Wally Altes served as President of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce (now the Capital Chamber) from 1990 to 2002. During that time the Chamber grew to be the third-largest in New York State with some 3000 members. During this time the Chamber received several state and national awards for its innovative programming and administrative excellence and led the effort to brand the area as Tech Valley.
Wally retired from the Chamber in 2002. He re-established his consulting practice which he had closed upon assuming the Chamber Presidency. He served as Executive in Residence at Union Graduate College and the Lally School of Management at RPI and as Senior Counsel at Sawchuk, Brown Public Relations, and Gramercy Communications. He joined the Boards of Berkshire Bank and MVP, and later became Chair of Boards of the Albany Institute of History and Art and Southern Vermont College.
In 2010 Wally was asked to Chair the Troy Downtown Collaborative, the forerunner to the Downtown Business Improvement District. Subsequently, he was appointed by Mayor Lou Rosamilia to the Chairmanship of the Troy Industrial Development Agency and Local Development Corporation. He also served as the Chair of the Troy Music Hall Corporation.
Wally has received a number of awards from organizations such as the University at Albany SUNY, Excelsior College, Sage College, and the United Jewish Federation. Wally and his wife, Jane, have been honored by the Arthritis Foundation, the Arts Center of the Capital Region and the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Wally is particularly pleased to receive this award from Lifepath, as Jane received this honor several years ago.
John D. Bennett, MD, FACC, FACP was named president and CEO of CDPHP in July of 2008 after serving more than 10 years as chair, vice-chair, and board member of the Capital Region’s leading not-for-profit health plan. During this time, CDPHP has been recognized as one of the top-rated plans in the nation, has been named one of the Best Companies to Work for in New York for 12 consecutive years.
Prior to joining CDPHP, Bennett served as founding member and CEO of Prime Care Physicians, PLLC. During his tenure, he co-led a team of 25 cardiologists and helped grow the practice to a 100-physician multi-specialty group.
Bennett is board certified by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Internal Medicine, with subspecialties in internal medicine and cardiology. He earned his medical degree at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, and a Bachelor of Science degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Bennett completed an internship and residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Albany Medical Center. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American College of Physicians.
Bennett is currently board chair for the Center for Economic Growth and the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC), and co-chair of the Palace Theatre board. He also serves on the boards of the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP), America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and The Sage Colleges. Bennett is a member of the New York Public Health and Health Planning Council, a position he was appointed to by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.
Well-known locally and nationally for advancing health care innovation, Bennett was recently named to the Tech Valley Business Hall of Fame. Before that, he was awarded the 2016 Marketer/Communicator of the Year award by the Capital Region chapters of the American Marketing Association and Public Relations Society of America. That same year, Bennett was also awarded the 2016 Promoting the Advancement of Technology in Healthcare (PATH) Award from the New York e-Health Collaborative (NYeC).
Dr. Alice Green is the Executive Director of the Center for Law and Justice, a civil rights organization she founded in 1985. She has a doctorate in criminal justice and 3 master’s degrees – education, social work, and criminology. The Center provides community education on civil and criminal justice, legal guidance and advocacy, crisis intervention, and community planning and organizing around criminal justice, civil rights, and civil liberties issues of particular concern to poor communities and those of color.
In 1985, Governor Cuomo appointed Dr. Green to membership on the Citizens Policy and Complaint Review Council of the New York State Commission of Corrections. A year later, with Senate approval, he appointed her to the position of Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives. She was put in charge of strategic planning, policy, and information. After leaving state service, she became Legislative Director for the New York Civil Liberties Union where she had served as Director of their Albany Office in 1982.
Alice Green, an adjunct professor at the University at Albany, has also taught at Russell Sage and Siena College. She began her career as a secondary school teacher and social worker. For many years, she directed Trinity Institution, a youth and family services center in Albany’s South End. While there, she also did community organizing and founded the South End Scene, one of the longest published Black newspapers in Albany.
