2023 VIRTUAL
SIGNATURE CONFERENCE SERIES

Sherita is also a Rochester native and single mom who has lived and worked in the Rochester community for over 30 years. Inspired by her own birthing experience, she accepted a position at the agency, known then as Perinatal Network of Monroe County (PNMC), and has worked with every agency grant and every program related role progressing to the Executive Director position.
Sherita's focus fueled by HBN's mission is to ensure every parent has the education, information, and support needed to have a healthy baby born into a nurturing home. Her work centers on Black families and the racial health and birth disparities surrounding pregnancy. She's affectionately known as, "The Baby Lady", for simply, "Saying the THING" in kindness, and crafting innovative interventions based in listening to consumer lived expertise and collaborating to improve the systems we work within to provide care. She believes in the skills of bringing everyone impacted by an issue together to decommission barriers, and that the elimination of racial health and birth disparities is possible with the right collaborators and strategies; if we work with our entire community until we succeed. Each of our lives, and those of our descendants depends on it; for Babies, their Parents, and our entire Community.

She currently is the medical director of Community Pediatrics and Wellness, medical director of 5 school based health centers in the Rochester City School District, medical director of Industry School, and medical director of Monroe County Children’s Center. She serves on numerous committees and board advocating for children and adolescents, such as the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Rochester, Coordinated Care Services INC, and Bivona Child Advocacy Center. She was honored as one of the Rochester Business Journal’s Women of Excellence of 2022. Her special interests include mental health, reproductive health care, and youth advocacy.

In addition, Dan manages the M&T Charitable Foundation which donates close to $1.5MM to over 200 organizations in the Rochester area. Dan is a board member/past chair of Greater Rochester Enterprise, YMCA of Greater Rochester, the Monroe Community College Foundation and United Way of Greater Rochester. Dan is a board member of the University of Rochester Medical Center, St. John Fisher College and the CMAC/Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center.

Dr. Cuyler received her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, where she also completed her Internal Medicine residency. A fellow of the American College of Physicians and an Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society member she is co-founder and past president of Black Physicians Network of Greater Rochester—a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency dedicated to addressing healthcare disparities.

Dr. Cuyler serves on the boards of the Rochester Area Community Foundation and the Community Technology Assessment Advisory Board at Common Ground Health. She is co-chair of the UR Black Alumni Network and is a member of both the University of Rochester Diversity Advisory Council and Rochester Network Leadership Cabinet. 

She remains active with teaching, mentoring, and holds a voluntary faculty appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester and has served as a faculty advisor for the GE National Medical Fellowship Program.

Dr. Cuyler has received numerous awards for service including the 2017 UR Presidential Diversity Award, the 2017 Gerhard Neighborhood Outreach Center Award for Outstanding Community Service, and the 2019 Top 20 Women in White Coats Award.

Dr. Cuyler currently lives in Rochester with her husband. She enjoys focusing on preventive care, countering health disparities, holistic community empowerment, and devoting time to her faith, family, and friends.

Before launching Best Innovations Consulting, Best was global head of talent development at Aon Corporation and was head of learning strategy for the consulting side of Hewitt Associates to drive business growth. Having accumulated over 30 years of strategic planning, talent management and leadership effectiveness experience with Scott Paper Co., Shell Oil Co. and Moog Inc., Best continues to be recognized and praised for her focused, collaborative, results-oriented approach. Her people philosophy is simple: Inclusive leaders build inclusive organizations, and inclusive organizations enable thriving communities.

Best is a popular facilitator and a curious lifelong learner. She has been a speaker for several academic and professional groups including Ashridge Executive Education of London, Princeton, Rutgers University, Association for Training and Development, Finance and Insurance Workforce Summit, and the Organizational Development Network. Additionally, Best has been recognized in "Who's Who in Black Chicago," honoring a collection of Chicago's most interesting personalities and distinguished achievers. She is most recently recognized as a founding member of the Josh Bersin Academy and is master certified in “Cultivating Cultures of Inclusion & High Performance.”

Best is an honors graduate of Drexel University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and communications, and she has a master’s in learning and organizational change from Northwestern University.

Dr. Caldwell engages in critical conversations to exam, uncover, and address historic and structural inequities. She works from the philosophy of diversity is a benefit, equity is a goal, and inclusion is an ongoing practice. She has led cross-divisional committees, task forces, and leadership advisory boards to align commitment, vision, and results. In this work she has cultivated the ability to garner the support of colleagues and embrace the gray areas as opportunities for growth.

