SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2026

Hermina ‘Nina’ Batson is a strategic, mission-driven global executive recognized for her impressive track record in financial services and regulatory engagement. As a senior business leader, she brings invaluable expertise and a distinguished background in regulatory relations, risk management, corporate finance, and successful securitization transactions. With over 30 years of experience, she has worked at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, MetLife, and JPMorgan Chase. Most recently, Nina served as the Global Head of Regulatory Engagement for Barclays’ Internal Audit. She holds Series 79 and 63 certifications and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Certificate in Accounting from Hofstra University.

As a facilitation leader with strong negotiation skills, Nina brings clarity to complex transactions, manages diverse global teams, and delivers top-tier services within large international financial institutions. As a change agent and problem solver, she has leveraged her confident mindset and effective executive communication to build and lead collaborative, resilient, high-performing cross-functional teams across regions, consistently delivering exceptional results, often during periods of significant change.

Nina leverages her extensive expertise to collaborate with senior management, business leaders, and departments across legal, compliance, accounting, audit, tax operations, and risk management. She fosters positive, lasting change, resolves issues effectively, promotes regulatory readiness and transparency across the organization, builds credible relationships with global regulators, and earns the trust of key stakeholders and executive leaders. Her ability to synthesize critical information into actionable strategies and navigate supervisory environments has driven revenue growth, reduced costs, improved expense planning, optimized headcount, streamlined processes, enhanced workflows, and increased efficiency.

Nina is also committed to doing the right thing and giving back to the community. Since 2009, she has been actively involved with the Financial Women’s Association (FWA), serving as its first Black President and as the 58th President from 2021 to 2023. She is a member of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) Equity & Opportunity Advisory Council and the Hofstra Zarb School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board.

In 2024, Nina received the Hofstra Zarb School of Business Alumni of the Year Award. In 2023, CIO Views Magazine named her one of the ten Most Successful Black Businesswomen Making a Difference. In 2022, Crain’s New York Business recognized her as one of 105 Notable Black Leaders and Executives. She also received the Markets Choice Awards’ Women in Finance: Excellence in Social Responsibility Award.

Rudy Racine is a leadership expert, executive leader, and proud Hofstra alumnus whose career has been defined by service and impact. For more than 20 years, he has overseen large-scale workforce programs across North America, helping tens of thousands of unemployed and underemployed individuals connect to education, skills training, and meaningful employment. Through his executive leadership, he has strengthened teams, improved performance, and expanded opportunity for communities navigating challenging transitions.

After two decades of professional leadership, Rudy authored The Leadership MILE: Motivate. Inspire. Learn. Empower., built on the belief that the path to effective leadership starts by mastering the MILE—learning how to Motivate, Inspire, Learn, and Empower others to perform at their highest level.

Rudy credits his time at Hofstra and his experience as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. with shaping that philosophy. The relationships, brotherhood, and leadership development he experienced reinforced a lasting truth: leadership is not about position—it is about responsibility, service, and lifting others as you rise.

Since July 2022, he has served as President of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Xi Psi Chapter Alumni Affinity Group, increasing alumni engagement and philanthropic support through participation in Hofstra’s Winter Homecoming, Fall Fest, and the Chapter’s 45th Anniversary Reunion. Rudy’s leadership reflects a lifelong commitment to excellence, empowerment, and uplifting others.

Katherine Sanchez is a Hofstra University alumna and an advocate for equitable healthcare access. After immigrating to the United States at the age of eight, she grew up in Queens, New York, where she saw firsthand how access to education and healthcare impacts individuals and communities. These experiences shaped her commitment to equity and access to opportunity.

Over more than a decade at Northwell Health, Katherine has progressed from frontline roles into administrative and programmatic work, gaining a practical understanding of healthcare systems from the ground up. She currently serves as a Program Manager at the Institute for Community Health and Wellness, supporting programs focused on patient care, readmission reduction, and access to care.

Katherine is deeply committed to mentorship and education through action. As Co-Chair of the Higher Education Network at Healthcare Leaders of New York (HLNY), she supports students and early-career professionals as they prepare for administrative roles or early career opportunities in healthcare. She is also spearheading a mentorship pilot through HLNY that brings together students, early-career professionals, and clinicians from diverse backgrounds to expand access to guidance, professional readiness, and meaningful career pathways. Through professional development events—including interview readiness workshops and access to professional headshots—she helps participants build the skills and confidence needed to navigate today’s digital job market.

Katherine remains actively engaged with Hofstra University, regularly returning to speak with students, including those in the Master of Health Administration program. She has also supported the Sandra Lindsay Foundation since its early stages, contributing to efforts addressing period poverty in Jamaica by improving educational access and equitable access to period supplies.

Across her work, Katherine believes that dignity and opportunity belong to everyone, and that legacy is not what we achieve alone, but who we help rise alongside us.

Duane has had an amazing career in Finance spanning 30 years. He is currently a Vice President at BNY (The Bank of New York) supporting their Corporate Trust business as a Senior Client Service Manager on their Secondary Insurance team.

He is also currently one of the Co-Chairs for their employee business resource group IMPACT, where he helps to oversee multiple thoughtful, insightful, and engaging events throughout the enterprise.

Duane is the go-to person for events happening in his industry, regularly sharing internal E/BRG events within the BNY community as well as external multicultural events from the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP), National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA), Ascend, and the National Black MBA Association. Duane is also a member of a cross-firms Black ERG known as The Collective, whose mission is to create opportunities for Black professionals to network, share best practices and collaborate on engagement and philanthropic initiatives to support their local communities.

Duane has served as a panelist and mentor representing BNY on college campuses in the New York City metro area, is active in volunteer and youth mentorship programs, and is also involved with several professional networking, leadership and team building-engagement programs. Duane yearly hosts numerous on site “Day on Wallstreet” events with Hofstra and other universities at BNY. Duane regularly spends time speaking with interns and early career analysts at BNY serving as a mentor. In addition, he regularly assists the Corporate Trust Employee Engagement Committee where he initiates and encourages his colleagues to interact through various internal and external activities displaying his passion for connectivity and thriving together. Duane has been recognized and awarded as a BNY Rising Star, BNY DEI Champion, BNY Star Award recipient, Harlem YMCA Achievers in Industry Award recipient, and a recipient of the St. John’s University MLK Agent of Change award. Duane also pays it forward to his alma mater Uniondale High School with the alumni scholarship program he founded to help pave the way and create opportunities for the next generation of professionals, which has also been recognized in the LI Herald. As a master connector, Duane is passionate about bringing people together from his constant work on reunion initiatives with his fellow high school and college alumni.  Duane is a constant driving force helping to cultivate and foster an inclusive environment for all.