Colleen Merlo, LMSW

Colleen Merlo, a licensed social worker, has served as Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Mental Health and Wellness since November 30, 2020.

She has worked for more than twenty years in Long Island’s not-for-profit sector, focusing on issues of domestic violence, mental health, gender equity, and poverty.

Colleen had previously spent more than six years as executive director of L.I. Against Domestic Violence. Her visionary leadership increased capacity and broadened the agency’s ability to respond to the changing needs of Long Island through innovative programs, such as the first pet-friendly shelter for domestic violence victims in the region.

Before that, she was executive director of the Mental Health Association in Suffolk County where she provided direction to drive the mission and vision. Colleen’s strength in building effective collaborations, her advocacy, and tirelessly efforts to bring public attention to the issues facing Long Island’s most vulnerable, greatly enhanced the effectiveness of local programming.

A past co-chair of the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Long Island, she serves on the board of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, the Suffolk County Family Violence Task Force, and the Suffolk County Teen Pregnancy Advisory Board. She was honored two consecutive years by Long Island Business News, receiving the Top 50 Women in Business award in 2019 and the Non-Profit Leadership Excellence award in 2020.

Married with two children, Colleen lives in Rocky Point.

Mr. Adrian Fassett has been the President/Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk, Inc. (EOC of Suffolk), the designated community action agency for Suffolk County, New York, since 1992. Mr. Fassett oversees a workforce of over 250 individuals with an agency budget of over 20 million dollars.

Mr. Fassett has previously held various positions with the EOC of Suffolk including, grants and special projects assistant, foster care director and chief operations officer. He has also worked as a teacher in the Longwood School District. He was also the assistant director for Project Upward Bound, the assistant director of the Higher Education Opportunity Program, as well as the director for the Freshman Preparatory Program while employed at Dowling College in New York.

Mr. Fassett currently serves as Board Chair for: National Community Action Foundation and is currently a board member of the Community Development Corporation of Long Island, Suffolk County Workforce Investment Board, Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, Inc. and the Patchogue Village Business Improvement District.

Mr. Fassett has served on various other boards of directors including; the Department of Social Service Commissioner’s Advisory Council (CAC), Nassau-Suffolk HIV Health Services Planning Council, New York State Community Action Association, Suffolk County HIV Commission, United Way of Long Island Agency Executive Council.

Mr. Fassett completed his undergraduate studies at Howard University and graduate studies at Adelphi University.   Mr. Fassett has been a tireless advocate for low-income residents of Suffolk County and works with his local federal county and state representatives, to ensure their continued support for expanding opportunities for the poor.

Thomas Maligno was Director of ProBono and Public Interest at Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center and Executive Director of its William Randolph Hearst Public Advocacy Center (PAC) until August 2022, which was created by Touro Law in 2007 to bring together non-profit legal advocacy agencies to provide services to the community while providing opportunities for students to participate in pro bono work and gain hands-on legal training. Housed within the law school, the Center provides furnished offices to the advocacy groups. He oversees the Public Advocacy Center and works with its agencies and Touro Law students.

In addition to working with the PAC, Mr. Maligno has developed a wide range of public interest career opportunities for Touro Law students and graduates, and has been a highly visible supporter of pro bono activities at the law school. He is the advisor for the Public Interest Law Organization of Touro (PILOT) and works with the organization in securing summer fellowships. Beyond helping students to fulfill their pro bono requirements, Mr. Maligno has been instrumental in helping students develop an understanding of the value of pro bono work. Student fellows defend the victims of domestic violence, guard the legal interests of children, and work with advocacy groups on a broad spectrum of poverty and civil rights issues. At Touro Law, Mr. Maligno uses the same creative energy for which he is known and applies it to the provision of pro bono work by students and PAC agencies. He serves as a role model for students and those in the community and is a strong advocate for public interest and pro bono work. He instills these values in our students and in everyone he meets.

