Many nonprofits have annual fundraising galas. Maybe your organization is one of them. These events can serve to honor the inspiring leaders in your community and raise important operating dollars. Yet they can also be a huge drain on staff and volunteer time, create giving that is not deeply connected to your mission, and be attended by many guests who don’t care too much (“Please, come to the gala to help me fill the table I bought.”).
Schlocky acting and plot lines aside, there is an important truth about galas in these movies.
At the end of The Wrath of Kahn, Spock is dying after heroically saving everyone else. He turns to Kirk and says: “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or of the one.”
At the end of The Search for Spock, however, Kirk has found Spock (big surprise) and he tells Spock: “The needs of few, or the one, outweigh the needs of the many.”
It Depends
Well, it certainly seems like it depends, doesn’t it?
And that’s my point about galas. Depending on your vision, a gala can serve to engage hundreds of people and raise lots of money. Or, a gala can be the chance to cultivate one or two VIPs in attendance so that they will be ready to make gifts that far surpass the total you raise at the event. Often a successful gala serves both purposes and it’s important to remember both motivations as you plan your gala strategy.
Hear it from Kirk and Spock directly, and let me know what you think:
Peter Heller is the Founder of Heller Fundraising Group, a New York City-based fundraising consulting firm that works with local, national and international nonprofits on capital campaigns. peter@hellerfundraisinggroup.com
Even though workplace financial wellness benefits have been around for a decade, they’re now more popular than ever. Today, more than eight in 10 public companies offer financial solutions to help employees reduce stress and improve their overall well-being. And of those that don’t, half are either considering a program or are in the early stages of implementation. So, it’s no longer a question of whether employers should promote financial wellness at work, but how to determine the right services and ensure the best possible engagement.
Morgan Stanley at Work and the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals (NASPP) conducted a survey¹ to find out what financial wellness programs are doing right—and what they can do better. Here are five vital signs of success for employers to aim for as they build out, enhance and evaluate their offerings.
1. Think about challenges beyond retirement
When we asked employers what benefits they considered part of their financial wellness suite, most named 401(k)s or other defined contribution retirement plans. While retirement needs may remain top of mind for benefits providers and participants, financial wellness should include a broad, curated array of services. For example, 70% cited equity compensation as an element of their program. An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) was also mentioned by a sizeable number of employers, a sign of just how intertwined employees’ emotional well-being is with their financial well-being.
What do employers consider “financial wellness” benefits?
2. Help employees understand equity awards
It may be tempting to think of financial wellness as a menu of products and solutions. But that would neglect the education component of financial wellness—a critical element of a successful program, especially when it comes to benefits where employees have less knowledge and experience. Half of employers surveyed said that employees have asked for help in understanding equity compensation plans. Although six in 10 employers now offer equity education as part of their financial wellness benefit, there’s still an opportunity to do more, through digital tools, seminars and coaching.
The Growing Need for Equity Education
3. Communicate year-round with more personal messaging
Despite the interest among employees in workplace financial wellness, actual usage tells a different story. 65% of employers reported that fewer than half of eligible employees participate in their financial wellness benefits. The top reasons? Lack of awareness, the feeling that benefits have been slow to gain traction and a perception that not all employees need these services. This points to a need for ongoing communication that’s more compelling and that addresses the unique needs of different employee segments, like women and people of color. Only 45% of employers say they tailor benefits communications based on demographics. What’s more, employers are simply stretched too thin when it comes to time, energy and resources, which may further lower the frequency and effectiveness of communications.
Communication Breakdown
4. Find new and better ways to measure success
It’s no surprise that in our data-driven world, keeping a financial wellness program healthy means setting goals and measuring and tracking progress regularly. Key data includes rates of benefit participation, turnover, absenteeism and employee satisfaction, plus health claims and productivity. Yet 17% of employers say they have no measurements in place at all. The good news is, employers know what’s missing and are ready to act. More than 50% of those surveyed said tracking success is the best way to improve their program’s effectiveness.
What’s Missing From Financial Wellness Programs?
5. Meet shorter-term needs and tackle everyday struggles
An important, but sometimes overlooked, benefit of financial wellness is relieving the everyday financial stresses that can weigh on employees. When people have the help they need to thrive in life—day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month—they’re more focused and productive at work. It’s why, according to our research, more and more financial wellness programs are helping employees meet challenges at every stage of life. That means advice and tools for building emergency savings, budgeting, consolidating debt, and buying a home; assistance with saving for college or paying off student loans; and help confronting the challenges of childcare or eldercare.
