Collene was born and raised in Rochester, N.Y. and “boomeranged” back in 2012. She is currently the Vice President of Global Talent for ITX Corp. and owns a consulting business, usefully, Inc., which provides mediation and organizational consulting services. Collene graduated with a Master of Business Administration from the University of Rochester and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

A passionate community volunteer, Collene has served on the boards of the Women’s Foundation of Genesee Valley, the Irondequoit Public Library, and the Rochester Area Fencing Foundation. Her work has been recognized as a 2024 ATHENA Young Professional Finalist, a 2023 Tech Rochester Woman of the Year Finalist, and a 2017 Forty Under 40 Honoree.

Suzanne Turchetti serves as President for HCR Home Care, a regional home health care agency
operating in 25 Upstate New York counties, and has been with the company for 18 years.
Suzanne held in a variety of roles at HCR during her tenure, including Vice President and Chief
Administrative Officer. Prior to joining HCR in 2005, she worked in government and staffed for
the late Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.

As President, Suzanne provides leadership and direction to the agency, which employs almost
800 across New York. She manages the senior leadership team, implements HCR’s strategic
direction, and works closely with the Board of Directors to develop short‐ and long‐term
corporate goals, and create high leverage relationships. She oversees all HCR corporate
functions including compliance, finance, governance, and clinical operations.
Active in the community, Suzanne serves on the Board of Directors for the Home Care
Association of New York and is a member of the Finance Committee, is a director and member
of the Executive and Governance Committees for Dress for Success, and is a member of the
Lincoln Intelligence Group’s Home Care arm which addresses challenges and emerging
opportunities in home health care.

Suzanne holds a BA in Political Science from Siena College, was named as one of the Rochester
Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40,” in 2017, and is a member of the 2019 Leadership America
cohort.

As the inaugural CEO of REDCO, Bayé Muhammad worked to reduce wealth disparities in middle-income and impoverished Rochester neighborhoods by supporting urban entrepreneurs and the establishment of locally owned micro and small neighborhood businesses. His former experience as Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development for the City of Rochester and Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Youth Programs in Syracuse, NY, were opportunities to provide dedicated guidance to organizations that truly supported their communities.

He currently serves as a board member with the Concerned Citizens Action Program and as a Technical Advisor for the Urban Land Institute in addition to volunteer work where he provides incarcerated youth tools for future success. With the City of Rochester, Bayé received a Daniel Rose Fellowship in 2016.

Kenneth Frederick is a native of Rochester who is a retired Exxon Mobil engineer with 32 years of experience in oil and natural gas research, exploration, and production. His last position was Senior Reserves Consultant, an executive-level technical position. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Purdue University and a master of science and PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois. Ken divides his time between Rochester and Houston, Texas. He is active in non-profit organizations in both cities.

In Rochester, he is a trustee of the George Eastman Museum where he serves on the Executive committee, chairs the Photography, Conservation, and George Eastman Legacy committees, and is a member of seven additional committees.

In Houston, Ken is a board director of FotoFest, an organization dedicated to advancing photography through exhibitions, public programs, and publications. He is also a participant in several Museum of Fine Arts, Houston patron groups, which purchase artwork for the museum. In addition, Ken has donated his own photographic work to decorate public areas in several Houston affordable-housing facilities designed and built by the non-profit New Hope Housing.

Cassandra Rich earned her bachelor of science and juris doctor from Wake Forest University. She is special counsel at Barclay Damon LLP and was previously a partner at Boylan Code LLP. She concentrates her practice on real estate, representing lenders, companies, individuals, and municipal clients in matters involving financing, restructuring, easements, sales, acquisitions, and leases.

Cassandra is past president of the board of trustees for the Monroe County Bar Association and is also a member of numerous committees. In 2023, Cassandra was selected to the Daily Record Power 20 Real Estate Law list for her work helping clients navigate complex transaction processes to achieve their real estate goals. For her work in the Rochester legal community, Cassandra was named one of Rochester Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 in 2015.

When you meet Kitty Van Bortel, as so many customers of her three dealerships do every day,
you know that she’s the powerhouse behind the enormous, consistent success of Van Bortel
Subaru, Van Bortel Ford and Van Bortel Chevrolet. Kitty owns one of the top selling Subaru
dealerships in the nation, as well as one of the most successful Ford dealerships in a multi-state
area. Her automotive group is now one of the fastest growing, privately held companies in the
greater Rochester, NY area. With an investment of only $500, Kitty founded her first used car
dealership in her front yard in 1985, lining up the cars in front of her small house in Victor, NY.
She applied the experience she had gained as sales manager for John Holtz’s Mercedes
Benz/BMW dealership to her own enterprise, moving to a three-acre lot in 1990 and quickly
gaining momentum until it was time to choose a brand and move into new car sales. It was only
natural that she became attracted to Subaru because of their sturdy construction, excellent design,
and focus on safety, reliability and comfort. She built a 6,000-square- foot facility in Victor to
house Van Bortel Subaru, and opened the doors in 1991.
 
