BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Marti Speranza Wong, Chair

Marti is deeply devoted to women’s empowerment. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Amplify Her Foundation and Amplify Her. Both organizations share the mission of supporting women from underserved communities to become transformative changemakers. Amplify Her Foundation partners with community-led organizations that build the economic and social power of women and girls through leadership programs, educational opportunities, career training and development. Amplify Her addresses women’s underrepresentation in elected offices by advising candidates, recruiting committed campaign volunteers and registering new voters. Prior to Amplify Her, Marti served as Director of Women Entrepreneurs (WE) NYC, a New York City initiative launching and managing innovative programs on access to capital and mentorship. Marti’s first role in NYC government was Director of Strategic Initiatives for New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs, the agency tasked with enforcement of consumer protection laws and empowerment of low-income New Yorkers. Marti was elected as Democratic State Committeewoman for the 74th Assembly District, was appointed to Manhattan's Community Board 5 and has served on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity NYC and the RTW Foundation. In 2022, Marti was recognized by Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson with a Proclamation for her work in the Community and in 2023 Marti was honored by City & State as one of 'The Responsible 100: New Yorkers serving the common good.' Marti studied Economics and Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and earned her Masters of Business Administration from Harvard University.

Colonel Julia Coxen, Vice Chair

Colonel Julia Oh Coxen is the Deputy Department Head of the Department of Systems Engineering at the US Military Academy at West Point. She earned her PhD in Operations Research (OR) from the University of Michigan and two masters degrees from Columbia University from their department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. Julia is a Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in Systems Engineering and minored in Music. Julia was also among the top 50 finalists out of 18,000+ applicants for the NASA astronaut selection in 2017. Julia is a senior-rated jumpmaster that commanded three times at the company level and also commanded a battalion in the US Special Operations Command. She was commissioned in the Signal Corps and started her career in Korea. She continued to serve in various leadership and staff positions from being a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division to leading troops as a signal officer to deploying multiple times overseas in support of the Global War on Terror. She also taught in the Department of Systems Engineering at West Point from 2007-2010. She served the following years with the U.S. Special Operations Command from 2010-2018 near Washington D.C. working extensively with interagency partners and the intelligence community. She commanded two different Troops, served as an Executive Officer, and also deployed in key roles for a brigade sized task force overseas. She spent the final two years of her tour in Virginia as a Battalion Commander simultaneously launching the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Data Initiative. Her PhD research was an interdisciplinary effort that took a risk analysis and data-driven approach to combatting sex trafficking. This expanded her research interests in data science, anomaly detection, machine learning, and operations research for vulnerable populations. She continues to teach and be part of the governance of the military academy while conducting meaningful research.

Paul S. Speranza, Jr., Secretary & Treasurer

Paul S. Speranza Jr. retired as vice chairman, general counsel, and secretary of Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. in 2018 after more than 40 years of service. Speranza, a social advocate, believes passionately in freedom, democracy, free enterprise, opportunity, and hope for all. He recognizes that quality education can vastly improve people’s lives, as was the case for both him and his family, and believes that all children, especially the economically disadvantaged, should have access to quality education and quality health care. Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 80-store supermarket chain that employs 44,000 people and generates over $8 billion in annual sales. Founded in 1916, Wegmans is recognized as an industry leader and innovator. On a front-page feature article, The Wall Street Journal quoted an industry expert who called “Wegmans the best food retailer in the country, maybe in the world.” Speranza takes particular pride in the fact that Ethisphere Magazine named Wegmans one of the most ethical companies in the world several times. Speranza joined Wegmans in 1976, where he chaired a number of committees and was responsible for legal, tax, government relations, and labor relations, along with other management duties. He is a graduate of Syracuse University (B.S., 1969), the University of San Francisco (J.D., 1971), and New York University (LL.M. in Taxation, 1972). Since he retired Paul created the Cheryl Speranza Leadership Institute in honor of his late wife, which provides scholarships at Our Lady of Mercy High School for economically disadvantaged women of color.