Honorable Alvin Bragg
Manhattan District Attorney
Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. is the 37th District Attorney elected in Manhattan. A son of Harlem who has served as both a state and federal prosecutor, Alvin has spent more than two decades fighting for safer communities and a fairer criminal justice system.
Alvin restructured the Manhattan DA’s Office to focus more resources on prosecuting serious violent crimes, meeting the needs of survivors, reducing recidivism by addressing underlying causes of criminal behavior, protecting everyday New Yorkers from abuses by the powerful, and vacating wrongful convictions. Alvin also directly oversees the Police Accountability Unit.
Prior to his election as DA, Alvin served as an Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General at the New York State Attorney General’s Office and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In these roles, Alvin handled a wide array of criminal cases, including armed robbery, assault, gun possession, witness tampering, narcotics and gun trafficking, wage and hour violations, public corruption, money laundering, and antitrust violations.
Alvin earned his A.B. from Harvard University, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, clerked for Hon. Robert P. Patterson, Jr. in the Southern District of New York.
Tina Byles Williams
CEO, CIO, and Founder, Xponance
Tina Byles Williams is Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer and Founder of Xponance®, a $16 billion multiple strategy investment company which is one of the largest diverse and woman-owned investment firms in the United States. She founded FIS Group, the predecessor firm to Xponance®, 27 years ago and has over 38 years of investment experience. Tina is the Chief Investment Officer and Lead Portfolio Manager for the firm’s active global equity strategies and a member of the Investment Committee for the firm’s Private Market Strategies. As Chief Investment Officer, she chairs the firm’s Investment Committee and oversees the firm’s fixed income and equity platforms. As part of Xponance’s mission to generate differentiated alpha by investing in underappreciated market segments and talent while expanding access to institutional assets, Tina also founded Xponance’s emerging manager platform, which has seeded or provided strategic capital to over 100 investment boutiques, many of which are diverse or women-owned. She has also been the driving force behind Xponance’s philanthropic entity, A Good Measure Foundation, which provides financial literacy education to inner city youth and supports programs designed to empower impoverished or marginalized women or children.
Prior to establishing Xponance’s predecessor firm, FIS Group,Tina served as Chief Investment Officer to the City of Philadelphia’s $2.5 billion Board of Pensions and Retirement. Prior to her work with the Board of Pensions and Retirement, Tina was the Investment Officer for the $300 million Philadelphia Gas Works Pension Fund.
Tina is a member of the Advisory Board for the Strategic Capital Group of Investcorp, a $50 billion global alternatives investment firm. She is a member of the Eisenhower Fellowships Board and serves on both its Executive Committee and its Investment Committee. Tina is a former board member of the Vantage Trust Company, a provider of 401 defined contribution and 457 deferred compensation retirement plans. She is also a former board member and Chairman of the Investment Committee for VTC’s parent company, Mission Square Retirement Corporation (formerly ICMA Retirement Corporation), a provider of retirement services with over $50 billion under management and administration. Tina is also a leader in her community and sits on the Center City District Board and previously sat on the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, which oversees the City of Philadelphia’s financial plans. Between 2011 and 2015, she served as a board member and chaired the Research Committee of the National Women’s Business Council, a federal advisory council created to serve as an independent source of advice and counsel to the President, Congress and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues of importance to women business owners.
Tina has been recognized as one of the most influential women in institutional investing by Pensions and Investments magazine. She is a recipient of several industry awards and has been quoted and featured in several national and global finance publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Institutional Investor, Bloomberg, Market Watch, Value Walk and Pensions and Investments. She has also appeared on various business programs, such as Bloomberg GO and CNBC’s Squawk Box.
Tina completed her undergraduate work at New York University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude and earned her master’s degree in Public Policy with an emphasis in Finance from Harvard University.
Liz Neumark
(Ann S. Kheel Honoree)
Founder & CEO, Great Performances
Liz Neumark is the CEO and founder of Great Performances, a premier catering company in New York. She started the company in 1980 to provide women in the arts an opportunity to earn a living while pursuing their creative dreams. Over the years, Great Performances has become one of the nation’s leading catering firms, known for culinary excellence, impeccable service, and a commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.
In 1982, Liz opened a dedicated location in Soho, which marked the beginning of the company’s expansion. Great Performances then secured its first exclusive catering contract with Wave Hill Public Gardens in the Bronx and has since partnered with numerous cultural institutions, including the Apollo Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Brooklyn Museum.
Liz is a prominent activist in the food industry, engaging in initiatives such as food rescue, anti-hunger efforts, healthy food access, and local agriculture. In 2006, she established Katchkie Farm, the first organic farm owned by a catering company, which supplies fresh produce to the kitchens of Great Performances and offers a CSA each summer. Katchkie is also home to the Sylvia Center, a nonprofit she founded to address children’s health.
Liz is an active board member of several organizations, including GrowNYC, the Fund for Public Housing, NYC Tourism + Conventions and is the Board Vice President of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce.
In recent years, she moved Great Performances to Mott Haven in the South Bronx, tripling its space and contributing to local economic development. The company's public café, Mae Mae Café, was reopened as a vegan restaurant.
A third-generation Manhattanite, Liz studied Urban Studies and Political Science at Barnard College. She is also an accomplished photographer and author of "Sylvia’s Table," a cookbook promoting seasonal cooking. Liz’s contributions to the food industry and her community have earned her numerous accolades, including recognition from Crain’s, City & State NY, and Barnard College. Through her leadership and commitment to community, sustainability, and New York, Liz Neumark continues to make a lasting impact on the food industry and beyond.