Join leaders from business, education, economic development, government, workforce development, nonprofits and foundations at the 5th Annual Regional Workforce Development Summit.
Learn about new strategies, programs, services and resources that are being used to meeting recruitment and retention goals. Discover new ways to create and sustain impactful talent pipelines with local partners.
Event Details:
8:00am – Continental Breakfast Buffet & Networking
8:30am – Program Begins
New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon was appointed in October 2015 to oversee the Department’s more than 3,300 employees. On June 15, 2016, Commissioner Reardon was unanimously confirmed by the New York State Senate.
Previously, Commissioner Reardon served as President of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) from 2007-2012. She was the founding Co-President of SAG-AFTRA, a 165,000-member union for the entertainment industry, when the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) merged with AFTRA in 2012. After stepping down from that position in late 2013, Commissioner Reardon consulted for the AFL-CIO as Special Liaison for Common Sense Economics. She also taught in the Cornell/CUNY Labor Relations Certificate program.
Commissioner Reardon is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the AFTRA Health and Retirement Fund, as well as the New York City Labor Council. She has been honored with the Jewish Labor Committee’s 2009 Human Rights Award as well as the New York City Central Labor Council’s 2012 Award for Service to the Labor Movement and was a recipient of the Cornell ILR School, Union Leadership Institute’s 2017 Change Maker Award.
Commissioner Reardon graduated from the Cornell Industrial and Labor Relations School’s New York State AFL-CIO/Cornell Union Leadership Institute and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wyoming. She is a Worker Institute Fellow at Cornell University and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Actors Fund of America.
New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon was appointed in October 2015 to oversee the Department’s more than 3,300 employees. On June 15, 2016, Commissioner Reardon was unanimously confirmed by the New York State Senate.
Previously, Commissioner Reardon served as President of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) from 2007-2012. She was the founding Co-President of SAG-AFTRA, a 165,000-member union for the entertainment industry, when the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) merged with AFTRA in 2012. After stepping down from that position in late 2013, Commissioner Reardon consulted for the AFL-CIO as Special Liaison for Common Sense Economics. She also taught in the Cornell/CUNY Labor Relations Certificate program.
Commissioner Reardon is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the AFTRA Health and Retirement Fund, as well as the New York City Labor Council. She has been honored with the Jewish Labor Committee’s 2009 Human Rights Award as well as the New York City Central Labor Council’s 2012 Award for Service to the Labor Movement and was a recipient of the Cornell ILR School, Union Leadership Institute’s 2017 Change Maker Award.
Commissioner Reardon graduated from the Cornell Industrial and Labor Relations School’s New York State AFL-CIO/Cornell Union Leadership Institute and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wyoming. She is a Worker Institute Fellow at Cornell University and sits on the Board of Trustees for the Actors Fund of America.
In July 2023, Frank D. Sánchez, PhD, began his tenure as Manhattanville College’s fifteenth—and first ever Latino—president. A longstanding champion of diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education, Dr. Sánchez is renowned for expanding opportunities for increasingly diverse student populations and implementing innovative approaches for student success. Raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he is the proud father of three sons.
Education
Past Appointments
Community Engagement
In July 2023, Frank D. Sánchez, PhD, began his tenure as Manhattanville College’s fifteenth—and first ever Latino—president. A longstanding champion of diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education, Dr. Sánchez is renowned for expanding opportunities for increasingly diverse student populations and implementing innovative approaches for student success. Raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he is the proud father of three sons.
Education
Past Appointments
Community Engagement
Kiegh Dudley is a Senior Campus Recruiting Specialist, serving as a primary lead for all campus recruiting efforts involving CohnReznick’s five New York Metro offices, including the company’s headquarters in Manhattan, NY. He has quite an interesting journey as he previously spent time working in both the assurance and advisory service lines within the public accounting profession. He is a licensed CPA who started his career in the Commercial Audit group of CohnReznick where upon making Senior Associate, transferred to their Transactional Advisory Services (TAS) practice. His hope is to continue leveraging his experience of having worked in two out of the three service lines in public accounting to offer a unique perspective to speak from when engaging with college faculty as well as their students to try and inform them of the rewarding opportunities this industry has to offer.
