Grace Meng Sixth District Congresswoman at U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng is serving her third term in the United States House of Representatives. Grace represents the Sixth Congressional District of New York encompassing the New York City borough of Queens, including west, central and northeast Queens. Grace is the first Asian American Member of Congress from New York State, and the only Congressmember of Asian descent in the entire Northeast. She is also the first female Member of Congress from Queens since former Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro. Grace is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and its Subcommittees on State and Foreign Operations, and Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. The Appropriations Committee is responsible for funding every federal agency, program, and project within the United States government. Previously, Grace served on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Small Business Committee. Grace is also a Senior Whip and Regional Whip for New York, and a founder and Co-Chair of the Kids’ Safety Caucus, the first bipartisan coalition in the House that promotes child-safety issues. She helped create and serves as a founding member and former Co-Chair of the Quiet Skies Caucus which works to mitigate excessive aircraft noise that adversely affects communities. Grace has passed several pieces of legislation in law. These include laws about religious freedom, making Queens historic sites part of the National Parks Service, striking “Oriental” from federal law and protecting public housing residents from insufficient heat. Also signed into law were her measures that assist veterans and members of the military, as well as legislation to combat flood damage, strengthen anti-terror initiatives and improve the safety of school buses and child car seats. In addition, Grace helped obtain increased funding for Israel’s defense systems, acquired additional resources for small businesses, improved access to feminine hygiene products and worked to create New York City school holidays for Lunar New Year and Eid. Further, she helped improve mail delivery, secured resources to combat airplane noise, advocated for the new ban on African Elephant Ivory and the slaughter of “downer” calves, and obtained a probe that outlined needed improvements to local railroad safety. Born in Elmhurst, Queens, and raised in the Bayside and Flushing sections of the borough, Grace attended local schools, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School and the University of Michigan. She then earned a law degree from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. Prior to serving in Congress, Grace was a member of the New York State Assembly. Before entering public service, she worked as a public-interest lawyer. Grace resides in Queens with her husband Wayne, and two sons Tyler and Brandon.
Geoff Smith Principal at Connect360 Geoff Smith is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of brand, marketing, and communication experience, specializing in forming brand strategy objectives to leverage marketing tactics with a hands-on approach. BizCon 360 is a full-service marketing agency, which focuses on return on investment marketing for B2B businesses. Geoff leads client engagement and manages all work activities to enhance BizCon 360's clients' brand image/positioning/company awareness while creating new lead generation channels. BizCon360 looks across the entire marketing tool landscape to best align digital, offline, and event marketing to support a business's Go-To-Market strategy. Named clients include familiar brands like General Electric, Panasonic, Footlocker, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, as well as national and local B2B companies. Geoff has re-branded billion-dollar companies, produced national TV & Radio ADs, designed and launched many websites (B2B/B2C), and delivered all marketing facets to showcase products and services. As part of his marketing experience, Geoff worked across various continents for the Sun Chemical company as Digital Marketing Director to build a new business and sales resource supporting many global B2B clients. This position focused on driving consistency in design/messaging and creating a new eCommerce sales channel to Consumer Package Goods, Cosmetics, Publishers, Automotive, and a host of other industries. At New York Grant Company, Geoff held the VP of Marketing position to support business development and open new business markets nationally. The resulting business launched a new service offering to commercial real estate property owners and investors with a high-performance financial option to fund renovation projects and ground-up construction. Geoff bridged into sales during this time, landed over ten clients in his first year, provided a new revenue source, and helped manufacturers grow their business through financial options offered by New York economic incentives. Geoff remains a trusted advisor to business leaders throughout his career, who listens, evaluates, specifies, and executes marketing opportunities to deliver significant change and targeted growth. Geoff is engaged in many digital platforms to stay abreast of the latest developments. He has presented to numerous audiences on various marketing and business development options. During a recent "NYC Tech Week" conference, Geoff spoke on the lead generation power of leveraging "Contact Us." Geoff is also a featured speaker and moderator of panel discussions on topics related to "Alternative Financing" and the "Value of Incentives" to various business owners, real estate firms, developers, and investors. Geoff volunteers his time and expertise to various organizations that include Queens Chamber of Commerce, MS Society, Red Cross, and supporting youth sport organizations. Geoff holds a bachelor's degree from Queens College in Computer Engineering and an Associates from Iona in Communications.