Diversity & Inclusion

CapNY Changemakers: Deshanna Wiggins, CEO of the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce

Updated: July 2025

In the Capital District we have many individuals who are looking to improve our larger community in terms of mental and physical health, wealth, and connectivity. Here at CapNY we call those champions of advancement changemakers.

One champion of change we’d like to highlight is returning Upstate NY native Deshanna Wiggins, CEO of the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce (ABCC).

Deshanna is accomplished and driven, having secured her undergraduate degree and professional development certificate at Clark Atlanta University and Emory University respectively, and working in various Black-led mayoral offices and judicial offices in the years thereafter. Deshanna is currently based in Troy and returned to the area after her phenomenal work in Atlanta to bring a fresh new perspective on Black and Brown entrepreneurship. “I think upstate is great, and people seem to think New York is just New York City. I’ve long wanted to pop that myth to let everyone know, including people here, that there are a lot of resources here. There’s a lot of opportunity here, it’s just about connecting the dots. Connecting the right people to the right companies and organizations.” With Deshanna at the helm of the ABCC the dots of preparation and opportunity will surely connect. The Capital Region is ready for entrepreneurship and ownership to reflect the community it engages in. We’re ready for a revitalized and renewed Albany, NY.

“Our whole idea with the ABCC is to pay close attention to Black and minority businesses. Contrary to popular belief, although there’s a huge wage gap when it comes to people of color in this country at large, and Black and minority businesses are often overlooked, we do have some Federal legislation, we do have a lot more support coming in. However there is a cultural difference in terms of how we go about starting our businesses. We have to start from scratch in all figures of speech– in finances, resources and in mentorship. So the whole idea behind the BCC is to provide these business owners with resources and the connections they need to take care of business further.”

The ABCC offers space for the community to congregate, learn about economic sustainability, and provide advocacy for Black and brown business owners. In this coming year the ABCC will provide programming open to all to engage and empower the local ecosystem. In addition to that, Deshanna doesn’t limit herself nor the ABCC to working with millennials and older generations of business, they recognize the importance of getting youth involved to make a sustaining impact. “We’re really getting into the student body here. We have a huge collegiate population here and in some ways they’re overlooked in terms of being able to take those students right out of school and match them with companies and organizations, or sell and pitch to them about keeping the businesses they do start here and keeping them local.” It’s no one person’s or organization’s responsibility but it’s all of ours to make sure this community and the larger Black and minority businesses are at the table and they are part of the conversation.”

“I’m a native of here, my parents both worked in the school district, so educations always been very important to me in my household. I felt I got the best support and access to education here, but I did not have direct examples of what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be professionally. When I went on those field trips or I started working part-time in high school those people in those positions did not look like me, nor was I called in. I was supported because I was smart and it afforded me a lot of opportunity but I wasn’t necessarily welcomed. So I knew emphatically that I needed to leave here to find out who I was going to be, but the goal was always to bring what I learned back to this area. I’m very happy to say that’s exactly what I did.” Her experience in Black owned or Black-led entertainment, politics, and legal offices speaks to this. She has learned what it takes to build, strengthen and sustain a community such as this. As Deshanna says it has afforded her a new lens on what’s possible.

Deshanna understands that true progress “It’s no one person’s or organization’s responsibility but it’s all of ours to make sure this community and the larger Black and minority businesses are at the table and they are part of the conversation.” With this mentality we’re sure to see rapid success and growth in this area in both culture and community.

If Deshanna’s mission aligns with you, click to stay connected with the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce. There will be ample opportunity to both serve and be a part of this tour de force.

CapNY Changemakers: Introducing J’Vanay Santos

Updated: July 2025

Being known affectionately (or maybe sardonically depending on the mood) as Smallbany, the Capital District is known for having a close-knit community with limited offerings but those of us in the know know that this is a misconception. Millennials have been working overtime to give this region a much needed reboot, bolstering niche communities rife with culture. These individuals leading the charge are changemakers– advocates of cultural, spiritual, and mental progress that are leaders in any given space.

One Changemaker is making her disruptive entrance into the maternal care space. Albany native J’Vanay Santos is forging a new path in maternal care and she’ll be sharing her gift with the tri-state area soon. Co-founded by J’Vanay, MyLÚA Health is an emerging maternal health platform that specializes in support for birthing persons and their care teams through personalized education, connection to resources, and health insights to improve quality and equitable decision-making. MyLÚA Health is an AI-powered early risk detection service that identifies & manages the risk of pregnancy-related complications.

In J’Vanay’s words, “MyLÚA Health supports allied health professionals to ensure birthing persons have access to knowledge and resources to achieve a safe and healthy pregnancy for themselves and their babies. With predictive analytics, automation tools, and a robust network or partners, the company determines needs at the individual level and matches them to localized resources. After answering a brief intake, MyLÚA will provide a personalized risk assessment; along with evidence-based, actionable education and connections to both clinical and non-clinical resources to address care needs. Additionally, MyLÚA partners with community-based organizations to enhance support systems at the local level. “The goal here,” J’Vanay says,” is to focus on missed and delayed diagnoses that stem from poor screening and lack of data, which hinders a provider’s understanding of a birthing person’s lived experience.”

J’Vanay’s inspiration for the creation of MyLÚA lies in her up-close experience with the racial gap in maternal care, “U-Leea Santos, our Chief Experience Officer, and my sister, was denied medical intervention despite establishing a code word for wanting intervention. The mental and emotional tool of such an experience was challenging and left us wondering why we could not advocate for U-Leea’s wishes. As one of 8 [children] and the glorified doula of my family after being a part of 5 prior births, I knew something was wrong. So, we decided to dive into the literature and unearthed many issues with the maternal care system.” And that she did. J’Vanay and U-Leea partnered with a group of like minded health care providers, data scientists, and engineers to bring their dream to fruition.

J’Vanay’s passion for equity in the maternal health care space lies in the desire to give voice and agency to those that have been stripped of it, “We are amplifying the voices of birthing persons/mothers that have historically been left out of the narrative. When speaking with birthing folks, we continuously hear that they feel rushed, unheard, and express concerns about their pain being ignored. Trust has been in the maternal care system as structural racism has led to outcome disparities and inequities. We provide a platform that equips birthing persons with knowledge, resources, care advocates, and risk detection so all birthing persons can access their right to a quality and safe birthing experience for themselves and their babies.” Though this is a weighty call to task, it’s one worth striving for. Per NPR the maternal death rate for Black Americans was 69.9 per 100,000 in 2021 alone, which is 2.6 times higher the rate for white women.

Bridging the gap in any way we can means increasing access to quality care, identifying diagnoses early and finding community care to help address those needs where busy hospitals and health care centers cannot. MyLÚA Health is one of the many organizations trying to push us in the right direction. They are changemakers and the community is ready to receive them with open arms. From panel opportunities to partnerships with doula and community based organizations to funding, the community at large has embraced them– and soon NY State at large will be too.

At this time MyLÚA is focused on securing further partnerships before they go live later this year. If you’d like to get involved or receive support, reach out to the team here

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Celebrating Pride Month in CapNY: 3 Leaders Who Make it Happen

Updated: July 2025

Pride Month is recognized around the world, to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. It takes place every June, in honor of the historic June 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which helped kickstart the Gay Rights Movement. It’s a month not just to celebrate, but to remember, to honor, to raise awareness, and to support.

Each June, there are dozens of Pride events across CapNY to celebrate and support our LGBTQIA+ communities thanks to area organizations that include:

OutHudson: Nonprofit organization serving the LGBTQIA+ community of Columbia County
The Pride Center of the Capital Region: Nonprofit organization based in Albany; hosts annual Capital Pride Parade through downtown Albany and Festival in Washington Park, which features food, vendors, live music and performances like Pussycat Dolls’ Carmit Bachar and iHeartRadio Music Award Nominee JORDY.
Cafe Euphoria: Trans and Gender Nonconforming worker-owned cafe, coworking space, and curated thrifted clothing store in Troy, hosts an array of pride focused events including open mics, dance nights, drag show brunches, and LGBTQ budgeting workshops. They also serve as food vendors at Pride events like Capital Pride Parade and Festival and Say it Loud! Black and Latin@ Gay Pride.
In Our Own Voices Inc.: Organization based in Albany that serves the needs of LGBTQIA+ POC
Easton Mountain Retreat Center: Located in Greenwich, NY, Easton Mountain is a community retreat center and sanctuary created by gay men. They provide workshops, programs, and events to celebrate, heal, transform, and integrate body, mind, and spirit.

