WCA Annual Business Breakfast with the County Executive

George Latimer, a third generation Westchester native, was born on November 22, 1953 in Mount Vernon to the late Stanley and Loretta (Miner) Latimer. In January 2018 Latimer took office as the 9^th Westchester County Executive, and was elected to a second term in November 2021, never losing an election after over three decades in public office.

During his tenure as County Executive, Latimer has upheld an impressive record of achievements including four consecutive County property tax cuts and credit rating stabilization. He is also responsible for bringing several long-standing infrastructure projects to fruition including Memorial Field, the Elijah J. Miller House, Sprain Ridge Pool, New Rochelle Family Court, and the North and South County Trailways. Latimer lead Westchester through the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, helping the County to rebound, rebuild and recover. He made history when he unveiled the County’s 9/11 First Responders Memorial on the 20^th Anniversary of the September 11^th attacks, dedicated to the heroes who passed away from 9/11 related illnesses.

A resident of the City of Rye for over 35 years, Latimer ran his first successful race for public office in 1987, earning him a seat on the Rye City Council. Four years later, in 1991, he was elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators, where he became the first-ever Democrat to win the 7^th District seat representing the City of Rye, the Village of Larchmont, and Mamaroneck Town and Village. During the 13 years Latimer was a member of the Chamber, he served as Minority Leader and then as the first Democratic Chairman of the Board of Legislators in Westchester County history.

Elected in 2004 to the State Assembly, Latimer continued a solid record of accomplishment, sponsoring legislation and advancing funding for environmental issues including the protection of the Long Island Sound. During his tenure in the Assembly, Latimer authored more than 20 new laws. Latimer was then elected to the State Senate in November 2012, representing the 37th District comprised of 16 Westchester municipalities, ranging from Bedford to Yonkers. While in the State Senate, he served as Ranking Minority Member for the Senate Education Committee.

Latimer has worked with all stakeholders on key social justice reforms, including the Police Reform and Reimagining Task Force, banning Gay Conversion Therapy, signing the Anti-Wage Theft Law and the Wage History Anti-Discrimination Law, among others. He has worked to electrify the County’s Bee-Line Bus Fleet, and modernize all County facilities for a green future.

Latimer’s sound business experience, his record of public service and his dedication to Westchester County have been the driving force behind his efforts for the last 35 years. Using inclusion and openness as a foreground, he is fighting to make Westchester County a destination for all people to live, work and enjoy.

Melinda has more than 25 years of commercial banking experience in both credit and relationship management and currently heads the Middle Market Banking practice at Popular Bank. She began her career at Kidder Peabody as an auditor and was a buy-side analyst covering oil and gas equities before starting her commercial banking career with The Bank of New York. Melinda has extensive experience in structuring financing, including Industrial Development Bonds, syndications, and specialized construction financing. Prior to joining Popular Bank, Melinda was the Commercial Banking Leader for Wells Fargo in the Hudson Valley.

Melinda is a life-long resident of Westchester County and earned a BS in Finance from Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT. She is a Past President of the Westchester County Bankers Association, a member of the Executive Committee of the Westchester County Association and past board member of the Women’s Enterprise Development Corp. Melinda is empty-nesting with her husband in Armonk, NY and has two grown daughters and a grand-puppy living nearby.

Steve recently retired from Webster Bank where he worked with Commercial Bank customers on managing their interest rate risk. He has been involved in the derivatives market for 32 years and began writing weekly economic updates for bankers and their clients so that they could keep track of interest rates, the economy, and what the Fed was up to. Prior to Webster Bank, he served as Chief Economist at Sovereign Bank / Santander Bank for 14 years.

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, Steve has taught classes on interest rate derivatives at Boston College and Harvard University and presents often at forums like this on the economy. His current weekly updates can be found on his LinkedIn page or sent from Webster Bank via email upon request.

Tom Tzitzouris is a Managing Director at Strategas, directing the Firm’s fixed income research efforts. His work touches on all aspects of broad market fixed income strategy, as well as clients’ asset/liability management needs. His focus includes interest rate and credit term structure strategies, callable bond analysis, sector relative value research, and valuation analysis for Treasury, Agency, and high grade corporates.

Prior to joining Strategas, Mr. Tzitzouris worked as a senior analyst at Fannie Mae, leading Fannie’s independent debt valuation team, and had previously spent time as a debt and derivatives analyst at Freddie Mac.

Mr. Tzitzouris began his career as a quantitative research analyst with JPMorgan Asset Management’s fixed income group. Mr. Tzitzouris holds an MS in Mathematics from Fairfield University, an MA in Economics from George Mason University, and a BS in Finance from Bryant University.