Sonya Weisshappel, President, grew up in New York City where she started her organizing and move management company, Seriatim, in 1999. Proudly dyslexic, Sonya founded her business in order to avoid writing a resume and now, almost two decades later, she and her Seriatim team have earned themselves a reputation as consummate Chaos Whisperers. Sonya is an alumna of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program, a longtime member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM), and is currently writing a memoir about her experiences with seniors who struggle with downsizing and relocating. In her spare time, Sonya organizes her husband, three children, and their rescue dog, Finn.

Contact: [email protected]

 

Gina Rolls, Treasurer, Global Human Resources Director with extensive experience in Compensation, HRIS, and HR Operations. Gina possesses an MBA with a focus in Strategic Management and a CCP designation.

Contact: [email protected]

 

Poonam Gupta, Secretary,  Poonam is the Founder and Principal Attorney at Summit Legal PLLC. Leveraging a track record spanning over 25 years, Poonam is a seasoned expert in immigration law, complemented by experience in Litigation and Intellectual Property. In her professional journey, she has taken on advisory roles across a wide spectrum of industries. She specializes in developing ingenious strategies tailored to intricate immigration scenarios, offering innovative solutions that prove invaluable to businesses and individuals. 

Her extensive advisory experience has been applied across a broad spectrum of industries, encompassing technology, pharmaceuticals, banking, financial services, insurance, publishing, and more. Her proficiency extends across various business phases, from startups to well-established programs and even divestitures. Drawing from her experience with a diverse range of industries and global mobility program sizes, Poonam possesses a unique ability to ensure compliance while aligning immigration strategies with business objectives.

Contact:  [email protected]

Sara Simonetti, Marketing Chair, Throughout her nearly 20 year career at Interconex, Sara has managed operations, customer care, and business development of the company, as well as special projects within and outside of the office.  She is the current Marketing Chair on the Board of New York Council of Relocation Professions in NYC, the New Jersey Relocation Council Community Outreach Chair, and Secretary on the Board of the Cooperative in which she lives.  She speaks three languages and holds a Master Degree (4th Dan) in Martial Arts.  Sara lives in Tarrytown, New York, and is responsible for building new bridges throughout the Northeast Region and beyond. 

Contact: [email protected]

Brenda E. Levis, Education Chair
President, NYC Navigator.  Citing a void in the New York Tri-State market for reasonably priced, high quality, destination services providers, Brenda was inspired to start up her own company. Prior to this she served as the Global Relocation Manager for Lehman Brothers in New York City, where she managed the firm’s domestic and international relocation departments as well as its corporate housing program. Brenda has thirty five years of international work/study experience, and twenty five years experience working in the expatriate services industry. Having lived in Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands, she has first hand knowledge of the challenges of an international move.

Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Brenda served as an International Relocation Consultant on site at Goldman Sachs. This was preceded by tenure with an international moving & relocation company in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Brenda has been a featured speaker at numerous relocation events including the Tri-State Relocation Association, and served on the International Assignment Committee for the Employee Relocation Council. Having lived in Brooklyn and Westchester County, NY, she now makes her home in Manhattan.

 

Bob Wallace, Events Chair, Bob is Vice President New Business Development with HSBC’s Corporate Expatriate Banking Group. The Corporate Expatriate Banking Team is a specialized group that works exclusively with multinational organizations and their international assignees to eliminate many of the headaches and solve many of the financial / credit challenges associated with overseas assignments and moves into the United States.


Bob has extensive experience designing and implementing programs to facilitate cross-border compensation delivery for global companies and is a leading authority on Expatriate banking issues. The HSBC Corporate Expatriate banking Inbound US Program offers a comprehensive package of financial services including a bank account, full service credit card, mortgage financing, insurance and investments for new to the US assignees and permanent transfers. FEM has awarded HSBC’s Corporate Expatriate Banking Program- The America’s Expatriate Banking Service of the Year for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Contact: [email protected]

 



Anne Marie Salmeri, Membership Chair,  For more than twenty-five successful years as a real estate professional, Anne Marie has built an extremely loyal base of clients who appreciate not only her unparalleled marketplace knowledge, but also her genuine enthusiasm for guiding them through the sales process. Her in-depth knowledge of the real estate market and her ability to understand the people with whom she works is the secret to her success. I am passionate about real estate and love to help people achieve their goals. I take pride in making a difference and am dedicated to delivering honest, prompt service. I educate my clients by providing information on the current market so they are knowledgeable and able tofully comprehend the process of buying or selling their home. I believe every transaction is different and must be handled with professional care. I have team of professionals I recommend to my clients including, attorneys, mortgage lenders, photographers, home stagers, contractors and architects. With the right team in place, my goal is a smooth, successful real estate transaction. My extensive experience, positive and proactive approach includes always taking the time to truly understand what each client is looking for, then putting in the effort required to find the very best fit for them. A natural-born entrepreneur who previously owned two small companies in the health and fitness sector, my focus is always on helping my clients achieve their personal goals. I look forward to helping you achieve your goals as well!  Anne Marie is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York, the National Association of Realtors and is a licensed Associate Broker in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Contact: [email protected]