During his 40-year career in public interest law, Mr. Maligno has received numerous state, local and national awards for his efforts in pro bono and public interest work. He has been part of the organized pro bono movement since 1978 when he helped create the Pro Bono Project on Long Island and his leadership was integral in creating a nationally recognized volunteer effort. His ability to bring together the private bar, public interest community, government and legal services contributed to the success of the project. In 1989, Mr. Maligno left the Pro Bono Project to become the Executive Director of Nassau Suffolk Law Services, one of the largest legal services program in the country. During his ten year tenure, the organization was often acknowledged for its creative ways of assisting clients. Mr. Maligno has a nationwide reputation for promoting pro bono representation and is a consultant for the American Bar Association, helping to organize pro bono efforts in numerous communities across the United States. He is also the leader of the organized pro bono effort of both local bar associations; the Nassau County Bar Association and the Suffolk County Bar Association.

Mr. Maligno has been a leader in Long Island’s response to Hurricane Sandy  and the Covid crisis by creating  disaster response hotlines and Touro Law’s nationally recognized Disaster Law Clinic. Also he was the chair of the  legal working groups for the Health and Welfare Council’s response to both disasters , In response to his efforts, he was asked by FEMA to become a senior attorney advisor to assist them in reforming the disaster response system. Mr. Maligno has also been an integral part of building a network of immigration advocates for Long Island and has been a leader in building that coalition to better serve this growing population.

Since ceasing full time employment Mr. Maligno has been volunteering for numerous Long Island Pro Bono projects including as volunteer counsel to the Health and Welfare Council Board.

Corinne Hammons is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York. She is responsible for implementing the strategic vision and mission for Little Flower’s services for children, families, and developmentally disabled adults in New York City and Long Island, including its affiliate St. John’s Residence for Boys. She is responsible for the sustainability, effectiveness, and stewardship of the affiliated organization. Corinne has a longstanding interest in the strategic design and implementation of effective programs to help families reach their full potential while ensuring the organization’s s long-term success and growth. She has deep expertise in strategic thinking and risk management, as well as crisis response and management. She is particularly interested in designing career pathways for emerging leaders in our field and serving as a mentor both formally and informally.

She values the opportunity to collaborate with peer organizations to pursue her passion for innovation and leadership development to benefit all New Yorkers. Corinne sits on the Board of St. John’s Residence for Boys. She serves as the Board Secretary of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island. She is the Audit Committee Chair & Board member of the Human Services Council and sits on the HSC JustPay Steering Committee. She is the Vice President of the Board of Education of the Little Flower Union Free School District. She also sits on the boards of the Catholic Federation of Social Services Agencies in Brooklyn and Queens, the IDD/CW Collaborative, AsOne Healthcare IPA, and SCO Family of Services. She is a mentor to emerging leaders for the Strell Executive Leadership Program at Hunter College.

Corinne holds an AB in Economics from Harvard University and a master’s degree in public administration from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. She is a graduate of the Energeia Partnership, a regional stewardship program on Long Island. Corinne was the recipient of the Long Island Business News 40 Under 40 in Business award, and the 2019 Notable Women in Human Services Hall of Fame award. She was named one of City & State’s 2020 Responsible 100 as well as one of their 2023 Above and Beyond: Gen X award recipients.

David Nemiroff, LCSW

David Nemiroff has been the President and CEO Director of Harmony Healthcare Long Island  since April 2014. Harmony Healthcare Long Island currently provides over 150,000 medical and support visits to more than 40,000 patients per year in multiple sites across Nassau County.

Mr. Nemiroffs’ professional career includes the leadership of the Nassau Queens Performing Providers System working with over 8000 partners to transform the health care of almost half a million Long Islanders, as well as leading the Mental Health Association of Nassau County, Inc. as its Executive Director.  He was instrumental in the efforts to shape public policy to support people with mental illness and autism in the ever changing world of health and human services delivery.

