Rifat Filkins, director of community development for the Capital District YMCA: Since September 2021, Filkins has managed and developed social programs for the Capital District YMCA focused on meeting the needs of diverse populations. Previously, she served as executive director of Refugee and Immigrant Support Services of Emmaus (RISSE), where since 2010, she provided social and educational support to children and adults from more than 200 families of refugees and immigrants. In 2009 Rifat migrated to the United States from Pakistan. Before coming to the United States, she was the Principal of a girls’ high school for 11 years and has been in the not-for-profit world for 25 years.

Catherine Hover, founder and CEO of Palette Community: A New Orleans native who moved to Saratoga Springs in 2011, Hover saw an opportunity to bring the learn-to-paint-while-drinking-wine experience to the Capital Region with the opening of Saratoga Springs Paint & Sip Studio and shortly after expanded with two more locations. After selling her Burlington, Vermont, studio in January of 2019, she began working on the Palette Community, which opened in June 2019. Palette was created to be a social destination dedicated to supporting women in career and in life. Palette has quickly become a sought-after haven with locations in Saratoga Springs and Schenectady for more than 250 remote workers, solo entrepreneurs, and working mothers.

Jose Segura, wealth management advisor at Wealth Advisory Group, LLC and financial advisor with Park Avenue Securities, LLC: Since 2003, Segura has worked with medical professionals, corporate executives, and business owners to assist in making effective financial decisions. He is a Chartered Financial Consultant ® and a Certified Business Exit Planner ®. He is a Saint Rose alum, having received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in finance.

Walter Thorne, market president and publisher of the Albany Business Review: Thorne joined the Albany Business Review in 2019 as advertising director and became president and publisher in July 2021. Prior to joining the Business Review, he worked at Advance Media, Albany Broadcasting Co. and had a long career with RexAir INC. selling rainbow vacuums door to door.

Matt Grattan, workforce development manager for Plug Power: Grattan’s experience in workforce and economic development spans private industry, higher education, and state government. Before joining Plug Power in June 2022, Grattan worked as the director of community and economic development for the University at Albany, executive director for workforce development for Schenectady County Community College, and manager and analyst within the New York State Department of Labor. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Saint Rose.

Jennifer L. Massey, president and co-founder of Integra HR: Massey has provided her human resources expertise to a variety of organizations and industries for more than three decades. After working as a chief human resource officer at multiple nonprofit organizations, Massey served as an HR consultant, including to those at the C-suite level, before founding Integra in 2019. She is a Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), and holds a Mental Health First Aid certification from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing.

Lyssa Jackson, instructor and program manager at LinkedIn: Jackson manages LinkedIn’s Instruct program, where she teaches LinkedIn’s largest customers how to drive sales. Outside of LinkedIn, she’s a business and career coach, who specializes in personal brand and content creation.