None of the Pride celebrations would have happened without dedicated individuals who helped bring them together. We spoke with three individuals who helped make events like these happen, and continue to support the LGBTQIA+ community throughout the year.

Nathaniel Gray grew up in southern Ohio and moved to NYC at 19. Gray moved to CapNY in 2019, and recently purchased a home in the hamlet of Glenmont, where he enjoys the newfound space and garden, to escape from the day.

Why is Pride month special to you?

As a month, it is really a placeholder for our Civil Rights movement. June is Pride month because of the Stonewall Riots in late June of 1969. The first pride “parade” was a freedom march for “gay liberation.” The month of June is a lasting reminder, and encouragement, that there is still work to be done for true equity in society.

How are you involved in Pride across CapNY?

The Pride Center of the Capital Region hosts the largest Pride event north of New York City, and each year it grows. This year’s event, held on June 12th, drew crowds larger than previous years when we know our numbers were around 30,000 people. These folks come and celebrate themselves and the people they love, one of the most important things we can do in the LGBTQ+ community. The Pride Center also helped organize an historic number of Pride Flag Raisings in the Capital Region this year, with plans on even more next year.

Why are you passionate about what you do?

I started getting bullied for being effeminate in 2^nd grade; I was 7-years-old the first time someone called me a fa**ot. The most recent time? Four weeks ago. This is my life, and I’m not going to rest in my work, nor is the Pride Center, until this region is safe and affirming for everyone. The person who shouted that word at me last month probably doesn’t know that there are many in my community that would hear something like that, and potentially end their life. This is not acceptable in 2022 to me, nor should it be to anyone. When I got my Master’s degree in Social Work in New York City, my professional focus was on LGBTQ+ homeless youth. Something about working with kids who risked everything to come out and be authentically themselves, only to become homeless and experience untold abuse, sexual assault, trafficking, and other horrible things, fundamentally changes me. It was a curtain I could not “unlook” behind. Once I knew about their experiences, and that it is all born from hate and ignorance, I also knew I had to do something about it.

Osun Zotique moved to CapNY in 2015, and lives in Hudson. Zotique is the Executive Director of OutHudson, and recently ran for office in the Congressional Primary to represent New York’s 19th District, making them the first openly transgender non-binary individual to run for federal elected office.

Why is Pride month special to you?

Pride Month is special to me because I realize that it’s something we still actually really need. We really need that continuous work of individual and community self acceptance. In spite of any advances that we have made, which we certainly have seen basic civil and human rights for our gender identity and sexual orientation, that process of self-acceptance is ongoing, and it’s a lifelong and evolving journey for every human being on this planet. Actually, whether they identify as LGBTQIA+ or not, the fact of the matter is that we all have something to learn about our humanity vis-a-vis our gender and sexuality.

How are you involved in Pride across CapNY?

I took over the directorship of OutHudson and brought back the parade and festivities after the pandemic. I also recently ran for elected office in the United States Congress. NY’s 17th congressional district, and was the first transgender, non-binary person to do so. And it’s been a very exciting journey and a very privileged platform to try to speak to everything that’s going on for all of us who are living, working and potentially struggling to make ends meet at this community and state, both LGBTQIA+ and also our straight allies.

Why are you passionate about what you do?

I’m passionate about doing what I do because I actually moved to the state of New York when I was 18, and the environment where I grew up was not particularly accepting. So for me, it’s really important to help continue creating the environment that I would like to be part of and a space where queer ingenuity and creativity can flourish. Both my own, but also the folks around me and my neighbors and friends and the people who we support.

Atsushi Akera grew up in East Lansing, Michigan, and moved to the Capital Region in 1999, when she was hired as a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Akera has been a professor at RPI in the field of science and technology studies for the last 23 years, and is retiring this month. She lives in Troy and is the co-founder and General Manager of Cafe Euphoria, as well as a board member at the Pride Center of the Capital Region.

Why is Pride month special to you?

That’s a big question, given Roe V Wade, and everything that’s happened. I’m on the board of directors of the Pride Center for the Capital Region. Many of us are afraid that once the conservatives get that kind of momentum, they’re going to go after other things, including gay marriage. And so it’s a time for the community to band together. Pride Month is so important because it brings the entire community together. I think segments of our community have felt that they’ve won the victories that needed to be won, and had gotten to the point where activism and change wasn’t very high on their agenda. And so this year’s Pride events have been so important in reestablishing the notion that we still have a really important role to play in giving support to those who are otherwise oppressed and discriminated against in our society.

How are you involved in Pride across CapNY?

I’m on the board of the Pride Center of the Capital Region, and I oftentimes volunteer for the Pride events with the Pride Center, as well as serve as an ally and supporter for the Say it Loud! Black and Latino Pride event. But the ways in which I was involved this year, was more focused on the launching of Cafe Euphoria. So as a consequence, most of my new duties had to do with the cafe. We had a presence at the Pride events, taking part as a food vendor, selling vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian fare. Cafe Euphoria also had eight different events of our own throughout the month.

Why are you passionate about what you do?

Because it’s necessary. It’s so necessary. Going into the pandemic, mental health rates were in excess of 50% among the transgender community. Suicide rates were one of the highest. Gender remains one of the strongest constructs in our society, along with race, so there’s all kinds of problems that many members of our community face. There are many people who are supportive, but job loss remains a major issue within our community. And that’s why Cafe Euphoria is built around creating jobs for, and a safe space for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals. We are very much a trans visibility project. We created a business model very specifically on the idea that there are people out there who want to support us, and are willing to pay slightly above market rate for food, and then those resources turn into real assets for the trans and gender nonconforming folks who work here.

So it goes a step beyond just a safe space, it creates jobs. And then beyond a restaurant and creating jobs, we have a curated thrift, we have event space, a co-working space, and we have a lounge, as well as two private offices. We have a curated thrift so that if you’re transgender, and you’re totally scared of going to Target to shop in the women’s section for the first time, you can instead come here, to a space where you know that everybody’s going to be supportive of whatever choices you make.

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Juneteenth in CapNY: 4 Changemakers Paving the Way

“Juneteenth is important because it is the beginning of our history.”

– Lashawn Hawkins, Founder of the I Can Breathe and I Will Speak organization in Fulton County New York

June 19th. Many Americans know that date as Juneteenth, a federal holiday that acknowledges and commemorates the legal ending of slavery in the United States of America. For Black Americans across the country, Juneteenth is our independence day as we honor the end of suffering for those who endured the hardships of slavery. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in the United States June 17, 2021, after President Biden signed it into a federal law. On Juneteenth weekend, organizations throughout CapNY hosted events where people can get together and celebrate the holiday.

In Albany, there were many events celebrating the holiday. The Underground Railroad Education Center, a nonprofit in Albany located on Livingston Avenue, hosted the JuneTEENth Freedom Day Celebration. The celebration was put together by the center’s Young Abolitionist Leadership group, who planned the event, invited numerous vendors including Allie B’s Kitchen, and held activities and presentations for the community.

When asked about the event, cofounder of the center Paul Stewart stated, “Juneteenth is important to this organization because it celebrates the freedom of the African American people in the United States. I am delighted that the young people from the Young Abolitionist Group stepped up and did the work for this event. It had such a great turnout.”

The Underground Railroad Education Center’s mission is to rediscover the full complex history around the Underground Railroad and share it with the community. The center focuses not only on the routes that were taken with the railroad but also the journey of people who made those choices to take the route. Since the nonprofit was established in 2003, the center was able to uncover the railroad’s relationship with other places outside of America including places like Britain, Mexico, and Canada. “This is important work and we need to do this. We need to act on this,” says Stewart.

In addition to this event, families in Albany were able to participate in the Juneteenth celebration held at Ten Broeck Mansion. Located in Arbor Hill, the second oldest neighborhood in Albany, Ten Broeck Mansion held an arts and garden program that honored the holiday by sharing the history of African plants. These plants were then planted into the Mansion’s community garden. “There is such a rich beautiful history associated with these plants that not many know about. Having the opportunity to share this on Juneteenth is very special and important for us to do,” says executive Director of Ten Broeck Mansion, Kathryn Kosto.

Kosto further states, “Ten Broeck Mansion is part of a neighborhood with a lot of children and seniors. We love having the opportunities to give back to them. To make the museum more welcoming. We get the best reviews from our families who come to our events, they’ll invite others to come and join in on the fun.”