Mr. Nemiroff began his career in the Health and Human Services field at Catholic Charities and Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) supervising case management programs for individuals with traumatic brain injury and intellectual disabilities, Mr. Nemiroff’s 14 year career with FREE concluded with him holding the position as its Chief Support Services Officer.

His early career path has had him working as a staff psychotherapist for the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Suffolk County, Inc. and a Certified Field Instructor for both Social Work and Mental Health Counselor students.

Mr. Nemiroff is the Board Chairperson of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, a board member of the following organizations: Community Health Care Association of New York State, Community Advocates and Homes Anew I & II.  Mr. Nemiroff is a member of the Long Island Health Collaborative, Board of Managers for Community Health Centers IPA. Mr. Nemiroff is on the advisory Board for the MPH Program at Hofstra University and a member of the Energia Partnership.

Mr. Nemiroff lives in Huntington Station, NY with his wife and two children. He is a graduate of State University of New York in Oneonta and holds a Masters in Social Welfare from SUNY Stony Brook.

Vanessa Baird

Vanessa Baird-Streeter attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a double major in Economics and Education.  Upon graduating from Dartmouth, Vanessa joined Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs and as a financial analyst, Vanessa worked in the financial industry for a total of ten years serving as a financial analyst and bond buyer. She has also served as the Director of the Ministry to Catholics of African Ancestry (1997-2005), Director of Communications for the Town of Babylon (2005-2009), Executive Director and Vice President of Communications for the Long Island Power Authority 2009-2012, Director of the Venettes Cultural Workshop, CEO of VBS Hair Collection and most recently served as the first woman of color to hold the position of Suffolk County Deputy County Executive (DCE). As of Febraury 5, 2024, Vanessa serves as the President and CEO of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island.

In the role of Deputy County Executive, Vanessa oversaw a wide variety of County agencies, projects, and initiatives: Community Based Intervention, Language Access operations, the Department of Labor Licensing and Consumer Affairs, the Traffic and Parking Violations Bureau, an early education pilot entitled; Smart Start Suffolk that focussed on the social emotional development children 0-5 years of age, their families and community, and, the Suffolk County Department of Human Services which housed the Youth Bureau, Women’s Services, the Offices of Minority Affairs, Aging, and Veterans Services. Additionally, Vanessa served as one of the County’s Police Accountability Liaisons and led the County’s MWBE/SDVOB (Minority, Women, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned businesses) Disparity Study aimed at providing the legal framework for establishing MWBE/SVDOB requirements as part of the County’s procurement process.

In September 2020, County Executive Bellone appointed Vanessa to serve as chair of the Suffolk County Police Reform and Reinvention Task Force leading the effort of Reform and Reinvention of the Suffolk County Police Department. Throughout seven-month reform plan process, Vanessa facilitated executive and sub-committee meetings of the Suffolk County Police Reform & Reinvention Task Force, led public listening sessions that provided opportunities for over 1,200 Suffolk County community members to share their recommendations on police reform and met with hundreds of stakeholders to ascertain suggestions regarding fair and equitable policing in Suffolk County. At the end of the process, Vanessa and her team produced a final report which serves as the framework and foundation for 21st century, community-oriented reform and reinvention of the Suffolk County Police Department. Suffolk County’s plan has been deemed as the most comprehensive Police Reform plan in New York State.  Vanessa leads the implementation team to effectuate the reform and reinvention plans.