Throughout his time on the client service side, he had always gotten involved in the firm’s campus recruiting efforts in addition to committees and mentorship programs at various colleges and universities. For example, despite not being a Baruch Alumni, Kiegh was invited by the executive board of Baruch College’s chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) back in 2018 to serve as a professional mentor to two students, one of which went on to receive the 2018 Mentee of the Year Award, the same year Kiegh was named the Mentor of the Year. This combination of passion and experience has also led Kiegh to serve as both an Adjunct Lecturer and current member of the Accounting Advisory Board at his alma mater, Stony Brook University, whereby he is further able to bridge the gap between the classroom and the profession.
Kiegh Dudley is a Senior Campus Recruiting Specialist, serving as a primary lead for all campus recruiting efforts involving CohnReznick’s five New York Metro offices, including the company’s headquarters in Manhattan, NY. He has quite an interesting journey as he previously spent time working in both the assurance and advisory service lines within the public accounting profession. He is a licensed CPA who started his career in the Commercial Audit group of CohnReznick where upon making Senior Associate, transferred to their Transactional Advisory Services (TAS) practice. His hope is to continue leveraging his experience of having worked in two out of the three service lines in public accounting to offer a unique perspective to speak from when engaging with college faculty as well as their students to try and inform them of the rewarding opportunities this industry has to offer.
Throughout his time on the client service side, he had always gotten involved in the firm’s campus recruiting efforts in addition to committees and mentorship programs at various colleges and universities. For example, despite not being a Baruch Alumni, Kiegh was invited by the executive board of Baruch College’s chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) back in 2018 to serve as a professional mentor to two students, one of which went on to receive the 2018 Mentee of the Year Award, the same year Kiegh was named the Mentor of the Year. This combination of passion and experience has also led Kiegh to serve as both an Adjunct Lecturer and current member of the Accounting Advisory Board at his alma mater, Stony Brook University, whereby he is further able to bridge the gap between the classroom and the profession.
Dr. Sylvia Blake is Dean and Chief Operating Officer of LIU Hudson, a regional campus of Long Island University, based in Purchase, NY.
Dr. Blake earned her doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The City College of New York. She has authored or co-authored educational materials as well as articles in scholarly journals.
A former Dean of the School of Education, and tenured faculty member, at Manhattanville College, Sylvia is a New York State Certified school leader with wide-ranging public and private administrative experience.
A focus of her leadership at LIU Hudson is the advancement of partnerships with healthcare systems and other organizations to meet the workforce needs of the region.
Dr. Sylvia Blake is Dean and Chief Operating Officer of LIU Hudson, a regional campus of Long Island University, based in Purchase, NY.
Dr. Blake earned her doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The City College of New York. She has authored or co-authored educational materials as well as articles in scholarly journals.
A former Dean of the School of Education, and tenured faculty member, at Manhattanville College, Sylvia is a New York State Certified school leader with wide-ranging public and private administrative experience.
A focus of her leadership at LIU Hudson is the advancement of partnerships with healthcare systems and other organizations to meet the workforce needs of the region.
Professor Denise M. Stefano, CPA CGMA MBA is an Associate Professor in the Accounting Department of Mercy University and also serves as the Chairperson of the Accounting Program. Professor Stefano previously served as the Accounting Program Graduate Program Director and served a one-year term as the Interim Associate Dean of the School of Business. She is a New York State licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) and holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Public Accounting and Finance/Financial Management, respectively from Iona University. Professor Stefano also recently received ESG/Sustainability certification through the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, an AICPA-CIMA partnership.
As a full-time faculty member, Professor Stefano teaches a wide range of accounting courses, including one which content addresses typical questioning found on the Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)/Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR) parts of the Uniform CPA Examination. As Chairperson of the Accounting Program, Professor Stefano maintains purview over the design and development of the Program’s undergraduate and graduate curriculum and assessment activities and serves as a key mentor and advisor to accounting students in their professional development and career planning. She also serves as a key business relationship liaison to a host of accounting firms and corporate businesses for student job placements and internships.
