Denise Keehan-Smith
Board ChairPERSON
Denise Keehan-Smith is the former Chairwoman of Queens Community Board 2, the Queens CB2 Transportation Committee, and a Queens Democratic Party District Leader. Denise also has experience as the former President of Big Six Towers, a Mitchell-Lama cooperative housing company that is home to almost 1,000 families in Woodside, Queens. Denise brings to the position more than 20 years leadership experience in the travel-technology industry.
Tom Mituzas
vice president, MCR; Queens Community Board 2 member and Blissville Resident
A veteran of the NYC hospitality industry, Tom has held leadership roles in human resources, labor relations and hotel operations over the last 40 years for such companies as ITT Sheraton, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International and MCR, the nation’s 3rd largest hotel owner-operator.
Tom served as a long-time member of the negotiating committee for the Hotel Association of New York and as a Trustee for the New York Hotel Trades Council & Hotel Association of New York City Inc Employee Benefit Funds. Tom received his BA in Psychology from Hunter College, CUNY, and an MS in Counseling & Human Resource Development from Bridgeport University.
Tom is a lifelong resident of the hamlet of Blissville in Long Island City, Queens nestled between Newtown Creek and its Dutch Kills Tributary. He is an active member of the community, serving as a member of Community Board 2 of Queens, volunteers as the Secretary to the Blissville Civic Association and is a Member of the Board of Directors for the Newtown Creek Alliance, a community-based organization dedicated to restoring, revealing and revitalizing Newtown Creek.
Elie Gamburg
KPF Architects
Elie Gamburg is a Design Director at Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), who has led award-winning urban design, education, office and residential projects both in NY, across the US, and internationally. Mr. Gamburg graduated with an M. Arch II from Harvard GSD where he was valedictorian of the graduating class. He received his B. Arch from Cornell University, graduating with honors. He has taught at Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Tongji University, and has lectured or guest critiqued at those schools and Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Cooper Union, Pratt, Hong Kong University, Syracuse and Parsons.
Ben Guttmann
owner, Digital Natives Group; long island city resident
Ben Guttmann is co-founder and partner at Digital Natives Group, an award-winning, Long Island City-based digital marketing agency. Digital Natives' works include a diverse and celebrated portfolio of projects for major brands including I Love NY, the NFL, Comcast NBCUniversal, the Empire State Building, Hachette Book Group, and others. Ben is an active member of New York's business, technology, and civic community including roles on the boards of the LIC Partnership, Queens Community Board 2, Queens Economic Development Corporation, the Queens Borough President’s Western Queens Tech Council, and ExpandED Schools. Ben graduated from Baruch College, where he now also teaches digital marketing as an adjunct professor.
Chris Oehl
Businessman and Fitness Expert; Middle Village resident
Chris has been working in the Fitness Industry for the past 23 years. Among other titles and roles, for several years the General Manager The Spirts Club /LA on the Upper East Side, which at the time was the Largest and most luxurious health club in the entire city. He lives and works in Middle Village, where he was born and raised and where he currently owns and operates CrossFit Middle Village and The CircHIIT, a highly popular functional fitness facility at 69-12 Metropolitan Avenue.
Raj Rampershad
Senior Project Manager, Gerald J. CaliendO RA
Bio coming soon…
Josh Steinberg
technology professional; north brooklyn resident
Josh Steinberg is a Brooklyn-based transportation activist. In his professional life, he's an experienced operator in software go-to-market and Partnerships, most recently having led the Services Partnerships team at Airtable. Prior to that, Josh worked for 9 years at Google and 2 years at McKinsey, where he led Smart Cities initiatives within the Transportation & Logistics practice. Josh is also the Manager of a Diagram Collective, and early-stage software investment fund. As a volunteer, Josh has contributed greatly to several key initiatives for Friends of the QNS over the last year, including the greenway report in partnership with Transportation Alternatives, meetings with Amazon and the MTA, and managing our social media and online presence.
Philippa Karteron
Galleria Noire; St. Albans resident
Philippa Lee Karteron, a current Board Member of the JFK Chamber of Commerce, is the President and CEO of Galleria Noire, a full service Art, Marketing, and Planning Company. Karteron is the former Executive Director of the Council for Airport Opportunity. She is also a former Executive Administrator for the City of New York. Philippa is one of three founders of the CUNY Aviation Institute at York College; a founding Board Member of the JFK Airport KidsPort and the Coordinator of the 50/50 Anniversary of the JFK Airport; celebrating the renaming of the world-class airport after John F. Kennedy. Karteron received a citation from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for her historic work supporting the Airtrain. In 2018, Karteron was appointed to the JFK Redevelopment Project Advisory Council, and represents the JFK Chamber of Commerce as it’s Political/Inter-Governmental liaison. She is also a member of JFK Rotary and Gateway JFK.
Mike McGuire
Mason Tenders’ District Council
Bio coming soon…
Tom Powell
Business development & executive management, Boyce Technologies
Tom is a Business Development Executive at Boyce Technologies, a leading company in manufacturing processes to engineer innovative, reliable, and accessible transit safety solutions. Tom has more than 35 years experience in the electronics, communications and medical industries. He is a patent holder, published writer, public speaker and recognized industry leader. As a specialist in transportation technology and infrastructure, he is based in New York City, and has worked across North America, Europe and the Middle East. Tom holds degrees in Computer Science and Engineering.
Dominic Valdner
Laborers’ Local 731, LIUNA — Board Treasurer
Walter Sanchez
Publisher Queens Ledger; Queens Community Board 5 member
Since 1986 Walter has been the publisher of the Queens Ledger/Brooklyn Star News Group, which operates a few dozen hyper-local news web sites and nine weekly community, print newspapers. He also publishes Queensborough Magazine, the monthly magazine of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. Sanchez is quite active in volunteer work in the community. Sanchez is president of Board at Variety Boys & Girls Club of Astoria, and is a board member of The Rufus King Manor Museum, Joseph Addabbo Family Health Centers, Greenpoint YMCA and Queens Boy Scouts. Sanchez is a trustee of Catholic Charities of Brooklyn/Queens and is vice chairman of Queens Community Board #5. A lifelong resident of Maspeth, Queens, Sanchez lives with his wife Tammy and three children; John, Caitlyn and Thomas.