The nonprofit focuses on the initiative of sharing the history of Ten Broeck with the Arbor Hill neighborhood and the Capital Region. Ten Broeck Mansion offers many ways for everyone in the community to get involved. They host a free teen camp that supports the arts in the form of making movies, they hold free tours of the mansion where the share the history of it and will be hosting free children’s programs in the summer. “We are trying to be more inclusive and serve the needs of the community. We do a lot, but I still feel there is more we can do,” Kosto states.

Not directly in CapNY, but just adjacent to the west, in Gloversville, the I Can Breathe and I Will Speak nonprofit held an event at a local café. Lashawn Hawkins, founder of the organization states, “I knew nothing was going to happen here for Juneteenth, there is such a lack of education or care about it here. It being now a federal holiday, I knew we needed to bring more awareness and celebrate.”

At the event, Hawkins screened a documentary about the organization and had support from the mayor in Gloversville and the Gloversville Police Department. I Can Breathe and I Will Speak is a nonprofit that was created to bridge the gap between community and law enforcement, ultimately strengthening the relationship the people have with one another.

Hawkins, the founder of the organization, made it her personal goal to give back to the young people in her area after having her own difficult time in Gloversville. “Gloversville and Fulton County was the most racist place I’ve ever been when I first moved here. It was non- inclusive, and I knew I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know how then.” When social injustices began to arise during 2020, including the unjust murder of George Floyd, Hawkins went out to protest peacefully. “Young people reached out to protest with me, but me being a mother, I knew I didn’t want to lead them that way. So, I chose to start the nonprofit instead, “she says.

Since creating the nonprofit, Hawkins has given back to her community in many ways. She hosted a job fair, held a back-to-school event for people in need of supplies, and organized a Halloween event during the pandemic where the nonprofit would go to registered houses and deliver candy to kids safely, so that they can still enjoy the Halloween experience. She even put together a “Christmas Eve Car Sleigh” where parents can register how many kids they had, and she would bring toys to the families on Christmas Eve to give to their kids. When asked what motivates her Hawkins states, “The future of the Children here in my community. The kids.”

The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation celebrated Juneteenth with a “Summer Stroll” event over Juneteenth weekend. The Summer Strolls series is an event that happens every Sunday in the summer season and is hosted by the foundation; this event invites community members to take walking tours around historical areas in Saratoga. On Juneteenth, the foundation hosted a special stroll, led by author Carol Daggs who was able to share more history about the holiday and its relationship with Saratoga.

Membership and program director Nicole Babie believes Juneteenth is important to the foundation stating, “Juneteenth brings important conversations that this country needs to have. The history of Slavery, it can get swept under the rug but that’s important to talk about and recognize.”

The foundation works to strengthen the voices of the community. They hold black history month programs and women’s history month programs. The foundation also uses the history of the buildings in Saratoga to help the community learn and build together with one another. “What drives me everyday is being able to tell the stories of Saratoga Springs that people find both relatable and interesting. We are so much more than the racecourse and there is so much history here and that’s what our organizations preserves. It’s very exciting,” Babie says.

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Thriving in CapNY: Women in Digital Gaming

Updated: July 2025

CapNY offers a level up for those looking to break into the gaming space. Jobs in game design, character development, software, and so much more are plentiful with 24 studios (7 large, 17 indie) calling the region home.

An Industry BOOMING

Many have produced games of our childhoods such as Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater as well as present day digital escapes like Cooking Mama. At present, CapNY is home for more than 500 employees in the gaming industry from large, developed studios like Blizzard Entertainment to smaller, indie studios like Clockwork Games & Events.

The education needed for many of these roles can be earned at one of several CapNY schools. Specifically, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute –ranked 7th Best Undergraduate Game Design Program by U.S. News & World Report– offers up to a Ph.D in critical game design, among many other programs. The University at Albany launched a video game design program in 2021, shortly following the launch of its increasingly popular eSports program launched in 2019.

We caught up with five women who are making their mark in the CapNY digital gaming world to discuss their paths, favorite CapNY spots, and what they love about working in the gaming field. From the moment an idea for the game gets going to the time it’s launched in stores, there are so many moving parts and years of expertise that go into every game out there. These ladies shared more about what they do as well as what advice they have to others looking to break into the industry.

Millie Harris, Technical and VFX Artist at Aestronauts and RPI student

Hometown: Barrington, RI
Currently Lives In: Troy
Favorite CapNY activity: Troy Waterfront Farmers Market

Harris has always loved gaming and art. She wondered, when it was time to start looking at colleges, if it might be possible to pursue both. She found RPI and then saw it was.

“I met all the people here. I knew that this was definitely the right fit for me and they have a really, really amazing game development program as well,” she said.

As part of her studies, she and several other students got to work on Aestronauts, now a small game development studio, through the STEAM garden program. Since it’s a small shop, she has to pitch in everywhere but her focus is digital sculpting, which uses software to push, pinch, shape a digital object to its desired look. Talk about a perfect match of technology and art!

“I take those sculpted models and I get them game ready, and then I create rigs for them so that our animator can bring the characters to life,” she said. “I feel like I can kind of touch on a bunch of different aspects of development and not just stick in one pillar or another, I can kind of reach into the art world a little bit and also like the technical programming world which is my favorite thing about being a technical artist.”

The gaming world is still a male-dominated industry; Harris notes she is often one of a few women in her classes. But, finding those other female classmates and creating a supportive environment has been incredible, she says.

Kathryn Ruiz, Founder, Lead Artist, Designer, Director and Producer of Eco Resilience Games and RPI Associate Professor

Currently lives in Glenmont, NY; studio in the Catskills
Favorite CapNY activity: Hiking, biking along the water–particularly the Hudson

Eco Resilience Games combines science, technology, and art to raise awareness about the condition and health of our water supply through immersive worlds to raise awareness for how to protect our real world.

Ruiz worked on some of the first virtual reality programs in the 90s and it started her on a path to become a game creator and educator.

“I saw that I could express what I wanted to express through virtual, audio, and spatial ways using virtual reality. And gaming then began picking up speed and began commenting on our culture and I was hooked.”

Now, she teaches several courses in RPI’s Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences program and encourages her students to create games that contribute to the greater good and perhaps shy away from often violent or graphic games. She does this in a course called Games & Guts which challenges her students to create games outside of the gore realm.

Just like her most recent launch, Algae Bloom Dynamics, a game focused on the magnitude Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) have in freshwater around the world. The game enables users to experience a clear-water lake that begins to have inputs of phosphorus from human activities. As this continues, underwater clarity will decline as the non-harmful algae begin to make the water green. The user must then make a plan to restore the water quality.

“We use our technology and design to show people what can happen to our world,” she said.

Steph Relyea, Producer, Blizzard Entertainment

Hometown: Plattsburgh, NY
Currently lives: Troy
Favorite CapNY activity – Whitewater rafting in the North Country, more locally – exploring downtown Troy

Relyea has always enjoyed gaming, but it was a spur-of-the-moment decision that started her journey to working behind-the scenes. She spotted an opening for a QA test at then-Vicarious Visions (now Blizzard Entertainment) and she went for it. It was a great learning experience, she said. In that role, she tested the games for function and overall experience.

After leaving the industry for a few years, she returned as a tools tester which helped her become a specialist in the software. Through the studio’s mentorship program and combined with her years of experience in the service industry, production seemed like a great fit.

“I have learned so much, I have challenged myself so much along the way, I love to learn and overcome new things,” she said. “As hard as it is, putting yourself out there is the key. All it takes is one person to give you a chance and it can change your whole path.”

Day-to-day, she helps manage the teams and people that create games like Tony Hawk Proskater, Diablo IV, and Destiny. In a way, things have come around again now she’s mentoring those who were in her shoes at the start of her gaming career. Production roles can be a lot of juggling many moving parts and a key piece of success is making sure you don’t take on too much, she said.

“If I can’t take something on and complete it without being stretched thin, I’m not going to do it. But that was one of the hardest things to learn, saying no when you’re at your max,” she said.

Adrienne Lange, 3D Character Artist, Blizzard Entertainment

Home state: Connecticut
Currently lives: Colonie
Favorite CapNY activity – Indoor rock climbing and the Troy or Colonie Farmers Market

Lange was always an art lover but initially pursued a career as a behavioral therapist. Eventually, she felt a pull to pursue a more creative job. She taught herself the nuance of game design and technique to build on her natural artistic ability.

“I did online courses, YouTube, and built up my portfolio,” she said. She then began applying to game design jobs and landed at Blizzard Entertainment.

Now, she creates the monsters, animals, creatures, and people that are a core piece of a game. She has to make sure they look how they should before they move on to animators to start moving.

