Justine Phoenix is Head of Diversity Project North America and Vice President of Distribution & Broker Dealer Engagement at Nicsa. Justine joined Nicsa with over 30 years of experience in asset management and intermediary distribution in the areas of relationship and client management, business development and operations. In her current role, Justine is responsible for building and enhancing Nicsa programs that engage and support distribution and BD executives. Before joining Nicsa, she was Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager at Fidelity Investments. In this role, she was head of relationship management for Fidelity FundsNetwork® and was responsible for overseeing all functions related to managing relationships with over 600 asset managers. Prior to joining Fidelity Investments, Justine was Director of Operations for the Investment Company Institute (ICI). In her role, she was responsible for all activities associated with mutual fund operations and distribution, including the Transfer Agent Advisory Committee and the Broker Dealer Advisory Committee. She also held leadership roles at Massachusetts Financial Services and Boston Financial Data Services prior to joining the ICI.

EY, Partner, Wealth & Asset Management Consulting

Co-Chair NICSA Diversity Project

Cassie is a Senior Manager in EY's Wealth and Asset Management Consulting practice, where she works with leading global asset management firms on large-scale transformation initiatives aimed at navigating an evolving industry landscape. She helps asset managers enact strategic and sustainable change through harnessing the power of innovation to improve alpha generation and advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Prior to joining EY, Cassie worked in fixed income investment management and private equity. She has experience in social entrepreneurship and finding creative ways to expand social impact within traditional finance.

Cassie holds a BSc in Business Administration from Northeastern University with special focus on Finance and Entrepreneurship and is also currently serving as co-chair of the Nicsa Diversity Project North America Benchmarking Committee.

Erica Doray Seremeta, CIMA®, (She/Her) is the Global Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Client Engagement within Human Resources. She is responsible for developing and driving BlackRock’s DEI client engagement strategy and alignment globally, ensuring that we are proactive in responding to clients' needs.

In her role, Erica amplifies BlackRock's DEI strategy to clients, including directly engaging with key contacts and training client-facing professionals on best practices in DEI engagement. Erica works across all distribution channels, including both institutional and retail clients. She partners with relationship managers engaging clients such as Pensions, Foundations, Endowments, Retirement Organizations, Corporations and Non-Profits. She also works with the Global DEI Executive Committee, DEI Business Leads, Ambassadors, Human Resources leaders.

Previously, Ms. Seremeta was a Relationship Manager within the Aladdin Product Group's Client and Sales Solutions team, where she was responsible for driving the unification strategy and adoption of enablement technology in partnership with the Client Experience Platform for BlackRock's Institutional Client Business. 

Ms. Seremeta's service with the firm dates to 1998, including her years with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM), which merged with BlackRock in 2006. In 2008, she formed BlackRock's Advisor Services Group, which handles financial professional inquiries and supports BlackRock’s Wealth Sales Teams. Her previous roles at MLIM include Regional Sales Desk Manager, Sales Associate and Syndicate Equity Coordinator. Ms. Seremeta began her career in Defined Assets Funds at Merrill Lynch as a Hybrid Market Leader. 

Ms. Seremeta earned a BBA degree in finance and an MBA degree in finance from Rider University in 1998 and 2003, respectively. She is also a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA), FINRA Series 24 and holds a DEI certification from Cornell University. Ms. Seremeta is an active board member for IDAC: Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Council and an Investment Company Institute DEI Committee member. She has been a featured speaker and panelist at numerous external events along with serving as a keynote speaker for BlackRock’s LGBTQ+ client program.