Deb has had a successful career in academic administration, serving as Dean, Vice Provost, and Provost of SUNY Empire State College, the statewide SUNY institution designed for adult students. She is currently Professor of Social Science at the college, teaching online in LGBTQ studies and anthropology. She has an extensive scholarly record in anthropology, and spent 20 years studying Swahili and conducting research in East Africa. She is an internationally recognized expert on gender and sexuality in Africa, and she is the recipient of many awards for her scholarship, teaching and service. She holds a B.A. from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University.

Emily joined Brown & Weinraub after several years representing and advocating for a broad range of clients before the New York State legislative and executive branches. Emily’s work focuses on hospital systems, corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and professional associations, with a particular focus on health care. She has advised clients on procurements and helped secure economic development funding for projects. Emily previously served as associate counsel in the New York State Senate Majority Counsel’s office where she advised the Majority Leader and Conference on Insurance and Banking issues. In this role she negotiated legislative and budget priorities with the New York Assembly and Governor’s Office. Her New York State government experience also includes work with the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Division of Parole, and she has spent time working in the nonprofit sector and private legal practice.

Kristen is a partner and Practice Leader of the Professional Excellence Division with The Bonadio Group, the largest public accounting firm in Upstate New York and the 40th largest firm in the US. She has spent her career focused on the audit and accounting needs of a wide variety of clients, specializing in healthcare, not-for-profit organizations and closely held businesses. In addition, she is highly experienced in the areas of quality control, continuing Professional education for CPAs, leadership development, and risk management issues for our professional services firm.

Ms. Sherman is an attorney in the Albany office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, where she focuses primarily on Medicaid policy and health care regulatory and compliance matters. Prior to working at Manatt, she served as a clerk for the Appellate Division, Third Department. Ms. Sherman graduated summa cum laude from Albany Law School in 2014 and received her undergraduate degree from SUNY New Paltz. She currently lives in Troy, New York with her husband and children.

Maureen has worked in and around NYS government for the past 26 years. In those years, spent over 13 years working for the New York State Legislature and was recruited to be the Assistant Secretary for Appointments for the Executive Chamber. During her tenure with the New York State Legislature she held myriad positions, progressively advancing her career in the area of policy and management. Maureen has served in a number of key positions including Assistant Secretary for Appointments in the Executive Chamber, Chief of Staff-Democratic Conference NYS Senate, Policy Director-NYS Senate, Vice President of Government Relations for the AMERIGROUP Corp, as a lobbyist with Bolton St. Johns and as Deputy Budget Director for the New York State Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Junior Dillion is the Program Director for Wilson Foundation where he leads their grant-giving efforts in addressing poverty, housing instability, trauma, and racial inequities. Before joining the Foundation, Junior oversaw personal support services at Monroe Community College and was their Project Director. Junior’s primary focus with the Foundation is on addressing the root causes of trauma and investing in initiatives that enhance wellness. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Junior provided care to children, families, and adults in outpatient, pediatrics, and educational settings. Junior has a varied background that spans multiple sectors. He is originally from the United Kingdom, where his work focused on engaging traditionally marginalized youth in the British criminal justice system (CJS). Junior is passionate about equity in education, and he is currently in the dissertation stage of a Ph.D. in Human Development at the University of Rochester. His research focuses on educational equity, with close attention to culturally affirming asset-based practices that ameliorate academic struggle.

Mr. Elkowitz has been with the Long Island Housing Partnership since 1989. Mr. Elkowitz is responsible for the overall operation of Long Island Housing Partnership and its Affiliates. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Policy Analysis and Public Management. In June 2002, Mr. Elkowitz completed the Senior Executives Program in State and Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also received the Harry Weiner Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995 and the Governor’s award for Excellence in Housing in 1994. He is a member of the 2007 Class of The Energeia Partnership – The Academy for Regional Stewardship at Molloy College. Currently, he serves on the board of New York Housing Conference, Inc. Mr. Elkowitz served as Chair to the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York Affordable Housing Advisory Council and was a former member of the Long Island Regional Planning Council. Mr. Elkowitz now serves as Treasurer on the Board for The National Community Land Trust Network dba Grounded Solutions Network. Mr. Elkowitz was honored as top CFO in 2011 and in 2016 was honored as top CEO by the Long Island Business News.