What Financial Wellness Programs Offer Beyond Retirement Benefits and Financial Education
What’s Next?
It’s clear that financial wellness through the workplace is here to stay. But there’s more work to be done to help programs work harder and smarter—including expanding the range of offerings, educating employees about complex benefits like equity plans, meeting the day-to-day struggles employees face, deploying better measurement tools, and driving participation with targeted, high-touch, and ongoing communications. Morgan Stanley at Work is ready to help you meet the challenges with a suite of financial workplace solutions spanning Financial Wellness, Retirement Solutions and Equity Compensation.
Kelli-Anne Cerini
MARKETING MANAGER
Kelli-Anne is the Marketing Manager of Nonprofit Resource Hub. She helps coordinate meetings, webinars, and works on the website, as well as designs flyers and graphics for the organization.
Kelli also works for Cerini & Associates, LLP and oversees all marketing and communications efforts for the firm. Kelli-Anne is heavily involved in firm operations, recruitment, and development. She work’s with the firm’s various services areas and management team to define and meet growth goals, as well as working to help organize and promote the Long Island and New York City Imagine Awards.
Patricia Brett
BOOKKEEPER
Trish is the Bookkeeper of the Nonprofit Resource Hub. She is also the full time Bookkeeper of Cerini & Associates, LLP, beginning her career with Cerini & Associates, LLP in 1995, when the company was comprised of two partners, and two administrative staff members. Trish continues to be a part of the growing company of 8 partners and 60 staff members today.
Ken Cerini
Managing Partner
Cerini & Associates, LLP
Ken is the Managing Partner of Cerini & Associates, LLP and is the executive responsible for the administration of our not-for-profit and educational provider practice groups. In addition to his extensive audit experience, Ken has been directly involved in providing consulting services for nonprofits and educational facilities of all sizes throughout New York State in such areas as cost reporting, financial analysis, Medicaid compliance, government audit representation, rate maximization, board training, budgeting and forecasting, and more.
Ken has won numerous awards, and has been quoted in publications such as Newsday, Long Island Business News, the Long Island Press, and the New York Times. Ken is the editor for two of the seven newsletters published by the firm, including The Report Card, written for private schools, and The Special ED-ition, published for special education providers. He taught a graduate level nonprofit accounting course at LIU—CW Post.
Kristina Laino-Tortorice
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Kristina is a Graphic Designer at Nonprofit Resource Hub where she helps create promotional items, works on the website, and helps with the webinar recording edits and YouTube channel.
Kristina is also part of Cerini & Associates’ marketing staff where she works on the firm’s marketing and graphic design needs. Including, but not limited to maintaining the company website, social media presence, email blasts, designing the company’s newsletters, as well as handling design work/promotional ads for the annual Long Island and New York City Imagine Awards.
David Goldstein
board counsel
David Goldstein is the founding Partner of Certilman Balin Nonprofit/Tax Exempt/Religious Organizations Practice Group. He represents international, national, regional and local not-for-profit and religious entities across a wide variety of nonprofit sectors. He serves on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Business Law Section, and is the Chairperson of the Not-For-Profit Corporations Law Committee of the State Bar Association’s Business Law Section.
Mr. Goldstein counsels and advocates for nonprofits and religious organizations in a wide variety of areas, including governance, compliance, regulatory matters, ethics, conflicts of interest, risk assessment and risk management, as well as operations and commercial matters. He represents clients (both individuals and organizations) in internal disputes, regulatory investigations and regulatory actions, as well as in litigation –and continually counsels his clients on how to avoid these entanglements.
Ken Cerini
Treasurer
Ken is the Managing Partner of Cerini & Associates, LLP and is the executive responsible for the administration of our not-for-profit and educational providers practice group. In addition to his extensive audit experience both at Ernst & Young, LLP, and Cerini & Associates, LLP, Ken has been directly involved in providing consulting services for nonprofits and educational facilities of all sizes throughout New York State.
Ken has won numerous awards, and has been quoted in publications such as Newsday, Long Island Business News, the Long Island Press, and the New York Times. Ken is the editor for three of the five newsletters published in-house by the firm, including: The Lesson Plan, written for school districts; The Special ED-ition, published for special education providers; and The NFP Advisor, written specifically for the nonprofit sector. He teaches a graduate level nonprofit accounting course at LIU—CW Post.
