Gregg Bishop, Deputy Commissioner for Business Development, NYC Department of Small Business Services
As deputy commissioner of the business development division of the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Gregg Bishop is responsible for NYC Business Solutions, Business Incentives, the Business Outreach Team, the Corporate Alliance Program and the SBS Customer Service Center – programs designed to make it easier for businesses to start, operate and expand in New York City. Bishop is also responsible for Compete to Win, a $3.2 million investment by the City of New York in capacity building programs to help minority- and women-owned businesses
compete for city contracts. He previously served as the assistant commissioner of the division of economic and financial opportunity at SBS and as the senior manager of workforce development at NPower.
Earlie Butler, Founder and President, Document Integration Technologies, Inc.
Earlie Butler is founder and president of Document Integration Technologies (DIT). Butler founded the company in 2006 with a focus on selling and servicing copiers, printers and fax machines. Over the past two years, DIT has been successful in securing contracts with the New York Police
Department, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Housing
Preservation and Development. Butler has more than 25 years of corporate experience, having held positions as a major account manager for the Minolta Corporation and as a national account
manager for Canon, U.S.A.
Kelvin Collins, Executive Director, NYC Business Solutions Program Management, NYC Department of Small Business Services
Kelvin Collins was recently named the executive director of the NYC Business Solutions Program Management at the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS). In this new role, he is responsible for the agency’s service delivery strategy for 16 NYC Business Solutions Centers and industrial service providers located throughout the five boroughs. Previously, Collins led the strategy to fully integrate the agency’s industrial service providers into the NYC Business Solutions brand. Prior to joining SBS, he was a director at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, where he led the transformation of the NYC Business Solutions Center. Collins has served as a We Are All Brooklyn Fellowship steering committee member and mentor.
Alan Fishman, Chairman, Brooklyn Community Foundation
Alan Fishman is the chairman of Ladder Capital Finance and Beech Street Capital, both commercial real estate finance firms. He has had an extensive career in the financial services industry, serving as chief executive officer of Washington Mutual Bank and president of Sovereign Bank after its purchase of Independence Community Bank. Fishman was elected president and chief executive officer of Independence Community Bank in March 2001. He has been an active leader in many not-for-profit activities in Brooklyn, N.Y. He serves as chairman of the board of trustees of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, chairman of the Brooklyn Community Foundation and chairman of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. He is co-chairman of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.
Adam Freed, Strategic Advisor, Etsy
Adam Freed serves as strategic advisor to CEO Chad Dickerson at Etsy, the online retailer of hand-crafted goods headquartered in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Previously, he served as Etsy’s chief operations officer, supporting the internal teams as they improved the experience of browsing, shopping and selling. Prior to that, Freed worked as a journalist and then worked with several startup tech companies, helping them hone their strategies and improve products. He also spent six years with Google.
MaryAnne Gilmartin, Executive Vice President, Forest City Ratner
MaryAnne Gilmartin serves as the executive vice president of commercial and residential
development for Forest City Ratner Companies in New York. During her 17 years with the company, she has played a pivotal role in the creation of civic public/private development throughout the city. Gilmartin oversees the company’s most visible and prestigious projects including the Barclays Center, the future home of the NBA Nets franchise; 8 Spruce Street in lower Manhattan, the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere; and the 1.5 million square foot New York Times building in midtown Manhattan. Previously, Gilmartin has served as managing director for consulting services at Grubb and Ellis Companies and as assistant vice president for commercial development at the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Roger Goodell, Commissioner, National Football League
Roger Goodell was named the commissioner of the National Football League in 2006 after the retirement of Paul Tagliabue. Goodell originally joined the NFL office as an intern, eventually becoming executive vice president and chief operating officer. In this role, Goodell supervised league business functions and took responsibility for the league's football operations and officiating. He also headed NFL Ventures, which oversees the league's business units, including media properties, marketing and sales, stadium development and strategic planning.
Courtney Hawkins, Associate Vice President, Education and Youth Services, FEGS Health and Human Services
Courtney Hawkins is vice president of education and youth services at FEGS Health and Human Services. In this role, she oversees and shapes the strategic direction of a portfolio of 50 programs with more than 100 staff members serving more than 4,000 disadvantaged and disconnected youth and young adults. FEGS is the co-founding social services partner in public school ventures, which include the Bronx Lab School, the Business of Sports School and the Brooklyn Bridge Academy; youth employment and career preparation; in-school and out-of-school-time programs; and the Academy, a major initiative serving youth aging out of the foster care system. Hawkins originally joined FEGS in 1991 as the division’s associate vice president. She has also worked as a social worker for the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services.