Very early on during the COVID 19 pandemic, Vanessa led the effort of creating hot spot testing sites in underserved and under resourced communities to ensure residents had access to testing, guidelines, resources and assistance.  This initiative helped to stem the spread of COVID 19 and ensure the health and safety of the County’s most vulnerable populations.  During the pandemic, DCE Baird-Streeter also created the Suffolk Cares Food Distribution initiative for those who lacked transportation but were food insecure and needed food delivered to their homes. As the COVID 19 vaccine became available, Vanessa worked with a myriad of community based organizations to ensure equitable distribution of the vaccine.  As the digital divide hampered some residents from securing vaccine appointments, Vanessa worked with the County’s IT Commissioner to create a streamlined, abbreviated appointment process as to make it as easy as possible for residents to access appointments. In addition, Vanessa spearheaded education campaigns addressing vaccine hesitancy

Being of service to others is the motto Vanessa lives by which was inspired by her parents, Venice and Mary Baird. She has been married for 31 years to Elston Streeter and is the proud parent of Dallas Anthony Streeter, a graduate of Howard University.

Vanessa is a member of the Long Island Power Authority Board of Trusteesof Jack, Associate Member of Jill of America-Suffolk County Chapter and has served as Chaplain and Scholarship Chair, founding member of 100 Black Women, Inc.-Suffolk County Chapter, former member of 100 Black Women Long Island Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., former member of the Mother’s Club of Wheatley Heights, and Board Member of Help Me Grow Long Island,

Vanessa serves as the Vice Chair of the Wyandanch Plaza Association, where she implements and supports programming for the youth of the communities inclusive of Summer Reading Around the Plaza, collection of toys for community families, support of Thanksgiving baskets and year round programming.  Vanessa served as the Chair and member of the Wyandanch Community Engagement Team, created while the district was in Superintendent’s receivership, ensuring that the community was included in the process of improving the academic achievements of students.

Ashley Trager Chauvin

Ashley Trager Chauvin is a strategic communications executive who brings extensive experience leading integrated communications programs for Fortune 500 companies. She currently serves as Head of Enterprise and B2B Communications, Corporate Reputation for MSL.

Prior to MSL, Ashley served as the Director of Corporate Communications at PSEG Long Island, where she led internal, external and digital communications, serving 1.1 million customers on Long Island and in the Rockaways. There, she was responsible for developing, managing and executing the company’s communications strategy across earned, owned, digital and internal platforms.

Ashley joined PSEG following ten years at Edelman, a global public relations agency, where she was a Senior Vice President in the Business Marketing group. There, she deftly ran multi-million-dollar client accounts on behalf of the agency, focusing on corporate communications, strategic planning, B2B marketing, executive positioning, and crisis issues. Prior to joining Edelman, Ashley worked at Rubenstein Associates, where she was responsible for creating and implementing large-scale media campaigns. She began her career in local politics, where she supported public affairs and grassroots campaigns on Long Island and across New York State.

Ashley’s past career clients and projects have included ITT Corporation, where she played a significant role in managing communications for the de-merger of ITT’s defense unit, Exelis, for which the team received all three top Industry honors in 2012 including the PRWeek, SABRE and IPRA awards. She has also led agency teams supporting Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, United Technologies Corporation, Collins Aerospace (formerly United Technologies Aerospace Systems) and L3 Harris Corporation; she worked with Juniper Networks, supporting their Trusted Mobility campaign, for which the team won a Silver Anvil award in 2013; Maxar Technologies; Bombardier; The Rockefeller Foundation; NYU School of Professional Studies; the College Board; Kaplan; NY Waterway, where she helped publicize the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ with Capt. Sully Sullenberger and US Airways Flight 1549; among others.

Ashley earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and English from Mount Holyoke College. She is fluent in French.

David A. Bishop

David Bishop has been a Kirby McInerney partner since 2008. He coordinates domestic client relations for the firm, working with individuals and institutions on securities, corporate governance, and antitrust matters. Mr. Bishop works with institutions on establishing fraud monitoring programs. He has initiated successful litigation on behalf of a credit union damaged by purchasing built-to-fail credit default options, securities investors harmed by a pharmaceutical company’s misrepresentations regarding a drug’s viability, and purchasers of financial instruments who were struggling in a manipulated market. He successfully argued an appeal that brought accountability to the board of a large international bank that engaged in systematic illegal money laundering. Prior to joining the firm, he was a legislator elected in Suffolk County, New York, where he wrote laws reducing pesticide use, addressing water pollution from storm water runoff, increasing childcare, and establishing a living wage.

