Business Council Speakers Bureau

Kenneth Adams became President and CEO of The Business Council of New York State on November 1, 2006.  Prior to leading the Business Council, Kenneth was the President of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, While there he more than doubled the Chamber’s membership, launched ten new economic development initiatives for Brooklyn and improved the organization’s relationships with officials at all levels of government.

Before joining the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in 1995, Kenneth was the Director of the MetroTech Business Improvement District in Downtown Brooklyn.

Kenneth was the founding Executive Director of New York Cares, which he ran from 1988 to 1994.  He managed the organization’s growth from 500 to 6,000 volunteers serving in citywide social service and community revitalization projects.  His promotion of New York Cares helped launch similar volunteer organizations in over 20 American cities.

To contact Kenneth Adams click here.

Heather Briccetti joined The Business Council as Vice President of Government Affairs in December of 2007. Prior to joining The Business Council, Heather was a consultant and lobbyist for Powers and Company, where she advised clients on a range of state and federal government relations issues.

Briccetti previously served as an assistant counsel to the state Senate majority, working on a range of issues, including economic development, budget reform, and consumer protection. She also worked for the Assembly majority for several years, serving as a legislative aide and Counsel to the committee on Racing and Wagering.

She has also served as special counsel in the office of the state Attorney General, where her responsibilities included coordinating activities between the bureaus in the Attorney General's office and the state Legislature and the Governor's office.

To contact Heather Briccetti click here.

Mark is responsible for The Business Council's legislative and regulatory advocacy on health care and health insurance issues, and is the administrative support for The Business Council’s Health Care & Health Insurance Committee. Mark is also responsible for managing all communications and activities involving The Business Council's 51-member Board of Directors.

Prior to joining The Business Council, Mark was a vice president at Corning Place Consulting, a media relations and public affairs company affiliated with Hinman Straub, an Albany law and lobbying firm. At Corning Place Consulting, Mark provided public relations and public policy support for the legislative initiatives of the New York State Conference of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, a trade group that includes Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and Empire BlueCross BlueShield. He has held positions with the Schenectady County Chapter of NYSARC, Inc., Arnold Communications (now Arnold Worldwide) where Mark worked on the Capital Region McDonald's restaurant account, and the communications office of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.

To contact Mark Amodeo click here.

Marcus Ferguson manages environment/OSH and telecommunications issues for Business Council members.

He most recently spent seven years as assistant counsel to the Majority Leader in the New York State Senate. While assistant counsel, he provided legal assessment and analysis to the members and senior staff of the Senate on legislative issues involving tax and revenue, consumer protection, human rights and privacy. He also represented the state Senate on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation which planned the redevelopment of lower Manhattan after September 11th.

Marcus is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and New York’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2002.

To contact Marcus Ferguson click here.

Tom Minnick, Vice President Human Resources is  responsible for Labor and Human Resource issues at The Business Council. He provides state and federal labor and human resource information to members through The HR Line, The Council's 800 telephone service.

Tom joined The Business Council in 1997, with over twenty years experience as an HR generalist and manager for several member companies. He received his bachelor's degree from Niagara University and his MBA from Sage Graduate School. Tom holds an SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources) designation from The Society for Human Resource Management's Certification Institute.

To contact Tom Minnick click here.

Margaret Moree serves as the director of federal affairs and provides policy and advocacy support in the areas of homeland security, government reform, education and workforce, and contract procurement.  Additionally she serves as the Business Council’s liaison on behalf of the Chamber Alliance of New York State and its over 80 members.

Maggie has served in a variety of capacities in state government prior to joining the Business Council, with ten years of service at the New York State Department of Labor, most recently as Deputy Commissioner for Federal Programs overseeing the divisions of unemployment insurance, workforce development and employment services.  Her public service includes twelve years with the New York State Senate for members from western NY and the Hudson Valley, as well as a special assistant for local government relations in the office of Deputy Secretary to the Governor.  While serving in the legislature her policy areas included education and school aid; transportation funding; and labor and workers’ compensation. 

To contact Maggie Moree click here.

Walter Pacholczak directs the Business Council’s advocacy efforts in the Financial Services, Transportation and Construction industries.  He also serves as Director of The Business Council Political Action Committee and is a Board member of NYTortReformNOW.org a broad based coalition of businesses, municipalities, associations and citizens working for legal reform.
Mr. Pacholczak comes to the Council from Senator Marty Golden’s office, where he served as the Senator’s Director of Operations from 2003 to 2007. 

Mr. Pacholczak began his career in politics volunteering for Governor Mario Cuomo and other Democratic campaigns throughout New York City.  Mr. Pacholczak worked for Assembly Leaders Reynolds, Faso and Nesbitt.

To contact Walter Pacholczak click here.

Ken Pokalsky is the senior director of government affairs at The Business Council.  He is responsible for: Management of The Business Council's Government Affairs staff and its overall advocacy efforts; Legislative and regulatory advocacy on economic development, taxation and workers' compensation issues. Ken also oversees The Business Council's review of the state's rulemaking activities and is responsible for issues relating to the State Administrative Procedures Act.

Liaison with: Empire State Development Corporation, Department of Taxation and Finance, Workers' Compensation Board, and the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform.

Ken has been with The Business Council since 1982. He is a graduate of the SUNY Albany Graduate School of Public Affairs (MPA '83) and SUNY at Brockport (BA in Political Science, '80).

To contact Ken Pokalsky click here.

Steven Taylor is the director of research, at The Public Policy Institute. He has more than twenty years of experience in government affairs, political science and financial analysis. He has served as legislative and fiscal analyst for the New York State Senate Office of Fiscal Studies, a researcher for the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council and a fiscal assistant for the State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

He is well versed in policy review and development in areas of corporate taxation, New York City finances, energy, telecommunications, pensions, nanotechnology, insurance, banking, environmental regulation and remediation, biotechnology and life sciences development.

He has also been an adjunct professor at the State University of New York at Albany where he teaches courses in politics, public policy, critical thinking and ethics.

Taylor received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a Masters of Art in Political Science from the State University of New York at Albany, where he is pursuing a doctorate in Political science.

To contact Steven Taylor click here.