Westchester

The 2025 Westchester Power 100

The most influential leaders of the suburban county.

City & State presents the 2025 Westchester Power 100.

City & State presents the 2025 Westchester Power 100. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Westchester County doesn’t fit neatly into simple categories. Known for its leafy residential communities, it’s also where several Fortune 500 companies have their headquarters. Elected officials and real estate developers have prioritized the creation of more affordable housing in recent years, and yet experts say the lack of adequate housing remains a crisis. Once an overwhelmingly white enclave, Westchester is now home to large numbers of Black and Hispanic residents – including such political power brokers as state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chair J. Gary Pretlow. And while the county is largely dominated by Democrats, much of it is represented by Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican.

City & State’s Westchester Power 100 identifies and ranks the key power brokers in the county, including politicians, business CEOs, hospital executives, university presidents, nonprofit leaders and other movers and shakers. The list, researched and written in partnership with journalist Aaron Short, also highlights some newcomers, including the new district attorney, the recently promoted head of the Metro-North Railroad and, of course, the new county executive.

We’re pleased to present the Westchester Power 100.

1. Andrea Stewart-Cousins

State Senate Majority Leader
Andrea Stewart-Cousins / Senate Photography

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins was reelected to her post after Senate Democrats fell one vote short of a supermajority last year. That hasn’t diminished her powers in the slightest. The longtime Yonkers lawmaker advanced a budget with many of her conference’s priorities, including stronger worker protections and resources for domestic violence survivors, then passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act (although it’s unclear if the governor will sign it). She has downplayed calls for a special session to address federal cuts to Medicaid and food programs, but indicated lawmakers would be ready to respond.

2. Mike Spano

Yonkers Mayor
Mike Spano / City of Yonkers

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano won reelection in 2023, capturing 60% of the vote on his way to an unprecedented fourth term as the city’s top elected leader. During his tenure, Spano has helped revitalize the state’s third-largest city, including recruiting Lionsgate to build a $500 million film studio campus downtown, transforming a carpet mill into a business hub and landing Extell’s future Hudson Piers waterfront development. Spano’s track record reportedly has him on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lieutenant governor short list for next year, but this fall, he’s been focused on increasing school safety.

3. Ken Jenkins

Westchester County Executive
Ken Jenkins / Westchester County Government

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins didn’t have a steep learning curve when he took over for George Latimer in January. The veteran Democratic legislator whalloped his Trump-endorsed GOP rival in a special election with two-thirds of the vote. Jenkins has since approved a $10 million property acquisition for 108 affordable housing units in White Plains and allocated $15 million to install more bike lanes, busways, curb extensions and pedestrian signals. This summer, Jenkins announced $400,000 in funding for a childbirth program at St. John’s Riverside Hospital.

4. Mike Lawler

Member of Congress
Mike Lawler / United States Congress

It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Rep. Mike Lawler over the past year. After withstanding Mondaire Jones’ failed comeback bid, the second-term Republican helped significantly raise the state and local tax deduction cap and was named chair of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee and vice chair for communications on the Financial Services Committee. In New York, he saw his gubernatorial dreams die – at least for now – when President Donald Trump backed him for reelection in the House, paving the way for Rep. Elise Stefanik’s potential run instead. Lawler also failed to prevent congestion pricing – which he long opposed – from taking effect.

5. George Latimer

Member of Congress
George Latimer / Jesse Rinka

Last summer, Rep. George Latimer ousted Jamaal Bowman in a hotly contested Democratic primary marked by their rift over the Israel-Hamas war. Latimer, the former Westchester County executive, joined the House Foreign Affairs and Small Business committees, but has tackled less divisive issues in his first year in Washington, D.C., such as helping businesses contract with the government and recovering $1.76 million in Social Security payments and tax returns for his district. Latimer endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayoral primary and worried that a Zohran Mamdani victory would hamper Democrats in swing districts.

6. Amy Paulin

Assembly Member
Amy Paulin / Office of Assemblywoman Amy Paulin

Assembly Member Amy Paulin has been at the center of the state’s health care policy debates since 2001. The Assembly Health Committee chair passed laws legalizing gestational surrogacy and allowing an alternative to cremation through green burials. This spring, the prolific lawmaker advanced the Medical Aid in Dying Act, which would allow end-of-life treatment for terminally ill New Yorkers if signed by the governor. She recently sought to expand the companies overseeing a Medicaid caregiver program and passed a bill that would require the state to pay nonprofit groups on time.

7. J. Gary Pretlow

Chair, Assembly Ways and Means Committee
J. Gary Pretlow / Assembly

After nearly two decades shaping New York’s gambling and racing policies as chair of the Assembly Racing and Wagering Committee, Assembly Member J. Gary Pretlow is now hyperfocused on the state budget. Pretlow was elevated to chair the Assembly Ways and Means Committee in January following former Assembly Member Helene Weinstein’s retirement. Pretlow’s first budget involved delays when policy matters overtook fiscal policy. Looking back at his time as Racing and Wagering Committee chair, Pretlow cites video lottery terminals and the legalization of sports betting as his top accomplishments.

8. Pete Harckham & Shelley Mayer

State Senators
Pete Harckham & Shelley Mayer / Margaret Fox; New York State Senate Photography

State Senate Education Committee Chair Shelley Mayer picked up a second leadership post as chair of the Ethics and Internal Governance Committee this year. The influential Yonkers lawmaker was one of the leaders behind fully funding the state’s Foundation Aid formula. She also helped remove standardized test results from teacher evaluations and has sought to increase youth civic engagement. Apart from educational policy, Mayer championed a new law that authorizes New York reproductive health service providers to use telemedicine to reach patients in states where abortion access is limited. State Senate Environmental Conservation Committee Chair Pete Harckham is focused on protecting New York’s water, air and land. Harckham, who lives in South Salem, recently asked Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject two gas pipelines that President Donald Trump asked her to fast-track, arguing that the focus should instead be on renewable energy. His bill to expand crossbow hunting was recently signed by Hochul.

9. Susan Cacace

Westchester District Attorney
Susan Cacace / Donna Mueller Photography

Susan Cacace brings a wealth of legal experience to her role as Westchester’s top prosecutor. Over the past three decades, the veteran attorney has served as a prosecutor, defense attorney and a county judge. When her predecessor, Mimi Rocah, decided not to seek reelection in 2024, Cacace left the bench to run for the seat and defeated Republican John Sarcone 64% to 36% last fall. Her office has already extradited a man for alleged sex abuse, secured a guilty plea in a rape case and rescued a 3-year-old toddler while touting an overall decline in gun violence.

10. Justin Vonashek

President, Metro-North Railroad
Justin Vonashek / Marc Hermann

Justin Vonashek has pretty big shoes to fill at the helm of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad, this year taking over for former president Catherine Rinaldi. Previously Metro-North’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, Vonashek has held multiple roles for the commuter railway. He previously worked at commuter rail agencies in Massachusetts and Illinois. Vonashek has been praised for his record at Metro-North, working to improve on-time performance.

11. Louis Theros

President and Chief Operating Officer, Northeast Group, MGM Resorts International
Louis Theros / MGM Resorts

Yonkers doesn’t compare to Las Vegas, but that won’t stop Louis Theros from making the city a downstate draw. The MGM Resorts Northeast Group president submitted a $2.3 billion bid for a full-fledged casino license that would revamp the company’s Empire City Casino with a renovated gambling hall and a 5,000-seat entertainment venue. Theros successfully pitched MGM’s plan to a Community Advisory Committee, emphasizing the existing resort’s track record. It’s now among four bidders for one of up to three downstate licenses, after several others failed to secure local support.