 Kitty’s commitment to the community she calls home is evident in the many non-profit
organizations she and her automotive group support. The Van Bortel dealerships sponsor the
Susan B. Anthony House, the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, Girl Scouts of Western New
York, IAC Kids, Gilda’s Club, Serenity House, Leukemia Lymphoma Society, Golisano
Children’s Hospital, Pluta Cancer Center, Mercy Flight, Embrace your Sisters, and local Rotary
and Kiwanis clubs. Van Bortel even conducted a yearly car buying seminar for pediatric interns
at the University of Rochester.

Craig J. Zicari received a Bachelor of Arts  in Economics from Boston College, and a Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law.  He is a retired attorney having been a partner in the healthcare group of Harter, Secrest & Emery, LLP.  His legal practice involved representing all types of non-profit and for-profit healthcare entities in compliance, governance, and business transactions. 

He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Inc and Lakeside Foundation, Inc.

Aqua had a 30+ year career with Xerox where she held a variety of positions in Engineering, Marketing, Product Development, Global Purchasing, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain Management.  Aqua is a 40-year member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., a member of the Rochester Chapter of The Links Incorporated, the Vice-Chair of the Keuka College Board of Trustees, a member of the RIT Saunders School Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC), a past Board Chair for the Susan B. Anthony House, Inc., and former board member of the Camp Stella Maris Board.

Aqua is currently the Executive Director of the Rochester Metro Area Poverty Initiative (RMAPI).

Aqua earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute) and graduated with honors in from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Executive MBA program. 

A native of Spencerport, Holly Bauer-Mergen retired from New York State after 32 years, with most most of that time with the State addictions agency as a regional program manager. Since that retirement, she has had another life chapter as a consultant working with non-profit addiction organizations providing a variety of technical communications functions, while volunteering at the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House as a receptionist (and other miscellaneous tasks), and serving on both the Votetilla and Votercade planning committees.

She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and art history (minor radio, television, and film) from SUNY at Albany, an MBA in Health Systems Administration from Union College, and Basic and Advanced Certificates in Technical Communications from RIT. Now that the pandemic is receding, she looks forward to traveling to visit family and friends, including her husband’s family in Turkey (knitting project always in hand), while keeping up with her tai chi classes and auditing classes at RIT.

Sheila Baynes is counsel at Aurelian Law PLLC, where she guides organizations through their toughest
challenges. Her practice centers on high-stakes litigation, appeals, and investigations. Prior to co-
founding Aurelian Law, Sheila served as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice and handled
appeals at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, including cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.

A lifelong student of the relationship between people and place, Sheila has taught high school history
and English in coastal Alaska and led wilderness expeditions focused on leadership development
throughout North America. She was Senior Field Faculty at the National Outdoor Leadership School.

Sheila earned a bachelor of arts with honors in History and Literature from Harvard College and
graduated magna cum laude from New York University School of Law.

Tamar W. Carroll is Professor and Chair of the Department of History at Rochester Institute of Technology, where she is also a faculty affiliate in the Digital Humanities and Social Sciences, Museum Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies Departments. She is the author of Mobilizing New York: AIDS, Antipoverty, and Feminist Activism, published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2015, and co-editor of Nasty Women and Bad Hombres: Gender and Race in the 2016 US Presidential Election, published by the University of Rochester Press in 2018. She is co-curator of the traveling exhibition and multimedia companion website, “Whose Streets? Our Streets!” New York City, 1980-2000,” at www.whosestreets.photo. Tamar is excited to serve on the Anthony Museum Collections and Education Committee.

Dr. Sheila Strong has over twenty years of executive-level experience in the nonprofit and higher education sectors. As Director of Leadership Development and Equity at United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes, she directs United Way’s six established Leadership Development Programs (Latino, African American, Emerging Leaders, Pride, Asian-Pacific American, and Development of Indo-American Leaders). Dr. Strong also leads the DRIVE (Diversity, Racial, Inclusion, Value, Equity) Team at United Way to advance the organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and support other organizations in the community. She was instrumental in launching United Way’s first Leadership Equity Advancement and Development (LEAD) Mentoring and Coaching Program, a partnership between United Way and the Greater Rochester Health Foundation.

Dr. Strong currently serves as a board member of the Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library and the National Susan B Anthony Museum & House. In addition, she volunteers her time as a mentor with Cheryl Speranza
Leadership Institute at Our Lady of Mercy.

Before joining United Way, she served as the Executive Assistant to the President at Monroe Community College. She has worked with five college presidents in implementing strategic plan initiatives. Dr. Strong completed her Doctorate of Education in Executive Leadership from Saint John Fisher University. She holds a Master’s Degree in Publication Administration, Certification in Nonprofit Management, and Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business Communications from The College at Brockport, State University of New York. She graduated with honors from Monroe Community College in Liberal Arts.

Deborah L. Hughes is President & CEO of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum &  House, holding this position since 2007.  During her tenure as president, the Anthony Museum has completed a major phase of restoration to the National Historic Landmark, secured its Absolute Charter as a Museum, and dramatically grown attendance while staying true to its mission and vision. Hughes has spearheaded innovative programming and events such as the award-winning VoteTilla.