Minds Of All Kinds

Adina Storch is Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Global Industrial Company, an NYSE-traded industrial distribution company, and also serves on the Board of Directors of Medical Facilities Corporation, a publicly-traded Canadian company with a portfolio of hospitals and surgery centers across the U.S. Previously, Adina served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Cedar Realty Trust, a publicly-traded REIT. Prior to her in-house roles, Adina worked as an international capital markets lawyer for Shearman & Sterling in Paris, France and as a commercial litigation partner at the Kasowitz, Benson law firm in NY.

Adina was recently named by Corporate Counsel as a recipient of the 2023 Women, Influence and Power in Law Award in the category of “Innovative Leadership.” Adina has twice won the Top General Counsel Award by the First Chair organization, a peer-nominated award recognizing in-house counsel for their significant contributions to the legal community. Earlier in her career, Adina was named by Thomson Reuters as a NY Super Lawyer and one of the Top Women Attorneys in New York in her field.

A respected authority on corporate governance, Adina has frequently contributed to the press on a variety of compliance and legal topics. She has been featured as a guest on “Inside America’s Boardrooms,” a broadcast for public company directors. She was recently profiled by Modern Counsel magazine for her integrity in executive leadership, and by Corporate Board Member in their Professional Director Spotlight series for her range of experience and consensus-building skills as a corporate director.

Ms. Storch received her law degree from The Yale Law School, where she was a senior editor of The Yale Law Journal and received her undergraduate degree also from Yale, where she graduated summa cum laude with distinction in the English major, was President of Phi Beta Kappa for her class, and was awarded the prestigious Warren Prize at commencement as the top-ranking graduate in her Yale class majoring in the Humanities.

Outside of work, Adina supports philanthropic causes that elevate women and individuals with disabilities. She is a regular speaker and moderator on women in leadership panels. Most recently, Adina was honored with the “Fuel Her Fire” Award by Girls, Inc., a national organization promoting leadership development in girls from underserved communities, in recognition of her trailblazing role as a strong woman leader and role model in her community. Adina resides in New York with her husband and two daughters.

"I am in awe of the quality vocational training and meaningful work opportunities that Spectrum Designs offers to young adults with special needs. As a parent of an adult with special needs, I am well aware of the need for more companies to make this a priority. I am honored to be a small piece of the puzzle that gets to work alongside the special people who have worked so hard to make Spectrum Designs such a big success."

Alyson is VP of Marketing & Digital Sales at WABC-TV. She has been in this position for the last 14 years, creating customized campaigns for advertisers. Prior to this role, Alyson was Sales Manager for the ABC Station Group’s west coast sales team, and had worked as a Local Account Executive at WABC-TV for 10 years before that position.

Chris Boffa serves as Associate Executive Director (Chief Operating Officer) of Long Island Jewish Medical Center, part of Northwell Health. Chris is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the LIJMC Campus. His responsibilities include oversight of all hospital-based support teams including Radiology, Food and Nutrition, Engineering and Capital improvements, Safety and Emergency Management, Security, Transport, Environmental Services and Clinical Engineering.

Chris joined LIJMC in 2011 after serving 7 years at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset as Senior Director of Support Services. Prior to joining Northwell Health, Chris held numerous executive positions in the business world of retail with Target and Gap Inc (Old Navy Division), running departments, stores and multiple locations over his tenure in the New York Region.

He received a Master of Business Administration from Hofstra University in 2003 and a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Hofstra University in 1999.

Chris has been a partner with Spectrum since being introduced to the team in 2015, and ever since, has believed in the mission and supported the organization with different opportunities.

“The mission of Spectrum makes it so easy for me to donate my time and talent. The dedication of the staff is unsurpassed. I find it incredibly heart-warming to see these disabled young men and women working in an environment where they are productive, happy, and have a sense of self-worth and purpose. One look at the smiles on their faces says it all! ”

Denise holds a Doctor of Education from St. John’s University, An MA of Science in Education from Fordham University, a MA in Education and a Bachelors in Business, both from Adelphi University. She brings a wealth of educational experience and knowledge to the Spectrum Designs Board. She has served as an Adjunct Professor, a college dean, a school principal, a classroom teacher and supervised student teachers, teaching at both the high school and college levels.

