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Celebrating Leaders Who Light the Way
Join us for the W!se Luminary Awards Luncheon to celebrate outstanding leaders and the powerful impact of our financial literacy and college and career readiness programs.
Honoring
Casey Cortese
Director, Charles Schwab Foundation (ret.)
Kristina Dvorakovskaya
Principal, Gateway Tech
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
11:30am - 1:30pm
Grand Ballroom of The Yale Club of New York City
50 Vanderbilt Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10017
Business Attire
Meet Our Honorees
Casey Cortese is a philanthropy strategist, nonprofit leader, and financial literacy advocate. Her outstanding career includes leadership roles with the Charles Schwab Foundation and Janus Foundation, work with national organizations including Junior Achievement USA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, National 4-H Council, Up with People, and service as the first female chair of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. Before retiring from Charles Schwab, she led the firm's national philanthropic and community engagement efforts. In 2025, Girl Scouts of Colorado named her a Woman of Distinction. Today, through Cortese Consulting, she helps firms design high-impact philanthropic strategies.
Kristina Dvorakovskaya is a proud product of NYC public schools who, as an immigrant from Ukraine, credits them with teaching her English and shaping her future. After earning a mathematics degree from NYU, she discovered her passion for education and joined the NYC Teaching Fellows, beginning her career as a Math and Physics teacher. Kristina joined Gateway Tech as an Assistant Principal in 2014 and became Principal in 2017, helping shape the school into the kind of public school she believes every student deserves; one where students are supported, challenged, and given meaningful opportunities to discover their passions and prepare for their futures.
Donate Now
Help our cause by contributing to our fundraising efforts.
No act of generosity is too small to make a difference.
Contributions of $500 or more will be listed in the event program. W!se is a 501c(3) organization. All contributions for this event are 100% tax deductible.
To make a gift of appreciated stock, please contact Lilai Teckie at [email protected].
ABOUT W!SE
For more than 27 years, Working in Support of Education (W!se) has worked to improve economic mobility by helping young people and at-risk adults develop the financial literacy and college and career readiness skills they need to succeed. Today, our programs have reached more than 1.5 million individuals and counting. Our success is made possible by our dedicated Board and Associate Board, exceptional staff, and a remarkable network of sponsors, donors, partners, educators, and volunteers.
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