“There is a lot of collaboration and working together so you have to enjoy those things in addition to being a creative person,” she said. “But yes, it is very, very exciting to see something you’ve created walking around and talking in a virtual setting. Exciting not only personally, but because it often represents a lot of people’s work.”

Being the creative mind behind many characters, including some in Diablo II, is a particularly rewarding career highlight for Lange. “I grew up watching my dad and eventually playing Diablo myself,” she said. “For me to be working on another game in the series is a truly full circle moment.”

Muse en Lystrala, Executive Director/Lead Composer Queenship Game Studio

Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island
Favorite CapNY based activity: I love hiking in the Catskills and High Peaks and getting burgers or garbage plates after!

As Queenship’s founder and a small company owner, she wears a lot of hats. As lead composer, she composes and records all the musical and sound assets for Queenship’s games. Juggling all these things –even with help- sounds exhausting, but she makes sure her employees take care of themselves. It’s perfectly on brand too, as Queenship’s games focus on mental health and management.

“I love that each day is different. One day I may be working on marketing tasks, the next composing music, the next writing narrative,” she said. “And as a person who suffers from chronic illness, I am very much a fan of the “work smart, not hard” school of thought, and doing this permits me to do just that.”

Coupling her love of music and gaming became a viable career option while she was studying at SUNY Schenectady. She started a chamber ensemble called Geek Musica, a classical group that performs video game and film music. A couple of years in, she started doing game jams at the Tech Valley Game Space.

“After a year and a half or so of digging into the guts of game development, I realized that I had a good set of skills to either work in game development or to start my own company,” she said. Queenship was accepted to RPI’s Level Upstate accelerator program in summer of 2019, when the company also got its first investment and they have launched two games, and a third is very close!

Starting her own company means she’s not only the lead creative person but the human resources department, marketing, finance, and so much more. She has learned every aspect of what goes into a game as well as valuable workplace lessons.

“The best advice I can offer other women/femmes/femme-presenting people is this: prepare to be on your own, at least for awhile. It’s harsh, but it’s true. Seek out and befriend other women/femmes/femme-presenting people in games to learn from, to be mentored by, and to assist when you’ve started doing well. Develop new and existing skills by reading, watching YouTube tutorials, or investing in continuing education at your university or via an online platform like Coursera.

You’ll need to know a lot, and you won’t always be able to count on the big players to give you the information you need or want. Join Discord servers that aim to promote marginalized people, like Game Dev Galaxy or POC in Play. You’ll find people who have struggled to get to where you want to go and want to help you succeed.”

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Making an Impact: 3 Black Entrepreneurs in CapNY

Updated: July 2025

Despite systemic barriers in place for marginalized communities, there are countless thriving Black-owned businesses in CapNY. Many use their resources to pay it forward, bettering the communities around them.

Whether it’s by combating poverty through transportation, supporting new business owners from marginalized groups, or creating a gym that welcomes those often left out of the fitness world, these three Black entrepreneurs have made an impact in CapNY.

Trent Griffin-Braaf is the founder and CEO of transportation companies Tech Valley Hospitality Shuttle and GB Logistics. In 2021, the 37-year-old was named one of Forbes’ Next 1,000 Entrepreneurs. GB Logistics is currently partnered with Amazon, making deliveries out of the tech giant’s Colonie base. Tech Valley Shuttle offers a variety of modes of transportation, with a special focus on the community. Their main mission is to combat poverty through transportation. According to Griffin-Braaf, “Transportation and poverty go hand in hand, and we’re trying to change that, to flip the switch.” Tech Valley Shuttle offers shuttles to aid those living in local food deserts, commuter rides to work, as well as transportation to the New York State’s correctional facilities, allowing people in the community to visit loved ones, which is found to lower recidivism rates.

We asked, why are you passionate about what you do?

“Two things. I think the biggest thing is that I’ve had times in my life when I wasn’t able to drive, so I understand the barriers. And then I was someone who was previously incarcerated in my youth. So I lived all of these things, from not being able to get a job, to having to utilize public transportation, which minimized my work opportunities, to being in prison. I lived in food insecure areas, I grew up on Hamilton Hill, in Schenectady, and the Heights in Troy, where there are no grocery stores nearby. So, I’ve actually had to deal with these same issues. And now being able to help others in the Capital Region get past those barriers, I feel good. I feel like I have a mission every day. I know my purpose. I know I’m helping change lives, and that allows me to keep going.”

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

“The best advice that I would give to anybody who wants to be an entrepreneur is one, to believe in yourself. I believe that so many times people don’t have the true belief in themselves that they can accomplish what it is they set out to do, or that they can make the kind of money they say they want to make. I say belief starts with belief, and knowing that you really can accomplish anything. We all have greatness within us. It’s just identifying that greatness, and pulling it out and working on it. You have to make the time to work on yourself. No one can be successful without being the best version of themselves. And if they do, it’s just luck and then that would be squandered. But for anything that’s sustainable, and for the long term, it takes education and in the know how. Take courses, or if you’re not the best in school, utilize YouTube and read books. Take advantage of networks that help small businesses entrepreneurs.”

Cori Rodriguez is the owner of Cussin’s Nails in Downtown Schenectady. The 34-year-old moved to the Capital Region in 1997, and has lived in the hamlet of Delmar ever since. Cussin’s Nails focuses on keeping nails healthy, and clients safe, as well as being an inclusive space where all feel welcome. Rodriguez opened the nail salon in 2018, and now hosts the space “for six micro-businesses,” as Rodriguez likes to call it, that operate independently inside of her salon. The six micro-businesses currently working out of her salon are all women-owned, and include minority and disabled owners as well. The salon has a popular following on social media, and Rodriguez herself has a waiting list for future clients.

We asked, why are you passionate about what you do?

“I like that I have the freedom to make my business the space that I want it to be. I’m also able to help my renters out, by mentoring them as they create their businesses, get their licensing and insurance, just overall mentorship. Being nail technicians, most of my renters came to me straight from school, so they’re starting from scratch, with no clientele, and that can be very jarring and alarming. You kind of just jump in, and hope that you can swim. I create a lifeboat, where any question they have, I can hopefully provide an answer. What is also really important to me, is that a lot of Black women spend money on beauty services, and while the hair industry and waxing industry are very diverse, the nail industry is a bit less so. While there are nail salons that are owned by other marginalized community members, many are not Black-owned, so Black women can often find themselves being mistreated in another environment. So I wanted to make a space that’s safe for everybody.”

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

“The best advice that I could give, and what I give my new renters as they’re coming in, is that we are capable. We are programmed to think that there is one way to do everything, and one way to live. You go to high school, you get your diploma, you go to college, you get your diploma, you get the job, and you work, and then you retire. But that doesn’t work for a lot of people. Instead of struggling for years to live happy later, what can I do now? Realize that you do have the potential, and the resources available, where anybody has the ability to start something new today.”

Trinel Mcdermott is the owner of Synergy Albany, located on Everett Road. The 29-year-old Long Island-native opened Synergy Albany in 2018. Mcdermott says he chose Albany as Synergy’s location because of its diverse demographic, and affordability compared to the pricier Long Island, allowing him to start his business with less initial overhead. Whereas many gyms operate as a one-size-fits-all model, Synergy provides a personalized fitness experience at a group value. Mcdermott’s approach allows patrons to “get that community feel, but also get a personalized experience that caters to [them], and whatever [their] goals are.”

We asked, why are you passionate about what you do?

“I’m passionate about what I do because I get to help people on a consistent basis. I think oftentimes, a lot of people get caught up or consumed with the everyday hustle and bustle, and you get pulled into just making money and just surviving for the most part. For me to be able to do what I love in terms of helping people, and help someone who may be struggling with hypertension, or struggling with fibromyalgia, is super fulfilling. When someone is struggling with their weight loss journey, and they’ve tried everything, it’s fulfilling to see them get from point A to point B, when things finally click. The feeling you get, knowing that you’ve helped someone, and it doesn’t have to be a ton of people, it always starts small, but before you know it, the compounding effect of just helping people and being able to bring a smile every day keeps me passionate about what I do.”

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

“Make sure you have a plan of action, and you execute that plan. A lot of times, we will create a plan, but we won’t execute it for a lot of different reasons. And we’ll always tell ourselves, “Well, I need to do this before I can do that.” Sometimes it’s just about finding a way to execute your dream, knowing it’s okay to fail. And if you fail, fail fast and move on fast. If you’re passionate and genuine about what you do, in the long run, it will always pay off, because it’s more so about relationships. And from those relationships, you can cultivate better success. When I was starting Synergy, I was knocking on doors, and saying, “My name is Trinel, and I’m opening up a gym not too far from here. I’d love for you to come down and check it out.” Just creating some sort of rapport, so that I’m able to know them on a first name basis, and create some type of relationship. It doesn’t always work, of course, but if you do that consistently, you’ll get maybe five people that will come down and check out your business or give you a call back. And before you know it, they have a friend and you can start to create a community just simply off of one or two meaningful connections.”