Samuel Chu

A proven leader in promoting market adoption of energy efficiency, Sammy was the founding director of the Town of Babylon’s Long Island Green Homes Program, the first operationalized property assessed clean energy (PACE) program in the country.

He previously served in the administration of Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone as Chief of Staff and as Commissioner of the county’s Department of Labor, Licensing & Consumer Affairs. He was the lead county official in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, tasked with coordinating response and recovery. A staunch advocate of inclusive, sustainable economic development, he was instrumental in creating workforce opportunities for traditionally underserved individuals during the planning of the transformative Wyandanch Rising development, one of the seminal LEED ND projects.

Sammy currently serves in various volunteer leadership positions including chairman of the Long Island chapter of the US Green Building Council, Vice Chairman of the Suffolk County Planning Commission, chair of the LGBT Network, board member of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, board member of the Child Care Council of Suffolk, board member of the American Red Cross on Long Island, board member of EAC Long Island, trustee of Molloy College, chair of the Suffolk County Workforce Development Board and previously has served as a board member of the National Home Performance Council.

Bedel Saget

Bedel Saget is an Emmy-nominated producer, award winning photographer and videographer, innovative thinker and dynamic leader with more than 30 years experience as a journalist developing award winning content for The New York Times and other news outlets like ESPN. His unique and creative approach and outstanding relationship-building capability has helped establish The New York Times as one of the world’s most renowned and respected outlets for sports and Olympic coverage.

Bedel is currently a Sports Graphics/Multimedia Editor at The New York Times where he conceives, reports and creates interactive informational graphics and videos on NYTimes.com as well as the charts, maps and diagrams for the print newspaper. His strong organizational and communication skills allow him to routinely manage multiple projects and deadlines and work effectively with individuals at all organizational levels.
He has received numerous citations and awards from the Publishers of The New York Times, World Press Photo, The Society of Newspaper Design, Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE), The Malofiej Awards and others while establishing himself as an innovator and industry leader in sports journalism. During his tenure at The New York Times, he has contributed to many of the paper’s major initiatives such as the redesign of the Sports section; its conversion from black and white to a color newspaper; transition to the web; mobile; and the use of video. As a result, Bedel is comfortable creating and adapting content for all mediums.

As a Sports Graphics/Multimedia Editor at The New York Times, Bedel has covered 17 Olympic Games (seven as a foreign correspondent: Athens, Beijing, Vancouver, London, Sochi, Rio and South Korea) as well as Grand Slam Tennis events, Super Bowls, World Cups and major sporting events around the world. His interactive features have been used to promote the Times’ coverage; help drive traffic to NYTimes.com; and generate advertising dollars for The New York Times.

Bedel has also demonstrated his passion for community service. His memberships and affiliations include the Huntington Manor Fire Department, Huntington Community First Aid Squad and a host of other local civic groups. He coaches local youth basketball and mentors in the South Huntington School District with Project Excel. Bedel serves on several non-profit boards, Stony Brook University Alumni Association (Past President), MALIK Foundation (President), Bronx Documentary Center and the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island.

Bedel has been a grants judging panelist and a webinar presenter for the DPPF.

Isma H. Chaudhry, M.D., MPH

Dr. Chaudhry trained in Internal Medicine from Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She earned a Master in Public Health from Hofstra University in 2015. She is the associate director at the Metropolitan Center for Sleep Medicine in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Chaudhry is an adjunct in the Department of Health Sciences at Hofstra University, and the Executive in Residence of the Graduate Public Health Programs.