Dr. Caldwell received her bachelor’s and master's degree in Psychology from Medaille University and a Doctorate in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher University.

Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Clarkson University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in twenty-two states. In addition to business related activities, he is co-organizer of the Exploring Racism Program, currently with thirty (30) cohorts of Rochester area for profit, not for profit and government leaders seeking to understand and dismantle the system of structural racism and white privilege that exists in communities across the country. He is co-Chair of the Rochester Rotary Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) committee. He is Past-Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Rochester Museum and Science Center having served on the Board for thirteen years and is a current Board member of the Rochester Area Community Foundation. In the past he has served as cochair of the Finger Lakes Economic Development Council Sustainability Work Team. He also served on the Dean’s Council for the University of Rochester, Warner School of Education, the Boards of St. Ann’s Community of Greater Rochester, the Genesee Valley Club and the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation.

Jessica is a 2021 Rochester Business Journal Forty Under 40 honoree, 2020 PRSA Rising Star, and a 2018 Athena Young Professional Award Finalist. Jessica received her bachelor’s degree from Buffalo State College in Social Studies Education grades 7-12 and a master’s degree in Teaching and Curriculum from the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education at the University of Rochester.

She obtained her Bachelor's degree in adolescent inclusive education and history in 2014 and her Master's Degree in 2021, focusing on the history of structural racism in Rochester's housing, employment, and educational systems. Shanterra is a member of The Children Agenda advisory board that focuses on providing educational equity to our most marginalized students. She has traveled the country presenting and providing expertise on youth voice, power, and engagement. She has presented at several conferences, including the American Association for State and Local History ( AASLH) Conference Right Here, Right Now: The Power Of Place, and The National Association for African American Studies( NAAAS) conference, Creating Racial Equity in the 21st Century. Her most recent work on the Clarissa Uprooted project, an intergenerational partnership, examines the harm done to Black residents in the 3rd ward and how those institutions can repair the damage. The Clarissa Uprooted project evolved into a documentary entitled Clarissa Uprooted: The truth behind Black Rochester, which has won numerous awards nationally. Lastly, as a certified anti-racism facilitator, Shanterra has led workshops and teach-ins on anti-racism in the church and facilitated dialogues with youth and community members on reimagining public safety from an anti-racist lens. She continues to work to bridge the gap between youth and adults in our community and to deepen the understanding of how structural racism and economic and social disparities impact us all.

Dr. Altheimer is actively engaged in scholarly research and has published articles in a variety of journals. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Journal of Criminal Justice, Homicide Studies, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, and Policing. His current research seeks to expand knowledge of dispute-related, and retaliatory urban violence. Dr. Altheimer is currently the primary investigator of an innovative partnership with the Anthony L. Jordan Health Center to create a support hub for victims of violence

Dr. Altheimer teaches a variety of courses; including interventions in criminal justice, introduction to criminal justice, and research methods. He is also actively engaged with students outside of the classroom, serving as a mentor for student researchers at CPSI.

She is a community advocate for the underserved and the justice involved. She has served on a number of Community boards and Community Initiatives. She is an Alumni of the African American Leadership Program, Brockport College and Monroe Community College. One of the founding members of the Black Women's Leadership Forum, member of RMAPI and served as Commissioner for the RASE Commission.

Catherine is a Native Rochesterian attending public schools, an alumnus of Benjamin Franklin. She has 2 sons and six grandchildren. She enjoys traveling, reading, spending time with family and friends.

He brings extensive experience in crisis prevention strategies, youth intervention, gang specialization, dispute mapping, and trauma-informed interventions. His previous work with the City of Rochester and its Pathways to Peace program received international recognition and visits from officials from France, Spain and Bangkok, Thailand to learn more about Rochester’s dispute mapping system.

In his current role, Saunders oversees all City of Rochester Violence Prevention initiatives, including Pathways to Peace, the Office of Neighborhood Safety, and the Peacemaker Fellowship.

He graduated from Bishop Kearney High School, attended Corning Community College, and received certificates in leadership and communications from Bryant & Stratton College, Roberts Wesleyan College, and the United Latino Students Association. He is an alumni of the FBI Citizens Academy and is a regular speaker on the topics of gangs, youth development, and violence prevention.

Saunders grew up in the 14621 Neighborhood in the City of Rochester, where he still lives with his wife. His grown son and daughter – and his five grandchildren – all live in Rochester.