Insights & Outlooks

Michele N. Siekerka, Esq., President and CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, leads the nation’s largest, most influential employers’ organization, advocating on behalf of New Jersey’s large and small businesses for policies that will make New Jersey more affordable and regionally competitive.

Being known as a collaborative leader, Siekerka is leading an NJBIA established coalition (New Jersey Business Coalition) comprised of more than 100 business and nonprofit associations across the state to tackle the tough economic and business challenges our state is facing during COVID 19.

Well versed on the ‘boots on the ground” issues affecting our state’s business community, Michele is often the “go to” resource for media and is sought after to share her expertise in public forums across the state.

Rashaad Bajwa has served as chief executive officer of Integris, one of the largest managed IT service providers in the United States, since it was founded in 2021. Bajwa is an active leader in local cyber security trade and professional groups and a frequently referenced Cybersecurity subject matter expert for trade organizations such as ISC2, NJBIA, NJBA and others. His credentials include Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), one of the gold standards in information security accreditations. In addition to cyber security, he is actively involved in the community, including serving on the Board of Directors for multiple non-profits and associations in NJ.

Prior to his role with Integris, Bajwa held positions at Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals and American Cyanamid Corporation (later sold to American Home Products then Pfizer/Wyeth)

Bajwa is a graduate of Rutgers University in New Brunswick and currently lives with his wife and 3 children in Monroe Twp. NJ.

Integris has over 450 staff members spread across the country in 10 states and 14 offices. Integris was ranked the #1 fastest growing B2B service provider in the US by Clutch.co in 2022, topping the Clutch 100 list with over 720% annual growth from 2020 to 2021. Legacy companies that are now a part of Integris are Domain Computer Services, Tier One Technology Partners, Compudyne, Providyn, MyITPros and IconicIT.

https://integrisit.com/about/leadership/

Matt Blaine is a Partner in Davison Eastman Muñoz Paone, P.A.’s Business and Litigation Group. Matt is also the Chair of the firm’s Technology and Innovation Committee, where he spearheads the firm’s technological advancements.

Matt focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation of all types, including contractual disputes, business torts, fiduciary responsibilities, oppressed shareholder allegations, construction disputes, insurance coverage disputes, blockchain law and transactions, eDiscovery issues, intellectual property rights, consumer fraud allegations, disputes concerning real property, non-compete agreements, arbitration, bankruptcy adversary proceedings, fraudulent transfer, successor and alter ego liability and copyright infringement, among others.

• Business Law and Litigation
• Commercial Real Estate
• Employment Law
• General Counsel
• Digital Assets and Blockchain

Maria Heidkamp is Chief of Innovation and Partnerships at the NJ Council of Community Colleges, where she leads the Council’s efforts to promote community college innovation through sharing best practices, convening partners, and delivering professional development opportunities. She is the lead staff member to the Council’s Economic Mobility, Student and Alumni, and Racial and Social Justice committees. She is also leading the development and expansion of state and national partnerships in support of community college priorities, including the engagement of adult learners.

Before joining the Council, she was the Director of Program Development and Senior Researcher at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, where she focused on dislocated workers, long-term unemployed job seekers, older workers, and job seekers with disabilities. She was the founding director of the Heldrich Center’s New Start Career Network, an initiative that assisted over 6,000 older, long-term unemployed New Jerseyans. She was a Co-Chair for New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s Labor and Workforce Development Policy Transition Committee and a subject-matter expert for the National Governors Association’s Good Jobs for All Americans initiative under Montana Governor Steve Bullock.

Previously, Ms. Heidkamp worked overseas for the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Agency for International Development as the Director of the Labor Market Transition Project in Hungary, helping the Hungarian government develop policies and programs to respond to the mass layoffs caused by privatization and restructuring during the post-communism transition years. She has worked as a Policy Analyst for the National Governors Association on workforce issues and served as Director of the Wisconsin Labor-Management Council. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Government from Cornell University and a Master’s degree from New York University, where her thesis topic was The Role of Public Libraries in Assisting Job Seekers During and Since the Great Recession.

Beau is a member of the Litigation Practice Group, where he counsels clients on compliance and regulatory issues relating to the emerging cannabis market. Beau also serves as Director with the firm’s lobbying subsidiary, Porzio Governmental Affairs, and advises on strategies to navigate the legislative landscape in the areas of healthcare, environmental, cannabis, and law enforcement.

Stephanie Marcello leads the Institute in its mission to develop the behavioral health workforce. Dr. Marcello is actively involved in the design and delivery of the Institute’s trainings, conferences and consultation and workforce development for UBHC staff through the Institute’s Center for Continuing Education. She serves as Chief Psychologist for Rutgers UBHC, Director of the Psychology Internship Program for doctoral students and chair of UBHC’s Trauma-Informed Care Committee.

Dr. Marcello has certifications in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy from the Academy of Cognitive Therapy, and in motivational interviewing from the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). She is an expert in working with people who manage posttraumatic stress disorder, the disease of addiction, and serious mental illness. Dr. Marcello has directly supervised staff in how to use best practices in behavioral health, has conducted research in these topics, published in many peer-reviewed journals, and presented her work at several national forums. Her research interests include self-care of professionals working in the behavioral health field. She received her PhD from Temple University, completed a pre-doctoral internship at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital and a post-doctoral fellowship in the Division of Schizophrenia Research at UBHC.

Karen Painter Randall, partner and Certified Civil Trial attorney at Connell Foley LLP, chairs the firm’s Cybersecurity, Data Privacy and Incident Response Group and oversees the firm’s recent designation as an authorized NetDiligence Breach Coach by Net Diligence.  This designation recognizes law firms that have demonstrated excellence in data security and privacy. Firms must meet Net Diligence’s criteria for competency, thought leadership, industry engagement, and experience, including the requirement that the firms must handle at least 50 breach incidents per year.