Christine Deska
Co-Founder
BellesBoard & Nonprofit Sector Strategies
Christine cofounded Nonprofit Sector Strategies, a public benefit corporation dedicated to helping nonprofits maximize mission impact through strategic planning and board management services, in 2018.
BellesBoard, its signature product, is a board governance software solution and mobile app that helps 10,000+ nonprofit leaders and boards grow efficiency, engagement and fundraising.
Christine brings more than 15 years of in-depth experience working in, and with, nonprofit organizations, foundations and the government. At the Columbus Citizens Foundation, Christine was Director of Programs from 2014 to 2016. While at AARP from 2006 to 2014, she led initiatives around older adult hunger, financial security and volunteer management, often serving as a media spokesperson. Christine created several scalable models at AARP including a successful member discount & engagement model.
Christine is the President of the Nonprofit Resource Hub (NRH), a trade association that provides valuable education, resources, and services to the nonprofit sector. Christine sits on the board of Hunger Solutions New York (HSNY), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the alleviation of hunger throughout New York State. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Queens Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit Committee.
Christine received a BA in Communications from Manhattan College and an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.
When she's not working with inspiring nonprofit leaders, Christine keeps busy chasing after her two young daughters, Annabelle and Bianca, while also trying to play in a couple adult soccer leagues without getting hurt!
Dan Lloyd
Founder & President
Minority Millennials Inc.
Dan Lloyd is a builder. A builder of networks incorporating diverse perspectives with 10+ years of experience in creating strategic public and private partnerships between communities, organizations, and their stakeholders.
In 2017, Dan founded Minority Millennials Inc. to bridge the gap between policy & culture. It is a not-for- profit organization dedicated to helping young people of color access jobs, build wealth and become civically engaged. Standing firm on “Proof of Progress” the grassroots organization has been touted as leaders in tackling disempowering narratives around minority communities and mobilizing millennials & gen z with the tools needed to become the next generation of change-makers in society.
In January, Daniel was recognized as one of the top 35 Non-profit founders to impact the world by Cause Artist. In July of 2020, Daniel was recognized by Long Island Business News as a Trailblazer of Diversity, received the Equity Foundation Award from the Urban League of LI and in 2019, was recognized by Gold Coast Bank as one of Long Island’s most influential millennials.
Daniel holds a Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, a Master of Business Administration in Global Management from Westwood College, and a Master’s in Public Policy from Stony Brook University.
His volunteer efforts include Council of Advisors to CDCLI, Town of Babylon Trustee on the Suffolk County Parks Committee, Member-at-large of the Central LI NAACP Branch and mentoring Wyandanch Elementary School 5th-graders.
Darren Port
CEO & Founder
Powered By Professionals
Darren is the CEO and founder of Powered by Professionals. After going through a personal loss at a young age, Darren has spent his life volunteering and giving back. He has used his 25 years of fundraising experience to successfully raise money and coordinate events for PBP’s clients as well as other national organizations and companies including the American Red Cross, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Make A Wish Foundation, the University of Maryland, Webstakes.com and Entrepreneurs Organizations (EO). As of 2022, he has helped PBP’s clients raise close to $200 million dollars towards fulfilling these nonprofits’ missions.
Since founding PBP, Darren and the PBP team have launched 14 different charitable organizations in addition to working with over 100 nonprofits. Darren has also worked to expand PBP’s offerings from fundraising and event management to include board development, strategic planning, direct mail, back-office support, and more.
Under Darren’s guidance, countless community members have been able to rise up from devastation and work with PBP to channel their grief and compassion into sustainable and popular foundations that continue to make a difference every day. His areas of expertise include corporate sponsorship solicitations, membership development, and public speaking. He has recently been solicited to speak to numerous corporations and organizations concerning the importance of philanthropy and charitable giving.
Darren has been an influential member of the JDRF since 1993. He served as the Chair of the Long Island Walk in 1994 and 1995 during which he started the JDRF Young Leadership Committee that he ran for ten years. Darren was a member of the Board of Directors from 1996 – 1998 in addition to 2001 – 2006. As the Vice President of Fundraising, Darren was an integral part of the team that raised over $8 million for JDRF. An important aspect of fundraising and event planning is working with professional staff and volunteers. His own experience as a volunteer in leadership positions provides him with an understanding and sensitivity to management and lay leadership.
