Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Daughter of Malcolm X, Professor & Author
"When you educate a young man, you educate a community. When you educate a young woman, you raise a nation," says Ilyasah Shabazz. She is an inspirational role model and advocate for youth and women and girl empowerment. Her lifework is devoted to helping others find inner strength and purpose. While she is frequently asked to speak about the legacy of Malcolm X, she shares that it is her mother Dr. Betty Shabazz's wisdom, courage and compassion that guide her.
General Session Speakers
When I owned my name, I owned my destiny. NOW is your time!
Dana Vento is an award-winning travel and culinary writer, social influencer, and consultant. She entered the 'online influencer' industry in 2009 with a Master's Degree in HR Management, but no formal training for the brand she was about to own. Driven to succeed at a business that was still undefined, she managed to turn her name into her brand.
Carli Bybel is an iconic beauty and fashion star. As a pioneer of the makeup tutorial genre on YouTube dating back to 2011, she is a pillar of the online beauty community, amassing over 5.8M
subscribers on YouTube, 7.2M followers on her two Instagram handles, and 2.9M Facebook Likes.
I've used my experience and lessons learned through my personal struggles to help others navigate through their tough times and achieve their dreams. You can do anything you want in this lifetime, and it is my obsession to help others discover their inner superpowers.
Lena Piccininni is a Master Barber, Educator and Hair Stylist based out of New Jersey. She is a powerful force in the fight against gender barriers in the male-dominated art of barbering.
The greatest gift in life for me has been the love we give to others and the love that we receive. Love lights my path in this journey of life and inspires me each and everyday.
Breakout Session Speakers
Dr. Alicia Abella leads end-to-end program management for the Network and
Infrastructure team. In addition, Alicia is responsible all front door systems engineering integrated planning, solutioning and act as an interface to the teams in Network Cloud and Infrastructure organization.
Carol Ash, DO, MHCDS is a board-certified general internist, fellowship-trained pulmonary, and critical care and sleep medicine specialist with more than 20 years' experience in clinical medicine.
Alison Banks-Moore is the Chief Diversity Officer for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. With over thirty five years of experience as a Human Resources professional, Alison has held various positions at major corporations to include: AT&T, KPMG, Cablevision, & 32 BJ Benefit Funds.
Sihem Ben Saad received the "Presidential Award in Mathematics" from the President of her country of origin, Tunisia, proceeding to graduate with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the
University of California, Los Angeles, where she devised new algorithms for solving complex non-linear non-convex optimization problems, with applications ranging from financial modeling to telecommunications networks.
Ella Blue is a Business Technology Program Manager for Johnson & Johnson. With more than 20 years of experience, she specializes in information technology systems implementations across the Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical, R&D and Supply Chain sectors.
As a tourism and hospitality marketing professional, Cory Cart works with travel media, produces influencer campaigns, and crusades for tourism advocacy.
Sylvia Perrilloux Clayton experienced both segregation and integration first hand. She was hired as the first black bank teller for the local town bank in Reserve, LA. Present day, she is a hostess and songstress at Historic Riverlands Church and Tours.
Nancy B. Graham, LCSW, is the Professional Relations Representative for The Renfrew Center of Northern New Jersey located in Ridgewood, New Jersey. She has many years of experience as a mental health professional and clinician both in New York City and New Jersey.
Alyssa Lego is a 16-year-old entrepreneur, philanthropist, public speaker and social influencer. She is a
rising junior at Donovan Catholic High School where she is a member of their International Baccalaureate Program. Ms. Lego founded the Morgan Marie Michael Foundation and produces Shop.
Sell. Strut!, the Foundation's annual fundraising event.
Over the course of her career, Lisa Lovell has helped clients by providing guidance, insight and access to the financial products that can help them achieve their goals.
Elizabeth Manzo has been an attorney with Lindabury since 1997. She concentrates her practice in trust
and estate planning, elder law, estate litigation, ERISA and employee benefits law. She also has experience representing trade associations and other nonprofits, including hospitals and other healthcare entities, in mergers, acquisitions, tax-exemption issues, fraud and abuse, as well as other tax issues.