Karen provides counsel to organizations of all sizes on proactive measures to help identify, protect, detect, respond and recover from cyberattacks, focusing on insider threats, ransomware and business email compromise. She drives strategic solutions on how to safeguard a business’s sensitive data, using security risk assessments, policies and procedures, security awareness training, incident response plans, tabletop exercises and cyber liability insurance. Karen has handled hundreds of incident response matters each year since 2010 for carriers and uninsured businesses. She leads the response effort, working with the client and leading vendors to contain/eradicate the attack, manage crisis communications, evaluate legal, contractual/regulatory notification requirements, manage internal workforce messaging, and prepare consumer notification, effectively utilizing resources to reduce exposure. Karen’s clients span multiple industries – financial services, healthcare, public entities, education, transportation and retail, including lawyers and other licensed professionals.
In addition, Karen oversees Connell Foley’s 24/7 Breach Response Team, which provides immediate counsel designed for crisis management, preserving critical assets, mitigating harm to the business’s reputation, and limiting legal liability. Post-breach representation also includes defense of class action litigation, regulatory enforcement actions and investigations.

Karen received three presidential appointments to the American Bar Association’s Cybersecurity Legal Task Force, and was named the Task Force’s Private Sector Liaison. She founded/chairs the New Jersey State Bar Association Cybersecurity Legal Task Force and Institute. Additionally, Karen was selected by the University of South Carolina School of Law to lead its Cybersecurity Legal Task Force and serve as Director of its annual National Cybersecurity Institute. She also chairs the USLAW Network Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Group. Among her many honors, Karen has been named by NJBIZ as a “Leader in Law” for Cybersecurity and as a “Digi-Tech Innovator,” and by ROI-NJ to its “Influencers: Law” list for E-discovery/Cyber.

Judy Sailer is the Director of Learning and Development for Primepoint HR & Payroll. She holds a Masters Degree in Management & Organizational Leadership from Springfield College, received her Human Resources Cert from Rutgers University, and is a certified SHRM CP and PHR. She has presented for NJBIA, CCSNJ, NJACP, Tri-State SHRM and Garden State SHRM and has been featured in Forbes and Jersey Matters. She is well-versed in all aspects of management and leadership; her passion is staff development.

Shawn L. Snyder, Executive Director, is a Global Market Strategist on J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s Global Investment Strategy Team. In this role, Shawn is responsible for delivering timely market and economic insights to J.P. Morgan’s Wealth Management clients. He has been a television guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business Network and Yahoo Finance. He has also been quoted in the financial press, including The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, CNN, Barron’s, Fortune, Bloomberg, Business Week and MarketWatch. He has published opinion pieces for CNN Business, Forbes and MarketWatch.

Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Shawn served as the Head of Investment Strategy at Citi U.S. Wealth Management, where he acted as the lead Investment Strategist for the North American consumer client base consisting of high-net-worth and mass affluent clients. He was also a voting member of Citi’s Global Investment Committee. Earlier in his career at Citi, Shawn was a Vice President at Citi Private Bank, where he worked in the Office of the Chief Investment Strategist and also served as a U.S. Economist in Citi’s Institutional Clients Group with a specific focus on U.S. equity themes. Before joining Citi, Shawn worked at the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, and also served as an Economist at the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

He holds a master’s degree in Economics from George Mason University and attended business school at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance from Marian University.

Jackie P. Taylor aka ‘The Business Boost! Doctor’ is a dynamic motivational speaker and successful businesswoman who has been inspiring audiences for over two decades. Jackie has become a go-to source for both business insights and motivation due to her unique blend of passion and strong professional acumen in the business world.

As a Partner with the global consulting giant EY (Ernst & Young), she applies her 25 years of expertise in directly advising government officials and global c-suite executives, assisting them in translating their strategic vision into actual operational plans.

Jackie has partnered with large, complex organizations to ensure their workforce, operating/service delivery model and technology enablement initiatives are aligned with their organizational strategy. Her work has aided in advancing the institutional mission of numerous government, higher education, and private sector organizations globally.

In addition to her work with multinationals. Jackie is energized by her passion for assisting entrepreneurs with growing and scaling their businesses. Her ability to break down complicated concepts and distill them into simple solutions make her a sought-after resource in the business community. Many of these insights are expressed in her upcoming book, Give Me A Boost! The Under-Resourced Entrepreneur’s Handbook for Growing and Scaling your Business– due to release on May 9, 2023.

Jackie places emphasis on making connections, embracing failure, and sharing proven pathways to success with her audience, providing business leaders with the courage and motivation to challenge themselves, build strong teams, and make a meaningful business impact.
Beyond her public speaking and business advisory work, Jackie P Taylor is a published author and host of the podcast, THE REAL JUGGLE – putting the concept of work life balance to the test! She is a ‘CEOMom’, entrepreneur, parent-caregiver, and mentor to many. Like many of us, juggling these roles is not easy but she is sharing her learnings and uncovering tools we can all relate to.

Jackie’s style is conversational and engaging. She imparts practical knowledge and garners respect as a thought leader committed to transforming the world by assisting in the growth and success of small businesses – one founder at a time.

She is a proud mother and serves on numerous boards – Jackie was appointed by 2 NJ governors to serve on the state’s NJ MLK Jr Commission and is a Board Member on the NJ African American Chamber of Commerce Foundation. She volunteers regularly in the community and is the founder of Real Respite, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to provide reprieve and relief to individuals who care for and support the most vulnerable members of society.