Honorees

Dr. Sherly Abraham is the Associate Chief Medical Officer and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at The Brooklyn Hospital Center (TBHC). She serves as the Medical Director of all ambulatory care centers at TBHC as well as the Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program at TBHC. She holds the academic rank of Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Having earned her medical degree from the Universidad Tecnologica de Santiago (UTESA) in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Dr. Abraham completed her residency training in Family Medicine at The Brooklyn Hospital Center. She also completed a fellowship at the National Institute of Program Director Development.

Dr. Abraham has published in high-impact PubMed-indexed medical journals. She received the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation Pfizer award for the “Most Improved Immunizations in Children and Senior Immunization 2011-2015.” She has also received awards for excellence as a teaching faculty. Dr. Abraham is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the National Institute for Program Director Development.

She also supports an orphanage mission, Miqueas, in Honduras and a ministry for widows, lepers, and HIV-infected patients along with Voice of Gospel Ministries, a nonprofit organization based in India.

Maria Fiorini Ramirez is President & Chief Executive Officer of Maria Fiorini Ramirez, Inc. (MFR) an independent global economic and financial consulting firm formed in August 1992. Mrs. Ramirez and her colleagues are highly rated for their consistently accurate, unbiased analysis of economic trends and other issues that affect markets and investment decisions.

Maria began her career in 1967 with Meinhard Commercial a subsidiary of CIT. In 1968, she joined American Express International Banking Corporation and learned various aspects of banking while earning a BA in Business Administration/Economics from Pace University. In 1973, she spent one year as a credit analyst at Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in New York. In 1974, she joined Merrill Lynch where, during her 10-year tenure, she was appointed First Vice President and Senior Money Market Economist. Mrs. Ramirez became a Senior Vice President and Senior Money Market Economist at Becker Paribas in 1984 when the firm was acquired by Merrill Lynch. From 1984 to 1990 (when the firm dissolved) she served as Managing Director and Money Market Economist for Drexel Burnham Lambert.

In March 1990, she founded Maria Ramirez Capital Consultants, Inc., a subsidiary of John Hancock Freedom Securities. As President and Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Ramirez created an economic consulting business and was responsible for the management of the firm’s global fixed income funds. In 1992, Mrs. Ramirez established Maria Fiorini Ramirez, Inc., which also serves as the holding company for MFR Securities, an institutional brokerage firm specializing in taxable and municipal securities, with offices in New York, Miami and San Francisco.

Mrs. Ramirez has been a frequent speaker at U.S. and international forums and a regular guest on a variety of media outlets, such as CNBC, CNN, ABC, Fox News, Bloomberg Financial News, PBS, CBS, and TV Tokyo.

Peggy Smyth joined QIC in 2021 as U.S. Senior Advisor, Global Infrastructure, based in New York, and Chair of the CenTrio Board of Directors. She became a Partner in 2022. Peggy leads QIC’s North American infrastructure investment team on investment strategy and asset management.

Peggy brings deep experience in decarbonization and sustainability as well as extensive leadership experience in guiding transformations resulting in increased productivity, engagement and performance across the energy, manufacturing, telecommunications and professional service sectors. She is the former Chief Financial Officer of National Grid U.S. – one of the world’s largest publicly owned energy companies – and is an Independent Director of Etsy (digital marketplace), Frontier Communications (digital), Lilium (electric mobility) and Remitly (fintech for immigrants).

As a noted authority on the role of finance executives in driving ESG, she was recently recognized by the Energy Inclusion Conference as one of the “100 Most Influential Women in Energy” and by GreenBiz News as one of its “20 C-Suite Sustainability Champions.” She also received the United Way of New York City’s Power of Women to Make a Difference Award in 2018.

Peggy is a member of the Executive Committee of the Fordham University President’s Council and a member of the Board of Trustees and the Audit Committee of Concern Worldwide, Ireland’s largest aid and humanitarian organization. She is a dual citizen – U.S. and Ireland (EU).