Ethics & Accountability Summit

Registration & Networking Breakfast

Keynote Remarks by Margaret Garnett, Commissioner of the Dept. of Investigation

Special Presentation on  the Benefits of Transparency for New York City & State by Alex Konanykhin, CEO, TransparentBusiness

One contractor recently overbilled New York City over five hundred million dollars on a single project by inflating billable hours. Transparent verification of billable hours would protect the city and the state from such overbilling, saving taxpayers billions of dollars at zero cost. Alex Konanykhini will discuss this and other benefit of transparency for the city, the state and NY-based businesses.

Privacy & Cybersecurity

In an era where “fake news” is a term used as a political weapon, tech, healthcare and legal organizations are under increased scrutiny to address cybersecurity and protection of digital information. This panel will cover a wide range of topics including privacy developments, regulatory and enforcement trends, security preparedness and incident response across many industries. Panelists will also discuss current regulations and cybersecurity issues, address developments in transparency and security, and provide techniques for addressing cyber risks and responses.

• Dr. Michael Nizich, Director, Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center, College of Engineering and Computing Sciences NYIT (moderator)
• Eun Young Choi, Cybercrime Coordinator, U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
• Senator Todd Kaminsky, Sponsored Legislation (S.6896) to prevent anonymous and false political attack ads on social media
• Wilson Lin, Managing Director of Cyber NYC, New York City Economic Development Corporation
• Prashanth Mekala, Supervisory Special Agent, FBI New York Field Office
• William M. Klimon, Member, Caplin & Drysdale

Sexual Discrimination, Harassment, and Employer Accountability

Earlier this year, the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act was signed into law. By April 1, 2019, most private employers will be required to conduct annual sexual harassment training. What does this mean for businesses and what are the next steps? How are employees being engaged in this discussion? Should the state be passing similar legislation?

• Alexis Grenell, Co-Founder, Pythia Public Affairs (moderator)
• Assemblymember Aravella Simotas, Chair, Ethics and Guidance Committee
• James L. Hallman, Assistant Commissioner of EEO, Diversity & Inclusion, Department of Transportation
• Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Chair, Committee on Women
• Rita Pasarell, Co-Founder, The Sexual Harassment Working Group
• Karl Sleight, Member, Harris Beach PLLC

Lunch & Awards Honoring:

• Kristine Hamann, Executive Director and Founder, Prosecutors' Center for Excellence (PCE)
• Peter J. Miscovich, Managing Director, Strategy and Innovation, JLL
• Claire Rosenzweig, Better Business Bureau Serving Metropolitan New York

Contracting Public Trust: Need for Procurement Reform

The process of receiving funding has recently come under fire as ethical questions have been raised along with  ballooning costs of public projects. How can we make the bidding process more standardized and transparent? How can we safeguard labor standards, as well as sustainable and ethical procurement? How do we ensure that there is greater accountability for the distribution of public funding/ efficient utilization of taxpayer dollars?

• Rebecca Lewis,  Editorial Assistant, City & State (moderator)
• Senator David Carlucci, Committee Member, Investigations and Government Operations
• David Ross, Chief Procurement Officer, MTA Business Service Center

Regaining the Public Trust: Addressing the Ethics Crisis in Government

We live in a time of monumental ethical challenges in government, and the front pages are constantly splashed with headlines of public officials on the wrong side of the law. And while elected officials in government often claim to address these issues, the problems don’t seem to be getting much better and public trust in government remains at all-time lows. So, what can be done? Is overcoming this lack of public trust possible at this point? Is the public’s disengagement part of the problem?

• Ben Max, Executive Editor, Gotham Gazette (moderator)
• Assemblymember Dan Quart, Chair, Commission on Administrative Regulations Review
• Blair Horner, Executive Director, New York Public Research Group (NYPIRG)
• Susan Lerner, Executive Director, Common Cause
• John Kaehny, Executive Director, Reinvent Albany