Professor Stefano is currently serving on the Steering Committee for Mercy University’s Middle States (cyclical) Accreditation Review and previously served on the Middle States Standards 8 and 9 teams during the University’s prior accreditation review cycle. Additionally, she serves on the University’s Strategic Planning Committee (as faculty Co-Chair), Faculty Association (former Chair), Faculty Senate, Committee for Economic and Fiscal Matters (as faculty Co-Chair), Multiple-Year Contract Committee, School of Business Curriculum Committee (former Chair), and is the university-wide faculty representative to the Mercy University Board of Trustees Finance and Control Committee. Professor Stefano has also served on the University’s Academic Standards, Policies, and Regulations Committee (as Chair), and Graduate Curriculum Committee.
Professor Stefano has significant expertise in CPA Examination preparation having served as a lead instructor and Advisory Board Member to a major CPA Examination Review provider, and Senior Digital Editor of Accounting Examination products (including CPA, CMA, and CIA examinations) for a major global educational publisher. Professor Stefano is also a co-author of five CPA Examination preparatory books published by McGraw-Hill Professional Education.
Prior to joining Mercy University, Professor Stefano’s career spanned work in both public and private accounting practice serving as Senior Auditor and Business Advisor for one Big Accounting firm, and a Senior Consultant and Director of Business Development for a spin-off company of another Big Accounting firm’s consulting practice. She has also served as Corporate Controller and Chief Financial Officer for both publicly traded and privately held companies and spent roughly 10 years as Director of Product/Content Development for a nationally recognized provider of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) training products and services. There she developed, designed, and provided technical review of accounting, auditing, finance, ethics, taxation, management, IT, and human resource/legal course content and oversaw course production of one of the company’s major catalogs and product lines. She also co-authored several comprehensive accounting and auditing courses for a wholly owned subsidiary of the company and provided technical assistance in the preparation of certain key accounting analyses and disclosures included in the Company’s SEC filings.
Professor Stefano is a past Vice President and member of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) Board of Directors, and a past President of the NYSSCPA Westchester County Chapter. She is also a past President and a former member of the NYSSCPA Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE) Board of Trustees. Professor Stefano currently serves on several NYSSCPA committees including the Future of Accounting Education Committee (formerly the Committee for Academic Advancement and Higher Education), CPA Careers, and Financial Accounting Standards Committee. She was recently appointed to the NYSSCPA Sustainability Accounting and Reporting (ESG) Committee. Additionally, she has served on the NYSSCPA FAE’s Curriculum Committee, and previously chaired the NYSSCPA Westchester Chapter’s Accounting and Auditing Principles, CPA and Accounting Careers, Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP), and High School Scholarship committees. Professor Stefano has also served on a number of NYSSCPA task forces, including the NYSSCPA CPA Examination Evolution task force, which was charged with writing and drafting responses to more than 40 comments in a proposal issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) that addressed major changes to the Uniform CPA Examination (launched in January 2024). She is also a past member of the statewide NYSSCPA’s Quality Enhancement Policy Committee (QEPC). During her tenure on the QEPC, the committee drafted two “white papers” – one that discussed Continuing Professional Education, and the other that addressed Audit Quality.
In addition to her membership and significant service to the NYSSCPA, Professor Stefano is also a member of several other accounting and finance-related organizations including, but not limited to, the AICPA and Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). She is also a former member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Board of Governors.
In February of 2023, Professor Stefano was a nominated for the AICPA’s national “Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award” and in May of 2017, the NYSSCPA presented Professor Stefano with the “Dr. Emanuel Saxe Outstanding CPA Educator Award.” In March of 2019, the NYSSCPA also selected Professor Stefano to be among several influential women in the accounting profession featured on its social media platforms for Women’s History Month.