Blackowned capitalregion capny forbes Smallbusiness WomanOwned

4 Millennial Changemakers in CapNY Housing

Updated: July 2025

If you’ve spent time in Albany, there’s a chance that you’ve noticed a bright red ‘X’ on multiple buildings. Albany has a lot of homes that are currently vacant, dilapidated, and not up to safety codes. Seeing all of those properties that have great potential, you can’t help but to dream of all the possibilities, to think of it’s potential to be transformed into adequate housing or become multi-purpose centers for our community…

Outside of the possibility you’re also faced with what is: that the presence of those abandoned homes indicate that there are more unhoused neighbors than you think. Furthermore it begs the question what does affordable housing actually look like in CapNY.

While no one person has all the answers, we do have a bevy of individuals of all ages and groups committed to finding solutions. Leadership is not a one-size fits all endeavor, it does not have a particular look and feel. There are more and more young people in CapNY who are taking up the mantle to be actors of change. It’s important to believe in the power of younger generations. These millennials are changing the landscape of homeownership and what it means to have housing in our region.

Meet Virginia Rawlins, President and CEO of Building Blocks Together (BBT), an organization dedicated to the education of Black and Brown potential homeowners. The 31-year-old Bronx native started out as a Housing Services Counselor at the Albany County Land Bank but then realized that members of the community had a lot of misconceptions about the home buying process.

“Working at the Land Bank I realized that people didn’t know the basic home buying process. They were excited [to receive grants] for the $5,000 houses, but they didn’t know which legal documents to submit to the bank had they gone the traditional route.” Seeing that disconnect, Rawlins founded Building Blocks Together as a way to bridge that gap. Founded in 2018, BBT is equal parts a consulting and advocacy group which holds workshops and helps connect members of the community with funding opportunities. In addition to the creation of BBT, Rawlins works with the Touhey Foundation and their Restorative Justice fund, which gives African-American homebuyers up to $10,000 to purchase a home in CapNY.

“I wanted to be a connector. I think everyone can agree that the opportunities for affordable home ownership for minorities are present with entities like the Land Bank and the Land Trust in the area. However some of these organizations that are not Black-led don’t have the resources or have the same sense of care to do community outreach in the way that Black people would.”

Working for the community and being of the community is a distinction that Virginia is keenly aware of. It can mean the difference between feeling seen, heard and understood and condescension. It can also be a barrier to beginning the endeavor of home ownership. It is due to this understanding that various housing groups have welcomed Virginia’s presence with open arms. Virginia has been lifted up by Albany’s housing community and has created long lasting connections.

Ultimately Virginia Rawlins is passionate about the work she does because she believes that everyone is entitled to own a home and build a deeper connection to the community around them.

Meet Josh Koss, General Counsel for The Vecino Group, a multidimensional collective dedicated to creating “lasting and socially-impactful” work. Before relocating to Troy, Josh practiced law at a real estate law firm in NY helping close $3 billion worth of deals while there but he wanted something a bit more “hands on.” After gaining his broker’s license, he fell in love with the area and began his journey with the Vecino Group. The 29-year-old lawyer’s work is centered on affordable housing within the region.

The Vecino Group works in tandem with social programs such as Asteri, a supportive community for persons with developmental and physical challenges based in Utica, to provide housing. The Vecino Group owns and operates over $700 million dollars of affordable housing development across this country, and owns 4 properties in Upstate NY.

Josh believes that there is more to housing than availability and affordability, “The supportive housing aspect is important to what we do. We’ve partnered with daycares, CVS to distribute vaccines, among other things in the community. It’s based on this notion that it’s important to deliver not just affordable housing but high quality affordable housing to people of all different income levels and social statuses. We believe that if we can help people capitalize on the benefits that come with that– better education, better support for mental and physical health– then we’re doing a small part in the world to make our communities a better place.”

Being housed is a basic need that drastically alters our course in life. It is the foundation from which our faculties grow. Josh understands that people not only have a right to shelter but a right to quality of life. To even begin to approach social equity, we need well rounded responses to the inequalities that plague our communities.

Josh is ultimately passionate about this work because it simply feels good. “I think that human beings were meant to feel good about doing good work. I look for work that makes me feel good. If I’m doing that and I’m helping the people around me, then it’s a good day.” Being able to achieve goals with like-minded individuals is what keeps Josh going. Upon moving here he knew one person, now he knows 100. Josh feels that there are great people in this area dedicated to this work.

Last but certainly not least are the founding partners of the Wallace Turner Law Firm, Ray Turner and Kim Wallace. Their main areas of practice are real estate, business and personal injury, and estate planning.

Ray Turner initially went to undergrad for theater and dance but when personal tragedy struck she wanted to figure out what she could do to take control of her life, so she enrolled in law school. A move that proved to be life changing. Ray worked in the public defender’s office for a while but still felt that she wasn’t creating the change that she had hoped in her community, “I had an epiphany. I was helping people but it wasn’t long lasting. I thought, ‘How can I make an impact and help people?’ I need to open up a law firm. CapNY needs to see a law firm that looks like them. What services do we need to offer? We need to offer home ownership because that’s going to create generational wealth. It was about how I can help people establish themselves further.”

Ray’s approach to community building moves beyond the initial moment of gaining housing, instead figuring out ways for Black and Brown communities to retain their homes and businesses and turn them into assets that can be passed down to their children. Having a law firm that reflects the community and a firm that the community trusts is an invaluable asset. Ray and Kim find that more often than not clients come to them because of who they are and how they can relate to them. People find comfort in seeing people like them.

What motivates Ray and Kim most is knowing that they are presenting members of our community that often don’t get the representation they deserve. Moving forward they aim to expand their business to become a full service law firm, hire from inside the community, and to grow as a practice.

affordablehousing capny changemakers generationalwealth Housing law Leaders realestate transplants

4 CapNY Women Leaders in Technology

Updated: July 2025

Technology has been a driving force in CapNY’s economy for decades.

Women are entering the technology field at record numbers, but the field is still male-dominated. It’s vital that companies create opportunities for women to take on leadership positions in tech, and our local companies are stepping up. We’ve decided to highlight four CapNY women making their marks on the growing industry – locally, nationally and even internationally.

Founder & CEO CanCode Communities

Annmarie, you’re making strides with CanCode Communities. Talk about the “why” behind this accomplishment.

The professional accomplishment that I consider most important is the creation of AlbanyCanCode, now known as CanCode Communities. To start from scratch and bring together two dramatically diverse worlds – underrepresented individuals and the technology community – represented a Herculean effort. Women, minorities and the under-educated are being trained and given opportunities to work in the lucrative technology field. That is enabling them to provide for their families, contribute to their communities, and live the lives they deserve.

In my capacity as President of custom software developer Greane Tree Technology, my successful hire of a fully self-taught Ruby on Rails developer inspired the vision of Albany Can Code, now CanCode Communities. We work tirelessly in working to grow the New York State’s software sector, and to extend software and IT training opportunities to everyone who has aptitude for this work.

What’s challenging about this field?

According to the latest research, 4 of every 5 technology jobs are filled by men; in the executive ranks, the disparity is even greater. We need women inventing things, making things, solving important problems, and in positions of power. We need all of these things in far larger numbers than we have today.

Founder & CEO of 1st Playable Productions

Tobi, tell us a bit about your company and your day-to-day responsibilities.

My company 1st Playable Productions makes video games, both for entertainment, and also for education, health, and wellness applications. We are a B corporation, which puts social impact first, which is definitely a challenge in technology. As a startup in the RPI incubator, we located in downtown Troy in 2006, recognizing the impact of technology business location on arts, restaurants, and other small businesses. It’s such a great place to live and work.

Although I have been CEO since founding 1st Playable, my day-to-day responsibilities change constantly, depending on the company size, changes in technology, and client needs. My work includes game design oversight, troubleshooting software issues, bringing in Friday carbs, attending to seasonal decorations, and finding other socially minded developers to join our team. It’s hard work and long days but the positive impact to others makes it worth it to me.

How did you end up in this line of work? What’s rewarding about it?

