. In Canada, Nazish worked for Health Canada (akin to the American Food and Drug Administration) and held various positions including: Finance, Human Resources, Biologist, and Medical/Technical Drug Review writing. Nazish has studied and addressed patient care issues, involving HIV/AIDS, Healthcare info-technology and electronic medical records, patient access to quality care, medical financial management and operations, and healthcare negligence and malpractice. Currently, Nazish works as a healthcare administrator and as an adjunct professor teaching courses at the graduate level in healthcare management. Nazish also privately consults for different health care clinics in New Jersey and provides recommendations for efficiency and improvement for clinic operations, finance, and development. Nazish is a writer for Examiner.com and is responsible for the Jersey City Elder Care column. Nazish is also certified through Stanford University and the New Jersey Department of Health and Human Services as a Master Trainer for the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program.

Nazish serves as a member of the board of directors for the Hudson County HIV Planning Council and for the Women and AIDS Network of New Jersey.

Jackie Janesk

Walmart

Market Human Resource Manager

Jackie Janesk is a Market Human Resource Manager with Walmart US, the largest global retailer and ranked #1 by Fortune 500. Jackie oversees all facets of human resources from talent development and workforce planning to community outreach and diversity initiatives in 25 locations with more than 5,000 associates throughout Northern NJ, Long Island, NY, the Hudson Valley, NY and Western CT. Jackie graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations and is currently pursuing an MBA in strategic Management from PACE University. Her career has been predominately in the retail industry with various companies from high end luxury brands to big box retail. As an HR partner at Walmart Jackie is deeply committed to making diversity part of the business plan, ensuring Walmart continues to be a global leader in all aspects of Diversity and Inclusion.