Proudly sponsored by . . .

Diversity has been an important workplace topic for many years, and now age has taken its place with gender, culture and ethnicity as a key opportunity to better understand colleagues.  For the first time in history, four generations are sharing our workplaces.  Four generations, which bring with them values, attitudes, beliefs and expectations, must come together to make a choice:  do we collaborate or collide?  Join Dr. Renée Downey Hart from Le Moyne College and explore the challenges and rewards of cross pollinating the gifts of these four important groups.

Renée is a Visiting Assistant Professor in Management at Le Moyne College, and a partner in the firm of Eagle Consultants, an international organizational development and training firm based in Syracuse, New York.  Drawing on over twenty years of experience as a business professional, she brings a real world focus to her dynamic training sessions.  She has been praised for her highly interactive and entertaining sessions, and an energizing sense of humor. In her free time, Renée is an avid sailor and traveler, and enjoys those activities with husband Dana Hart, and children Sage, 16, Skye, 12, and, Sydney, 7.

Douglas C. Freeman

Douglas C. Freeman is the CEO of Virtcom Consulting, a strategy management consultancy focused on solving complex global diversity management challenges. Mr. Freeman is also the founder of the World Diversity Leadership Summit, the premier gathering of senior global diversity executives. Prior to Virtcom, Mr. Freeman served as the Head of Business Development and Operations for Mondus, where he was involved with raising over $170M in private equity financing. He was also a Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, and an investment banker at JP Morgan Chase (formerly Chase Securities). Mr. Freeman holds a Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government where he was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Christian M. Baldia

Christian Baldia is a Managing Director at Virtcom Consulting, a management consulting firm with offices in New York City and London that specializes in global corporate diversity issues. He also teaches an undergraduate course on Business Policy and Strategy at the City University of New York (MEC). Prior to Virtcom, Christian Baldia served at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a Senior Financial/ Economic Analyst in the Policy and Analysis division of the Bank Supervision Group. Immediately before that, Mr. Baldia worked as an investment banker in mergers and acquisitions at Butler, Chapman & Co. and in municipal finance at PaineWebber (now UBS).  Mr. Baldia also served for four years in the Clinton Administration as a Senior Policy Analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and as a staff member for the White House in the Office of Presidential Personnel. 
 

Pete King is Managing Partner at King & King, Architects. He takes great pride in being a fifth generation leader in a CNY based firm celebrating 140 years of continuous service. He offers 31 years of professional experience, including two years as a construction manager for a developer.  He is highly involved on projects, working closely with clients and our project managers, particularly in the programming and preliminary phases.  Pete has earned an excellent reputation for paying close attention to detail, and keeping projects on schedule and on budget. Pete’s personal commitment to environmental issues has led the firm to focus its energies towards sustainable design practices.  He continues to build on the foundation of King & King’s principles that include: Community Leadership, Innovative Design, Teamwork, Integrity, Winning and Employer of Choice.

Steve Tarolli is the HR Manager at King & King, Architects. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations from Le Moyne College, and over seven years of well-rounded Human Resources experience including: Recruitment, Compensation & Benefits, Employee Relations, Strategic Planning, Organizational Development, and Operations. Steve is passionate about creating energetic, results oriented, flexible work environments that are in sync with firm vision and values. He enjoys challenging the status quo and implementing new, exciting programs and strategies that directly support and positively impact firm performance.

James Schmeling, J.D.

James Schmeling, J.D., is Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of the Burton Blatt Institute. He conducts policy research and directs operations for BBI. His research focuses on policy barriers, civil rights, and legal issues of importance in employment, technology for independent living and environmental access for people with disabilities. He is also currently engaged in a partnership with the Program for Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University to contribute to Whitman’s Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities.

First Lieutenant Chris Carter

First Lieutenant Chris Carter is a 11 year veteran of the United States Army.  Chris served in Operation Iraqi Freedom 07-09 as the Commander of the 479th Engineer Battalion Headquarters Support Company, stationed at Camp Striker, Iraq.  The 479th Engineer Battalion was responsible for the construction of 25 new patrol bases, improvement and upgrades to over 50 different sites, training Iraqi Engineers, personal security details, rapid crater repair along several hundred miles of Iraqi roads, and route clearance for most of Central and Southern Iraq.  Prior to the deployment, Chris served as the Company Commander of Bravo Company, 479th Engineer Battalion, in Oswego, NY. 

Subhash Viswanathan

Mr. Viswanathan is a graduate of Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations (B.S., with honors, 1992) and Duke University School of Law (J.D., with high honors, 1995). Mr. Viswanathan's practice includes representation and counseling of employers in a variety of matters, including employment discrimination litigation in state and federal courts, National Labor Relations Board proceedings, labor arbitrations and wage and hour matters. He has spoken at seminars and written articles on various Labor and Employment Law topics. Mr. Viswanathan is also Co-Chair of the firm's School Districts Practice Group.

Steve Lloyd is the Chief Sustainability Officer at Syracuse   University. He has a background in energy and maintenance management systems, building operations, energy conservation and customer service. He is a Certified Sustainable Development Professional and has certification from the Association of Physical Plant Administrators (APPA) in Facilities Management Strategies for Campus Sustainability.

Cynthia B. Morrow, MD, MPH

Dr. Morrow is Commissioner of Health for Onondaga County in Syracuse, NY.  Prior to becoming Commissioner, she had served as Director of Preventive Services of the Onondaga County Health Department (OCHD).  She is also an assistant professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

In addition to the responsibilities of leading a large academic health department, Dr. Morrow is committed to educating the community and health care providers about current public health concerns. 

Dr. Morrow holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychobiology from Swarthmore College and a combined MD/MPH from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachuesetts.   After completing her residency in Internal Medicine, Dr. Morrow worked at the Guam Department of Public Health as a staff physician and the medical director of the Southern Region Health Clinic.  She and her family moved to Jacksonsville, FL where she was in private practice until moving to Syracuse, NY.

Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll 

Matthew J. Driscoll, 51 is Mayor of one of the Big 5 cities in New York State.  He is serving out his second four-year term in office having distinguished his tenure by his accountability strategies, his environmental, energy and sustainability initiatives and his strong and decisive leadership style.  Mayor Driscoll’s action plan for energy conservation and the environment has not only been award-winning on a national stage, but has been the leader among cities in New York State.  Because of the Mayor’s extensive climate control municipal policies, Syracuse has been ranked #17 on Popular Science Magazine’s list of America’s 50 Greenest Cities. 

Joel Delmonico

Joel Delmonico, Vice President and Market Manager of Clear Channel Radio manages seven radio properties that reach across the Central New York Region.   An active member of the Central New York community, Joel was born and raised in Syracuse, attended Le Moyne College and graduated from Syracuse University and raised his family here. Under Joel’s leadership, Clear Channel has become a major influence in the Central New York business community. Clear Channel has taken a leading  role in many local charity efforts, especially those that support and advocate for children of all abilities and needs – the Blodgett Dream Center, the McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Site, University Hospitals CARE program, Ophelia’s Place and  the Syracuse City School District.