12. Arvind Krishna

Chair, President and CEO, IBM
Arvind Krishna / IBM

IBM is the nation’s most venerable tech company, but Arvind Krishna wants to ensure it won’t rest on its legacy and stays at the forefront of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. During his 30-year career, Krishna pioneered IBM’s hybrid cloud business and expedited innovation in AI, blockchain and nanotechnology. Krishna has argued that AI won’t eviscerate jobs, but could lead to the creation of new ones while building more accurate models for IBM’s clients. He also serves on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

13. Marsha Gordon & John Ravitz

President and CEO; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, The Business Council of Westchester
Marsha Gordon & John Ravitz / The Business Council of Westchester; Cathy Pinsky

Westchester County includes some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical, food and tech companies, and Marsha Gordon has deftly advocated for their needs for nearly a quarter century. The Business Council of Westchester president and CEO balances running programs and networking events to support her 1,000 members, pressing Albany to follow business-friendly policies by opposing new taxes and costly mandates, and awarding funding through a regional economic development council she co-chairs. John Ravitz joined The Business Council of Westchester in 2011 after a career in the Assembly representing a district in Manhattan. He has led the business advocacy group’s state legislative agenda, which included opposing antitrust legislation, banning noncompete clauses and rejecting an array of corporate and income tax increases. Ravitz also authored editorials calling for a bipartisan solution to fill the state’s labor shortage, opposing prevailing wage requirements for private construction projects and supporting solar power.

14. Ramon Laguarta

Chair and CEO, PepsiCo
Ramon Laguarta / PepsiCo

Ramon Laguarta was hopeful that President Donald Trump’s return to the White House would bring new energy to solve the world’s problems. But the nation’s largest food manufacturer has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has targeted processed food ingredients and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In February, Laguarta scaled back Pepsi’s diversity commitments and ended some initiatives for minority representation. When Trump pushed Coca-Cola to use cane sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup, the Purchase-based company announced it would remove artificial colors and flavors from some of its iconic brands.

15. Jamaal Bailey & Nathalia Fernandez

State Senators
Jamaal Bailey & Nathalia Fernandez / Jamaal Bailey; New York State Senate

Two state lawmakers known primarily as Bronx politicians represent districts that include significant portions of Westchester County as well. One is state Sen. Jamaal Bailey, the powerful leader of the Bronx Democratic Party who recently traded his post as Codes Committee chair for the top job on the Insurance Committee. He has focused on consumer-friendly insurance issues and recently launched an investigation with other committees into residential property insurance premium hikes and access. The other is state Sen. Nathalia Fernandez, whose district is largely in the Bronx but includes parts of Pelham and New Rochelle. The Alcoholism and Substance Use Disorders Committee chair has been hard at work on issues within her committee portfolio, in particular in addressing the opioid crisis. She secured amendments to the Opioid Settlement Fund and ensured future settlement funds are used on addiction services.

16. Chris Burdick, Dana Levenberg, Steve Otis, Nader Sayegh & MaryJane Shimsky

Assembly Members
Chris Burdick, Dana Levenberg, Steve Otis, Nader Sayegh & MaryJane Shimsky / Phyllis Pacifico-Cohen; Emily Assiran; NYS Assembly; Assembly; Katrina Hajagos

Assembly Science and Technology Committee Chair Steve Otis has focused on regulating artificial intelligence in New York. He led his committee in passing legislation regarding the use of AI by state agencies. This year, he advanced legislation through both chambers to create a county EMS planning process.

Students with Special Needs Subcommittee Chair Nader Sayegh is touting his work obtaining $30 million in state funding for the Yonkers school district. The Yonkers lawmaker sought the county clerk’s job this year.

Assembly Member Chris Burdick recently started a dialogue between Mount Kisco village officials and a local Chabad after the village denied the Chabad’s application to host High Holidays services in a local park, helping to reach a resolution allowing the service there. Burdick, who chairs the Subcommittee on Employment for People with Disabilities, recently passed bills related to local wetlands and to create an interagency Disability Employment Task Force.

A former Ossining town supervisor, Assembly Member Dana Levenberg knows that all politics is local. She has sought funds to fix state roads that run through her district, distributed over $10 million in grant funds and pushed against Con Edison rate hikes. Levenberg has had 13 bills signed into law since she took office in 2023.

Assembly Member MaryJane Shimsky easily defeated her predecessor, Tom Abinanti, in last year’s Democratic primary, a rematch of their 2022 race in a district covering Greenburgh and Mount Pleasant and part of northwest Yonkers. In Albany, she has secured funding to upgrade roads and bridges in her district.

17. Michael N. Romita

President and CEO, Westchester County Association
Michael N. Romita / WCA

Convincing suburbs to embrace more development can be a tall order, but Michael Romita knows the region’s future depends on providing more housing for everyone. Romita took over the Westchester County Association in 2020, when his primary agenda was keeping his members’ businesses afloat through the COVID-19 pandemic. He has since built up workforce development resources and hosted networking events. This year, Romita led the WCA in co-producing a new study which showed that Westchester County could lose $57 billion in GDP without the development of new housing.  

18. Yadira Ramos-Herbert

New Rochelle Mayor
Yadira Ramos-Herbert / Susan Nagib

Since New Rochelle Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert was sworn into office in 2024, she has carried out ambitious plans to remake her fast-growing city of 80,000 people. She has been a champion of creating new housing and sustainable development. She unveiled the Vanguard District to create a retail and entertainment hub downtown and secured $45 million for LINC to convert part of Memorial Highway into eight acres of green space. This year, the city approved Pratt Landing, which will transform a brownfield site into a new 800,000-square-foot waterfront development.

19. Leonard Schleifer

Co-Founder, President and CEO, Regeneron
Leonard Schleifer / Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

When Leonard Schleifer co-founded Regeneron in 1988, he couldn’t have known that his Tarrytown startup would turn into one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies with revenues eclipsing $14 billion a year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Regeneron developed an antibody cocktail to treat symptoms and pursued next-generation therapies as COVID-19 continued to evolve. This year, Regeneron reached a $3 billion deal with Fujifilm to manufacture drugs and almost purchased the bankrupt DNA-testing firm 23andme for $256 million – before its co-founder submitted a higher bid.

20. Nick Spano

Founder and President, Empire Strategic Planning
Nick Spano / Grupp and Rose Photography

Nick Spano’s Empire Strategic Planning is the go-to government relations firm for companies and organizations based in Westchester. The former state senator turned Albany lobbyist represents plenty of Westchester groups, including the Westchester Parks Foundation and the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County as well as local mental health nonprofits, affordable housing developers and law enforcement unions. He also chairs Operation Santa Claus, which benefits people with developmental disabilities across the county. And he comes from a notable political family, with a brother, Mike Spano, serving as mayor of Yonkers.

21. Vedat Gashi

Chair, Westchester County Board of Legislators
Vedat Gashi / Carolyn Simpson, Doublevision Photographers

Few New York lawmakers have fulfilled the promise of the American dream like Vedat Gashi. He and his family refugees fled from Kosovo, settling in Yorktown. He later returned as an adult to help his native country build its democracy. In 2019, Gashi won a seat on the Westchester Board of Legislators and was chosen by his fellow lawmakers to become its chair four years later. While in office, Gashi, who is now running for reelection, has helped pass a gun ordinance, transitioned bus fleets to electric vehicles and passed legislation protecting domestic violence victims.

22. David Lubarsky

President and CEO, Westchester Medical Center Health Network
David Lubarsky / WMCHealth

After spending much of his career on the West Coast, Scarsdale native Dr. David Lubarsky was recruited to return home this year to run Westchester Medical Center Health Network. The former University of California, Davis, executive has since helped the 1,700-bed health care system achieve 90% of its targeted cost savings ahead of schedule, expand its 24/7 program for domestic violence violence, launch a PTSD screening and deploy artificial intelligence to allow physicians to spend more time with patients. He has also spoken out about President Donald Trump’s health care cuts.