Darren is a proud Terp and holds a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Maryland. He resides in New Jersey with his wife, Jill, and their daughters, Erika and Gabrielle. He is an avid sports fan and competitor as proven by his completion of eight New York City Marathons and the Lake Placid Ironman Triathlon.
David Goldstein
Partner
Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP
David Goldstein is the founding Partner of Certilman Balin Nonprofit/Tax Exempt/Religious Organizations Practice Group. He represents international, national, regional and local not-for-profit and religious entities across a wide variety of nonprofit sectors. He serves on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Business Law Section, and is the Chairperson of the Not-For-Profit Corporations Law Committee of the State Bar Association’s Business Law Section.
Mr. Goldstein counsels and advocates for nonprofits and religious organizations in a wide variety of areas, including governance, compliance, regulatory matters, ethics, conflicts of interest, risk assessment and risk management, as well as operations and commercial matters. He represents clients (both individuals and organizations) in internal disputes, regulatory investigations and regulatory actions, as well as in litigation –and continually counsels his clients on how to avoid these entanglements.
Kathleen Riviera
Executive Director & CEO
North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center
Kathleen Rivera is the Executive Director and CEO of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center (the Guidance Center), Long Island’s premiere children’s mental health organization that focuses on bringing hope and healing to young people struggling with a wide range of emotional and substance use challenges. Ms. Rivera has been successfully managing the operations of the renowned 70-year agency, leading it successfully through the unprecedented youth mental health crisis, which continues to create an epidemic of anxiety, depression and fear among our children and adolescents. Ms. Rivera earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College of the City University of New York and her Master of Social Work from Hunter College School of Social Work. She has over 28 years of experience in the human services nonprofit sector and has dedicated the last 18 years specifically to serving children and families across Long Island and New York City. Her deep knowledge of clinical treatment, mental health policy and agency operations provides profound insights and perspective on the ever-changing landscape of mental health. She has fought tirelessly throughout her career to bring life changing therapeutic services, educational opportunities, and community-based supports to those faced with trauma, chronic illness, economic deprivation, and social injustice.
Minerva Perez
Executive Director
OLA
Minerva Perez, Executive Director, centers her work on the protection, empowerment, and celebration of our Latino community. Before joining OLA as Executive Director in 2016, she was the Director of Residential and Transitional Services for six years at The Retreat, where she ran a 24-hour crisis shelter for women and children fleeing domestic abuse. Minerva is a sought-after speaker, regularly participating in panels and public forums focused on immigrant rights and women's rights. Minerva was named “Sag Harbor Person of the Year” in 2018, and in 2019 she was nationally recognized as one of NBC’s “Latino 20” for her leadership of OLA and its impact in our region. In 2019 Minerva also appeared on Fox News Channel’s The Story with Martha MacCallum where she discussed the ICE raids our community was experiencing at that moment and the Latino vote. Most recently, Minerva has led advocacy efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic such as working with Suffolk County officials to establish a coordinated response to meeting the needs of the homebound and hungry in Suffolk’s 10 towns; ensuring ongoing, regular access to food for East End families hardest hit by COVID; working with Suffolk County officials to provide free COVID-19 testing by bringing a mobile testing unit to a remote part of the East End; and launching Project Hope: Coping with COVID, a FEMA-funded New York State initiative that allows OLA to provide crisis counseling in English, Spanish, and Portuguese to the entire East End by hiring and training 20 new staff members. Minerva holds a BFA in Drama from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and lives in Sag Harbor, NY.
Patrick Bardsley
CEO
Spectrum Designs
As CEO, Patrick is in charge of the day-to-day running of Spectrum Designs and Spectrum Suds. He holds a Masters in Special Education, with a concentration in Behavior Analysis through Long Island University. A natural leader and born innovator, he spends most of his time securing future growth and relationships for the betterment and expansion of all of our social enterprises. Under Patrick’s leadership Spectrum’s businesses have generated annual revenues of over $5m and created more than 50 jobs in a neurodiverse workforce.
Patrick brings an enormous skill-set that spans many disciplines, as well as over 13 years of experience working with people adults on the Autism Spectrum. Outside of his work at Spectrum Designs, New York State Industries for the Disabled and a member of the invite-only Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC).
