Larry Scott Blackmon
Bio:
Larry Scott Blackmon is the C.E.O. of the Blackmon Organization, a public affairs, government solutions focused, lobbying, and consulting firm. Larry previously served as Vice President for Public Affairs at FreshDirect, transforming FreshDirect’s community and charitable partnerships. Larry’s plan focused to impact a variety of issues including fighting hunger, nutrition education and career development.
Larry has 20 years of public service, community development and government experience. He joined FreshDirect from the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation where he served as the Deputy Commissioner for Community Outreach.
Larry is a former candidate for New York City Council and has worked with a number of New York City's elected officials, serving in the administrations of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Additionally, Blackmon has worked with many federal and state representatives, serving on the staffs of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during her Senate campaign.
Larry served as Senior Manager of Public Affairs for the New York Jets of the National Football league where he was instrumental in developing a landmark M/WBE agreement for the New York Sports and Convention Center (NYSCC). While the NYSCC was not developed, the M/WBE agreement served as a blueprint for many other development projects.
Larry earned a B.A. in Communications and Black Studies from the State University of New York College at New Paltz. He holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Metropolitan College of New York is a graduate of the John F. Kennedy School’s Executive Leadership program at Harvard University.
Larry is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certificate program, and is an alum of the Coro Leadership New York program. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, the first Black Greek Letter Organization established in the United States, and currently serves as President of its statewide organization, the New York Association of Chapters of Alpha. For the years 2021 – 2023 Larry served as the Fraternity’s “Alumni Brother of the Year.” He is the Chair of the Board for the Better Business Bureau of New York, and is on the Board of 100 Black Men of New York.
Larry is the immediate past president of the New York Association of Parliamentarians, an organization dedicated to the teaching of Parliamentary Procedure and Robert’s Rules of Order. For the years 2016 - 2024, Larry was recognized as one of the 50 most powerful community leaders in the Bronx, on the MWBE Power 100 List, and is named as one of the “Black Power 100” in the Network Journal, City and State, and Schnepps Media publications. A prostate cancer survivor, Larry is a prostate cancer screening advocate, having been features by the National Football League in its 2023 “Crucial Catch” campaign. Larry served as a substitute professor for former New York City Mayor David Dinkins and taught classes at the Mayor’s Public Affairs course at Columbia University. A former professor at Metropolitan College of New York, Larry taught Intergovernmental Relations, Non-Profit Management and Marketing, collaborative leadership and Introduction to Public Administration classes.
Patrick O’Halloran
Workshop Description:
This workshop will provide an overview of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and its applications to public speaking. More specifically, the presenter will teach workshop attendees CBT techniques they can use to manage and alleviate speech anxiety.
Bio:
Patrick O'Halloran is a school psychologist who has worked in several NJ public school districts for 30 years. He is also an adjunct professor of psychology at Seton Hall University. Patrick earned a BA degree from Moravian University. He also earned two M.A. degrees, an Ed. S. degree, and a doctorate from Seton Hall. Patrick has also been a conference presenter for the New Jersey Educational Association, the New Jersey Association of School Psychologists, and the National Association of School Psychologists.
Patrick is also a proud member of Toastmasters of Westfield. Over the course of his sixteen years with the club, he earned the Advanced Communicator Gold Award and Advanced Leader Silver Award. Patrick has also served the club as VP Education and VP Membership. He has also competed in several speech and evaluation contests at the club, area, and district levels.