23. Shawyn Patterson-Howard

Mount Vernon Mayor
Shawyn Patterson-Howard / City of Mount Vernon Communcations Department

Two years ago, Shawyn Patterson-Howard was reelected as mayor of Mount Vernon without facing any opposition, which is the first time a mayor has been reelected there in two decades. During her tenure, she has overseen the redevelopment of Memorial Stadium, upgrades to public safety vehicles and a street repair initiative. But lately she has been facing some challenges. A handful of violent incidents, including a gas station robbery, have alarmed residents. In June, an activist sued Patterson-Howard for allegedly using her police detail for political activity and for tipping off an associate who was facing arrest – allegations the mayor called frivolous.

24. Susan Fox

President and CEO, White Plains Hospital
Susan Fox / White Plains Hospital

Over the past decade, Susan Fox has transformed White Plains Hospital into a leading destination for clinical and urgent care. This year, Fox embarked on the medical center’s most ambitious plan yet, expanding its footprint by 475,000 square feet. The new campus will feature a gleaming 10-story hospital tower that connects to the existing hospital and add an emergency department that doubles its current size as well as 240 new inpatient rooms, bringing its bed capacity to 436. Fox expects the facility to be completed by 2028. She also chairs the Westchester County Association’s executive board.

25. Thomas Roach

White Plains Mayor
Thomas Roach / Mayor Thomas Roach

Since being elected mayor 14 years ago, Thomas Roach has made White Plains more livable while investing considerably in its infrastructure. In 2023, the city opened Veterans Memorial Garden behind City Hall and converted a 1.5-acre lot into a pollinator habitat. More improvements are on the way after the city of 62,000 people received a $10 million state grant to revitalize its downtown and created a Vision Zero plan to make its roadways safer. In January, Roach announced he would not seek reelection and would run for Westchester County clerk instead.

26. Suzanne Berger

Chair, Westchester County Democratic Committee
Suzanne Berger / Jeffrey Bucari

Westchester was already a Democratic stronghold when Suzanne Berger took the helm of the county’s party organization, but that didn’t mean there weren’t competitive races to manage. She helped Democrats maintain their majority in the county legislature in 2023 and managed Ken Jenkins’ nomination to run in a special election that he won to become county executive. Now Berger has set her sights on beating Republican Rep. Mike Lawler by organizing candidate forums. There are already eight Democrats seeking the nomination to take on Lawler, with former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney reportedly mulling a comeback campaign for the seat as well.

27. Lakisha Collins-Bellamy

Yonkers City Council President
Lakisha Collins-Bellamy / Donna Davis Photography

Lakisha Collins-Bellamy shocked the Yonkers political establishment in 2021 by upsetting then-Council President Mike Khader on her way to becoming the leader of the legislative body. After surviving a close contest in November 2021, the longtime Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers attorney became the first Black leader elected citywide. In the role, Collins-Bellamy has directed more funding to repair parks and community centers and sponsored legislation to create new affordable housing. In June, she easily dispatched her rivals in a five-way primary.

28. Robert Spolzino, Jeffrey Cohen & David Imamura

Executive Partner; Of Counsel; Partner, Abrams Fensterman
Robert Spolzino, Jeffrey Cohen & David Imamura / Alex Towle

Since Robert Abrams and Howard Fensterman joined forces in 2000, Abrams Fensterman has grown into one of the state’s most influential law firms, with more than 115 attorneys at offices in Rochester, White Plains, Long Island and Albany. One of them is Robert Spolzino, a veteran attorney and former judge who came aboard as an executive partner in 2019. He has successfully argued in the Appellate Division and before the state Court of Appeals on matters involving the New York Voting Rights Act, local term limits laws and Medicaid reimbursement for service providers for people with developmental disabilities. He’s also law chair of the Westchester County Democratic Committee. Jeffrey Cohen joined the firm as of counsel in 2021 after his tenure as an Appellate Court justice, a state Supreme Court judge and a Westchester County judge. He also leads the Justice Brandeis Law Society. David Imamura made history as Westchester’s first Asian American county lawmaker when he was elected to the Westchester County Board of Legislators in 2023. He chairs the legislative body’s Law and Major Contracts Committee and recently sponsored legislation providing free lock changes for domestic violence survivors and sought more legal protections for the state’s immigrant communities. Last year, Abrams Fensterman promoted Imamura to partner.

29. John T. Cooney Jr.

Executive Director, Construction Industry Council of Westchester and the Hudson Valley
John T. Cooney Jr. / CRH Americas

John T. Cooney Jr. had spent his career in the construction materials industry in New York before taking the helm of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester and the Hudson Valley in 2019. Cooney previously worked at County Asphalt, his family’s business, led Tilcon New York and served as New York head of Oldcastle Materials. Now, he promotes infrastructure investment and advocates for more than 600 contractors and other businesses in the region. Cooney also serves on the boards of the Westchester County Association and Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress.

30. Mark Weingarten

Partner, DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr
Mark Weingarten / Joe Vericker, Photobureau

Mark Weingarten’s list of zoning accomplishments reads like a who’s who of Westchester’s most prominent development projects. He has served as lead counsel on billions of dollars of real estate transactions, including City Center, Avalon, Galleria Mall and Renaissance Plaza in White Plains, as well as Trump Plaza and New Roc City in New Rochelle and Portchester’s downtown redevelopment. Most recently, he was part of the team submitting a $2.3 billion bid to redevelop Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts and presenting the proposal to the Yonkers community.

31. George Lence & Cristyne Nicholas

President; CEO, Nicholas & Lence Communications
George Lence & Cristyne Nicholas / EB Martin; Jill Singer Graphics

George Lence and Cristyne Nicholas, who co-founded Nicholas & Lence Communications in 2007, have become the go-to firm for developing effective marketing campaigns for cities, hospitality businesses and other organizations. The firm counts several Westchester institutions as clients, including Rye Playland, Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts, Westchester Community Foundation and Mamaroneck. Lence served for six years as a top executive at New York City’s tourism promotion organization before co-founding the firm. The Sleepy Hollow resident has helped MGM Resorts put together its campaign for its $2.3 billion proposal to expand Empire City Casino as it vies to win one of three full downstate casino licenses. Nicholas was CEO of NYC Tourism + Conventions before co-founding the firm. The Pelham resident chairs the Broadway Association, leads public relations strategies for Teatown Lake Reservation and served on the New York State 250th Commemoration Commission. She hosts a weekly radio show about tourism on AM970 The Answer.

32. Timothy Jones

CEO, Robert Martin Company
Timothy Jones / Steven Martine for RMC

Timothy Jones made Robert Martin the largest industrial property owner in Westchester County and a major office landlord. Under Jones’ leadership, the firm completed more than $4 billion in transactions and amassed more than 6 million square feet of property, including a 3.1 million-square-foot office transaction. The firm recently broke ground on a two-building industrial development creating more than 71,000 square feet of flexible space in Hawthorne. Last month, Robert Martin and Dune Real Estate Partners reached a $500 million refinancing for 42 industrial properties across Westchester.

33. Aníbal Soler Jr.

Superintendent, Yonkers Public Schools
Aníbal Soler Jr. / Maurice Mercado

Aníbal Soler Jr. has had a lot on his plate since moving to Yonkers to lead its school district. The former Schenectady school district leader dealt with the fallout of an antisemetic incident at a girls basketball game last year, helped keep 239 jobs that were funded by federal stimulus money and has implemented the statewide ban on cellphones in his district. Soler is also working to maintain Yonkers schools’ graduation rate, which rose above 90% under his predecessor.

