Keynote Speakers

Eliot Spitzer was born and raised in New York. He graduated from the Horace Mann School, Princeton University, and Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. After clerking for Federal District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet, Spitzer practiced at Paul, Weiss and then joined the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. While there he rose to serve as chief of the labor racketeering unit and he successfully prosecuted some of the most senior members of the Gambino organized crime family.

After several years in private practice, in 1998 he was elected Attorney General of New York and was re-elected in 2002. His prosecutions in the areas of financial fraud, environmental protection and civil rights set a new standard for law enforcement, and in 2002 Time Magazine named him "Crusader of the Year." 60 Minutes dubbed him the "Sheriff of Wall Street," and the Financial Times named him "Man of the Year."

He was elected Governor of New York in 2006, and subsequent to his resignation from that position in 2008, he has served as an anchor on CNN's prime time show "In the Arena," served as a professor at CCNY, written articles bi-weekly for Slate Magazine, and participated in running a family business. He has appeared with regularity on the leading TV and radio shows which focus on politics and economics and has lectured at leading universities both in the United States and abroad. At present Spitzer hosts "Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer" nightly on Current TV and appears weekly on NY 1’s "Wise Guys."

Pearl M. Kamer is Chief Economist of the Long Island Association, Long Island’s largest business and civic organization, where she monitors and analyzes national, regional and local business trends. Dr. Kamer received her Ph.D. and M.B.A. degrees from New York University and her undergraduate degree from Queens College where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Dr. Kamer serves on the Board of Economic Advisors to the Ways and Means Committee of the New York State Assembly. She is Chair of the Farmingdale State College Council. Dr. Kamer also serves on the Board of Directors of the Community Development Corporation of Long Island and the Broadhollow Bioscience Park at Farmingdale State College.

Dr. Kamer has taught at Hofstra, Adelphi, Stony Brook, New York University and Queens College. She is the author of two books: Crisis in Urban Public Finance and The U.S. Economy in Crisis: Adjusting to the New Realities.

Thomas H. Mattox is Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

The Department’s core mission is to efficiently collect tax revenues in support of state services while acting with integrity and fairness in the administration of the tax laws of New York State. Balancing efforts to promote voluntary compliance—the cornerstone of the state’s system of taxation—with the duty to enforce New York’s tax laws is a focal point of the department’s management strategy. The Department administers more than 40 state and local taxes and fees which require the annual processing of 24 million tax returns and the collection and accounting of $90 billion in annual state and local revenue; other responsibilities include the state’s treasury function. The Department’s workforce of 5,400 employees is based in Albany and district offices across the state, and its annual budget is $485 million.

Mr. Mattox previously worked at Goldman Sachs & Co., where he served as a Managing Director and Global Head of Operation Risk Management, and Chief of Staff in the Controllers, and Finance and Resources Divisions.

Before joining Goldman Sachs & Co., Mr. Mattox was Senior Vice President at Chase Manhattan Bank where he led merger integration and business development initiatives in the Management Consulting Center and the Capital Market Fiduciary Services. He also served as a consultant at Monitor Company.

He is a graduate of Harvard University, and holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Mark Whitacre is an Ivy League Ph.D and is best known for being the highest-ranked executive of a Fortune 500 company to ever become a whistleblower in US history. He was the FBI informant of the historic ADM case and wore a wire everyday for almost three years. However, he was charged for a white-collar crime involving fraud that occurred during his tenure as President of the Fortune 500 company's BioProducts Division. Whitacre served over eight and half years in federal prison. His undercover work with the FBI during the ADM scandal was the inspiration for the major motion picture, "The Informant," starring Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre. The recent Christian book, "Mark Whitacre Against all Odds," describes the rest of the story about how faith has molded Mark's life since the ADM scandal.

As Douglas Burris, Chief of U.S. Federal Probation in the Eastern District of Missouri has stated publicly, "The story about Mark Whitacre's redemption and second chance is one of the most inspirational stories of our time." Today, the FBI agents, whom were involved with Mark's case, tout Whitacre publicly as a "national hero" for his substantial assistance with one of the most important white-collar cases in history. And four FBI agents -along with a former federal prosecutor involved with Mark's case- are lobbying for a Presidential Pardon for Mark.

In light of staggering divorce rates of 99% for inmates serving over five years in prison, it is indeed a rare occurrence to have a family survive and remain intact during such an ordeal. The Whitacre family not only survived but thrived. For example, his wife (his high-school sweetheart) and children moved to each location that Mark was located and they visited him every weekend. Their commitment to each other and their solid foundational faith are the bed-rock of this amazing overcoming journey. Mark Whitacre was released from prison in the Christmas season of December, 2006 after almost nine years of incarceration. Like his model years during incarceration, Mark has set the standard on how one should lead his or her life after prison. His case of redemption has been nothing less than remarkable, and he has certainly made the most of his second chance.

Mark currently holds the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Science Officer at Fresno biotechnology company, Cypress Systems, Inc. He is also an active part of JPW3 Prison Outreach Ministries.