Angie Kamath, Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development, NYC Department of Small Business Services
Angie Kamath is deputy commissioner of workforce development at the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS), where she oversees the city’s 16 Workforce1 Career Centers. She is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to create a business-driven workforce development system that meets the hiring and training needs of businesses, while providing jobseekers with employment opportunities. Prior to this position, Kamath was the assistant commissioner of program design and development at SBS, responsible for the development and implementation of several Center for Economic Opportunity initiatives. Before joining SBS in 2006, Kamath was the executive director of StreetWise Partners, a community organization focused on training and job placement to help low income individuals succeed in the workplace.
John Kirkland, Assistant Vice President, FEGS, and Center Director, Bronx Workforce1 Career Center
As director of the Bronx Workforce1 Career Center since May of 2012, John Kirkland is responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day management of SBS’s major hub center in the Bronx, as well as two satellite expansion centers in the Bronx at Hostos Community College and the Francis Martin Branch of the New York Public Library. He is responsible for a staff of 30 business
development professionals, career coaches/advisors and experienced recruiting professionals and oversees the city-wide coordination of business development and recruiting efforts. He spent the previous three years as associate director of career development for the Doe Fund and as a job coach for the Center for Employment Opportunities. Prior to that, Kirkland had an extensive career as a corporate executive working in mergers, acquisitions and strategy planning.
Joel Klein, CEO, Amplify, and Executive Vice President, Office of the Chairman, News Corporation
In 2011, Joel Klein became CEO of Amplify and executive vice president in the office of the chairman at News Corporation, where he also serves on the board of directors. Prior to these roles, he was chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, where he oversaw a system of 1,600 schools with 1.1 million students, 136,000 employees and a $22 million budget. In 2002 he
launched Children First, a comprehensive reform strategy that has brought coherence and capacity to the system and resulted in significant increases in student performance. Klein is a former
chairman and CEO of Bertelsmann, Inc., a media company. He has also served as assistant U.S. Attorney General responsible for the antitrust division and as deputy White House counsel to President Clinton.
Micah Kotch, Director of Incubator Initiatives, NYU-Poly
Micah Kotch is director of incubator initiatives at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University and director of the New York City Accelerator for a Clean and Renewable Economy initiative, where he is helping to develop the city’s emerging cleantech sector. He has developed new business for wireless telecom carriers and device manufacturers and was the first green initiatives coordinator for Pratt Institute, helping to grow the Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and establishing the Center for Sustainable Design Studies and Research. In 2011, Kotch was named by GE Ecomagination as one of its Top 11 Sustainability Innovators. His work assisting startup tech ventures has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Scientific American and NPR Marketplace.
John Mara, President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Owner, New York Giants
John Mara, New York Giants president and CEO, is in his 21st season with the Giants, having joined the organization in 1991. He assumed the team presidency upon the passing of his father,
Wellington Mara, in 2005. Previously, he had been the team’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. Prior to that, he worked as an attorney. In his present position, Mara is responsible for all administrative, legal and financial aspects of the organization.
Mitchell Moss, Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, NYU Wagner School of Public Service Mitchell Moss, Henry Hart Rice professor of urban policy and planning at New York University, teaches and researches urban planning and politics, with special emphasis on economic
development, telecommunications and the governance of New York City. From 1988 to 2004, Moss served as director of the Taub Urban Research Center. He is the author of a study on the need for reform of the Stafford Act, and his essays have appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Newsday, New York Post and New York Observer. In 2003, Moss was awarded the American Planning Association N.Y. Metro Chapter’s Robert Ponte Award for his contribution to the vitality of the New York area.
Regina Myer, President, Brooklyn Bridge Park
Regina Myer is president of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation, which oversees the creation and construction of the Brooklyn Bridge Park. As president since 2007, she manages all aspects of the $350 million park, including design, construction and maintenance. The 85-acre Brooklyn Bridge Park stretches approximately 1.3 miles along the East River, transforming the downtown Brooklyn waterfront into a civic space. It is one of the most significant public investments on the waterfront outside of Manhattan in the 21st century. The first section of the park, Pier 1, opened March 22, 2010. Previously, Myer served as senior vice president for planning and design at the Hudson Yards Development Corporation and as the Brooklyn borough director for the New York City Planning Department.