34. Martin Ginsburg

Founder and Principal, Ginsburg Development Companies LLC
Martin Ginsburg / Ginsburg Development Companies

With more than six decades in the real estate business, Martin Ginsburg has done more to remake the Hudson River suburbs than many competitors combined. The Valhalla-based developer led a building boom before the COVID-19 pandemic, including a 330-unit luxury development in Yonkers, White Plains’ City Square and the Westchester Financial Center. The activity has continued as Ginsburg led the construction of dozens of new apartments in Yonkers and Peekskill and also paid for a new ferry terminal in Haverstraw as part of its Admirals Cove rental project.

35. Dean Bender, Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson & Geoffrey Thompson

Partners, Thompson & Bender
Dean Bender, Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson & Geoffrey Thompson / John Vecchiolla Photography

Newspaper industry veterans Dean Bender, Geoffrey Thompson and Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson have built Thompson & Bender into a public relations, marketing and advertising powerhouse in Westchester. The firm helped to brand Yonkers as “Hollywood on the Hudson” as Lionsgate opened a new studio in the city. When the Westchester Parks Foundation needed to raise public awareness for its fundraising efforts, the firm launched a “Parks Need You” campaign. The firm also helped to run Westchester Magazine’s annual Food & Wine Festival. Bender, Thompson and Bracken-Thompson are veterans of Gannett newspapers, giving them deep knowledge of how Westchester works.

36. Thomas Leslie

Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
Thomas Leslie / Greenberg Traurig

Thomas Leslie joined Greenberg Traurig in 2008 and is the founding shareholder of the firm’s Westchester County office. The veteran land use and real estate attorney has represented some of the state’s top financial institutions and developers on complex property transactions as well as financing fine art, private aircraft and other collateral. This spring, he helped negotiate a 10-year, $1.8 billion new contract for Liberty Lines Transit to continue providing its Bee-Line bus service in Westchester, the largest local government contract in the county’s history.

37. Louis Cappelli

Managing Member, Cappelli Organization

Perhaps no one is more responsible for transforming Westchester’s downtowns than Louis Cappelli. The White Plains developer counts City Center, 25 North Lex and The Ritz in White Plains, as well as 3Thirty3, Encore and New Roc City in New Rochelle among his triumphs. Lately, Cappelli has become known as a “mall knocker-downer” for demolishing White Plains Mall to make way for Hamilton Green, a 633-unit apartment complex that opened in February. Next, he’ll clear out the shuttered Galleria Mall and a parking garage to build several thousand residential rental units.

38. Matt Slater

Assembly Member
Matt Slater / Bruce McDonough

Westchester County’s only Republican state legislator is navigating life in the minority. Second-term Assembly Member Matt Slater became the ranking minority member of the Election Law Committee this year following a stint as the top Republican on the Libraries and Education Technology Committee. Meanwhile, his proposal to expand the definition of antisemitism on college campuses was tabled earlier this year. Slater, who’s an ally of Rep. Mike Lawler, has also taken a bipartisan approach to legislating, reaching across the aisle last year to pass the Detective Brian Simonsen’s Law, which requires cellphone carriers to limit or suspend service when a device is reported stolen.

39. Robert Weisz

Chair and CEO, RPW Group
Robert Weisz / Chris Meech

Robert Weisz built his company up from owning a single warehouse in 1979 to presiding over one of the largest owners of office properties in Westchester with 4 million square feet of space. Weisz’s firm RPW Group partnered with the NRP Group to build 303 market-rate apartments on a 70-acre White Plains property, once home to IBM’s headquarters, then broke ground together last year on a site Harrison that will yield 200 units. Recently, Weisz bulked up his commercial portfolio by acquiring a 10-story office tower in White Plains.

40. Samantha Rosado-Ciriello

President, Yonkers Federation of Teachers
Samantha Rosado-Ciriello / Samantha Rosado-Ciriello

For three decades, Samantha Rosado-Ciriello has sought to provide her public school students with a high-quality education while also advocating for her fellow teachers’ rights and workplace benefits. She helped pass legislation last year mandating that schools relocate students and staff if the temperature of its classrooms exceeds 88 degrees, and she recently led a rally in Ossining against congressional Republicans’ $700 billion cuts to Medicaid. This spring, Rosado-Ciriello was honored by state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins on Women’s History Day at the state Capitol.

41. L. Todd Diorio

President, Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council
L. Todd Diorio / L. Todd Diorio

As head of the Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council, L. Todd Diorio has advocated for higher wages, improved benefits and the inclusion of unionized workers in downstate development projects. During the COVID-19 pandemic, as head of Laborers’ Local 17, Diorio provided resources to his member unions, including online and virtual training. This year, Diorio advocated for a state bill that would require prevailing wages on private construction contracts that receive a portion of public funding.

42. Paul Dunphey

Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester
Paul Dunphey / NYP Media Services

It’s an exciting time for Paul Dunphey, who just unveiled Westchester’s newest outpatient facility, a 225,000-square-foot building in White Plains. The new campus, dubbed NewYork-Presbyterian The One, was well worth the wait and was the capstone of Dunphey’s mission to bring state-of-the-art patient care to the region. Since joining the NewYork-Presbyterian in 1990, Dunphey has risen to managing the day-to-day operations of two hospitals: the 288-bed NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester and the 128-bed NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital. A newly renovated labor and delivery unit also opened at NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester this year.

43. Philip Wilner

Chief Operating Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health
Philip Wilner / NYP Media Services

For the past decade, Dr. Philip Wilner has served as chief operating officer of NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health, focusing on providing high-quality care for its suburban patients. Yet Wilner’s reach extends far beyond the 250-bed psychiatric and addiction facility in White Plains. He also leads behavioral health services across the entire NewYork-Presbyterian system, serves as president and CEO of Manhattan’s 140-bed Gracie Square Hospital for psychiatric care and is executive vice chair of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Psychiatry Department.

44. Marvin Krislov

President, Pace University
Marvin Krislov / Pace University

Marvin Krislov lives by the mantra of never assuming you have all the answers – and that means bringing more people into your decision-making process. The longtime president of Pace University, which has locations in Pleasantville and Manhattan, has sought to prepare students for an artificial intelligence-dominated marketplace with integrated coursework and real-world partnerships. That may have contributed to the school’s 12% increase in first-year enrollment this year and a record number of applicants. Krislov will have an even bigger pulpit as a new board member of the state’s higher education student financial aid agency.

45. Derek Anderson

President, Northern Westchester Hospital
Derek Anderson / Northwell Health

After nearly seven years overseeing operations at Northwell Health’s North Shore University Hospital, Derek Anderson was ready for a new challenge. In 2019, Anderson traded Manhasset for Mount Kisco’s Northern Westchester Hospital, where he led a major overhaul of its emergency department and maternity unit. Last year, the 245-bed facility expanded its behavioral health program, featuring a new child and adolescent psychiatric practice and a stand-alone behavioral health center. In April, Anderson accepted a $10 million gift on the hospital’s behalf to enhance services to treat traumatic brain injuries and strokes.

46. Beata Mastalerz

President, Phelps Hospital
Beata Mastalerz / Northwell Health

Beata Mastalerz joined Northwell Health’s Phelps Hospital in late 2023 after leading Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital through an impressive growth period. She has since helped Phelps earn accolades for its nursing quality and advanced stroke care. Last fall, Mastalerz celebrated the hospital’s newly renovated $24.5 million maternal health facility and raised over $686,000 at its annual gala to expand the 238-bed facility’s health and wellness center for cancer care. This summer, the hospital unveiled a new 2,600-square-foot suite for advanced neurosurgery and spinal care services.