Dr. Green writes and lectures on racism and criminal justice and often does commentary and analysis for a number of newspapers and television and radio programs. With Dr. Frankie Bailey, she co-authored the book, Law Never Here, A Social History of African American Responses to Issues of Crime and Justice, (1999 Greenwood Press) and Wicked Albany (2009) and Wicked Danville (2011 History Press), two books about Prohibition.
In 1997 she founded and is now President of the Paden Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color located in the Adirondack town of Essex, New York. There, writers are provided technical assistance and a free environment for writing.
Alice Green is a member of the board of directors of the New York State Defenders Association, the Vice President of Senior Hope, an alcohol and drug counseling program, and member of the Advisory Board of the Capital District Chapter of the NYCLU. She is a founder of the African American Cultural Center of the Capital Region. For over 20 years she worked as a prison volunteer.
In recognition of her work, Dr. Green has received numerous awards from a number of local and state organizations including the NAACP, Rockefeller College, National Organization for Women, New York State Bar Association, the University at Albany, the New York Defenders Association, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Social Justice Center, Citizen Action. Social Justice Center and the Albany Rotary Club. She and actor Danny Glover were co-recipients of the John Brown Freedom of Justice Award and she received the Community Service Award from St. Rose College and the Literary Legend Award from the Albany Public Library Foundation. In 2019 she was presented with the following awards – the YWCA, Northeastern NY Women of Achievement Award, The Women’s Fund of the Capital Region Trailblazing Women of 2019 Award, the African American Cultural Center of the Capital Region, and the Community Service Award from Treatment Works.
Jim Harris, Sr. can attribute his strong work ethic to his faith and the life skills that he developed when delivering the Times Union and the Knickerbocker newspapers to 200 customers at the young age of 12. Fast forward nearly 70 years and Mr. Harris is the Founder and Chairman of Janitronics Facility Services – a successful, high-performance cleaning enterprise that has grown into a 1,800-employee organization, since he founded the company in 1972. At Janitronics, Jim’s employees are responsible for cleaning various institutions across the North Eastern Region in New York State and Vermont, including schools, office complexes, critical healthcare units, and semi-conductor facilities.
The oldest of four boys, Mr. Harris attended the Concordia Teachers College for one year, before returning to Albany to gain hands-on work experience. During this time, Mr. Harris held several jobs, but one that really turned his life around was delivering liquor to bars & liquor stores between Albany and south to the Palisades. Knowing that he needed to provide for his family, he later attended night classes at Russell Sage to further his education.
Community and family are most important to Mr. Harris, which is shown through the many leadership positions that he holds on boards within the community and through the halls of his businesses. Jim is proud to be the leader of a company with three generations, all in highly responsible positions.
Jim’s leadership, faith, love for the community and family have made him who he is today.
Two passions—writing and music— have governed Paul Lamar’s 75 years, for which he thanks his parents, Robert and Ethel Lamar, and splendid teachers at Albany High and Yale.
He has turned these enthusiasms into a variety of jobs, teaching English at Emma Willard School, The College of Saint Rose, SUNY Cobleskill, Greene Correctional Facility, and Sage, as well as GED at St. Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center; and reviewing theater for The Daily Gazette since 1996.
As a volunteer, he has conducted a senior chorus, The Cannonaires, at the Watervliet Senior Center for the past 42 years; accompanied The Capital Pride Singers; taught memoir writing at Howe Library; and written program notes for the Albany Symphony Orchestra since 1997 and Albany Pro Musica for the last seven years. In short, he has enjoyed a life of the mind and stimulating collaborations with many others in the Capital Region.
His marvelous husband, Mark Eamer, and he have three grown children and two delightful grandchildren. He is also blessed to have the support and company of three very funny siblings and their families.
Lillian M. Moy has been the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York since 1995. She is a 1974 graduate of Hunter College of the City University of New York and a 1981 graduate of Boston University School of Law. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Albany Medical Center.
