Shahed Islam
CEO of SJ Innovation LLCShahed Islam is the Co-Founder and CEO of SJ Innovation LLC, which he established alongside his wife, Shahera Choudhury. Together, they have built SJ Innovation into a global entity with teams in India, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and the USA, employing over 150 team members and generating over $4 million in annual revenue. For over 20 years, SJ Innovation has been delivering top-notch web development, AI integration, cloud solutions, and QA services to clients across the tri-state area and the USA, specializing in industries such as pharma, healthcare, finance, and startups.
The company’s achievements include being named to the prestigious INC. 5000 list in 2021, ranked as a Top B2B Company by Clutch, and recognized as a Top Rated Talent on Upwork. SJ Innovation is also an MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) certified business, demonstrating a commitment to diversity and inclusion, and the organization holds ISO certification for its quality standards and processes.
Over the years, SJ Innovation has served clients like Johnson & Johnson, Macy's, Saint Patrick's Church, Janssen Pharmaceutical, Teachers Pay Teachers, Ponce Bank, and many other small businesses across the tri-state area, delivering solutions that drive success and growth.
Shahed is a visionary leader who has been hosting a popular tech event in Queens called Tech Adda for the past three years, attracting hundreds of attendees and fostering a community of tech enthusiasts. He has also been invited to speak at NYU, CUNY, and Saint John’s University, where he shared his insights on leadership, entrepreneurship, and the future of AI.
Shahed serves as the Board Chairman of The Optimists, a non-profit organization based in New York that supports underprivileged children in Bangladesh. His dedication to the community is further reflected in his involvement with the Queens Chamber of Commerce, where he serves on the Communication and Digital Committee, assisting small businesses in the Queens area.
Driven by his passion for empowering small businesses and helping them thrive, Shahed has collaborated with various organizations to provide guidance and foster growth within the community.
Thomas Rudzewick
President & CEO of Maspeth Federal SavingsThomas K. Rudzewick is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Maspeth Federal Savings and Loan
Association, a $2 billion, mutual-savings association based in Maspeth, NY, with seven retail locations,
including one on Long Island. He joined Maspeth Federal Savings as Vice President and Chief Lending
Officer in 2000 and became the President and CEO in 2016.
Tom serves on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Mutual Savings Association Advisory
Council. He is currently a Board Member of the Financial Services Core Processor. He is the past chair of
the American Bankers Association (ABA) Membership Council and ABA’s Professional Development
Group. He also participates in the ABA’s Government Relations and Membership Council. He is an active
ambassador in other banking-industry associations, including the New York Bankers Association (NYBA)
and the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA).
Tom holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Iona University and graduated
with high honors from the ABA’s National School of Banking. He has achieved the Certified State
Appraiser Generalist (CSA-G) designation from the Columbia Society of Real Estate Appraisers and is a
New York State-licensed real-estate appraiser.
Involved in many community organizations, Tom is a past president of the Kiwanis Club of Maspeth and
past board member of the Queens Museum. He has volunteered as the General Manager of the St.
Anthony’s High School Hockey Club for nine years. His tenure saw immense success of the club, while
maintaining a strong student athlete participation. Jamaica Hospital in Queens honored him for his
humanitarian contributions at its Annual Gala and he is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Awards
from the Martin Luther School and the St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Academy, both located in Maspeth.
He was featured in the Long Island Business News 2023 Influencers in Banking & Finance.
Jennifer Aument
Chief Executive Officer at The New Terminal One at JFKJennifer Aument is Chief Executive Officer of The New Terminal One, a private consortium
developing a world-class international terminal that will anchor the Port Authority of New York &
New Jersey’s $19 billion redevelopment of John F. Kennedy Airport. The New Terminal One’s $9.5
billion first phase, scheduled to open in 2026, is the largest single-asset project financing in US
history and the nation’s largest public-private partnership.
Jennifer brings more than 25 years of experience in developing and delivering major
infrastructure projects across the highway, rail, airport and port sectors, with a focus on public
private partnerships. She has a strong track record of advancing complex infrastructure and
megaprojects efficiently and safely on behalf of leading equity investors and developers, for both
the private and public sectors.
Prior to joining The New Terminal One in April 2024, Jennifer served as Chief Executive of
AECOM’s Global Transportation business, leading a team of 14,000 to deliver innovative
transportation solutions for clients of the pre-eminent transportation consulting and design firm.
She previously served as President and CEO of leading infrastructure investor Transurban’s North
American business, where she oversaw the development, financing and operations of major toll
road infrastructure in the US and Canada.