Ms. Elayne P. McClaine has been with the New Jersey Small Business Development Center since 2005. She delivers workshops and seminars such as Business Planning & Strategic Planning; Global Expansion; Franchising; Marketing and Business Valuation.
Angela V. McKnight, newly elected as the 1st African American Assemblywoman for the 31st District for the state of New Jersey. She sits on the following committees: Education Health and
Senior Services and Human Services. Angela is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA).
As a regional vice president for Securian Financial, Kate helps advisors identify accumulation and protection solutions to complement their clients' financial strategies. In addition to Kate's financial services experience and life insurance expertise, she supports advisors by providing strategies to help them grow their business and meet their clients' goals.
Dr. Mezey is the Dean of The Honors School and a Professor of Sociology at Monmouth University. Her areas of specialization are family sociology, gender studies, the sociology of sexualities, and race-class-
gender studies.
Lisa Ellen Niver is a television host, travel journalist as well as a passionate artist, educator and writer who has explored 101 countries, six continents, and sailed on cruise ships for seven years on the high seas and backpacked for three years in
Asia.
Katherine Paseka is a Licensed Professional Counselor who resides in Morristown, NJ. She is a therapist at The Pediatric Eating Disorders Center at Atlantic Health System at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ.
I have been in the healthcare industry for almost 30 years as clinician, administrator, provider and business women. I am drawn to this career by my passion for people and commitment to helping those lead quality lives.
Rose Lynn Perrilloux works as a branch compliance examiner. She is also the administrative assistant for Historic Riverlands Church and Tours.
Pat Roque is a sought-after speaker, author and success coach who celebrated the 31st anniversary of her company, Business Boomers Inc. Raving fans and media alike lovingly refer to Pat as the "Tony Robbins of the golf world" for her inspirational (yet action-taking) approach to rocking relationships and forging lifelong connections that impact lives around the globe.
Manya Saaraswat is a 21-year-old from Marlboro, New Jersey. She is so honored and humbled to be your Miss New Jersey USA 2019. She is excited to use this title as a platform to shine light on issues that are important to her such as pediatric health.
Kim Sardo started her career in the travel business over 40 years ago in Milwaukee, WI, working for a tour operator who specialized in vacations to Orlando, Florida. Upon moving to Miami 35 years ago, she connected with Unique Vacations, an affiliate of Unique Travel Corp.
Holly Schepisi has been an Assemblywoman since 2012. Assemblywoman Schepisi represents the 39th Legislative District, which includes portions of Bergen and Passaic County. Ms. Schepisi earned Bachelor's degrees in politics and psychology in 1993 from Catholic University of America and a law degree from Fordham University Law School in 1997.
Christopher Sclafani has over five years of experience in financial services with Prudential and Merrill Lynch. His goal is to provide guidance, insight and access to financial products that can help his clients achieve their goals.
Jean Sinzdak is associate director of the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), responsible for developing strategic initiatives and projects as well as general administrative oversight. She directs CAWP's Program for Women Public Officials, which aims to increase the impact of women in politics and make
political women's leadership more effective.
Krystyna Vaccarelli, LCSW, LCADC is the Director of Substance Abuse Services at Trinitas Regional Medical Center. She has extensive program development and management experience throughout New
York and New Jersey.
Valerie L. Weiss is an employment lawyer at Ogletree Deakins, representing and counseling companies on all aspects of the employment relationship.
Debbie-Ann White is Senior Vice President of Public Relations and Promotions at Unique Vacations, Inc.
(UVI), an affiliate of the worldwide representatives for Sandals Resorts International (SRI), parent company of Sandals Resorts, Beaches Resorts, Grand Pineapple Beach Resorts, Fowl Cay Resort and Your Jamaican Villas.
Anita Zinsmeister is President of the Dale Carnegie Training of Central and Southern New Jersey. She has 30+ years sales and management experience in the
hospitality, healthcare and training field.