Denise shares her time and talent with Bethany House – holding leadership classes and serving on the Safe at Home Committee– “Bethany House is a composite of residential options for women and children who are caught in the crisis of homelessness, believing that each person deserves and needs adequate food, clothing, and shelter, provided in a nurturing and sustaining environment.”

Jane Gilmartin is the President of Ideavillage Products Corporation, a leading consumer products company recognized for its dominance in the compression wear market in the US with the Copper Fit brand, which she launched a decade ago. Under her leadership, Ideavillage has expanded its reach to 70,000 stores globally and is set to revolutionize its health-focused platform in 2024. This initiative will introduce a range of clinically based wellness products, from far infrared light therapy to scalp health solutions, through internal development and global partnerships, aiming to empower the consumer to live healthier, happier lives.

With a rich background as a senior executive in retail and private equity, Jane specializes in team leadership, consumer brand development, and trend creation. Her career highlights include pivotal roles as EVP, CMO, and CEO at renowned companies such as Linens ‘N Things and Bed, Bath, & Beyond, where she became the first female Executive VP. Additionally, she spearheaded the launch of a new chain at Ross stores, now boasting 347 locations. Jane's expertise also extends to the private equity sector, having worked with Leonard Green and Prentice Capital, a Steven J. Cohen fund, where she oversaw portfolio companies as CEO.

Beyond her professional achievements, Jane is married to Daniel Frisa, a former Congressman and lawyer, celebrating 40 years of marriage. She is a proud mother to Danielle and grandmother to Jack and Will. Holding a BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado and having pursued advanced graduate coursework, Jane has been honored as retailer of the year by several organizations, including the Housewares Association and Fairchild Publications. In her leisure time, she enjoys traveling, swimming, and spending time with friends.

John Beyer, President of Men on the Move, a moving and storage company is serious about his work on behalf of Autism. He currently serves on the Boards of Spectrum Designs Foundation, as Treasurer and as Chairman of the Long Island Chapter of Autism Speaks. John was founding member of the David Center, an organization designed to help families affected by Autism. He assisted in running the Father’s Support Group for the organization. Additionally, John takes great pride at having served as a Parent Representative at C.S.E. (Committee on Special Education) meetings in school settings to assist and ensure that Special Needs children received the services they needed. Very generous with his time, John makes every effort to make a positive impact in the community and will always continue to do so. While building and operating a successful business, he has worked diligently to spread Autism awareness. Creatively, he utilizes his company vehicles as “billboards for awareness”, posting Autism content directly on the company vehicles and, donating moving and storage services to different Autism-related organizations.

Jothy Narendran is co-managing partner and chair of the banking and financial services department at Jaspan Schlesinger Narendran, LLP. With nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Jothy has a distinguished reputation for representing institutional and private lenders in a wide range of complex commercial real estate financing transactions.

Jothy is deeply committed to her community and is involved with several charitable, educational and business related organizations. Jothy currently serves as President of Spectrum Designs Foundation, chair of the Touro Law Center Board of Governors, and is a former chair of the Go Red for Women LI campaign event for the American Heart Association Long Island Chapter in 2021. Jothy has also been a contributor to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Long Island for the past 25 years.

Jothy received her Bachelor of Science Degree from New York Institute of Technology, her Masters of Business Administration from Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University and her J.D. from Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center.

Throughout her career, Jothy has received numerous awards, honors and distinctions, including the Long Island Business Influencer in Law (2024), Long Island Business News Hall of Fame (2023), Blank State Media Women of Distinction (2023), Herald Media Publications Top Lawyers of Long Island (2023), Touro College Paul S. Miller Award (2021) and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Presidential Award (2007).

Rick Sebastian is President and CEO of The Kennedy Collective (formerly The Kennedy Center), a Connecticut-based organization dedicated to empowering people with disabilities and others with barriers to employment to live vibrant, self-determined lives.

Educated at Utica College of Syracuse University (BS, Psychology) and Loyola University Maryland (MS, Pastoral Counseling), Rick has devoted his career to building inclusive communities and developing purpose-driven enterprises that create meaningful impact. A lifelong advocate for social enterprise and the triple bottom line, he champions business models that align mission, market, and opportunity to drive economic and social change.