I started my career at GE Research & Development working in emerging technologies in the area of computer networks. The path from there to games was an unexpected one, and added the new dimensions of art and design to my first love of technology. Video games was a field I hadn’t really followed – unlike today it was not front and center of youth connecting and socializing. I started as VP of Product Development, bringing all the process and technology I had learned previously but a lot of learning to do to understand the aesthetic and business aspects.

One aspect I immediately recognized was the power of games to inspire kids in education; to connect the dots between their day to day schooling and creating the immersive virtual experiences they spend so much time with. This became the focus of the company I founded.

Other than the motivating goal of social impact, video games itself is a volatile industry which is both challenging and appealing due to the constant change in technology and markets. If you love to learn it’s the place to be!

What is your advice to women wanting to enter the technology field?

As for being a woman in tech, I have become accustomed to being in the minority, and tried to embrace the challenges of needing to be work harder to provide myself, and needing to always be a role model and representative. I do think there are some advantages over time, for instance as a company we have never lacked for press coverage, due to the novelty of being a woman CEO of a game company.

I’ve seen a lot of positive change, yet still find my daughter facing harassment that I had hoped would have disappeared by now. My advice to women going into tech is to find places and people that are supportive. If not your workplace, then seek out peer groups of women and mentors. Other than helping you ignore the critics, they can help you find techniques to deal with the extra challenges you’ll face.

What do you love about living in CapNY?

I love the central location of this area, being equidistant from NYC, Montreal, Boston, and Rochester. Much as I enjoy visiting cities, I am most passionate about the outdoors and have a small homestead so keep busy with goats, chickens, ducks, bees and other outdoor activities. I find it the perfect antidote to spending the rest of the day at my computer. Beyond the day to day, I take advantage of the many cultural opportunities, ranging from concerts, outdoor festivals, broadway shows, feasts with friends. Just in Troy alone, there is so much to do: festivities like Rockin’ on the River, Pig out, Victorian Stroll, the weekly AMAZING Farmer’s Market, and galleries and art boutiques. Being a foodie I especially appreciate the great restaurants, breweries and distilleries in the region!

Founder of ecoLong

Nancy, tell us about ecoLong and how you ended up here.

ecoLong is a technology startup. Our mission at ecoLong is to build interconnected and resilient communities which includes the development of our blockchain based energy marketplace that provides communities with equitable access to clean energy. I founded ecoLong in 2015 and manage the day to day product and business development activities. I went to college thinking that I’d work in the finance industry and I probably could have found enjoyment in working in finance. However, it was the idea of creating a product that drove me to tech and captivated me to staying. I think there are challenges and rewards in any field of work but it’s all about finding the one that you are passionate about to find rewarding and willing to persevere in when things get tough.

What advice would you give to another woman looking to go into tech?

Never be the one to tell yourself no.

What do you love most about living in CapNY?My favorite part

The people. ecoLong wouldn’t exist today if not for the local communities that have supported us along our journey. If I’m not exploring a new hike around CapNY, you’ll probably find me getting Kurver ice cream.

CEO of Kitware, Inc.

Lisa, tell us about Kitware and your role in the company.

Kitware was founded in 1998 with an initial focus on scientific visualization (I am one of five founders of the company – the others are Will Schroeder, Ken Martin, Bill Hoffman, and Charles Law). Since then, we’ve grown to more than 230 employees across the US and France, and we’ve expanded into additional areas including artificial intelligence, computer vision, medical computing, and scientific computing. I served as Vice President, Commercial Operations until 2017 when I took over as CEO from Will Schroeder. As CEO, my role is to work collaboratively with all our technical and administrative team leads to ensure that we achieve our mission of advancing science and technology while also remaining a great place to work for all of our employees.

How did you end up in this field?

I went to school at SUNY Stony Brook (not far from where I grew up in Port Jefferson Station). I received my BS in computer science in 1989. Near the end of my undergraduate years, I became involved in a research group that worked in the area of scientific and medical visualization. I really enjoyed the process of taking raw data and turning it into images that accurately convey information and can lead to new discoveries. I continued at Stony Brook to complete my MS in 1990 and my PhD in 1994, specializing in volume visualization. I moved up to this area to work at the GE Research and Development Center in Niskayuna before leaving GE to work at Kitware.

I love working in computing – it requires a great mix of creativity and engineering. Throughout my career I’ve had a chance to work on a variety of impactful projects including surgical and treatment planning systems in the healthcare domain, and rendering, analysis and acceleration methods for volumetric data in a variety of scientific application areas.

What’s challenging about the work, especially from the lens of a woman working in technology?

Overall, the most challenging aspect of the work is the fact that you often don’t know precisely how you are going to solve the challenge when you first start the project. That’s also the thrilling part of it – you need to innovate to create something that doesn’t yet exist.

Women earn more than half of all doctorate degrees in this country, but when you focus in on computer science, that drops down to under 25% (source: NSF’s Survey of Earned Doctorates). That’s a serious problem because we need to view a challenge from all perspectives to develop the best solution. There’s no quick fix to this problem though – we have to start early, at the middle school and high school level, to attract young women into the field, and we need to make sure they feel welcome, comfortable and valued as they complete their education and pursue a career in computer science.

This field allows you to make the world a better place – something that women often cite as a primary motivating factor when selecting a career. It also generally offers great flexibility, making it possible to find a good balance between your career and your personal life. From the perspective of a woman in tech, I have to say it is a great career and I feel that I should be doing more to get that message out there to young women who are considering their future career options.

What advice would you give to another woman looking to go into tech?

First and foremost, you should pursue a career in something that you are passionate about, so that “work” is something you’ll enjoy doing. When evaluating tech careers, be sure to look beyond just the math / science / engineering knowledge you’ll need to acquire and also consider the ultimate impact you want to have with your career. A tech career is quite versatile – you could help build better wind turbines, detect cancer, or entertain the world. As you complete your education, look for whatever opportunities you can find to get involved in collaborative research projects to gain experience translating your technical knowledge into working solutions.

Part of the reason you love living in CapNY is the abundance of outdoor activities. Tell us more!

I love all the opportunities for outdoor activities in CapNY. I have been a distance runner since high school, and really enjoy the energy and sense of accomplishment from completing a road (and recently also trail) race. I’m not very fast, but that doesn’t matter because my primary goal is to just complete the race and have a good time. I am an introvert by nature, but there’s something about being part of a large group of people who are all crazy enough to get up really early in the morning in any sort of weather to run. I probably overdid it in 2021 (my closet is bulging with race t-shirts!), but there were just so many great races to run this year. One of my new favorites is a 14 or so mile trail race through Moreau State Park that is organized by Kitware’s CTO (and company co-founder) Bill Hoffman.

6 CapNY Gen Zs & Millennials in Manufacturing Careers

Manufacturing and technology have been driving CapNY’s economy for more than a century.

Backed by local Research & Development (R&D) centers at the Colleges of Nanoscale Science & Engineering at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, GE Global Research, Albany Medical Center and the Pharmaceutical Research Institute, local companies across CapNY are able to retain their competitive advantages in the global marketplace.

Within CapNY, key technology and manufacturing career opportunities have been growing at an enormous rate. So, we’ve decided to interview six professionals who work in manufacturing – in direct and support roles – from three local companies with global impact; to hear from them about why they got into their line of work, the distinct rewards and challenges of it, and how being a part of the CapNY community has impacted their growing careers. One thing these Gen Z & millennial pro’s all seemed to have in common…they are thrilled to be part of an industry that has completely taken off and they cannot wait to see how their careers grow with it. See for yourself…read the profiles of each individual below.

Job Title: Engineer, Factory Automation
Age: 22
Hometown: Albany, NY and her family is from Puerto Rico
Currently Lives In: Malta

As home to a dynamic convergence of innovation, R&D and manufacturing, CapNY has emerged as a major global hub for development, commercialization and production of advanced electronics and semiconductors. At GlobalFoundries, thousands of skilled professionals are developing and producing next generation technology here that power and connect our lives in the global marketplace. Learn more about this industry here.

Tiffany, please give us a little bit of background surrounding GlobalFoundries and your role.

GlobalFoundries® (GF®) is one of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers. GF chips are in laptops, cell phones, and even automobiles.

I started working at GF’s manufacturing site and headquarters in Malta, NY, about two and a half years ago as a Maintenance Technician and have worked my way up to my current role of Equipment Engineer in the Automation department by asking for the opportunity to help the engineers with projects.

On a normal day, I check in with the team on the floor to see if any vehicles are down (the little robots that deliver products from tool to tool), see what parts they may need, and ensure that regular preventative maintenance is being performed. I also work with vendors to make sure that parts are being kept in stock. In addition, there are continuous improvement projects, such as second sourcing materials for cost savings and things of that nature.