47. Seamus Carey

President, Iona University
Seamus Carey / Ben Hider

Seamus Carey had a long list of priorities when he became Iona’s president in 2019. He dedicated the Kelly Center for Health Sciences two years ago, renovated the LaPenta Student Union, acquired the old Concordia College campus in Bronxville and opened Bohm Hall, the first residential dorm on the Bronxville campus. Carey has made sure Iona is at the forefront of utilizing artificial intelligence in its pedagogy by launching AI@Iona and opening the Gabelli Center for Teaching & Learning. And in 2022, he oversaw the New Rochelle school’s transition from college to university status.

48. Tracy Brown

President and Hudson Riverkeeper, Riverkeeper
Tracy Brown / Riverkeeper

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to unwind clean water regulations could undermine Riverkeeper’s efforts to clean up the Hudson River, but Tracy Brown isn’t backing down from a fight. Since joining Riverkeeper four years ago, Brown has expanded the organization’s boat patrol fleet, conducted research on the effects of road salt runoff and pursued litigation to fund floodplain restoration efforts. This year, Brown met with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to advocate for preserving federal water protections and unveiled a new interactive online map to track the Hudson River’s water quality.

49. Michael Gilfeather

President, CEO and Director, Orange Bank & Trust Company
Michael Gilfeather / Orange Bank & Trust Company

Since joining Orange Bank & Trust Company in 2014 as its president and CEO, Michael Gilfeather transformed the Hudson Valley financial institution into a $2.5 billion asset bank with an IPO in 2021 and a listing on the Nasdaq composite. Gilfeather also spearheaded the company’s rapid expansion, with 16 additional branches and more than 200 new employees. In August, Gilfeather celebrated the ribbon-cutting for the bank’s newly renovated Middletown headquarters, then opened a second full-service branch in the Bronx a month later.

50. Jan Fisher

Executive Director, Nonprofit Westchester
Jan Fisher / Margaret Fox

The Trump administration’s spending cuts have been an existential threat for nonprofits, forcing Jan Fisher to help her 370 members fight to survive. The Nonprofit Westchester leader has been particularly concerned about protecting organizations affected by vast reductions to safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps while defending the value of nonprofits in the region. Fisher has enjoyed more success with the state Legislature, where she championed a bill that would ensure the state government pays nonprofits on time if signed by the governor.

51. Anthony Alfano

Vice President and Executive Director, Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital
Anthony Alfano / Montefiore New Rochelle

Anthony Alfano revitalized Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital after the former Sound Shore Medical Center was rescued from bankruptcy. Since rebranding, the 223-bed hospital has rebounded with a $44.3 million state grant that allowed the campus to modernize with a new emergency department lobby and waiting area and an upgraded radiology department. Alfano recently secured a $38.6 million state health grant that will overhaul the maternity unit and improve the NICU. Alfano also oversees the Schaffer Extended Care Center and Montefiore Home Care and is president of the Montefiore School of Nursing.

52. Scott Edelman

Executive Director, Burke Rehabilitation
Scott Edelman / John Vecchiolla Photography

Scott Edelman has been working to expand the reach of Montefiore’s 150-bed Burke Rehabilitation hospital, which provides care to patients in Westchester County and throughout the Hudson Valley. This has included new and expanded outpatient sites for Burke Rehabilitation in Scarsdale, Purchase and Mount Vernon. Edelman also opened a new outpatient facility in West Nyack in Rockland County. Under his leadership, the hospital’s workforce grew by 5% last year and outpatient visits increased by 14%.

53. Regginald Jordan

Vice President of Clinical Services and Executive Director, Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital
Regginald Jordan / Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital

Regginald Jordan joined Montefiore in 2018 with a mission to transform its Wakefield campus and later its Mount Vernon Hospital into state-of-the-art health facilities offering patient-centered care. After Montefiore scrapped its plans to shutter its 121-bed Mount Vernon facility in 2020, Jordan secured a $41 million state grant in 2024 to redesign its emergency department and increase its capacity by 150% by expanding its operating rooms. Jordan also added 15 new clinical programs and hired 200 new staff, including 120 nurses.

54. Tara Rosenblum

Anchor and Reporter, News 12 Network
Tara Rosenblum / News 12

Tara Rosenblum’s commitment to informing Westchester residents about the world around them isn’t just measured in awards, although she has plenty. The 63-time Emmy winner has reported on presidential elections and other major stories, such as the Virginia Tech mass shooting and Hurricane Katrina. In the past year, Rosenblum was first to report that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was announcing a run for mayor of New York City and was the first to report that Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano was on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lieutenant governor short list.

55. Joseph Apicella

Executive Vice President, MacQuesten Development LLC
Joseph Apicella / Brendan Joyce

Joseph Apicella has been behind some of Westchester’s most dynamic new affordable housing projects. Since joining MacQuesten Development LLC over a decade ago, the real estate executive has been responsible for more than $2 billion of investment in the region, typified by The Modern, an 11-story workforce housing tower, and nearby transit-oriented development. This year, MacQuesten broke ground on Crescent Manor, a 73-unit senior apartment complex in Ossining, and Apicella shared his affordable housing insights at a Business Council of Westchester panel.

56. Thomas Carey

President, Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body
Thomas Carey / Kansas Carey

Thomas Carey recently retired after serving as business representative for the United Association for more than four decades, but he still has plenty on his plate. As head of the AFL-CIO’s 120,000-member operation in Westchester and Putnam counties, Carey has advocated for federal legislation to promote a $5 trillion bank that would lend funding to public infrastructure projects. Carey has also pushed for the Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts to win a downstate casino license and supported legislation allowing the state to stop employers from misclassifying workers as independent contractors.

57. Mark Stagg

Founder and President, Stagg Group
Mark Stagg / Enormous Creative

The Stagg Group has been an indelible part of Westchester’s growth since Mark Stagg founded his real estate firm nearly 30 years ago. Stagg is responsible for the more than 5,000 affordable and market-rate units in the company’s portfolio throughout Westchester, the Bronx and the broader metropolitan area, including Westview Apartments and Riverdale Tower. His firm is currently developing 223 Willett Ave., a 100-unit luxury apartment building in Port Chester slated for completion in 2026, and Qwest Towers, two 200-unit high-rise apartment complexes in Mount Vernon.

58. Cristle Collins Judd

President, Sarah Lawrence College
Cristle Collins Judd / Don Hamerman

Since she came on as president of Sarah Lawrence College in 2017, Cristle Collins Judd has guided the Bronxville college through a successful $200 million fundraising campaign and navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. Judd also launched new educational initiatives including a genomics education institute and a partnership with NYU Grossman School of Medicine. The college found itself in the Trump administration’s crosshairs when its Hillel organization made a complaint alleging bias, prompting a federal probe and landing it on a list of 60 institutions under investigation for alleged antisemitism.

59. Laura Rossi

Vice President, Westchester, The New York Community Trust
Laura Rossi / Casey Kelbaugh

For the past decade, Laura Rossi has led the Westchester office of the century-old New York Community Trust, which has supported local nonprofits with a focus on education, health, the environment, social justice and the arts. Rossi has emphasized improving civic engagement in the foundation’s giving in recent years, distributing $100,000 in grant money across two local newspapers and $400,000 to organizations helping young people become neighborhood leaders. This summer, Rossi celebrated the foundation’s new offices in Irvington at a community open house.

60. Kelly MacMillan

Senior Vice President, Statewide Public Affairs
Kelly MacMillan / Kelly MacMillan

When Statewide Public Affairs needed someone to head its new Westchester office, Kelly MacMillan was an easy pick. She was previously chief of staff to the late former Assembly Member Richard Brodsky, helped manage the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement as an Empire State Development executive and oversaw governmental affairs for Westchester Medical Center Health Network. Now, she advises on local infrastructure projects like the proposed Westchester RiverWalk in Tarrytown and getting governments to try MuniCollab, a land use review platform that is being used in Hudson.