In 2019 Patrick graduated from the Goldman Sachs 10k Small Business program and joined the Autism @ Work Employer Round table joining an international collection of cross industry employers and innovative leaders who run autism-focused hiring initiatives.
Sherry Radowitz, Ph.D.
Senior Director of Grants & Sponsored Programs
Molloy University
Dr. Sherry Radowitz is the senior director of grants & sponsored programs at Molloy University. During her 18-year tenure at Molloy, 375 grant awards have supported programs, academic services, scholarships, capital expansion, curriculum, research, and professional development. Her proposal development and grants management training has helped build capacity; internal and external collaborative efforts have launched new campus initiatives. Sherry aided the School of Education in gaining approval for its dual certification in early childhood/childhood education and served as early childhood consultant through 2018; she taught courses, organized annual conferences, and arranged student teaching placements. In 2015, she introduced the Empowerment Skills for Leaders course to nonprofit administrators on Long Island and subsequently in collaboration with Human Resources, she helped initiate the credential at Molloy co-facilitating six cohorts on campus. In 2016, Sherry received the President’s Distinguished Service Award. With 50 years in education and human services and degrees in psychology, child development and child & family studies, previous positions include senior vice president of community & agency services at United Way of Long Island, first executive director of Long Island Fund for Women and Girls, and deputy director of Child Care Council of Nassau and Child Care Council of Suffolk. Expert in nonprofit management and fundraising, Sherry has been consultant and dedicated volunteer for several nonprofits. For more than 10 years, she has been treasurer of the COPE Foundation, a grief and healing organization and a consulting partner for Molloy’s mobile clinic funded by Mother Cabrini Health Foundation.
Sol Marie Alfonso-Jones
Program Director
Long Island Community Foundation (LICF)
Sol Marie has been with the Long Island Community Foundation (LICF) since the Spring of 2009. As program director, she manages the Foundation’s competitive grantmaking programs in the areas of Education, Youth Development, and Community and Economic Development. She also leads the Foundation’s strategic initiatives, including ensuring an accurate census count, developing regional solutions to racial and economic inequities, advancing fair and affordable housing, improving the performance of minority-owned small businesses, and supporting an inclusive and representative democracy.
Sol Marie has more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit management, community building, program development, and evaluation. Prior to LICF, she worked at Sustainable Long Island where she directed the organization’s community revitalization and brownfield redevelopment programs. She also served as director of the Fight for Families Coalition at the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, an alliance of health and human service, community-based agencies working to enhance service delivery systems in Nassau County. Before her employ on Long Island, Sol Marie spent 17 years working in New York City: 12 years overseeing youth development programs at Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and five years as a community liaison in Governor Mario Cuomo’s Office of Hispanic Affairs.
Sol Marie is an adjunct professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Social Welfare. She is a co-chair of Engage New York, a network of foundation leaders across the State working to advance equity, social justice, and civic and community participation, and chair of the Funders Census Initiative, a working group of the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation that mobilizes philanthropic engagement towards a fair and accurate Census. Additionally, she is on the Board of Directors of the Funders Committee for Civic Participation and the Regional Plan Association. In 2022, Sol Marie was elected to serve on the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council. She also is a member of a NYS Health Foundation advisory committee that informs its grantmaking to community-based, BIPOC-led, nonprofits addressing institutional food and/or Food As Medicine programs.
Suzette Gordon
President & CEO
SCO Family of Services
Suzette Gordon was appointed President & CEO of SCO Family of Services in July 2023. In this role, she assumes oversight of the agency’s extensive continuum of residential and community-based child welfare, early childhood, youth development, family support, special needs, and homeless services.
Suzette joined SCO in January 2019 as the agency’s first Chief Legal Counsel wherein she represented SCO in all legal matters, provided legal guidance to the President & CEO and staff, oversaw SCO’s in-house legal services department and corporate compliance program, and served as the liaison for outside legal counsel to ensure that SCO complied with all applicable laws and regulations. In 2020, Ms. Gordon’s responsibilities were expanded to include oversight of the Human Resources department and Communications and Marketing departments. In December 2022, Ms. Gordon was promoted to Interim President and CEO of the agency and is credited with reimagining and strengthening SCO’s leadership team, improving program optimization, and ensuring cultural alignment with SCO’s mission, vision, and values.