Dr. Chaudhry is a community advocate. Because of her advocacy and diversity initiatives, she has been named among the 50 Most Influential Long Islanders three years in a row (Long Island Power 50, 2016-2018). In addition to her advocacy, she has extensive public appearances and speaking engagements to her credit, including United Nations Conference on Genocide Prevention and Responsibility to Protect, The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, the United States Institute of Peace @ Myanmar: Healthcare Challenges, and the United Nations conference on Islamophobia, Healthcare and Building Community Coalitions @ Engagement Institute.

Dr. Chaudhry serves as the co-chair of Health Equity Taskforce Northwell Health and is a member of Governors Health equity committee. She also serves as a diversity and cultural competency consultant in various private and nonprofit healthcare organizations.

Dr. Chaudhry’s interests of study in public health are healthcare infrastructure in developing countries, ethnic barriers to primary care, and minority and immigrant health.

Dr. Timothy Sams

Currently serving as the sixth full President in the history of SUNY Old Westbury, Dr. Timothy E. Sams has spent the last 30 years driven by the principles of access, excellence, success, and impact.  His trail of accomplishments attests to his unwavering commitment to delivering on higher education’s promise of using excellence to achieve student transformation and social progress. His impressive career has taken him to an array of selective institutions around the country and the world.  As he moved from learning the fundamentals of building student success programs to innovating new ones as a senior leader, Dr. Sams’ commitment to educational justice by inclusive excellence, praxis, and purpose-driven education has characterized his work of elevating the student experience and transforming liberal arts education.

Never losing sight of his opportunity program roots as an Upward Bound and an Educational Opportunity Program student in his youth, and Higher Educational Opportunity Program Counselor early in his career, Dr. Sams held fast to the belief that “to whom much is given, much is required.” As he moved toward senior leadership positions, first as Associate Dean of Students at NYU-Abu Dhabi, his approach to student success became even more entrepreneurial in spirit. For the upstart global university, he inaugurated the Student Affairs office that supported students within a residential college framework. Moving to the STEM education space as Vice President for Student Life at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and with a keen interest in STEM success for underrepresented students, he strengthened student support for key populations, increased staff diversity, and oversaw the creation of a STEM bridge program that increased retention rates for underrepresented students.

As a Senior Vice President for Student Development at Morehouse College, Dr. Sams initiated a residential college program that galvanized the student experience and improved upon educational outcomes. Partnering with faculty leaders, Dr. Sams constructed a holistic learning environment guided by the principle that “learning is everywhere.” Under his leadership at Morehouse, the nation’s first ROTC Center of Excellence and the nation’s second campus-based PrEP program were formed.  These measures, coupled with his efforts to improve operational efficiency, provided for a seamless and comprehensive educational experience, leading Morehouse to raise student satisfaction and success rates, and to send greater numbers of students off to pursue terminal degrees.

Led by his desire to elevate institutions through strategic change management and an innovative residential college framework, Dr. Sams moved to Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) as its Vice President for Student Affairs in 2018. In his short time at PVAMU, he increased the number of divisional units by 20%, and improved student support through the creation of the university’s first emergency resource center and LGBTQ+ resource center. Also, he launched the residential college, adding a 550 bed Global Challenges capstone living experience, a second-year experience, a badging program, and enhanced the first-year experience.

Raised by his paternal grandparents, Dr. Sams grew up on the south side of Syracuse, New York, where he was an avid Boy Scout, basketball player, and student activist. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Sociology from Union College in Schenectady, New York, and Master of Arts degree in Africana Studies from the State University of New York at Albany. He earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies from Temple University. His research and teaching interests are Ancient Egypt, West African Literature, the African American Family and Community, and Pan Africanism. He is a Minority Serving Institute Aspiring Leaders Fellow and recipient of the 2020 Champions for Student Success Award from American Campus Communities.

Patricia Miller

Patty Miller brings 25+ years of leadership and strategic management experience to Praxis.   Ms. Miller honed her negotiating expertise through diverse avenues, beginning in the courtroom and extending to managing real estate transactions for third-party clients before assuming a pivotal in-house role at Northwell Health, New York State’s largest healthcare system.  Patty brings not only a wealth of industry knowledge to Praxis, but also a vast network and deep connections that enrich her ability to navigate complex situations and drive impactful outcomes.