Prior to her current role as a consultant for organizational development and corporate leadership development, Nancy spent 12 years as the founding Director of The Energeia Partnership, launched in 2005. Also known as the Academy for Regional Stewardship at Molloy College, Energeia brings together proven and ethical leaders across Long Island to provide them with the information, support and the network necessary to help create change. Nancy designed the pedagogy, content and core curriculum for 12 – 15 dynamic workshops every year including: Energy, Land Use, Education, Institutional Racism, Criminal Justice, Health Care, Poverty, Transportation, Media and more. Nancy is the “master facilitator” and continually creates opportunities and parallel programs that teach groups how to work together more efficiently and effectively. Nancy has a diverse background in business, not for profit leadership and has a passion for building community. In addition to her consulting projects she serves as a member of the Long Island Regional Planning Council, the Long Island Community Trust and Pal O Mine Equestrian. With a heart for all people, through education and collaboration, we can all be agents for change.

Tina Monshipour Foster is the Executive Director of the Volunteer Legal Services Project (VLSP), a non-profit organization that provides civil legal services to low-income clients in Monroe County, NY. Foster is a graduate of Cornell Law School and a long-time civil rights attorney and international human rights advocate for universal access to justice. Over the last two decades, Foster’s work has focused on on pro bono initiatives to defend the rights of Muslim minorities who have been unfairly targeted by US national security initiatives, working with the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she co-founded their Guantanamo Global Justice Initiative. In 2006, Foster founded the International Justice Network (IJN), a non-profit organization that provides pro bono assistance to survivors of human rights abuses and their families.

Juan is currently a Senior Associate at KPMG’s consulting arm where he develops functional business analysis, evaluates IT integration projects and provides mitigation strategies on project risks. Prior to joining KPMG in 2015, Juan was a policy analyst for the New York State Assembly Codes Committee. He has also served as Assistant Press Secretary for Codes and was Committee Clerk for the NYS Senate Standing Committee on Insurance. Juan also worked for a short time with the Albany County Executive’s Office of Health and Human Services.

Vanessa Gonzalez is the Director of Intervention Services at In Our Own Voices, and has been a part of the organization for four years. Vanessa received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from State University of New York at Cortland College in 2003. Ms. Gonzalez has 15 years of experience in the mental health field. In her capacity at In Our Own Voices, Vanessa is primarily responsible for providing oversight of intervention services that provides HIV and Hepatitis C testing and support services to LGBT POC communities in the seven surrounding counties. Vanessa also engages with community partners on a local and regional level to ensure that access and information is available to the community who has been most impacted by oppression.

John S. Ho serves as the chair of Cozen O'Connor’s OSHA Practice and is also the author of its safety and health blog, the OSHA Chronicle. He is a 1997 graduate of St. John's University School of Law. As a former prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, John was part of a litigation team that recovered approximately $4 million under the FLSA on behalf of New York State Environmental Conservation Officers. While at the DOL, he also received a commendation from OSHA’s regional administrator for his prosecution of a discrimination complaint under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act. John is a founding member of the Wage and Hour Defense Institute, served as the co-editor of the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section (Section) electronic newsletter from to 2015-2019 and currently serves the vice-chair of the Member Engagement Committee of the Section. John is a board member of the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Bar Association and has taught business and employment law at the Pratt Institute and the New School.

Ginette is the founding Director of YAM Community Resource Center on Long Island, a group she created to help community members navigate the world of health, Medicaid and social services benefit. YAM’s primary community focus is the Haitian population, persons with disabilities and seniors in need. Ginette is a founding member of the Long Island Language Advocates Coalition and participates actively in meetings with the Suffolk County Executive offices, county legislators, DSS Commissioners, and other governmental entities. Her work with Empire Justice also includes identifying, referring and working with one of the plaintiffs in our Karamalla law suit. Ginette a Registered Nurse (RN) by training and profession and is a prominent and well-respected member of the Haitian community.