Our Board
GallopNYC is led by a Board of Directors dedicated to our mission. Our talented Board of Directors are professionals with accomplishments in business, government, professional services, and philanthropy.
Interested in joining our leadership?
Sol Reischer
Board Chairman, Executive Committee Member
Retired Option Specialist on the American Stock Exchange. Chairman of the Specialist Association from 1995 – 2002. Parent of a daughter with Cerebral Palsy who started Therapeutic Horseback Riding at 3 1/2 years old and today trots, canters and jumps on her own at Brown University on its equestrian team.
Board Member Since 2014.
Alicia Kershaw
Vice Board Chair, Founder, Executive Committee Member
Founder and former Executive Director of GallopNYC. Certified PATH Intl. instructor. Retired attorney. Life-long rider. Auxiliary Mounted NYC Parks Enforcement Patrol Officer.
Board Member Since 2018. Founded GallopNYC.
Gavin Case
Treasurer, Executive Committee Member
Director, Global OTC Regulatory Compliance, Macquarie Group, New York. Bachelor Business – Banking & Finance, Master Applied Finance, CPA. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, has lived and worked in Japan (6 years) and resided in the US since 2005. Gavin has a sibling with a disability, is married with two children (9 and 11) and is an animal lover with some farm experience.
Board Member Since 2017.
Esada Qazi
Secretary, Executive Committee Member
Esada Qazi is an SVP at Bank of America specializing in Cloud strategy, execution, and financials. Before performing the role of Portfolio Manager at Bofa, Esada worked at JPMorgan in Corporate Finance and AM Technology. Prior to JP, she worked with Alliance Bernstein in various roles. As a born and bred Brooklyn-er, she is passionate about bringing resources to communities in need.
Board Member Since 2019.
Audrey Abbott
Board Member
Retired NY Stock Exchange Specialist. Life-long rider. Horse owner. Long-term GallopNYC volunteer.
Board Member Since 2012.
Amanda Barshall-Cain
Board Member
Board Member Since 2020.
Damyn Kelly
Board Member
Damyn Kelly, J.D., PhD
President and CEO of Lutheran Social Services of NY.
PhD, Adelphi University. JD, Antioch School of Law.
Experienced and successful non profit leader, and thought leader. Parent of two girls, including an equestrian.
Board Member Since 2020.
Heather Aspegren
Board Member
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Director, Digital Risk Solutions.
15 years experience with internal audit, controls design and supporting risk management practices through the assessment of design of analytics, controls and financial processes, data governance strategy, software selection and implementation strategies. Only child of a very dedicated special ed teacher in small town Kansas, and former equestrian.
Board Member Since 2020.
Anne Marie Chance
Board Member
Professor at City Tech of the City University of New York. Construction Manager. Outreach Chair at AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction, urban resilience researcher. Founder of Supper Club 80.
Board Member Since 2016.
Anna Laptook Goldman
Board Member
Anna Goldman was elected to the Board. She is a Director, Global Cobrand Business Development, at American Express. Anna was on the Vanderbilt equestrian team and brings marketing and fundraising experience to our Board.
Board Member Since 2019.
Paul Hinton
Board Member
Principal, The Brattle Group. Parent of Sam, a GallopNYC student. Testifying expert in finance and economics; recent testimony in white collar jury trial for DOJ. Graduate of Oxford (engineering, 1988) and Harvard (public policy 1994). Lives in Brooklyn with wife Andrea Phillips and three sons. Father of Sam, GallopNYC hippotherapy rider.
Board Member Since 2017.
Constance Hunter
Board Member
Chief Economist of KPMG LLP. BA in Economics and Sociology from New York University and Master’s of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Avid equestrian.
Board Member Since 2016.
Carlos Lamadrid
Board Member
Carlos Lamadrid is the President and Founder of HLC Partners, a consulting firm that provides strategic and tactical advice to a wide variety of companies on branding, team building and change management. Carlos has worked in the media and marketing industry for over 25 years, much of that time at Condé Nast.
Married for over 25 years and a father of two grown children, Carlos has also been a lifelong horseman. Although riding mostly for enjoyment now, he started riding at about 8 years old, competing first in Children’s Hunters, then Jr. Working Hunters, and moving on to Jumpers and Dressage. Carlos believes horses help people connect to themselves in an unspoken language that is good for the soul.
Board Member Since 2019.
Julie Napolitano
Board Member
Cross Asset Solutions Strategist, Bunge. Accomplished self-starter in finance and risk management with B.S. from Columbia University, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and MBA from Cornell University, Johnson School. Parent of a child with apraxia who has benefitted from hippotherapy since age 2 and of another young rider.
Board Member Since 2017.
Jagdish Singh
Board Member
Jagdish is a Director at Citi Group. Seasoned executive in a global financial institution, with experience in developing strategy and execution in the areas of business management and business process re-design across various industries. Strong interest in serving those in need and is involved in volunteer activities in local community and with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross, Junior Achievement of New Jersey, NJ Chapter of PMI, etc.
Board Member Since 2019.
Lori Silverstein
Board Member
Self Employed-Conference and Event Consultant with extensive global event and conference development, management and execution, including expertise in non-profit gala and fundraising events.
Board Member Since 2019.
Lucie Claire Vincent
Board Member
Managing Director of the Andean Cluster at Philip Morris International. Prior she worked at Colgate-Palmolive internationally. She is a consumer goods global leader who has lived and worked in Asia, Latin America, North America, and the Caribbean. Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Marketing from Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Executive Education Business Program at Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Digital Marketing Certificate from Cornell University. Passionate about supporting people with disabilities and animal lover.
Board Member Since 2018.
John G. Genova
Board Member
Board Member Since 2020.
James Wilson
Executive Director, Non-Voting
James found GallopNYC as a volunteer in October 2010, and joined our staff full-time as of January 2014, in the newly created position of Director of Operations. James has an extensive background in retail; both buying and planning, full-line department store and off-price. His love of horses goes back to his hometown in Texas, where his father taught him to ride and rope. James holds a Bachelor of Science, Agribusiness and a Master of Science, Marketing from Texas A&M. He is a PATH Intl. Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor, a Irwin Insights Horse Trainer, a CHA Certified Equine Facility Director, and an Equine Experiential Education Level 1 Certified Trainer. James enjoys photography in his spare time.