In addition to her private sector experience, Jennifer served for a decade on the Board of
Commissioners of the Virginia Port Authority. She has contributed to the boards of several
publicly listed and private organizations in the transportation and technology sectors, including
investment firms Meridiam and Strategic Value Partners and the non-profit transportation policy
think-tank, Eno Center for Transportation. Jennifer has also served as an Executive in Residence
at Cornell University’s Brooks School of Public Policy, where she taught a graduate course on
delivering modern mega transportation projects.
Saeeda L. Dunston
Executive Director of Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities, Inc.Saeeda Lesley Dunston is the Chief Executive Officer at Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities, Inc. since August 2014. She is recognized among her peers and human service providers throughout New York State for developing and implementing culturally competent programs and services that address the challenges encountered by marginalized communities, in empowering individuals and families to become change agents and engaged participants in their communities.
Prior to Elmcor, Ms. Dunston served in senior management positions and served several boroughs and citywide advocacy and policy focused coalitions that address poverty, anti-racism, health care needs of marginalized populations and communities throughout New York City.
Ms. Dunston’s leadership has secured Elmcor’s position as a vital service provider and advocate on the neighborhood level and has been instrumental in building capacity through collaborative relationships with public and private partners. She has developed and enhanced new and existing programs leveraging organizational resources to address the prevailing socio-economic-health disparities that challenge Queens communities; and; promote inter- and intra-agency collaborations around issues of behavioral health, health equity, social and economic justice, anti-stigma and community education. Saeeda also shepherded Elmcor’s first Supportive and Affordable Housing Project providing permanent housing to chronically unhoused and persons recovering from a serious substance use disorder and older adults.
She is also a proud wife, mother, grandmother underscoring the deep personal and familial ties and connections to Queens and in particular the East Elmhurst/Corona communities.
Brendan Leavy
Vice President of Development at Queens Chamber of CommerceBrendan Leavy is the Vice President of Development at the Queens Chamber of Commerce, where he has been instrumental for the past eight years in expanding the chamber’s membership, securing vital sponsorships, and identifying grant opportunities that support the chamber’s mission. In his role, Brendan actively connects businesses with resources and opportunities, helping them grow and thrive. Whether presiding over ribbon-cutting ceremonies, hosting networking events, or guiding businesses through bids on major projects like JFK International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, NYC Football Club’s new stadium, and Resorts World Casino, Brendan is known for his ability to forge meaningful connections that drive success.
Before joining the Queens Chamber, Brendan spent over 25 years in the insurance industry. He had a successful 16-year career as an agency owner at Allstate Insurance Company, where he earned multiple awards for his work. After selling his agency, Brendan transitioned to consulting in the commercial insurance sector, where he spent 10 years helping businesses manage risk. His work extended to nonprofits and religious institutions, earning him recognition from the Queens Federation of Churches for his outstanding contributions. Brendan also served on the board of Easter Seals New York for over four years, demonstrating his commitment to philanthropy and helping individuals with disabilities.
Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and raised in Astoria, Queens, Brendan’s roots in the borough run deep. He attended Most Precious Blood Grammar School and Archbishop Molloy High School before graduating from Queens College. He met his wife, Milena, in Astoria on St. Patrick’s Day in 1990, and the couple has been happily married for over 30 years. They reside in Bayside, Queens, and are the proud parents of three daughters: Emma, 25, and identical twins Megan and Julianne, 21.
A lifelong Queens resident, Brendan is a master networker and community advocate, often saying that the Queens Chamber helps businesses “connect the dots” to take their success to the next level.
Seth Bornstein
Executive Director of the Queens Economic Development Corporation at Queens Economic Development CorporationAs the Executive Director, Seth is responsible for the programming for the Queens Economic Development Corporation. With the staff and the board he endeavors to develop services that will further the mission of the QEDC to create and retain jobs through programming that assists small businesses, encourages entrepreneurship, and promotes our community with an emphasis on supporting those of low-to-moderate income, women, minorities, and immigrants.
Seth first joined the QEDC in 1979 where he helped coordinate the Borough’s first commercial revitalization programs which resulted in the development of many of our local development corporations and business improvement districts. Since being named Executive Director in 2009, Seth has transformed QEDC, significantly increasing the range of services, scope of work and expansion of staff. This has included the Entrepreneur Space, a food and business incubator in Long Island City; a proactive Queens Tourism Council; MiQ – Made in Queens to help market artisan businesses; Neighborhood Development in various communities and most recently programs to help the formerly incarcerated with entrepreneurial training.
Seth has over 45 years of economic development experience. In addition to being a founding staff member of the QEDC, he served as the Director of Economic Development for the Office of the Queens Borough President for two administrations.
A native New Yorker and is a graduate of The New School/Parsons School of Design with a BFA in Environmental Design. He is also a writer. His novel, Swimming to Jerusalem was noted as a “Great novel of New York,” by Kirkus Reviews.