Suzette brings more than 20 years of legal, government, and non-profit experience in both the private and public sectors, with particular expertise in healthcare transformation and Medicaid redesign. Prior to joining SCO, she held the position of Compliance & Contracting Officer at SBH Health System’s Bronx Partners for Healthy Communities, where she designed and operationalized the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program’s compliance program and navigated organizational advancement toward an integrated delivery system. Previously, she served as Deputy General Counsel & Agency Chief Privacy Officer at the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. Earlier in her career, Suzette was a Trial Attorney at the United States Department of Justice, Civil Fraud Section.
Ms. Gordon is a well-respected lecturer and author on healthcare privacy and the law and is a former board member of Primary Care Development Corporation. She received a BA in Political Science (highest honors) from NYU College of Arts and Science and received her law degree from NYU School of Law.
Tommy DiMisa
Director of Strategic Alliances
Philanthropy in Phocus
He brings over 17 years of expertise in strategic alliances with business owners and trusted advisers and is known as a selfless connector who consistently adds value to his networking partners, clients, and community.
Tommy’s work at ADP, TriNet and CoAdvantage honed his expertise in PEO and HR outsourcing. During his time at Safeguard Global, Tommy helped businesses tackle the global need for easy and agile global employment outsourcing solutions. Through this variety of experience
Tommy has become keenly aware of the options available in the HR & Benefits market positioning him as a consultant with Vanguard Benefits.
Tommy’s passion for the nonprofit sector has made him a beloved philanthropic activist. Tommy created Philanthropy in Phocus, a project that provides support to nonprofits through networking opportunities, thought leadership, and a soon to be launched podcast series. Tommy sits on the boards of The Bayside Business Association, TSI CARES, The Health & Business Alliance, and TNG-THE Networking Group as “Chief Culture Officer” and The Lindy Loo Foundation.
Joshua Peskay
C3P0
RoundTable Technology
Joshua is usually one of the first people new clients of RoundTable meet. And this explains why so many of them go on to enjoy a long and profitable partnership with us. Friendly and enthusiastic, Joshua has been helping non-profit organizations get more out of their technology since the 1990s. Over the last three decades, he's helped thousands of nonprofits meet their goals and help people. He loves helping organizations think more strategically about their tech and make smart decisions.
Ed Probst
Secretary
Ed Probst is an Employee Benefit Specialist and seasoned veteran of the Insurance industry. Ed is a founding Partner of Vanguard Benefits (previously Vanguard Insurance Agency) which was established in 1999. He currently acts as President and is responsible for the strategic direction of the organization. Ed has a particular expertise and knowledge in the areas of Employee Benefits, Group Insurance, The Affordable Care Act, and ERISA. While throughout his career he has worked with clients in a vast array of professions he has carved a niche in working with the Non-Profit Sector.
Ed holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the New York Institute Of Technology. Over the course of his career he has earned numerous professional designations including Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Registered Health Underwriter (RHU), Healthcare Reform Specialist (HCR), Chartered Healthcare Consultant (ChHC) and Registered Employee Benefit Consultant (REBC). He has also been a long-time member and supporter of the National Association Of Health Underwriters (NAHU).
Ed is very passionate about his work with charities and the community. He has volunteered his time as a youth baseball coach for over 25years and is well respected for his efforts. Currently he serves on both the Executive and Foundation Boards for the Cerebral Palsy Association Of Nassau County. He also volunteers his time for CP Nassau on their Forget Me Not Ball, 5K, and Networking Committees. Ed is also a member of TSI Cares and is currently President of the Bayside Business Association for which he has a been a member for 15 years.
Christine Deska
President
Christine Deska is the cofounder of Nonprofit Sector Strategies, a public benefit corporation dedicated to helping nonprofits maximize mission impact. NSS provides strategic planning and board management services to small and medium-sized nonprofits. NSS has also created BellesBoard, a board management software platform and mobile app that helps nonprofit boards be more efficient.
Christine brings more than a decade of in-depth experience working in, and with, nonprofit organizations, foundations and the government. At the Columbus Citizens Foundation, Christine was Director of Programs from 2014 to 2016. While at AARP from 2006 to 2014, she led initiatives around older adult hunger, financial security and volunteer management, often serving as a media spokesperson. Christine created several scalable models at AARP including a successful member discount & engagement model.
Christine sits on the board of Hunger Solutions New York, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the alleviation of hunger throughout New York State.