Ms. Moy is a nationally recognized leader, writer, and trainer in the civil legal aid community. Her particular areas of expertise are leadership development and diversity. Ms. Moy currently serves on the ABA’s Diversity and Inclusion Council and is Chair of the ABA’s Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice.
Ms. Moy is past Chair of the Civil Policy Group and a past member of the Board of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association. She serves on the New York State Bar Association’s President’s Committee on Access to Justice, Committee on Legal Aid, and Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. Ms. Moy is also co-convener of the New York Diversity Coalition, a group of legal services staff and managers dedicated to raising and resolving diversity issues in the legal aid community.
Ms. Moy has been honored by the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Asian American Bar Association of New York, the Schenectady County Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, Albany County, and the Catholic Charities Housing Office. She was also honored with the New York State Bar Association’s Diversity Trailblazer Award in 2013.
Pastor Nicholas TeBordo was raised in Salem, New York. After attending Hamilton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he moved to Cohoes, New York with his wife Reverend Terrie Stine-TeBordo on June 1, 1977, the same day they graduated from seminary.
They were the first husband and wife co-pastors in the Presbytery of Albany as they began their service at the United Church of Cohoes.
Terrie and Nick had seven children together. After Terrie’s death in 2003, Pastor Nick continued as solo pastor at United Church. In 2009 he married Roberta Fath. She had one child. They have recently added an adult daughter to the family. They excitedly tell people they have 9 children and 18 grandchildren. They also have numerous children they call “near grandchildren.”
When Nick retired 4 years ago, he passed the mantle of leadership of the United Church to his daughter Kaitlyn Wood. He continues to serve as an associate for pastoral care. He also conducts a weekly communion service and preaches about once every six weeks. He is fully involved in the Matthew 25 ministries which includes weekly congregate dining and the distribution of free clothing to all in need. Nick also accompanies the Silver Tops who rehearse at the Cohoes Senior Center.
Life is full for Nick. He and his wife Roberta look forward to continue to serve the Lord in their family, their church, and in the community where they live. They love to travel, but when they are home they hope to fully participate in a life of service to others with the “Joy of the Lord” as their strength.
In March 2020, Marcia J. White was unanimously chosen by The College of Saint Rose Board of Trustees as the College’s interim president.
In the year since she has been President, she has led the College on a path to sustainability and has named the development of a truly inclusive living and learning environment as one of her top priorities. Working with the Board and the Saint Rose community, she has become known for her transparent and direct style, and deep commitment to the Saint Rose values of caring for the dear neighbor and meeting the needs of the times. A woman of deep faith, she often states to students and employees, that she feels called to lead Saint Rose at this time of a global pandemic, deep national reflection on race and social justice, and economic challenge particularly in higher education. She leads with compassion and decisiveness based on her experience as a nurse, a mother, and as an executive in government and the arts.
White is a Saint Rose alum, who has served for 20 years on the Saint Rose Board of Trustees and has chaired its trustees affairs and governance committees. She was honored in 2016 as the recipient of Saint Rose’s A Community of Excellence award for her service and contributions to the College and the Capital Region.
She is president of Marcia White Consulting, LLC. White also held the position of press secretary to the majority in the New York State Senate and served as president and executive director of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). She is widely credited for having led a financial and artistic transformation that ensured SPAC’s continuation as a preeminent cultural institution and major economic driver in the Capital Region.
White has been a director of the governing board of the New York State Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities and is a member of the commission’s Alumni Hall of Distinction.
She has served on the boards of several Capital Region nonprofit organizations, including the Mohawk-Hudson United Way; Siena College Creative Arts Committee; the Community Advisory Board, St. Peter’s Hospice of Rensselaer County; Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau; the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce; the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce; the Saratoga Springs Commission on the Arts, and Hearst Corp.’s Women@Work.
She was honored with the “Woman in the News Award” from the Women’s Press Club of New York State; New York State Senate’s Woman of Distinction Award; Capital Region Chamber’s Woman of Excellence Award; Capital District Business Review’s Women Who Mean Business Award, and Saratoga Arts “Community Arts Leadership” Award.