Agenda

Roger Cheng

Senior Supplier Diversity Sourcing Manager
AT&T

Roger Cheng recently joined AT&T as a Sr. Supplier Diversity Sourcing Manager. Prior to AT&T, Roger spent the previous 14+ years with M/WBEs in the technology space leading business development through Supplier Diversity.

Roger, also known as “The Voice,” has served as emcee or VOG for a number of organizations across the country. In 2017, Roger was recognized as the #Hes4Shes Champion at the WBENC National Conference.

Leshaun Smedley

Supplier Diversity Manager
Cushman & Wakefield

Randy Brown

Sr. Manager, Supplier Diversity
Denny's

Randy Brown is the Sr. Manager, Supplier Diversity for Denny’s. The award-winning executive i charged with managing and expanding the company’s supplier diversity program. Brown works closely to identify procurement opportunities around the country with certified diverse companies, including small disadvantaged, minority business enterprises, veteran-owned, woman business enterprises, LGBTQ+owned, disabled veteran-owned or disabled-owned. Prior to joining Denny’s, he played an instrumental role at Emory University in winning the Jesse L.Moore's2021 Supplier Diversity Award from Insight into Diversity.

The Georgia Minority Supplier Diversity Council also awarded Emory its George Lottier Rising Star Award during Brown’s tenure at the university. Brown has served on Emory University’s Business Diversity Council, National Minority Supplier Diversity Council Mentor Program, and the Georgia Minority Supplier Diversity Council’s Executive Council. He is currently aboard advisor for Spectrum Autism, a board member of Encourage Men Ministries Inc., and a member of the Georgia State University Entrepreneurship & Innovation Institute Strategic Planning Ecosystem Subcommittee. Brown received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson School of Business.

Roxanne Wilson

Supplier Diversity Manager
Fannie Mae

Debra Quade

Supplier Diversity Manager
Kellanova

Debra Quade is the Supplier Diversity Manager at Kellogg Company. Prior to joining Kellogg, she served as Supplier Diversity Specialist at Toyota Boshoku America in Erlanger, Kentucky and Magna Donnelly in Holland, Michigan.

Debra serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in addition to leading a MiDiCo module for supplier inclusion and opportunity. She represents Kellogg Company on the National Minority Supplier Development Council Working Group, and the Corporate Advisory Council for the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in addition to participating on the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Programs Committee, the Food Marketing Institute Group Supplier Diversity Committee, WEConnect International Agricultural Industry Group and the Food & Beverage Industry Group.

Hope Jacoway

Consultant, Supplier Diversity
Nationwide

Marcella McCullough

Senior Manager, Supplier Diversity
Nissan

Joyce Christanio

Senior Program Manager, Supplier Diversity
T-Mobile

Doing Business with Corporations & Government Agencies Roundtables

Accomplished leader with over 20 year's experience managing Supplier Diversity, Contract Negotiations and leading cross-functional teams of an organization to achieve cost savings. Write policy language, programs and processes to advance a corporation's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals. Joyce recently developed T-Mobile’s workforce development program - NextTech Diversity to nationally fund training and job placement for women and men of color to become network technicians and network equipment drivers.

Author of "Dressing Classy Doesn't Change" which provides women an overview of the do's and don'ts of proper workplace attire. Information that Corporate America doesn’t share with women is included in this book. One Reader Commented: The author has hit the "nail on the head" as she mixes humor, personal experiences and concrete advice regarding proper attire for women in any setting and at any income level. Women buy this fun and easy to read book for you and all the young girls you know. Men buy it for all the women in your life. It is a keepsake.

Marleitha Williams

Supplier Diversity Program Manager
Board of Governors, Federal Reserve Board System

Doing Business with Government Panel

Marleitha G. Williams is the supplier diversity program manager for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In this capacity, she is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act as it relates to the inclusion of minority-owned and women-owned business enterprises in the Board’s acquisition process.

Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Board in 2011, Ms. Williams worked at Alabama’s largest electric utility corporation, Alabama Power Company, where she provided leadership and strategic direction to corporate business units in delivering results toward defined supplier diversity goals.

Throughout her career in Supplier Diversity and Supplier Relations, she has been affiliated with various organizations that focus on minority and women business development, including the U. S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce, National Minority Supplier Development Council and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. She has been recognized in local and national publications such as Women Enterprise USA for her work in Supplier Diversity. Ms. Williams received her bachelor’s degree from Birmingham Southern College.

Dr. Jay Snipes

Chief, Diversity and Business Inclusion Officer
FDIC

Doing Business with Government Panel

Jay Snipes is the Chief for Diversity and Business Inclusion at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) with the responsibility of promoting fair inclusion in federal contracting and business activities, leading & assessing FDIC-supervised financial institutions, including diversity policies and practices, and evaluating whether FDIC contractors are demonstrating good faith efforts to include minorities and women in their workforce.

