Biographies

Jeff Bernstein –  Jeff is a CPA practicing for over 25 years. Current business is Bernstein Rosen & Company CPAs, an accounting firm in Midtown Manhattan. Prior to starting this Firm, Jeff was a partner for 15 years at a medium sized NYC firm. Jeff also has been investing in residential real estate in Cape Cod, MA for the last 10 years.  (Personal) Jeff lives in Westchester NY and has been married almost 30 years. He has 2 boys currently 24 and 22 years old.  Interests include hiking, biking, wine collecting and spending quality time with friends and family.

Vincent Cannariato – Known as Vinny to his close friends, he was the heart of our forum.  Vinny experienced a heart attack and died in January 2017.  He is survived by his son Joseph and his partner and fiance Anya, who assumed leadership of Vincent Limousine, the company he founded and named after his father.  Donations to Joseph’s college fund may be made by contacting Ryan Payne at ryan.payne@paynecm.com.  The name of the forum was changed in 2017 to honor Vinny and his memory.  We all miss him deeply.

Andy Cohen – Andy is President of Rock Properties, an owner and provider of rental housing for over 2,500 people in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  In 1995 he founded Rock Properties with the mission “Inspiring Our NeighborsTM.” Throughout his career, Andy has stressed teaching and volunteerism.  He is founder of TGreen.org, an organization that teaches financial literacy while developing a good credit rating for inner-city young adults.   Andy graduated from Wesleyan University in 1986 with a BA in Economics.  He lives in Millburn, New Jersey with his three children.

Kevin Gilbert – Kevin is Founder and President of Gilbert International Group, facilities support company that operates in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.  With over 250 employees, the Group covers all the facilities support needs of large institutional and Fortune 100 clients, from Janitorial to engineering to call centers.

Kevin is a graduate of the New York University Leonard Stern School of Business, having studied Psychology, Accounting, and Finance.  In her prior career, Kevin worked as a CPA for a medium-size firm in Manhattan, focusing on small businesses and their owners.

Kevin believes ‘paying it forward’ is the only way to live, and therefore has sat on the Board of several non-profit institutions, and takes pride in coaching budding entrepreneurs on their way to success. She is also Secretary of the Accident Prevention and Safety League Group 45 of The New York State Insurance Fund.   She lives in Long Island, NY with her husband Robert, daughter Sonia Sky, mom Helen and Golden Retriever Hoover.

Dana Haddad – Dana is the founder of New York Admissions, assisting parents and children from 10 months to 17 years old in all aspects of education and the admissions process (including assessing and creating appropriate school lists, improving grades and standardized test scores, application assistance, interview preparation, and essay consultation).  Dana has been involved in education for more than a decade working as a teacher, Director of Admissions at Claremont Preparatory School in Manhattan, and the Associate Director of Admissions at Horace Mann School.  Dana has helped over 6,000 families achieve their educational goals.

Nora Herting  – Nora is co-founder and CEO of ImageThink.  ImageThink translates ideas into clear, powerful images that unlock innovation and creativity. As a photographer, former professor and artist-in-residence, Nora’s mission is to help individuals and companies to channel creativity and explore their potential. ImageThink’s impact on businesses—and her own entrepreneurial journey—have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, INC. and Entrepreneur.She is co-author of Draw Your Big Idea, a genre defying book on ideation and execution and Amazon best-seller.

Dave Kerpen  – Dave is a serial entrepreneur (Likeable Media, Apprentice, Remembering.Live, Celebrating.Live, BlackHyre, Likeable Local, an investor (Kerpen Ventures), and a philanthropist (The Kerpen Foundation). He is also the NYTimes Bestselling author of 4 books, (The Art of People, Likeable Business, Likeable Social Media, Normal) and a global keynote speaker (DaveKerpen.com)

Dave is the devoted husband of Carrie and proud father of Charlotte, Kate, and Seth Kerpen.

Addy Malhotra –  Addy is the Founder of Symbiotic Sciences, an AgBiotech company focused on realizing and maximizing the potential of bio-resources for agriculture. He also oversees Symbiotic Sciences’ research and development JV in St. Louis, SyMyco Inc. He graduated in 2005 with a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from University of Minnesota and has an MBA from The Wharton School.   He lives in New York City with his wife Cibi and dog Caesar.

Ben Rosner – Ben lives in Westchester with his wife, dog, and barn. His firm e-home designs technology for luxury residences. His other company, eSommelier, develops software for managing large wine collections. Ben also founded a number of social media startups which could change the world, including GoLive and 17 Seconds.  He is the proud father of two children.