NYWIB - Key Persons
Agnes is the founder and CEO of a boutique liquor distribution company that assists smaller brands in launching and marketing themselves in a competitive marketplace. She also works as a consultant for hospitality businesses, assisting them grow through online strategies. She has passion for social impact, environment and food sustainability issues. She is also a SCORE mentor.
Betty Newman is a experience maker + connector + humanistic brander. A native New York entrepreneur and business owner of The Holding Company, which designs products, brands, and experiences revolutionizing how we care for our kids and elders and manage family life. For 30 years, she has influenced influencers with herone-of-a-kind consumer brand experiential packages for over thirty years. She has partneredwithorganizations that are working to give families the time, space, and joy they deserve, from fast growing start-ups to multinationals and government agencies to nonprofits.She foundedTHE WIDTH for 50+ women and the brands who want to empower them both benefit through imaginative expansive experiential partnership opportunities.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chairman, Resource Development
Betty Wong is a serial entrepreneur, new products marketer, educator, consultant, mentor and coach. Her clients, employers and board assignments have included startups (including her own), and Fortune 500 level companies (Colgate-Palmolive, Mars, Johnson&Johnson, Honeywell, NYTimes) and others.
Betty founded Stage2Startups in 2017 when she realized there were no organizations helping founders over 40. Betty has taught entrepreneurship at CUNY-Baruch College and marketing at UPhoenix Online and has been on the boards of Care for the Homeless, Graham-Windham and the New York Chinese Cultural Center.
She is a graduate of NYU-Stern School of Business and Columbia Business School.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chairman of the Entrepreneurs Committee of the Financial Women Association of New York
- FWA
- Relationship Manager in Commercial Banking at City National Bank
As a Sr. Relationship Manager in Commercial Banking at City National Bank, Cristina is assisting mid-size companies in obtaining the financing needed to run operations, to expand to new markets, develop new product lines, make acquisitions and acquire real estate and other fixed assets. She also provides guidance to business owners as it relates to various other commercial banking services such as cash management, trade financing, FX and swap products.
Cristina has been in the banking industry for the past 25 years and held various roles including Sr. Corporate Banking Manager in the Middle Market group and District Credit Officer in Commercial Banking at HSBC Bank USA, NA as well as various client facing roles in Commercial Banking at Chase.
Cristina holds a MBA in Banking and Finance from Hofstra University and a B.B.A. from the Academy of Economic Studies in Romania. Cristina also completed the Analyst Credit Training program at Chase and Advance Credit Skills at HSBC.
Cristina is the Chair of the Entrepreneurs Committee of the Financial Women Association of New York (FWA), a not for profit organization supporting the advancement of women in finance; a member of the Exit Planning Exchange - LI chapter, an organization that advises owners of small to mid-size company on how to prepare for a liquidity event; as well as and a member of Pipeline Angel, an angel group with 400 female members committed to supporting women & femmes entrepreneurs in US and Puerto Rico. Cristina is also the Chair of the Professional Development Committee of the Women's Network at City National Bank.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
Job Titles:
- Director of Launch Services at the NYC Department
Kina N Thomas is the Director of Launch Services at the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS). She has worked with the New York City Department of Small Business Services for 11 years in various departments helping small businesses in New York City. She manages the Women Entrepreneur (WE nyc) Initiative and the FastTrac Program. WE nyc is an initiative that is designed to help women start, operate, and grow their businesses. FastTrac is a 10-session boot camp that helps entrepreneurs create a dynamic business plan that provides them with resources to open and grow their businesses. Kina is a native new yorker, "brooklyn-nite" with a master's degree in Public Administration and Urban Studies. In her spare time, she runs a small business, SipNPaint with Creativity LLC, where she and her team facilitate paint parties. It brings her gratitude and joy to help small business owners achieve their goals.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Leadership Team
- Chairman, Community Development
Maria is a Senior Loan Office at Accompany Capital with over 16 years of experience. Working primarily with women and underserved entrepreneurs providing business guidance and access to capital, Maria works closely with her clients to assess their financial needs and connect them to appropriate resources that support their business growth. As an immigrant, her passion is helping immigrant entrepreneurs manage and grow their businesses with all the new tools and resources available.
Maria holds a Bachelor's degree in Financial Economics from Binghamton University.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the Leadership Team
Mary spent more than 30 years at Colgate-Palmolive working in a wide range of marketing and strategic planning roles. She managed and helped build major brands such as Palmolive, Colgate, and Ajax both in the US and in global markets. Mary has in-depth knowledge of branding, innovation, business development, business management and strategic planning. She is an expert on inbound and outbound marketing for profit and non-profit companies. She previously worked in retailing as well as nonprofit and publishing sectors.
Mary joined SCORE, a partner resource of the Small Business Association, in 2012 and led its marketing function for two years. Since joining SCORE, she has conducted more than 2000 mentoring sessions. In 2016, she co-founded New York Women in Business, a virtual organization dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs succeed. A coalition of professional women's organizations, it has a combined reach of 100,000 women across the tristate area. She believes that forming relationships with other dynamic women, learning from one another, and sharing resources are critical to achieving our goals.
Mary has a BA from Wellesley College and an MBA in Finance/Marketing from Columbia Business School.
Job Titles:
- CEO of CMC Construction NY Corporation
Neena is the CEO of CMC Construction NY Corporation, principal of the Dutta Law Firm in NYC and Special Counsel to McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney and Carpenter, LLP. CMC Construction has a commercial and residential arm, with a focus on rough carpentry. The Dutta Law Firm is primarily corporate business immigration, with a concentration in construction and engineering firms, along with naturalization and family-based cases. She has experience with the intersection of immigration and employment law, including I-9 audits, Department of Labor issues and employee handbooks. She is currently a member of the Executive Committee for NAWBO NYC, the National Association of Women Business Owners, and an Advocacy Ambassador for 10KSB, 10,000 Small Businesses for Goldman Sachs.