Ms. Miller most recently served as Vice President of Real Estate Transactions at Northwell Health where under her leadership, her team effectively managed a vast portfolio of over 900 medical, office, residential, data center and warehouse sites totaling more than 9 million square feet.    With a keen focus on operational efficiency, Ms. Miller streamlined the transaction process at Northwell, driving strategic initiatives and implementing a cutting-edge business intelligence tool. This tool, utilized by top-tier leadership, fostered transparency in the utilization and optimization of the real estate portfolio, empowering informed decision-making at every level.  Ms. Miller was integral in the acquisition of multiple strategic properties for the system by negotiating the transactions as well as garnering financial support for each initiative, leveraging creative solutions and cross-functional collaboration to optimize outcomes.

In addition to her corporate achievements, Ms. Miller had the pleasure of serving as an Associate Justice in the Village of Munsey Park for over a decade and was an active member of the Nassau County Magistrate’s Association.  Outside of her professional endeavors, Ms. Miller is actively involved in various community and industry associations, including The Energeia Partnership at Molloy University, Nassau County Magistrate’s Association, and the Association of Medical Facility Professionals (AMFP) – Long Island, among others. Ms. Miller dedicated a year volunteering with and educating youth through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in East Los Angeles. She also volunteers her time with Habitat for Humanity and serves as a coach for CYO.

Ms. Miller holds a Juris Doctor degree from St. John’s University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross.

Donna Mulligan is currently the Vice President of Human Resources at Broadridge Financial Solutions, a leading full-service outsourcing provider to the global financial industry with services in brokerage processing, investor communications, document management and proxy processing. Donna has over 30 years’ experience delivering quality services to various financial firms, with a wealth of expertise in Business Transformation, Executive Talent Development, Compensation & Strategic Planning, Performance & Succession Planning and Seamless Acquisition transitions. Her passion is providing HR Solutions for her clients by helping them build their HR infrastructure through technology, compliance and talent.

Donna holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Elementary Education from Hofstra University. She has been an active member of several professional organizations including KPMG’s Women’s Athena activities group, Women’s Bond Club, and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).  Additionally, she has served in multiple capacities at several volunteer organizations:   Autism Speaks, Habitat for Humanity (Board member), Junior League (Board Member), The American Heart Association and T1D (formerly JDRF).

Kimberly Jean-Pierre is a seasoned public policy expert, civic leader, and the daughter of Haitian immigrants. With over a decade of experience in both the public and private sectors, she is the co-founder and partner of Strategic Pathways Group (SPG), a women-led leadership consulting firm.

Kimberly recently retired from the New York State Legislature, where she served for 10 years as the representative of the 11th district of Central Long Island. In her role, she chaired the Libraries and Veterans Affairs Committees and the Legislative Women’s Caucus. Throughout her tenure, Kimberly was instrumental in shaping key legislation, authoring successful bills to improve access to mammogram screenings, combat racial discrimination in housing, enhance boating safety, address the opioid crisis, expand childcare, protect voter rights, and support veterans.

As a mother of two beautiful children, Kimberly is especially proud of her work advocating for the creation of the first daycare facility for legislators with young children during the legislative session in Albany.

A graduate of Medgar Evers College (Associates in English), Brooklyn College (BFA in Creative Writing), and Stony Brook University (MS in Public Policy), Kimberly began her political career in 2007. She worked on campaigns at the local, state, and federal levels and served as an aide to Suffolk County Legislator DuWayne Gregory and former Congressman Steve Israel. Prior to her election to the New York State Assembly in 2014, Kimberly was the Director of the Wyandanch Resource Center in the Town of Babylon, connecting vital resources to the community.

Kimberly is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Rho Omega Zeta Chapter, and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Suffolk County Chapter.