June: LGBTQIA+ Pride Month
In honor of Pride month, this June ABNY is spotlighting Young Professionals supporting and advocating for LGBTQIA+ communities in New York. Congratulations to our June Spotlights, Tyler Sadonis and Ronnie White!
Tyler Sadonis (He/Him/His)
My mom and my grandmother. My mom is a single mom who raised three kids while working in the male-dominated computer programming industry. My grandmother is 96 years old and played a big part in helping raise me when my father passed away.
Helping elect Congressman Andy Kim in 2018. His race was seen as a long shot–he had no name recognition, no personal wealth, no prior experience in politics and he was running in a Trump +6 district against one of the wealthiest members of Congress. The race wasn’t called until a week after Election Day and we won by less than 4,000 votes!
In job interviews always ask about office culture, what the team does for fun, and how the organization can help your professional development. Being around good people makes a huge difference when the going gets tough.
I grew up in Syracuse, New Yorker so I’ve always been some type of New Yorker. Learning to navigate traffic and pedestrians on a Citi Bike is an art I’m still perfecting but the learning process makes me feel like an initiation from upstate New Yorker to New Yorker.
Ronnie White
I am where I am today due to the wonderful loving support of my parents and friends. Professionally, I was able to hone my skills and gain insight by first developing relationships within the corporate world, and later working with small business owners and individuals. I synthesized elements from these worlds to create a unique regional multidisciplinary fiduciary advisory practice, creating and adding depth, scope of worth, and value to maximize investors’/stakeholders’ desired outcomes.
Lacking the luxury of having mentors, I relied on my vision for how to make my experience and service available to everyone. I am so proud of the evolution of my practice to be at the forefront of diversity and inclusion, while being a lens which reflects the future diverse solutions required for the modern family and succession planning of the 21st century.
Have passion and drive. Be engaged, sincere, enterprising, innovative, and entrepreneurial. Be inclusive and embrace diversity. If you are not fortunate to have mentors, become a mentor and be a positive force for good for your community. Keep growing and learning. Respect, kindness, and empathy go far. Embrace leadership. Embrace change and technology. Don’t be afraid to be different. Ask for help. Give back.
Bring featured in the June Pride edition of ABNY YP Spotlights of the Month!