What do you enjoy most about your line of work?

When I first started, I would have said the coolest part was working with the robots. It was awesome to be able to fix them and see them travel around the ceiling. Now that I work directly with the tools, it’s very satisfying to see all the back-end processes that go into keeping the fab running.

I also really enjoy seeing the people on the team succeed. I was able to help one of my colleagues get into an electronic repair shop job with GF, and it’s something he’s really passionate about. It’s good to move up the ladder, but it’s also nice to bring others up with you…that’s what I try to do here.

Job Title: Wind Fleet Engineer, NA Fleet Reliability Operations
Age: 26
Hometown: McAllen, TX
Currently Lives In: Schenectady

Home to New York’s northern-most, year round seaport with critical rail connections, and located at the nexus of interstates 87 and 90 providing accessibility to multi-state supply chains, CapNY stands as a strategic offshore wind component manufacturing and staging location. New York ranks second for clean tech patents, first for wind patents and fifth for U.S. Department of Energy R&D funding. GE Renewable Energy is one of the companies making an impact in this space. Learn more about the industry here.

Shalani, how did you end up in this field/line of work? What do you find rewarding about it?

I work at GE Renewable Energy in Onshore Wind Digital Services for the Composites Team in Fleet Reliability Operations. In this role, I work on a team of engineers that supports the operating fleet of wind turbines in North America to develop solutions to potential issues, and address questions from sites to keep the turbines in operation and producing power. Day to day, we utilize our material expertise, blade design knowledge, site history, and experience to aid wind turbine sites in the evaluation of the health of their turbines to ensure they are generating clean power optimally and safely.

After studying mechanical and biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA I decided that I wanted to utilize my engineering background in an industry that was creating positive change and helping the planet. I previously interned at GE Aviation in college and knew that GE was a great place to work, and GE’s renewable sector offered a unique opportunity for a career related to my passion for the environment and conservation.

Two years later, the reward of working in a field that is supporting positive change is just as great. Every day we are faced with the challenging task of “keeping the lights on,” but working with a great team to support the operating fleet of turbines makes that challenge manageable.

What’s your favorite thing about living and working in CapNY?

The accessibility to nature. It’s an easy drive to the Adirondacks where you can hike or take a boat on the lake. I play in outdoor volleyball leagues and tournaments in the warmer months. I love the greenery of the region and try to be outside as much as I can.

Job Title: Commercial Leader, Offshore Wind
Age: 30
Hometown: Silver Spring, MD
Currently Lives In: Saratoga Springs

Mary, tell us a bit about yourself and how you ended up here.

I went to college out in the Midwest, and joined the Navy submarine force after graduating, so I’ve lived all over the place! This includes Charleston SC, Groton CT, Notre Dame IN, Washington DC, and Seattle WA. Currently I live in Saratoga Springs, NY with my husband and our dog and I absolutely love it.

I ended up here through sheer chance, if you can believe it! When I was getting out of the military, I was very concerned about starting a new job without fully understanding what I was signing up for (and not liking it). So I focused on finding a company that had a program designed for professional exploration in an industry I was excited about. GE Renewable Energy was the perfect fit, and I started back in September of 2019! I’ve had about 3 different roles before this current one, all in different parts of the onshore wind industry.

This current role I started back in May, and it’s on our brand-new US offshore wind team. The industry itself is very challenging since it’s so new: a lot of the elements we have to consider in constructing and servicing offshore wind turbines don’t have support/supply/operational networks yet! But the exciting side of that same coin is that we get to shape what that industry will look like for the coming decades. Making sound, realistic decisions and laying a solid foundation for a massive future industry is very daunting, but I can’t think of a better group of people to get the ball rolling.

What do you enjoy most about working for GE Renewable Energy?

Two things – Flexibility and veteran support. GE is incredibly supportive of a flexible work/office balance and in its employees trying new roles within the organization. Not only is remote work normal, but so is trying new jobs every few years or so. In fact, this is widely encouraged, as we always need new, fresh perspectives in our business! This was appealing to me because I know I’m a person that will want to try something new every few years, including international roles, and that is very much a possibility here!

Job Title: Account Development Leader
Age: 28
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Currently Lives In: Schenectady

Teresa, what’s your role at GE?

My current role is in wind turbine field service sales for customers who own/operate wind turbines in North America. My role is essentially to construct proposals for repair and upgrade services for wind turbine components and wind farm operations. To do this, I work closely with the customer to understand their priorities, then scope out the services needs including components, cranes, crews, and software. Then finally I work with my commercial team to provide strategic pricing and terms to give the customer the best value and optimize GE’s capabilities.

What’s challenging about the field you work in?

The main challenge is that the wind market is accelerating exponentially right now which is difficult to keep up with but rewarding to know we are part of something innovative and leading industry standards!

You’re a recent CapNY transplant, tell us about the move.

I relocated from San Diego to Schenectady in March of 2020 and needless to say was not met with the warmest welcome when I had to unpack my apartment during state lock-down. That said, the best personal benefit of the past year has all the nature I’ve been able to take advantage of – hiking, camping, skiing, kayaking – and road trips to small towns that I think I would have bypassed otherwise. The diverse and (relatively) long history in this area keeps things interesting everywhere I go.

Job Title: Production Supervisor
Age: 39
Hometown: Saratoga Springs, NY
Currently Lives In: Sacandaga Lake

Plug Power is the leading provider of clean hydrogen and zero-emission fuel cell solutions that are both cost-effective and reliable.

Nathan, what’s rewarding and challenging about your role?

We have a family mentality here at Plug Power. There’s always someone willing to help you out. They’ve helped my career grow. We work across department lines a bit, but we all work together for the purpose of streamlining our processes. I’ve been able to work my way up the ladder quickly here. I started working with Plug Power in a temporary position and now I’ve been here for four years.

It can be challenging to keep up with the ever growing production goals of this company. We’re looking to expand our company and continue to train our current staff to help grow the fuel cell industry.

What’s challenging about the field you work in?

The main challenge is that the wind market is accelerating exponentially right now which is difficult to keep up with but rewarding to know we are part of something innovative and leading industry standards!

You’re a recent CapNY transplant, tell us about the move.

I relocated from San Diego to Schenectady in March of 2020 and needless to say was not met with the warmest welcome when I had to unpack my apartment during state lock-down. That said, the best personal benefit of the past year has all the nature I’ve been able to take advantage of – hiking, camping, skiing, kayaking – and road trips to small towns that I think I would have bypassed otherwise. The diverse and (relatively) long history in this area keeps things interesting everywhere I go.

Job Title: Manager, Advanced Manufacturing Engineering
Age: 33
Hometown: Chester, NY
Currently Lives In: Latham

Diana, how’d you get into this field?

I grew up around horses and that’s what got me into manufacturing and engineering. We had all sorts of equipment on the farm and I always helped my dad. My brother and I were always out on four wheelers, building forts, and I realized that for a career I wanted to design and build things.

What drew you to Plug Power?

The opportunity for growth. The shift from carbon emissions and focus on the decarbonization of the world and the role Plug Power plays is pretty intriguing. When I interviewed here, they told me about the major growth they were going to experience. We are well positioned to be successful and expand. Plug is the future. We’ve found our direction and our executive team is full force about decarbonization and green hydrogen plants. We’re dominating the green energy market. We work in a fast paced and demanding environment, which is challenging but fun.

To learn more about the growing industries of CapNY, click here!

Gabby is a brand strategist, entrepreneur, real estate investor, matchmaker, & hypewoman. She is also the Lead Consultant on the CapNY Brand Initiative. She lives in Schenectady with her poodle Mochi and 60+ houseplants. Check out her website!

Arts on the Move: CapNY Creative Transplants

Updated: July 2025

The myth of Upstate New York being a place where art and culture is lacking is officially over.

In the last couple of years, not only have our own residents paved the way for arts to take the forefront, but the recent influx of urban creatives have helped the growth of arts communities.

Over the course of the last year Upstate New York has seen an uptick in relocations. According to the The Daily Gazette, Albany County alone has seen a near 2,000 increase in requests for relocation services from NYC transplants. The pandemic allowed for our urban neighbors to rethink their relationship to their surroundings and to community.

The end result being New Yorkers exploring those renewed relationships in Hudson, Saratoga, the Adirondacks, Albany, and Troy. Along with their rediscoveries they’ve brought their love for studio art, film, writing, and nature. Below, you’ll meet four creatives in our community who have a newfound love for CapNY.