Professor Stefano remains active in a variety of volunteer activities, including (but not limited to) her service on the Scholarship Committee of a not-for-profit performing arts school, and audit committee member to a major global, not-for-profit organization dedicated to eradicating the spread of malaria throughout the African continent, and whose major donors include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Professor Stefano has also served as a Board Member and Treasurer to a Westchester County-based, not-for-profit organization offering after school support and activities to elementary school children and has provided volunteer services assisting students with development of reading fluency and literacy skills in the kindergarten class at a local children’s hospital, and K-3 classes at a Westchester County-based elementary school.
Professor Denise M. Stefano, CPA CGMA MBA is an Associate Professor in the Accounting Department of Mercy University and also serves as the Chairperson of the Accounting Program. Professor Stefano previously served as the Accounting Program Graduate Program Director and served a one-year term as the Interim Associate Dean of the School of Business. She is a New York State licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) and holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Public Accounting and Finance/Financial Management, respectively from Iona University. Professor Stefano also recently received ESG/Sustainability certification through the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, an AICPA-CIMA partnership.
As a full-time faculty member, Professor Stefano teaches a wide range of accounting courses, including one which content addresses typical questioning found on the Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)/Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR) parts of the Uniform CPA Examination. As Chairperson of the Accounting Program, Professor Stefano maintains purview over the design and development of the Program’s undergraduate and graduate curriculum and assessment activities and serves as a key mentor and advisor to accounting students in their professional development and career planning. She also serves as a key business relationship liaison to a host of accounting firms and corporate businesses for student job placements and internships.
Professor Stefano is currently serving on the Steering Committee for Mercy University’s Middle States (cyclical) Accreditation Review and previously served on the Middle States Standards 8 and 9 teams during the University’s prior accreditation review cycle. Additionally, she serves on the University’s Strategic Planning Committee (as faculty Co-Chair), Faculty Association (former Chair), Faculty Senate, Committee for Economic and Fiscal Matters (as faculty Co-Chair), Multiple-Year Contract Committee, School of Business Curriculum Committee (former Chair), and is the university-wide faculty representative to the Mercy University Board of Trustees Finance and Control Committee. Professor Stefano has also served on the University’s Academic Standards, Policies, and Regulations Committee (as Chair), and Graduate Curriculum Committee.
Professor Stefano has significant expertise in CPA Examination preparation having served as a lead instructor and Advisory Board Member to a major CPA Examination Review provider, and Senior Digital Editor of Accounting Examination products (including CPA, CMA, and CIA examinations) for a major global educational publisher. Professor Stefano is also a co-author of five CPA Examination preparatory books published by McGraw-Hill Professional Education.
Prior to joining Mercy University, Professor Stefano’s career spanned work in both public and private accounting practice serving as Senior Auditor and Business Advisor for one Big Accounting firm, and a Senior Consultant and Director of Business Development for a spin-off company of another Big Accounting firm’s consulting practice. She has also served as Corporate Controller and Chief Financial Officer for both publicly traded and privately held companies and spent roughly 10 years as Director of Product/Content Development for a nationally recognized provider of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) training products and services. There she developed, designed, and provided technical review of accounting, auditing, finance, ethics, taxation, management, IT, and human resource/legal course content and oversaw course production of one of the company’s major catalogs and product lines. She also co-authored several comprehensive accounting and auditing courses for a wholly owned subsidiary of the company and provided technical assistance in the preparation of certain key accounting analyses and disclosures included in the Company’s SEC filings.
Professor Stefano is a past Vice President and member of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) Board of Directors, and a past President of the NYSSCPA Westchester County Chapter. She is also a past President and a former member of the NYSSCPA Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE) Board of Trustees. Professor Stefano currently serves on several NYSSCPA committees including the Future of Accounting Education Committee (formerly the Committee for Academic Advancement and Higher Education), CPA Careers, and Financial Accounting Standards Committee. She was recently appointed to the NYSSCPA Sustainability Accounting and Reporting (ESG) Committee. Additionally, she has served on the NYSSCPA FAE’s Curriculum Committee, and previously chaired the NYSSCPA Westchester Chapter’s Accounting and Auditing Principles, CPA and Accounting Careers, Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP), and High School Scholarship committees. Professor Stefano has also served on a number of NYSSCPA task forces, including the NYSSCPA CPA Examination Evolution task force, which was charged with writing and drafting responses to more than 40 comments in a proposal issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) that addressed major changes to the Uniform CPA Examination (launched in January 2024). She is also a past member of the statewide NYSSCPA’s Quality Enhancement Policy Committee (QEPC). During her tenure on the QEPC, the committee drafted two “white papers” – one that discussed Continuing Professional Education, and the other that addressed Audit Quality.