61. Ronald Rosado Abad

CEO, Community Housing Innovations
Ronald Rosado Abad / Jane Goodrich Photography

Ronald Rosado Abad knows how important a strong social safety net can be to keep people alive and off the streets. His nonprofit, Community Housing Innovations, has provided emergency shelters, supportive housing and financial literacy services to thousands of families in Westchester and the Hudson Valley since 1991. Abad is equally passionate about permanent housing and initiated a grant program where first-time homebuyers receive up to $60,000 in down payment, closing costs and renovation assistance. His nonprofit partnered with the state to build a 56-unit senior housing development in White Plains that topped out in September.

62. Rick Rakow & David Richman

Founder; President and CEO, Rakow Commercial Realty Group
David Richman / Melissa Richman

After working in commercial real estate for four decades, Rick Rakow knows every corner of prime office, industrial and retail space in Westchester. The Rakow Commercial Realty Group founder has helped law firms and manufacturers lease their future headquarters in Class A properties throughout the county. But Rakow is even more passionate about philanthropy, as a volunteer with the March of Dimes and past chair and current board member of Feeding Westchester. David Richman joined Rakow as a senior associate broker in 2002 before working his way up and eventually acquiring the brokerage in 2019, when Rakow became chair. He is a longtime volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of of Westchester & Putnam. The firm has worked with notable Westchester employers, including IBM, White Plains Hospital and Feeding Westchester.

63. Marc Jerome

President, Monroe University
Marc Jerome / Monroe University

Marc Jerome was well-acquainted with Monroe College when he became its president in 2017. He had spent more than 30 years in executive roles at the Bronx- and New Rochelle-based institution, successfully fending off efforts to shut it down. Instead, Jerome led a schoolwide rebranding, including a name change to Monroe University, and expanded its scholarship opportunities for first-generation students. This summer, Monroe launched a partnership with My Brother’s Keeper to offer Yonkers students early childhood education certification.

64. Kim DiTomasso

Principal, Ditto Consulting
Kim DiTomasso / Susan Walsh

Next year, Kim DiTomasso will be celebrating her 20th year at Ditto Consulting, where she is responsible for some of Westchester’s most successful political and fundraising campaigns. DiTomasso organized galas, golf outings and other events that raised money to help Democrat George Latimer win high-profile races for Congress and Westchester County executive. DiTomasso also consulted on Reps. Grace Meng and Paul Tonko’s successful congressional races last year and advised several state lawmakers, including state Sens. Shelley Mayer and Pete Harckham and Assembly Member Amy Paulin.

65. Rich Nightingale

President and CEO, Westhab
Rich Nightingale / Leslie Kahan Photography

Affordable housing remains one of Westchester’s greatest challenges, and Richard Nightingale is doing his part to meet the region’s demand. Since 1981, the Yonkers-based development company has created 1,714 homes and helped nearly 12,000 homeless households find permanent housing. Nightingale, who joined Westhab in 2001 and took the reins in 2014, has overseen the opening of Dayspring Commons, a 63-unit supportive housing complex in Yonkers, and has proposed a 220-unit workforce housing project, also in Yonkers. He is also moving ahead with an 81-unit project in Haverstraw, thanks to $12.1 million in state tax credits.

66. Lindsay Farrell

President and CEO, Open Door Care Network
Lindsay Farrell / Open Door Care Network

Federal cuts to Medicaid and the increasing cost of care means more patients will rely on nonprofit organizations to provide their basic health needs. Lindsay Farrell is up to the challenge. Since becoming CEO of Open Door Care Network in 1998, Farrell has expanded Open Door’s reach to 10 sites that treat 40,000 patients each year, the majority of which live below the federal poverty line. Last year, Farrell secured a $17,360 grant from the Children’s Dream Foundation to purchase pediatric medical equipment for its two Ossining sites.

67. Seth Diamond

CEO, Westchester Jewish Community Services
Seth Diamond / Jamie Collins Photography

Seth Diamond learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that you can never overcommunicate in a crisis and you should always recognize your staff. The Westchester Jewish Community Services leader has embodied that philosophy while defending its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion programs and continuing to offer mental health and support services in Mount Vernon, Yonkers and Peekskill. Diamond recently secured state grants for providing health and social services for Holocaust survivors and improving public access to technology, as well as two grants from state Sen. Shelley Mayer to renovate parts of two community residences.

68. Jeremy Kohomban

President and CEO, The Children’s Village
Jeremy Kohomban / Laura Sachs

Jeremy Kohomban has reimagined foster care in the nearly 22 years that he has led The Children’s Village, making it a model for creating affordable housing and providing behavioral health and family support services. Earlier this year, his Dobbs Ferry-based nonprofit helped secure $3.4 million from Westchester legislators to convert a vacant Peekskill site into 22 units of transitional housing for people aging out of foster care. Kohomban has also tackled chronic absenteeism in schools and provided crisis services, one-on-one coaching and after-school activities. He also serves on the boards of ArtsWestchester and Save the Children.

69. Elliot Forchheimer

Executive Director, Westchester Jewish Council
Elliot Forchheimer / Aggie Cholewka

Throughout his career as a Jewish summer camp director, social services organization leader and nonprofit executive, Elliot Forchheimer has sought to sustain Jewish life in New York. The Westchester Jewish Council leader has led efforts to combat antisemitism as hate crimes – and antisemitic incidents in particular – have surged in New York in recent years. Forchheimer’s team has been bolstered by the addition of Michael Mittelman as president in 2024. The organization holds large-scale events, such as its annual music and arts festival in August, and recently hosted a Holocaust Remembrance Day event attended by Rep. George Latimer, a longtime ally.

70. John Tomlin

Senior Managing Director, Actum

John Tomlin spent years helping state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins retake control of Albany’s upper chamber while guiding her Westchester district activities, so it’s no surprise he would be a key asset for a firm like Actum. After four years at Mercury, the Westchester resident joined Actum in 2022 and was promoted to senior managing director in March for his strategic expertise. He has assisted Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center in Yonkers and among his current clients are Legal Services of the Hudson Valley and Yonkers-based Kawasaki Rail Car Inc.

71. William F. B. O’Reilly

Partner, The November Team

New York’s suburban counties have emerged as a national electoral battleground, and William F. B. O’Reilly knows firsthand how to get Republicans into elected office in Westchester and the Hudson Valley. The November Team partner advises the state Conservative Party and has counted former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and former Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro among his clients. Last year, he worked on a campaign opposing a state-level Equal Rights Amendment. He also frequently offers his insights on political matters on NY1, like Rep. Mike Lawler’s campaign strategy and the New York City mayoral race.

72. Joe McCoy

Market President of Commercial Banking – Hudson Valley and Fairfield County, Valley National Bank
Joe McCoy / Valley National Bank

Joe McCoy came aboard Valley National Bank at a time when a handful of the country’s tech-friendly regional banks were severely struggling. Valley National Bank has instead thrived while providing financing to small- to middle-market companies as well as mid-sized and large nonprofit groups throughout the Hudson Valley and Westchester. McCoy has given back to his community too, serving on the boards of Yonkers Partners in Education, the Business Council of Westchester and ArtsWestchester.

73. Anthony B. Gioffre III

Managing Partner, Cuddy & Feder
Anthony B. Gioffre III / Michael N. Meyer

When Westchester developers need someone to solve their zoning problems in order to advance a major project, they call Anthony B. Gioffre III. The Cuddy & Feder managing partner has secured approvals for two massive redevelopment projects in New Rochelle over the past 12 months, one an 805-unit project at 466 Main St. and the other is Pratt Landing, an 11.5-acre development with 482 homes that will connect the city’s downtown with its shoreline. Gioffre, who was named managing partner of his White Plains firm in 2022, also serves on the board of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp.