Meet outrageously funny and quick-witted Brooklynite Sam Jones. Self described as someone who has always climbed through windows to open doors, Sam is a creative who has had to work from the ground up for her career. While she currently works as a Creative Director at Viacom, Sam has made a name for herself as a comedy writer and actor. Sam’s comedy is defined by cutting satire aimed on societal expectations of women; her first viral moment being spoof commercials for feminine products.

Desiring a change of pace after the pandemic, Sam has found a new home in Greene County. “When the pandemic hit our friends moved up here and we were like ‘How the f— are you going to live up here all winter long?!’ But then we kept visiting and we were like ‘Maybe they have the right idea, I like this life!’ After a while I had a vision to buy a quaint house that I can afford, that’s less than my f–ing rent and here I am and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.” Sam loves the connection to nature that Greene County provides. Lush and full of beautiful scenery, the Catskills offer an atmosphere unlike any other.

The CapNY Community

One thing that surprised Sam is the hub of creatives residing in CapNY. “It truly is surprising how many fellow creatives moved up here! Every week there’s a get-together at someone’s house. There are so many creatives who’ve moved to Colonie, Albany, Chatham. I was nervous, but there are all these creative people here to have conversations with. These conversations are creative and innovative.”

The slower pace of the Catskills also provides Sam, and other creative transplants, with a chance to connect to themselves. “We’re so disconnected in NYC. We don’t pay attention to nature. The pace is slower here, I think it lets us all take a pause. I think the pandemic forced us, especially me, to slow down and be like what is my purpose here? I love that I get to be more centered and quiet.” And it’s that very quiet that allowed Sam to think of her next evolution. While comedy will always be a natural talent and calling card, Sam has taken the time to expand on other genres of writing, including screenplays, a memoir, and eventually performance art. She wants to find a way to fund the funny in her new reality.

It’s for this reason she feels as if she was called here to engage in her next phase of life.
If you want to follow Sam’s journey, check out her website at https://www.therealsamjones.com/.

“In the constitution, the Adirondacks were declared to be forever wild. When I saw the Adirondacks at a young age I knew that I would have to make my way back here one day.” Enchanted with our forests due in part to his passionate expansive nature, Oscar Bográn has always had the heart of a creative.

Hailing from Honduras by way of Brooklyn, Oscar Bográn of Bográn Productions located in Schenectady. He is a sculptor, performance, conceptual and visual artist who has studied and taught at Tufts School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and has worked for the Schenectady City School District.

ust as Oscar knew that he was destined to be in this region, he’s always known that art was essential to his life. “I grew up in Bushwick in the ‘80s. I came in, didn’t speak English and I saw graffiti art for the very first time at seven years old.” He lived right next to a train and used to watch the older kids climb and spray the trains. This is when he knew he wanted to be an artist. Oscar has honed his skills to include multiple forms of art – writing, rapping, and studio art – his passion knowing no bounds.

An Artist Community in Schenectady

Partial winner of a Schenectady downtown grant, Oscar is now focused on bringing all forms of art to CapNY. “I was inspired by an artist based in Chicago who turned some abandoned houses and buildings into literal art installations. I thought to myself how great it would be if we had actual spaces artists in this area could use. So, I applied for grants for years and years and then after getting a mentor-supporter, received a $300,000 grant to create my own version of it.”

When complete, Oscar will run an art house site called Alchemy Urban Playground. It will host all artists but primarily Black and brown artists and entrepreneurs in the area. As creatives in this space we should always be looking for a diversity of perspective. Oscar is doing just that. You can keep an eye out for the Alchemy Urban Playground sometime next year.

Meet Gabe Ling, a Junior Narrative Designer at Vicarious Visions game development company. If you’re familiar with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series or Guitar Hero you’re familiar with their work. As a game writer, Gabe builds the narrative and dialogue for various games with a team of individuals. Though writing is a solo pursuit traditionally, Gabe enjoys the collaboration it requires, as well as the delicate balance writing for games needs.

“When you’re writing for the screen there’s a big emphasis on what is not said and what is left implied by the absence of dialogue. In games, you can’t have that, you have to load the dialogue with important information. Gamers typically skip through cutscenes and narrative content. So you have to find a way to pace out key information like character traits or quest lore in a way that is immediately clear and digestible for the player.” A difficult feat indeed, but an essential part of building story and gameplay.

A Stereotype Overturned

Coming to us from New Jersey by way of Seattle, Gabe didn’t know what to initially think about Troy. “I wasn’t really hyped to go back to the east coast if I’m being honest. I was looking on Glassdoor for my job and everyone was kind of dour about the area, talking about how Albany is barren and there’s nothing here. But now that I’ve been here for 9 months and I love the area. It’s full of life and people have much more personality here than given credit for. I’ve done some exploring since I’ve been vaccinated and I’m pleasantly surprised.” I could not have said it better! There is a rich tapestry of people here and CapNY doesn’t get enough shine.

For Gabe, his vehicle to finding community was Pride Month in CapNY. “There were so many pride events. I met so many of my friends and got to see more of the city. Something that really struck me about this area is that even though the queer presence here is small, everyone knows everyone. The atmosphere of the community here feels intimate and warm in that way. There is a lot of overlap in the queer and creative community.” The intimacy that smaller regions such as Albany, Schenectady and Troy provide is unmatched. Being in close proximity with one another can afford opportunities such as these to build stronger connections, as Gabe has found.

Ultimately for Gabe a move to CapNY has become a move for growth in his creative pursuits and a chance to reconnect with others in his community intentionally.

Coming to us from Brooklyn is Amy Hausmann, the new Director of the Olana State Historic Site. The Olana site is an earthwork created by 19th century artist Fredric Church that sits on a high point in Columbia County. The artist contoured the land over a period of 40 years to create a near cinematic experience of Columbia County, from which the Hudson River, the Catskill mountains, and the Taconic Range can be seen.

With over 20 years of curating experience specifically with the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and the New York Transit museum, Amy was a natural fit for Director. “I am a curator. My whole career has been in the arts. I’ve worked for non-profit organizations and eventually worked for NYS in the MTA Arts and Design which produces all the public art for the subway system. It was amazing to bring different music, graphic arts, and poetry into the everyday life of 8.5 million people.”

Like so many long distance commuters, Amy loved working in the city while being able to enjoy her second home in a rural area, but the commute wore on her. “It got a bit old. I really fell in love with all the green here. I loved being up in the mountains and being around the trees, and the river, and the open sky. Every morning I would drive with my husband across the Rip Van Winkle bridge and I would see Olana glittering on the hill as I was getting ready to get on the train for work. I would say to myself, ‘Gosh I really would love to find something to be up here full time.’” That she did! NYS Parks had an opening at the Olana site and the rest was history.

Abundant with Arts & Culture

One thing Amy would like the world to know is that this region is abundant with arts and culture. “I like to think of the idea that this region is full of art, culture, and really rich history. We’re all working together, symbiotically, to encourage people to be here and participate in all that this region has to offer. Olana is a great part of this as well as so many small and bigger businesses, great art institutions, cultural institutions, and artists who help to make a gorgeous mosaic that always existed in the city, live here as well.”

If you’d like to learn more about the Olana Historic site and meet Amy, check out the website and book a tour! You can learn more about visiting Olana with kids here!

capny Creatives transplants

Category: Diversity & Inclusion

CapNY Changemakers: Deshanna Wiggins, CEO of the Albany Black Chamber of Commerce

CapNY Changemakers: Introducing J’Vanay Santos

Celebrating Pride Month in CapNY: 3 Leaders Who Make it Happen

Juneteenth in CapNY: 4 Changemakers Paving the Way

Thriving in CapNY: Women in Digital Gaming

An Industry BOOMING

Millie Harris, Technical and VFX Artist at Aestronauts and RPI student

Kathryn Ruiz, Founder, Lead Artist, Designer, Director and Producer of Eco Resilience Games and RPI Associate Professor

Steph Relyea, Producer, Blizzard Entertainment

Adrienne Lange, 3D Character Artist, Blizzard Entertainment

Muse en Lystrala, Executive Director/Lead Composer Queenship Game Studio

Making an Impact: 3 Black Entrepreneurs in CapNY

4 Millennial Changemakers in CapNY Housing

4 CapNY Women Leaders in Technology

6 CapNY Gen Zs & Millennials in Manufacturing Careers

Arts on the Move: CapNY Creative Transplants

The CapNY Community

An Artist Community in Schenectady

A Stereotype Overturned

Abundant with Arts & Culture

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