Susan R. Ginsberg, Sponsorship Chair, Susan R. Ginsberg founded SRG ADVISORY as Managing Principal. She integrates companies’ vision and purpose, advising organizations to innovate in a changed world. Helping individuals and businesses create strategies through proven methodologies to achieve business growth. Drawing from more than 30 years of experience leading a diverse portfolio of organizations, industries, and geographies in global mobility and retail. She has previously led teams at School Choice International, REA, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, saks.com, and Lancôme. Susan has developed e-learning courses on strategic business development and collaboration for Worldwide ERC ® and the European Relocation Association (EuRA). Additionally, she mentors women and minority-owned enterprises with the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) and The Acceleration Project (TAP). Susan is a recent recipient of the Worldwide ERC© award for Distinguished Services.

Contact: [email protected]

 

Fran Ferraiolo, Community Outreach & Scholarship Chair, Fran has been the Director of Destination Services for Douglas Elliman since 2008. She is responsible for ensuring a positive relocation experience for corporate transferees by managing a team of consultants in the tri-state area, maintaining relationships with external relocation teams, compensation and benefits, HR, assignees, and key vendors to maximize settling in process efficiency. Prior to joining PDE, Fran was an International Assignment Manager for Prudential Relocation. She managed the smooth transition of the assignee and family to their new location, by applying the single point of co-ordination concept and provided ongoing support during the assignment. Fran was also a Property Recovery Manager where she managed a portfolio of occupied foreclosure properties.   Fran has a Masters of Science in Management Degree from Albertus Magnus College, and Bachelor of Science in Management and Industrial Relations from the University of Bridgeport. She completed extensive research and thesis on “Factors that Determine Repatriation Retention”, and she is a member of Tau Pi Phi Business Honor Society.

Contact: [email protected]

Rob Sanford, Website Chair, Rob joined New York University’s Office of Global Services December 2011, he is Director, Outbound Immigration and Global Mobility Services. He entered the relocation/global mobility industry in 1996. He has held the following positions: Director, Associate Director, Interim Director, Financial Account Manager, Operations Manager, Account Manager, Project Manager, Product Manager, Immigration Services Consultant and Consultant.  Rob received a Masters of Business Administration from Fairfield University and a Bachelor of Science from Sacred Heart University. He also has his Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) and Global Mobility Specialist – Talent designations from Worldwide ERC®. Rob also serves as Business Manager/Treasurer for NAFSA (The Association of International Educators) Region 10 (New York & New Jersey).

 Contact: [email protected]

 

Peggy Lee, Co-President Emeritus (Corporate) is the Sr. Director of Compensation & Expatriates for LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc., based in New York City, since November 2013. Previously, Peggy was the Manager of Global Mobility and the Manager of Executive Compensation for Bunge Limited in White Plains. She joined Bunge in November of 2005. Peggy obtained her MBA in Human Resources from Baruch College, City University of New York and her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management from University of Oregon. She also holds certifications of CCP (Certified Compensation Professional), CBP (Certified Benefits Professional) and GRP (Global Remuneration Professional) from WorldatWork as well as GMS (Global Mobility Specialist) from Worldwide ERC®.

 

Christine M. Haney, Co-President Emeritus (Service Provider)

Christine brings her client relations expertise and business-building results to Douglas Elliman as Executive Vice President of Global Relocation and Referral Services.  Christine is responsible for global strategic design and implementation of programs to increase business opportunities, while forging relationships with customers, corporate clients and brokers alike. 

 

Christine spent 15 years on the Prudential team prior to joining Douglas Elliman.  During this time Christine acted as Director, Prudential Referral Services for the USA, Canada and Mexico, Director, Business Development for Prudential Home Connections, USA, an employee affinity program.  Other positions included management of the Northeast Broker Network; Team Leader of Appraisal/Inspection and Real Estate Services.  Prior to her career in relocation, she spent nine years as a Financial Manager for several smaller companies, handling various aspects of financial and strategic planning.  Earning her CRP designation in May 2000, and GMS designation in 2007 and SGDS designation in 2014, Christine holds a BS in Business Management from Albertus Magnus College, New Haven, Connecticut.  She has also acted as the President of NYCorp for two consecutive terms and is currently still actively involved on the board.  Christine is also an active member of WERC and is sits on the board of RDC.