Rick serves on the Board of Directors of Workability International in London and as Senior Business Advisor to the Global Water Consortium, advancing sustainable clean-water production and distribution initiatives that create employment and income for marginalized people while addressing systemic health challenges in India, Nepal, Honduras, and Kenya.

Beyond his professional commitments, Rick finds joy in the outdoors, fishing, backpacking, and adventure travel with his family. He is an Appalachian Trail section hiker with the goal of completing a thru-hike and values the stories, challenges, and connections that life provides.

Rob is a partner in the International Tax Services practice of PwC’s New York office. He has over 28 years of experience advising U.S. and foreign-based multinational companies on all aspects of conducting business in a global economy. In this role, Rob assists his clients in a variety of areas, including intellectual property planning, designing and implementing integrated holding and financing company structures, solutions for cash redeployment and repatriation, intercompany financing, cross-border merger and acquisition strategies, effective tax rate reduction techniques and foreign tax credit planning. Rob has extensive knowledge of both US and foreign tax rules and regularly works on large multi-jurisdictional transactions and restructurings. Rob has held various roles within PwC including US National Operations Leader for the International Tax Services practice, International Tax Services Leader for the New York Metro Region and International Tax Desk Leader.

Rob graduated from the Stern School of Business, New York University, magna cum laude, with a B.S. in Accounting and International Business. He received his J.D., cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law where he was an editor of the Law Review and LLM in taxation from New York University School of Law. Rob is admitted to Bar in New York and is also a Certified Public Accountant in New York and Maryland.

Michael has participated in more than a thousand legal-technology-related projects, including some of the largest and most complex mergers, cross-border investigations, and intellectual property disputes. He serves the legal profession in the areas of forensic accounting, economic analysis, litigation data analytics, and electronic discovery. Michael has been an inventor and early adopter of state-of-the-art tools in the areas of electronically-stored-information (ESI) processing, hosted document review, hybrid analytics, and ESI production and was co-awarded two of the first patents for eDiscovery processing and ESI authentication. Prior to joining AlixPartners, he was CEO of Evidence Exchange, a New York–based eDiscovery provider, which he also cofounded. Michael previously served as the Vice Chair of the Manhasset Bay Protection Committee.

Dick Grafer is a retired partner of Arthur Andersen who is currently active as a community advocate, non-profit board member, volunteer and private financial consultant. He is also the sole owner of Pathway Investments, LLC, a social angel investment and consulting firm. Since his retirement from Andersen, Dick's mission and efforts have been to serve the under-privileged and most vulnerable in our society.

During his 28 year career at Arthur Andersen, Dick held several senior management positions, including director of its worldwide merger and acquisition assistance program and founder and head of its private equity practice, which ultimately became its transaction advisory services group. He also headed the largest assurance and business advisory division in Andersen’s New York Office and served many of the firm’s industrial and private equity clients as engagement and/or advisory partner.

Before joining Andersen, Dick spent several years in the U.S. Army Special Forces, in Government (Presidential Executive Interchange Program) and in the venture capital industry. He is a decorated (Bronze Star Medal) Vietnam Veteran.

Dick has been a volunteer for and/or member of the board of the following organizations: Family and Children’s Association (Vice Chairman), Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York, Community Development Corporation of Long Island, Sustainable Long Island, The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, Nassau County Audit Advisory Committee, Adelphi University Center for Social Innovation Advisory Board, the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance Investment Committee, St. Peter of Alcantara Church Mission and Social Ministry Advisory Boards, the Chaminade Alumni Assocation (Past President) and the NYU Business Forum. Dick is also a Trustee of The Grafer Foundation and Co-Executive of the Gloria Grafer Critical Needs Program, which helps individuals on LI survive or "step-up". Finally, Dick has been a volunteer tutor the past twelve years in Hempstead for young adults seeking their GED. For these and other volunteer activities, Dick received Newsday's “Everyday Hero” award in 2005 and Family and Children's Association's Humanitarian Award in 2012.

Dick has a BBA from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. He resides with his wife, Gloria, in Port Washington, New York and has three adult children, John, Paul and Lauren, and three grandchildren.