KAREN C. ALTFEST, DipEd'61
Karen Caplan Altfest, PhD, CFP® is a Principal Advisor at Altfest Personal Wealth Management. She helps many of the firm’s clients on a variety of investment and financial planning issues.
Karen is frequently a speaker on the subject of women and money and conducts educational seminars for recent widows and people looking to retire. In 2017, Karen’s article, “Life After Loss: 6 Smart Steps for Coping with Widowhood,” was published by the American Association of Individual Investors Journal. She was also featured in “Say What? A Dying Man Says ‘Don’t Worry’ About His Wife” on WSJ.com in 2016. Her Financially Savvy Woman® programs, including the Women’s Financial $pa®, are popular with clients.
Karen’s books include: Keeping Clients for Life (John Wiley & Sons), and Lew Altfest Answers Almost All Your Questions About Money (McGraw-Hill).
In 2017, Forbes ranked Karen Altfest in America’s Top Women Advisors. InvestmentNews honored Karen as a distinguished female leader on the 2015 “Women to Watch” list. In 2014, The Financial Times named Karen one of the “Top 100 Women Financial Advisors” in the United States. In 2013, Financial Planning magazine honored Karen in a cover story with the Lifetime Achievement Influencer Award, as an advisor who over the course of her career, has empowered women and pushed the financial planning industry to higher levels. Wealth Manager named Karen one of the “50 Distinguished Women in Wealth Management” in 2008 and 2009. She has been named one of the “120 Best Financial Advisers” by Medical Economics, and selected as “Planner of the Month” and one of “100 Top Advisors” by Mutual Funds magazine.
Karen received her PhD in history from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She also holds MA and BA degrees from Hunter College, is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, and holds the CFP® designation. She is a member of the Financial Women’s Association and served as treasurer of Temple Shaaray Tefila in Manhattan, where she established the Altfest Women’s Educational Fund. Karen serves on the CUNY Graduate Center Foundation Board, Chairs McGill’s Alumni Board of New York, and is Founder and Former Chair of the New York Common Pantry. She is also the President of her co-op Board.
Karen is a former President and Chairperson of the New York Chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and a former Chairperson of the Northeast Region of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). She was the co-Director of the Financial Planning and Investments Program at The New School in New York City and the Coordinator of the Financial Planning program, a professional program for financial planners, which she originated at Pace University in White Plains, New York.
ANTON ANGELICH, BSc(FSc)’73
Anton Angelich is the Group Vice President - Marketing for Virginia Dare, a New York Based international flavor company. He previously has held executive positions in the flavor industry at Symrise, Cultor Food Science and the Givaudan companies. He was with the Nestle organization for over 17 years starting there since he graduated from Mac in 1973. At Nestle he worked initially as a product and process development food scientist, and later in chocolate brand management, sensory evaluation, the Nestle Test Kitchens, and was Director of New Products for the U.S.
Anton holds a BSc(Food Science) from McGill and an MBA in Marketing from the New York Institute of Technology. He is a Certified Food Scientist, and serves on the Feeding Tomorrow Board of the Institute of Food Technologists. His professional memberships include the American Society for Enology and Viticulture, the Product Development Management Association, the American Association of Candy Technologists, the New York Academy of Science, the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, and the World Futurists.
Anton is the past President of the McGill Alumni Association of New York and serves as the Secretary of the Friends of McGill Board, the McGill Branding Committee, and is on the Macdonald Faculty Advisory Board. He was presented with the Award of Merit by the McGill Alumni Association in 2016, the MAA’s highest honour.
Anton is a passionate Mac supporter, frequently consulted by students and faculty alike for insights and knowledge about the food industry and food product development.
When he has nothing better to do he works on his farm in New Hampshire.
Distinguished Young Alumni Award 2017
LOLOAH CHAMOUN, BSc(FSc)’15
Loloah Chamoun holds a Bachelors of Science with distinction in Food Chemistry from McGill University, as well as a Masters of Science in Public and Environmental Health, with a specialization in Toxicology and Risk Analysis from Université de Montréal. Loloah led McGill’s team which took back first place at the “Developing Solutions for Developing Countries” competition in Chicago back in 2015. She, along with her teammates, developed an instant hummus mix that incorporated insects and served to alleviate malnutrition among Syrian Refugees. After having been exposed to the issues related to food assistance and nutrition in emergencies, Loloah became adamant about developing innovative, sustainable and climate-smart technologies that will help fight malnutrition and food insecurity while adapting to climate change. This is why she is currently looking to pursue her PhD at McGill in Human Nutrition, with a focus on Global Food Security, hoping that she will be able to find her niche in this field and have a positive impact on the world.