Our Team
Aneesa Waheed and Muntasim Shoaib
Waheed, a native of India and Schenectady, New York, and Shoaib, a native of Pakistan, opened Tara Kitchen in Schenectady in 2012. Since then, the couple has open an additional location in Troy, created a line of sauces carried in grocery stores across the country, and our currently working on expansion plans for a location in Guilderland and a Moroccan spa in Schenectady.
Emily Lang
Emily Lang is marketing and communication professional with almost a decade of experience working with non-profits and small businesses including the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, the Clark Art Institute, Proctors Theatre, and the Ohio History Connection.
Lawrence Curran
Larry Curran has over 30 years of corporate accounting and finance, operations and project management experience working for small to large engineering businesses in management positions. He has worked with small business owners providing accounting, bookkeeping, income tax, payroll services and consulting using Quickbooks. Curran is a Certified Pro Advisor. In his free time, Curran is a volunteer at United Way and SCORE and treasurer at both Habitat for Humanity Schenectady and the Animal Protective Foundation.
Kat Koppett
Kat Koppett is the founder of Koppett, an organizational development company specializing in blending organizational development tools and principles with improvisation and storytelling techniques to enhance individual and group performance. She holds a BFA from NYU, and an MA in Organizational Psychology from Columbia. Her book Training to Imagine is considered a seminal work in the field of Applied Improv and is used by professionals around the world. Koppett is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, and the co-director of The Mopco Improv Theatre. She has designed and delivered programs for a diverse roster of organizations including the Clinton Global Initiative, Apple, Facebook, Prezi, St. Peters’ Hospital, RPI, Skidmore, Oracle, Havas Health & You, Chanel, AAA, JPMorgan Chase, Merck, NASA, and GE.
Jim Salengo
Jim Salengo has served as executive director of the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation (DSIC) since 2008. The nonprofit organization enhances the visual appeal of Downtown Schenectady, NY, through daily sidewalk cleaning & maintenance, seasonal plantings & decorations, and other special projects. The DSIC also manages a comprehensive print, online, and email communications program to increase public awareness and patronage of Downtown Schenectady.
Prior to the DSIC, Salengo held senior management positions at the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District and WMHT Public Television & Radio. He is an active community volunteer and has received several regional honors, including two Mark of Excellence Awards from the American Marketing Association and the Albany Business Review’s 40 Under 40 Award.
Nicole Stein
With more than 25 years’ experience in marketing and communications, Nicole Stein currently serves as Senior Vice President of Marketing at SEFCU, where she oversees branding, advertising, social media, and member communications. Stein also co-chairs the credit union’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. In her career, she has worked in various industries, crossing both the for-profit and non-profit worlds. A past president of the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, she currently serves as Treasurer of the YWCA-Greater Capital Region and sits on the Advisory Council for the local American Cancer Society.
Neha Akkaya
Neha Akkaya is a business coach and consultant with over 20 years of experience. She earned a MBA specializing in marketing and entrepreneurship and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. She has worked at several firms and industries, serving as Vice President at an engineering and consulting firm, Product and Operations Manager at FactSet Research Systems, Product Specialist at Cisco Systems, and Assistant Cell Leader at Pratt & Whitney. She is also the founder of several Capital Region businesses including Evolve Business Consulting and Capital District Kids . In her spare time, Akkaya is working on a soap company.
