2024 NYN Media Nonprofit BoardCon

8:30 AM	Breakfast and Registration
9:15 AM	Opening Remarks by Emcee Phenix Kim, Reporter, NYN Media
9:20 AM	Responsibilities and Expectations for Serving on a Nonprofit Board One of the major challenges that so many boards struggle with is understanding board member roles and responsibilities and how to fulfill them. Being a board member is more than a résumé builder as they need to be committed to following through on promises and assisting the organization to the best of their abilities. They also need to fully support the work, represent the organization’s mission, and be dedicated spokespersons for the cause. The board should do all they can to reach organizational goals, but members still have a responsibility to follow the organization’s rules. Allison Nickerson, Executive Director, LiveOn NY (Moderator) Tara N. Gardner, Executive Director, Day Care Council of New York Neela Lockel, President & Chief Executive Officer, EAC Network Alexander K. Buchholz, Partner, PKF O'Connor Davies, LLP Yolanda Kanes, Chair, Trusts and Estates Practice, Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP Jodi Warren, Partner, Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld
10:05 AM	How to Run a Successful Nonprofit Board Meeting If run effectively, board meetings can move a nonprofit closer to its goals. They can provide support and encouragement to its staff. Board meetings are a time for the team to come together to collaborate on an organization’s goals and strategize how to make progress toward those objectives. They need to be run orderly with a set beginning and end times, a clear agenda, allowance for clear communication and an opportunity to raise new ideas which should be recorded allowing for further review later. Plans, cohesiveness and communications are all essential for a successful meeting. Charlie Pane, Outreach and Engagement Manager, Cornell Cooperative Extension (Moderator) Nick Brasse, Chief of Staff, Volunteers of America - Greater New York Rasmia Kirmani, Board Chair, The Center for Justice Innovation Lindsay Ornstein, Co-Founder, Open Impact Real Estate Ken Hafner, Head of Accounting Services, Kiwi Partners
10:50 AM	Refreshment Break
11:10 AM	Deepening Board Engagement and Impact How do you keep a board focused on what really matters to the organization and their role? There are several effective practices which include the importance of top line information, connecting decisions to mission, providing multiple outlets for different kinds of engagement, clearly defining the roles between board and staff and board and the CEO and more. Engaging board members requires good communication, ongoing support, and helping to put your mission in action. Ebony Young, Deputy Queens Borough President (Moderator) Jonah Gensler, Chief Executive Officer, LSA Family Health Service Traci Lester, Board Co-Chair, New York City Arts in Education Roundtable Michael Rosen, Board Committee Chair, The New York Pops Marnie Berk, Director of Pro Bono Programs, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
11:55 AM	Streamlining Processes to Effectively Run Your Nonprofit Successful organizations use many different tracks of strategy in creating an optimal board. Key to this process is developing a focused, purposeful strategy that incorporates systems, resource allocation, data management, finances, and more. What are the most essential financial tools and documents the staff and board to operate efficiently? This panel will explain how efficient operations and processes can enhance your nonprofit’s administrative efficiency, streamline functions from financial oversight to real estate opportunities to all fiduciary responsibilities, and create operational stability for establishing a sustainable board. Amy West, Executive Vice President And Chief Financial Officer, AHRC NYC (Moderator) Karin Kunstler Goldman, Deputy Bureau Chief, New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau Stacy Bliagos, Executive Director, HANAC Naima Chisolm, Portfolio Manager, BTQ Financial Brian Sackstein, Partner – Nonprofit and Healthcare Industries, Armanino, LLP Cherian Koshy, Vice President of Product Strategy, iWave Amanda Milazzo, First Vice President, Nonprofit and Diversified, Valley National Bank
12:45 PM	Lunch
1:40 PM	Diversity and Inclusion in the Boardroom The incorporation of diversity, equity, and inclusion with board leadership is essential across assessment, recruitment, and retention – and beyond. It is important to engage the board in training and conversations around the value of practicing diversity, equity, and inclusion. It has become increasingly important to focus on fostering an inclusive Board culture by emphasizing a feeling of belonging through shared experiences, shared perspectives, and shared language. Board members’ and staff’s experiences affect their understanding and appreciation of the impact of power and privilege. Cheryelle Cruickshank, Executive Director, INCLUDEnyc (Moderator) Kimberly Watson, President and CEO, Graham Windham Damian Travier, Executive Director, Access Psychology Foundation Lew Zuchman, Executive Director, SCAN-Harbor
2:20 PM	Understanding Your Changing Workforce: How to Increase Employee Engagement Across Generations The workforce is always evolving and learning to work across generations is becoming more and more vital. Every generation brings a somewhat different essence to a group. People from the baby boomer generation and older can learn much from more recent generations such as Gen Z and millennials and vice versa. How can your board leverage the talent and imagination that are inherent in the Gen Z and millennial populations? Damaris Herron-Watkins, Director of Finance and Administration, A Better Chance (Moderator) Wayne Ho, President & CEO, Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc. Mark Dungan, Vice President, Employee Benefits, USI Insurance Services Christy Hamilton, Chief Operating Officer, Carey & Co. David Pearson, Senior Vice President, People & Culture Extensis HR
3:05 PM	Refreshment Break
3:20 PM	Succession and Transition Planning: Finance, Operations and Strategy Change at the decision-making level requires the board to provide strong leadership and direction as it anticipates what the organization needs from its next leader. Successfully managing the departure of an executive and the recruitment, hiring, and installation of a new executive is a challenging process that typically requires months of work in addition to a reword of financial planning and operational strategies. This also applies to merger activity for nonprofits where often the most successful have a pre-organized succession plan for top leadership. Ramik Williams, Executive Director, KAVI Brooklyn (Moderator) Nancy D. Miller, Executive Director/CEO, VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired John Eusanio, CPA, CGMA, Partner - Not-for-Profit Practice Leader, Citrin Cooperman Rachel DeMatteo, Director & Market Leader, YPTC Priya Ananthanathan, Director of Development Services, Denham Wolf Real Estate Services
4:05 PM	Enhancing the Executive Director/Board Partnership While Delivering Mission The dynamics of the board-executive partnership has a strong effect on the health and sustainability of an organization. Board members and executives have different roles, and the balance of power helps them to get the work of the organization done. The relationship between the board and the executives requires recognizing and appreciating each other’s position within the organization. When both teams are working together like this it maximizes the impact of the nonprofit. Jan Fisher, Executive Director, Nonprofit Westchester (Moderator) Jeanette Gisbert, Executive Director, Volunteer New York! Maurice Segall, Director, Pro Bono Partnership Michelle A. Nicholas, Vice Chair, PCSB Community Foundation Wayne Davis, Co-Chair, Investment Management Practice, Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP
4:50 PM	Sessions Conclude

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