74. Stacey Cohen

President and CEO, Co-Communications
Stacey Cohen / Randi Childs

Since founding her communications firm in 1997, Stacey Cohen has helped a bevy of Westchester businesses, nonprofits and government agencies run campaigns and reshape their images. She created a grassroots campaign to rebuild the former Tappan Zee Bridge, advised Feeding Westchester as it grappled with more demand during the COVID-19 pandemic and helped market the Westchester Children’s Museum at Rye Playland. Cohen recently wrote a book and a sequel to help college students find their direction and achieve early career success in the digital world.

75. Frank Sánchez

President, Manhattanville University
Frank Sánchez / Manhattanville College

Manhattanville trustees were impressed with Frank Sánchez’s vision and track record at CUNY when they hired him in 2023. Sánchez has since led the school’s transition from a college to a university, extended its academic offerings and expanded an international exchange with Florence, Italy. Enrollment has surged, with a 65% increase in applications from 2024 and a 20% increase in new students this fall. Thanks to $2 million in campus upgrades over the summer, students returned to renovated first-year dorms and classrooms.

76. Daniel J. Maughan

President and CEO, Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall
Daniel J. Maughan / Everett Collie

Hospital networks allow for expanded health care options and access for Westchester residents, and Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall is no exception. The Hudson Valley hospital, which has locations in Newburgh and Cornwall, has garnered recognition for its quality of care under the leadership of Daniel J. Maughan. This includes a national distinction from the American Nurses Credentialing Center based on standards in nursing excellence. The hospital has received 17 consecutive years of recognition from the American Heart Association for high-quality cardiac and stroke care.

77. Mark Geller

President and CEO, Montefiore Nyack Hospital
Mark Geller / Montefiore Nyack Hospital

Dr. Mark Geller is presiding over a transformation of Montefiore Nyack Hospital and health care in the Hudson Valley region. The project has already brought the hospital a revitalized emergency department with state-of-the-art technology, new cardiac health facilities, a modern ambulatory surgical facility, a 60,000-square-foot Orthopedic and Spine Institute and the Accuray TomoTherapy Radiation Unit to improve cancer treatment. The next phase includes transforming all semiprivate patient rooms to private rooms and upgrading the front entrance. Geller, a radiologist, is a board member of the Healthcare Association of New York State.

78. Carl E. Petrillo

Chair, Yonkers Contracting Company
Carl E. Petrillo / StudioElevenOnline

Since 1945, Yonkers Contracting Company Inc. has built the highways, bridges, transit lines and wastewater treatment facilities that have powered Westchester’s economy. Carl E. Petrillo has continued his family’s legacy into the 21st century by diversifying into other areas of civil construction and taking on projects, such as overhauling I-287, executing a bridge slide on I-95 and replacing two substations powering PATH trains. Petrillo’s company was awarded a design-build project by the state Department of Transportation to replace two Bronx River Parkway viaducts, which was completed this year.

79. Perry Ochacher

Founder and President, Willett Public Affairs
Perry Ochacher / Jo Bryan Photography LLC

Westchester native Perry Ochacher founded Willett Public Affairs in 2018 to assist the region’s municipalities, real estate owners, health care organizations and cultural institutions. The veteran lobbyist recently secured $1 million in state capital funding to build a new CT scanner for Burke Rehabilitation in White Plains. He also helped Twining Properties secure a complex set of approvals from the state and from New Rochelle to advance Pratt Landing, an 850,000-square-foot waterfront redevelopment site featuring 482 units of housing as well as restaurant and retail space.

80. Louis Picani

President, Teamsters Local 456
Louis Picani / Dominick Cassanelli, Jr.

Louis Picani’s leadership ability helped him excel, whether he was shop steward in the Yonkers Department of Public Works or vice president of the Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body. Picani, who has served as Teamsters Local 456 president since 2016, has fought for higher wages and better working conditions throughout his career. He has pushed Gov. Kathy Hochul to increase the state Department of Transportation budget to fix deteriorating roads and has advocated for legislation that would require a trained human operator in any autonomous truck over 10,000 pounds, which has yet to pass.

81. Michael Steiper

President, Purchase College
Michael Steiper / Purchase College

When Purchase College President Milagros Peña stepped down in the spring, the SUNY school turned to Michael Steiper to succeed her. The Harvard-educated biological anthropologist taught at CUNY’s Hunter College for two decades and since 2022 had served as provost at CUNY’s College of Staten Island, where he helped secure $2.9 million to upgrade the school’s STEM labs. Steiper will have to lower campus tensions after the last administration received a no-confidence vote from the faculty for its handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations while signing on to a letter opposing “unprecedented government overreach and political interference” on college campuses.

82. Tyré Robinson

Tarrytown Regional President, M&T Bank
Tyré Robinson / M&T Bank

Since joining the Buffalo-headquartered M&T Bank nearly a decade ago, Tyré Robinson has become a familiar face to small-business leaders throughout Westchester and the Hudson Valley. Her work managing consumer relationships, implementing a program that helped 250 employees with career development and increasing the number of Black and Latino members in leadership roles made Robinson a clear choice to become its regional president in 2022. This year, Community Housing Innovations recognized the bank for its local support.

83. Kristen Kelley Wilson

Of Counsel, Marks DiPalermo Wilson

Kristen Kelley Wilson is no stranger to complex property and zoning cases. She joined the corporate litigation firm now known as Marks DiPalermo Wilson a decade ago with a focus on land use, development and state environmental regulations. Wilson has represented Rye as its corporation counsel and city prosecutor. Recently, she represented the city in a property tax case with Westchester County over Rye Playland, in which Standard Amusements, the park’s operator, lost an arbitration ruling with the county by defaulting on an agreement to run the park this year.

84. Douglas Singer

Partner, Falcon Rappaport & Berkman
Douglas Singer / Falcon Rappaport & Berkman

Throughout his career, Douglas Singer has helped purpose-driven companies make a long-lasting social and environmental impact. Before joining the full-service business law firm Falcon Rappaport & Berkman in 2024, Singer worked at several firms and founded and ran his own law firm. Singer leads Falcon Rappaport & Berkman’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group. He also serves as member and general counsel for the board of The Business Council of Westchester and is a past chair of the local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which recently rebranded as Blood Cancer United.

85. Judith Watson

CEO, Westchester Community Health Center
Judith Watson / WCHC

Judith Watson understands the lasting damage that Medicaid funding cuts could inflict on Westchester’s most underserved residents and the health facilities they use. The Jamaican-born public health official leads Westchester Community Health Center’s nine sites, which provide accessible medical and dental care for 46,000 patients annually. Two years ago, Watson led a rebranding for her health network, and visits have nearly doubled since then. This year she received an honorary doctorate from Mercy University’s School of Business.

86. Robert Amler

Dean, School of Health Sciences and Practice, New York Medical College
Robert Amler / New York Medical College

Dr. Robert Amler’s commitment to public health has never wavered, even as mistrust in vaccine science has grown. The former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regional administrator disseminated information about staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a dean at Valhalla-based New York Medical College, he has made the school’s doctor of public health degree available online to students nationwide. Amler announced in September that he would step down from his role as dean in 2026 while continuing in his post as the college’s vice president for government affairs.