In addition to her membership and significant service to the NYSSCPA, Professor Stefano is also a member of several other accounting and finance-related organizations including, but not limited to, the AICPA and Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). She is also a former member of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Board of Governors.
In February of 2023, Professor Stefano was a nominated for the AICPA’s national “Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award” and in May of 2017, the NYSSCPA presented Professor Stefano with the “Dr. Emanuel Saxe Outstanding CPA Educator Award.” In March of 2019, the NYSSCPA also selected Professor Stefano to be among several influential women in the accounting profession featured on its social media platforms for Women’s History Month.
Professor Stefano remains active in a variety of volunteer activities, including (but not limited to) her service on the Scholarship Committee of a not-for-profit performing arts school, and audit committee member to a major global, not-for-profit organization dedicated to eradicating the spread of malaria throughout the African continent, and whose major donors include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Professor Stefano has also served as a Board Member and Treasurer to a Westchester County-based, not-for-profit organization offering after school support and activities to elementary school children and has provided volunteer services assisting students with development of reading fluency and literacy skills in the kindergarten class at a local children’s hospital, and K-3 classes at a Westchester County-based elementary school.
Dr. Amicucci is the Senior Director of Clinical Education & the founding director of the ANCC accredited Nurse Residency program at White Plains Hospital. She has been in nursing for many years with experience in acute care, community health, administration, and nursing education. She earned both her DNS and PhD in Nursing and has a MBA in Healthcare. Bernadette is certified as a Nurse Educator (CNE), Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC), Nurse Executive Advanced (NEA-BC) and Nursing Professional Development Specialist (NPD-BC). Bernadette has presented both regionally and nationally on nursing education and has facilitated many community training sessions in Stop the Bleed and Hands Only CPR to students and adults in a variety of settings. . Bernadette works to maintain a pipeline of staff by engaging in high school partnerships, serving on college advisory boards, and presenting the benefits of working at WPH to nursing seniors. Bernadette coordinates both the Nurse Apprentice and Nurse Associate programs at WPH. In addition, she developed a Health Occupation Preview Program that was launched this year at WPH to introduce HS students to a variety of health careers. Bernadette is an active member of the DEI council at WPH and works to foster DEI education and awareness throughout the organization. Bernadette is also an adjunct Associate Professor of nursing at the CUNY School of Professional Studies in the RN to BSN program. and an independent appraiser for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Dr. Amicucci is the Senior Director of Clinical Education & the founding director of the ANCC accredited Nurse Residency program at White Plains Hospital. She has been in nursing for many years with experience in acute care, community health, administration, and nursing education. She earned both her DNS and PhD in Nursing and has a MBA in Healthcare. Bernadette is certified as a Nurse Educator (CNE), Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC), Nurse Executive Advanced (NEA-BC) and Nursing Professional Development Specialist (NPD-BC). Bernadette has presented both regionally and nationally on nursing education and has facilitated many community training sessions in Stop the Bleed and Hands Only CPR to students and adults in a variety of settings. . Bernadette works to maintain a pipeline of staff by engaging in high school partnerships, serving on college advisory boards, and presenting the benefits of working at WPH to nursing seniors. Bernadette coordinates both the Nurse Apprentice and Nurse Associate programs at WPH. In addition, she developed a Health Occupation Preview Program that was launched this year at WPH to introduce HS students to a variety of health careers. Bernadette is an active member of the DEI council at WPH and works to foster DEI education and awareness throughout the organization. Bernadette is also an adjunct Associate Professor of nursing at the CUNY School of Professional Studies in the RN to BSN program. and an independent appraiser for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
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