Seth Pinsky, President, New York City Economic Development Corporation
Seth Pinsky was appointed president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) by Mayor Michael Bloomberg in February 2008. In this role, he has worked to meet the challenge presented by the economic downturn by re-evaluating the agency’s strategy for
expanding the city’s economy and redoubling existing efforts to position the city as the international center for innovation in the 21st century. The more than 60 programs launched during his tenure focus on industries including the arts, bioscience, fashion, finance, green services, manufacturing, media and technology. Prior to joining NYCEDC, Pinsky was an associate at the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in the real estate practice and a financial analyst at James D. Wolfensohn Inc.
Tucker Reed, President, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
Tucker Reed is the president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership (DBP), a not-for-profit local development corporation whose mission is to advance economic development activities in downtown Brooklyn. The DBP assists in the implementation of major development projects and works with the city in its efforts to build public open spaces, revitalize area streetscapes, attract growing companies to the area and coordinate other infrastructure improvements. Prior to this position, Reed was the director of special projects for Two Trees Management Company, a real estate development firm based in DUMBO, Brooklyn, where he assisted in the execution of
development projects while directing communications and community development efforts. He was the founding executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District, responsible for launching the organization in 2006.
Carlo Scissura, President, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
Carlo Scissura, a lifelong Brooklyn resident, has been the president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce since September 2012. In this role, he leads one of New York’s largest business advocacy and economic development organizations with more than 1,000 members. Prior to this, Scissura served as the chief of staff to Brooklyn borough President Marty Markowitz for five years, where he restructured government operations at Borough Hall and served as senior advisor to the borough president. In 2004, he was appointed to the Community Education Council for District 20, serving as president and chairman of the legislative committee. In the community, Scissura has served on the boards of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and the Brooklyn Public Library.
Alexandria Sica, Executive Director, DUMBO Improvement District
As the executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District, Alexandria Sica works with local stakeholders and government partners to increase investment in DUMBO. She oversees programs that include street beautification, maintenance of public spaces, events programming and free public Wi-Fi. Her advocacy efforts include support for local cultural organizations, public
investment to rehabilitate neighborhood streets and land use policies that support a vibrant local economy. Formerly, Sica served as a senior director at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Access to the Region’s Core (ARC) project office, where she oversaw third party agreements and stakeholder management. Prior to that role, she served as senior advisor to the Port Authority’s deputy executive director, working on the agency’s capital programs and sustainability efforts. Paul Smith, Director, NYC Business Solutions Bronx Center
Paul Smith is director of the NYC Business Solutions Bronx Center and provides oversight to the Queens NYC Business Solutions Center. For 13 years prior, he had a successful career in the banking industry. But with the downturn of the market, Smith switched careers and utilized the help of the workforce program. Based on his background and experience with the program, he was offered the Bronx Center director position with Grant Associates in February 2010. For more than two years, Smith has used his knowledge of communities in the Bronx to aid business owners by providing direction through the set of services offered by NYC Business Solutions.
Jed Walentas, Principal, Two Trees Management
Jed Walentas is a principal of Two Trees Management Company, a New York-based real estate development firm. Walentas originally joined the firm in 1997 and has assumed daily operating responsibility in recent years, managing the company and overseeing all aspects of the acquisition, development, construction, marketing and leasing of Two Trees’ properties. Under his leadership, Two Trees has transformed DUMBO from a gritty, underutilized industrial district into a vibrant, creative community home to arts and cultural organizations and commercial and residential tenants. Walentas began his career in real estate working for the Trump Organization. He is a committed supporter of the arts and education and is currently a member of many organizations including the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.
Robert Walsh, Commissioner, NYC Department of Small Business Services
Robert W. Walsh was appointed commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) by Mayor Bloomberg in January 2002. In this role, he has reshaped the agency to focus directly on and respond to the needs of the city’s 200,000 small businesses. In doing so, SBS has invigorated the city’s 67 business improvement districts. Walsh has also enhanced the delivery of technical assistance and incentives to New York City’s small businesses through NYC Business Solutions; energized the city’s promotion and support of minority- and women-owned businesses; and reconfigured the city’s workforce development initiatives. Prior to this, Walsh spent five years as president of Charlotte Center City Partners. He has also led the Union Square Partnership and worked in the administration of Mayor Edward Koch.
