Meet the 2025 Honorees

Irina Sirota is a Senior Vice President and Market Executive with Bank of America managing the Business Banking team in the NYC market. She leads a group of experienced professionals delivering world class solutions to commercial clients in the lower middle market segment.

Irina’s mission is to support local businesses by providing holistic banking solutions and afford them the power to fuel continued growth.

Irina joined Bank of America in 2002 via the predecessor Fleet National Bank which was acquired by Bank of America in 2004. She started her commercial banking career in Global Commercial Banking as a Credit Analyst in the Corporate Banking Development Program. She also served as a Senior Underwriter and Relationship Manager in Middle Market before taking on the role in Business Banking as a Senior Credit Officer in 2016. Irina began her banking career in the branches as a teller while she was a full time college student in the late 1990’s. It was then that she realized her passion to help make financials lives better through the power of every connection.

To help create a more sustainable future, Irina volunteers with several not-for-profit organizations focused on education, women empowerment and community development. From 2015 to 2018, Irina served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for Mom-mentum, a non-profit organization providing leadership, education, and advocacy to support mothers in meeting today’s personal and professional challenges. She continues to lend her expertise as a coach for participants in the Inner City Capital Connections Program as well as Vital Voices. She also enjoys rolling up her sleeves and volunteering with housing projects with Habitat for Humanities.

Irina holds the Series 7, and 63 FINRA registrations and a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from St. John’s University. Originally from the former Soviet Union, Irina immigrated to the United States in her early teens and settled in Queens, NY where she currently resides with her husband Eugene and two children.

Savaria Harris is the Associate General Counsel for Healthcare Compliance at Amazon Health Services, where she leads the legal team supporting healthcare compliance functions such as billing, audit, risk assessment, and risk management with a focus on government programs compliance.

Previously, Savaria was Vice President of Law at Johnson & Johnson, advising on patient assistance programs across all Janssen therapeutic areas. She received the 2022 Janssen Bravo Award for Trying New Things and the 2020 Janssen Bravo Award for Driving Disruptive Innovation. Savaria has also been a speaker on innovation at TEDxJNJ, chaired the Johnson & Johnson Corporate Chapter of the Women’s Leadership & Inclusion employee resource group, and created the WLI ELEVATE initiative.

Before her time at Johnson & Johnson, Savaria was a litigation partner at DLA Piper and Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She also taught business ethics at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies and was a visiting lecturer on trial advocacy at Georgetown University Law Center. Savaria holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. with distinction from Yale University.

Outside of her professional work, Savaria is dedicated to supporting women’s professional and economic advancement through her participation on the boards of the Unlocked Foundation and the Tory Burch Foundation.

Miranda Josephson is a Financial Analyst with Executive Wealth, Mid-Atlantic Region, Asset & Wealth Management Goldman Sachs Ayco.

Miranda is a dedicated advocate for financial literacy, community engagement, and philanthropy. With deep expertise in financial planning, she excels at translating complex financial concepts into approachable guidance, empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their future financial goals and personal values.

Her commitment to service began early—while in college, she founded her own nonprofit, driven purely by passion and a desire to support vulnerable communities. This experience shaped her dedication to making a meaningful impact, and it was during her time working at a wealth management firm in college that she discovered her true calling: bridging technical expertise with personalized financial strategies to create lasting change.

Beyond finance, Miranda is actively involved in fostering connections within organizations like the Junior League and various initiatives throughout New York City. Her unwavering belief in financial literacy, education, and advocacy reinforces her mission that financial empowerment is a cornerstone of personal and collective growth.

Andre Dixon is Vice President, Workplace Advisory Solutions, Ayco Personal Financial Management. As a part of the Workplace Advisory Solutions team, within Goldman Sachs’ Asset & Wealth Management division, Andre is the primary point of contact for clients across Corporate America. He is responsible for partnering with financial sponsors, hedge funds, and professional service firms, as well as Fortune 1000 and Forbes 250 companies on the delivery of various financial advisory and wealth management offerings.

Andre develops and maintains relationships with corporate partners to enhance the financial wellbeing of their senior leaders. He partners with key C-suite and HR contacts to deploy financial planning programs that are used as a tool to attract and retain talent.
Andre joined Goldman Sachs in 2013. He earned BA in Government & Politics, cum laude, from St. John’s University

Andre serves on the Board of Governors and the Investment Committee at St. John’s University.

Alex David is Raymond James newly appointed Divisional Director for the Northeast
independent contractor division, which has close to $100 billion in AUM. He joined us
from Stifel Independent Advisors, where he was most recently President & CEO. Prior to joining Stifel, Alex spent 13 years at Wells Fargo Advisors, where he was Head of Branch Development and Marketing for the firm’s independent brokerage arm, Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (FiNet). In this role, he guided FiNet’s business development and market strategy and led a team responsible for recruiting, consulting, coaching, and managing independent financial advisors.

Earlier in his career, Alex was an institutional wholesaler with Lord Abbett, Federated Investors, and OppenheimerFunds, and served as an Economist with the New York City Bar Association. He holds dual doctorates in economics and marketing and a master’s degree in international economics from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University.

In addition, Alex spends a lot of his time advocating for advisors and working on
important industry initiatives serving on the Board of Directors of the Financial Services Institute ( FSI). He is also deeply committed to diversifying the industry workforce as a Board member and Chair of the African American Association of Financial Advisors ( QUAD A). Lastly, Alex sits on the Advisory Board for Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services, a consultancy dedicated to assisting RIA’s and small BD’s.

Emily Promise is the Owner and President of Blakely Financial. Over the past five years, Emily has opened a new office, built out her own team, and facilitated four successful mergers. Specializing in wealth management, legacy planning, and simplifying complex financial matters, Emily helps individuals and families build sustainable wealth and pursue their goals. Her personalized approach ensures clients feel confident and in control of their financial future.

Emily holds multiple financial designations and has earned national recognition, including being ranked #4 in North Carolina for Forbes Top Next Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State (2024) and appearing on multiple Forbes Top Women and Best-In-State Wealth Advisor lists.

In addition to her professional achievements, Emily is dedicated to shaping the future of financial services. She serves on several advisory boards, including the Commonwealth Financial Network’s Advisory Council and High Point University’s Phillips School of Business Advisory Board. She also founded a scholarship for female high school seniors pursuing degrees in finance and created Promise for Women, a Blakely Financial initiative empowering women to grow wealth and improve financial literacy. Emily is a Perks Provider for Mass General Brigham and actively contributes to her community through organizations like SPUR and the Women’s Business League.

Kelley Bonner is a licensed therapist with over 15 years of experience helping people and organizations transform, evolve, and heal burnout. She believes black women have been systemically taught that their legacy is struggle, while their legacy is actually one of joy and accomplishment.

In her “day job,” Kelley transforms workplaces by reducing burnout and bias, resulting in increased innovation and inclusion. She provides a framework for leaders to understand the deeper organizational issues that lead to symptoms of burnout and how to solve them at their core.

As the founder of Burn Bright Consulting, Kelley is revolutionizing diversity, equity, and inclusion, sexual misconduct, and psychological safety training with proprietary frameworks proven to increase innovation and lead to happier work environments. Kelley has worked with several federal and international organizations to create safer environments and strategies for violence prevention, including the Biden Administration, U.S. Military, Library of Congress, National Academy of Sciences, The United Nations, and NATO.