Tuesday, May 6, 2025
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Registration
8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
The Albany Visit (Optional Add-On)
11:00 AM – 2:15 PM
Human Resources Roundtable (Pre-Conference Session)
- Welcome Remarks
Teresa Pikner, Senior Vice President & Director of Human Resources Maspeth Federal, Chair, HR Roundtable
- Human Resources Today: A Legal Update
Rebecca M. McCloskey, Principal, Jackson Lewis, P.C.
- Human Resources and AI
Eric Felsberg, Principal, Jackson Lewis, P.C.
- Lunch and Roundtable Discussion
3:00 – 4:30 PM
Breaking Barriers Symposium:
- What’s Happening with DEI?
Lora McCray, Senior Vice President of Workforce Excellence, American Bankers Association
- Michael Pugh
President & CEO, LISC in conversation with Clare Cusack, President & CEO, NYBA
5:00 – 6:00 PM
Opening Reception
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Dinner
Welcome Remarks: Clare Cusack, President & CEO, NYBA
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Registration
8:00 – 9:00 AM
Breakfast and Networking
9:00 – 11:00 AM
Opening General Session
- Welcome Remarks: Clare Cusack, President & CEO, NYBA
- Digging Deep to Overcome Adversity
Chris Vasami, President/Owner, Vasami Training, Inc.
- Character Matters
Lieutenant General (ret) William C. Mayville, Jr.
11:00 AM – 11:15 AM
Coffee Break
Concurrent Sessions
11:15 AM – 12:00 PM
- Emerging Leaders Track: Uniquely You: Building a Winning Personal Brand
Stacey Ross Cohen, Founder, President & CEO, CoCommunications, Inc. Author of BrandUp
- Women in Leadership Track: Building Gen Z & Millennial Bonds with Stakeholders
Liam McMahon, Regional Director, Small Business Development Center, Binghamton University; Michael Herceg, Certified Business Advisor, Small Business Development Center, Binghamton University
12:15 – 1:00 PM
Lunch
1:15 – 2:00 PM
- Emerging Leaders Track: NextGen Banking: Emerging Leaders Shaping the Future
Ian C. Townsend, Senior Vice President and Eastern NY Territory Manager, NBT Bank; Susan Timan, Vice President, Marketing Director & Corporate Secretary, Bank of Greene County; Bradley Burns, Vice President, Business Banking Relationship Manager, M&T Bank; Moderated by: Lyn Wiltsie, Vice President – Customer Care, Pioneer
- Women in Leadership Track: Women Leaders Navigating Today’s Challenges
Kelli Arnold, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy & Innovations Officer, Pioneer; Alyssa H. Fontaine, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer, Tompkins Financial Corporation; Allana Lazeroff, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Genesee Regional Bank; Tricia Ball, Vice President, Senior Manager of Payments and Transaction Banking, HSBC Bank USA; Moderator: Ruth H. Mahoney, Executive Vice President and President of Wealth Management, NBT Bank
2:15 – 3:00 PM
- Emerging Leaders Track: AI in Banking: Transforming the Industry
Andrew D. Billeter, Principal, Wolf & Co.
- Women in Leadership Track: Transformation and Enablement: Leading Change
Iman K. Agbale, Change Management Consultant
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Closing General Session: A View From the C-Suite
Beth Beshaw, Senior Director of Community Banking, M&T Bank; Sarah A. Halliday, President of Commercial Banking, NBT Bank; Michael Horodyski, Wallkill Valley Federal Savings and Loan Association; Moderator: Cheryl Bowers, President & CEO, Rondout Savings Bank