87. Andy Aujla

Assistant Attorney General-in-Charge, Westchester Regional Office, Office of the State Attorney General
Andy Aujla / Rashida Zagon

Andy Aujla had plenty of experience assisting the state’s most vulnerable residents before joining the state attorney general’s Westchester office in 2022. The New Rochelle resident previously worked at a nonprofit legal services organization that represented low-income tenants and he also served as senior counsel in a New York City government agency. During his tenure, the Attorney General’s Office assisted with a gun buyback program in Peekskill and secured the conviction of a Westchester social worker who stole $200,000 from a client. Aujla also serves on the board of the Westchester nonprofit Hope’s Door.

88. Bryan Fryer

Partner, Grassi
Bryan Fryer / Grassi

When charitable organizations need help handling their long-term finances and planning, they call Bryan Fryer. The experienced accounting consultant has been in charge of Grassi’s nonprofit consulting and advisory practice since 2021 and has helped establish accounting procedures, mitigate risk and build long-term sustainability for organizations for more than two decades. Fryer was recently appointed to the board of directors of New Settlement, a Bronx-based housing and education nonprofit, and serves as treasurer of Pleasantville’s youth sports program.

89. John Cappello, Peter Chatzky, Cait Conley, Beth Davidson, Effie Phillips-Staley, Mike Sacks, John Sullivan & Jessica Reinmann

Democratic Candidates for Congress
Cait Conley, Beth Davidson, Mike Sacks, John Sullivan & Jessica Reinmann / Cait for New York; Gerri Hernandez; Mike Sacks for Congress; John Sullivan for New York; Flynn Larsen

See story here.

90. Robert Cordero

Partner, PKF O’Connor Davies

Ensuring a 990 passes muster with the IRS can be a challenge even for knowledgeable nonprofit executives, but Robert Cordero is here to help. For nearly 25 years, the PKF O’Connor Davies accountant has helped educational institutions, foundations and other charities get their taxes and spending practices in order. Cordero also serves on the executive committee of Nonprofit Westchester’s board and is the treasurer of the Westchester Community College Foundation.

91. Kevin Carter

Executive Director, Teatown Lake Reservation
Kevin Carter / Lynda Shenkman

Teatown Lake Reservation is a natural treasure that provides a lush habitat for Westchester’s diverse wildlife and serves as a recreational destination for residents statewide. Over the past 13 years, Kevin Carter has expanded the 1,000-acre nature preserve’s programs, including summer camps and courses for college students. Teatown was awarded accreditation as a land trust in February and is in the process of a two-year, $28 million renovation to redesign its nature center, add an environmental education building and build a green roof for outdoor events.

92. Susan Fox_

President and CEO, Westchester Institute for Human Development
Susan Fox_ / The Booth for Business

As one of the state’s top disability experts, Susan Fox has brought academic rigor and deep compassion to her work at the Westchester Institute for Human Development. For nearly a decade, Fox has helped expand the Valhalla nonprofit’s footprint and introduced new initiatives for young adults with developmental disabilities. In 2022, the organization provided 36,094 medical visits including primary care, dental and behavioral psychology visits to 4,495 individuals. Fox also launched a mobile medical unit in 2023 and is currently leading a fundraising campaign for a new office.

93. Samuel Wallis

Executive Director and CEO, Yonkers Partners in Education
Samuel Wallis / Erik Kantar

Samuel Wallis knows the importance that higher education can have in a student’s future earnings and career stability. After joining Yonkers Partners in Education as chief program officer a decade ago, Wallis built the nonprofit’s model helping first-generation students graduate from college and expanded its program to 10 high schools, including outposts in Jersey City, New Jersey, and Nashville, Tennessee. Wallis, who was named executive director in 2019, also grew its budget from $1.8 million to $4 million. State school administrators honored YPIE’s efforts in March. He added the CEO title in July.

94. Adam Bosch

President and CEO, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress
Adam Bosch / Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress

Many Westchester residents know that housing has become unaffordable, but few understand the extent of the crisis better than Adam Bosch. His nonprofit has provided useful research on housing, planning, transportation and infrastructure for policymakers and the public alike. Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress recently released its annual report, which showed that a working Westchester couple can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment without paying more than 30% of their income. The group recently received a $50,000 grant to study the effects of corporate housing ownership in the mid-Hudson Valley region.

95. Lynda Fernandez

CEO, Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors
Lynda Fernandez / Jorge Llovet

Coming from Louisville, Kentucky, Lynda Fernandez wasn’t well known in New York when she was chosen to lead the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors following a nationwide search, but she has made her mark since starting two years ago. The veteran broker served in executive roles with Realtor associations in Miami and Louisville for 20 years before moving north. Fernandez, who represents 13,000 Realtors throughout downstate, recently installed a new leadership team and released reports showing changes in buyer behavior. She has also collaborated with real estate groups in 18 countries across Latin America to expand business opportunities.

96. Tom Gabriel

President and CEO, United Way of Westchester and Putnam
Tom Gabriel / Cathy Pinsky, Pinsky Studio

The impact of Tom Gabriel’s leadership is already generating some impressive numbers for the United Way of Westchester and Putnam. Last year, Gabriel’s nonprofit invested and leveraged $35 million for the community, delivered over 400,000 pounds of food and reached more than 800,000 families with its programming. Gabriel also pushed the state Legislature to increase funding for its 211 Helpline network and raised the organization’s revenue from $4.5 million in 2019 to $12 million last year. This summer, he decried federal cuts that left summer and after-school programs in jeopardy.

97. Joanne Dunn

Executive Director, Youth Shelter Program of Westchester
Joanne Dunn / vwfreelancephotographer

Joanne Dunn knows the importance of providing housing, social services and plenty of hope to young people impacted by the criminal justice system. Dunn became the first woman to lead the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester when she came aboard in 2020 and has guided its residential program, which is designed as an alternative to incarceration, as well as training in leadership, conflict resolution and enrichment. Dunn was honored as one of 914Inc’s top women in business in 2022 and recently participated in Georgetown University’s New Strategies program for management education.

98. Danté Hudson

CEO, The Loft LGBTQ+ Community Center
Danté Hudson / Kerry Sclafani, Kerry Sclafani Photography

Danté Hudson’s mission has been to advance justice for marginalized communities and make the suburbs a more inclusive place to live. Since joining The Loft LGBTQ+ Community Center in 2023, Hudson has helped expand its programs and community partnerships with institutions like TD Bank. He also worked on a plan that will move the nonprofit’s headquarters into a new 14-story senior apartment complex in White Plains. In May, Hudson was elevated to CEO, becoming the organization’s first Black and queer leader.

99. Masha Turchinsky

Director and CEO, Hudson River Museum
Masha Turchinsky / Steven Paneccasio

Few people in New York go to work every day at a Gilded Age mansion, but Masha Turchinsky knows how fortunate she is to promote Westchester’s best-kept secret. After two decades leading projects at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Turchinsky became head of the Hudson River Museum in 2016. She has since spearheaded the $11 million extension of its West Wing, which opened in 2023. This year, the museum’s exhibits featured Indigenous art from North America, photographs of the Hudson River and an astronomy program for adults.

100. Joe Stout

Executive Director, Westchester Parks Foundation
Joe Stout / John Vecchiola

After retiring as Westchester County Parks commissioner 15 years ago, Joe Stout embarked on a second career managing the Westchester Parks Foundation. Under Stout’s leadership, the foundation invested $20 million in the county’s green spaces, supported Camp Morty and launched Trails Without Limits, a program offering all-terrain wheelchairs for people with physical disabilities – thanks in part to a $50,000 grant this summer. Stout is currently leading a multiyear lake revitalization effort in Tibbets Brook Park in Yonkers by removing thousands of pounds of invasive water chestnuts.

Correction: An earlier version of this post had an incorrect detail on the start of Yadira Ramos Herbert's tenure as mayor of New Rochelle. She took office in 2024.

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