Jay previously served as the Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service where he led the Bureau’s culture improvement initiatives and strategic direction on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) matters. As a participant in the White
House Leadership Development Program, he was the equity lead for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. In this program, he led the implementation of a cross agency solution that increased the number of new entrants to the Federal marketplace to address the decline in the socio-economic small business supplier base supporting OMB Memo 22-03 & Executive Order 13985.

Dr. Snipes has extensive experience leading transformational change - providing executive leadership on DEIA opportunities, vision, and strategic direction, and was also the principal advisor for Fiscal Service on civil rights and diversity public policy planning - development,
formulation, issuance, and policy evaluation. He has used metrics, program evaluation and reporting systems to benchmark organizational progress in meeting DEIA goals and objectives,
and developed standards to assess the diversity policies and practices of entities supervised by the agency.

Dr. Snipes has his Doctorate in Business Administration and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Agile Professional (PMI-ACP). In 2022, he was selected as a Top 40 Under 40 in Birmingham, AL - a designation for the city’s most influential leaders and successful entrepreneurs. He is a highly requested speaker and subject matter expert in interagency coordination workgroups, committees, industry, and trade organization conferences on discussions of leading DEIA practices, including the Annual International Colloquium on Financial Management for National Governments, co-hosted by Canada, and the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) Conference. Just recently, Jay served as a curriculum design expert planning and designing MBA and Bachelor curricula for Herzing University’s MBA professional draws upon his professional expertise to ensure proper learning outcomes for students.

Jay enjoys spending time with his family, and in his downtime, he can be seen chauffeuring his kids around to multiple sporting and school events.

Statement:
“DEIA is not about shifting the focus from one group to another, it’s about expanding opportunities and enlarging the focus to shine on us all.” – Annual Progress Statement

Charles Williams

Small Business Program Manager
NASA

Michelle E. Warren

Deputy Director Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU)
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Doing Business with Corporations & Government Agencies Roundtables

Michelle Warren began her federal career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1988, as a Federal Market News Reporter within the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Agency, then later served as the Contracting Officer for the Commodity Procurement Branch, responsible for the supervision of purchasing teams which administers contracts for commodities for distribution to the National School Lunch Program and other Food Assistance Programs.

By 2010, Michelle was assigned Program Manager in the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). In December 2015, Michelle was appointed Deputy Director in OSDBU and still holds that position. It is her responsibility to provide maximum opportunities for small businesses to participate in USDA contracting activities. Michelle served in the Acting Director’s capacity from December 2016-May 2022.

Educating, and Supporting the Buyer and the Seller is OSDBU’s core value.

Michelle’s philosophy is, “Think about what you want to do, DO IT, then think about what you have done!”

Michelle is a graduate of Virginia State University located in Petersburg, VA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Business and Economics.

Darlene Bullock

Executive Director, OSDBU
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Doing Business with Government Panel

E. Darlene Bullock was appointed as the Executive Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) in January 2020. She served as the OSDBU Deputy Director from 2015 to late 2019.

As the Executive Director, Ms. Bullock implements the Department’s federal small business procurement programs across the DHS $26 billion contracting operation which awarded almost $10 billion to small businesses in Fiscal Year 2023. Because of her work in ensuring diversity and equity in federal procurement Ms. Bullock received the 2023 Small Business and Procurement Equity Individual Award by the Chief Acquisition Officers Council in October 2023. Ms. Bullock’s various roles and work in the OSDBU, has helped DHS achieve fifteen consecutive scores of an “A” or “A+”, since Fiscal Year 2009, on the Small Business Administration’s annual Small Business Procurement Scorecard. This makes DHS the largest agency with this track record.

With over 33 years of experience in procurement, federal assistance, and acquisitions management, Ms. Bullock has held leadership positions at several Federal and local agencies including DHS, U.S. Agency for International Development, U. S. Department of Commerce, District of Columbia Government, and the U.S. Army. She has an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Business and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an MBA in International Management from Southeastern University.

Meishoma Hayes

Senior Small Businesses Utilization Specialist
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Mandy Wylie

Senior Small Business Specialist
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)

Mandy Wylie is the Senior Small Business Specialist in the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) in the Procurement Assistance Division. In this capacity, she assists small business owners to market their products and services and increase the participation of small and disadvantaged businesses in DOT procurement opportunities. Mandy is also the Service Disable Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) advocate and acting Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) advocate.

Mandy has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and 13+ years of experience in Federal contracting and acquisition policy. She started her federal career as a Contracts Specialist at the Department of Homeland Security in the Office of Procurement Operations. In the fall of 2016, Mandy joined the DOT’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Acquisition and Grants Management as a Senior Contracting Officer. Starting in 2018, Mandy was promoted internally to the Team Leader in the Office of Acquisition Policy and Oversight. In this capacity, Mandy served as the Small Business Specialist for FHWA until she transferred to OSDBU as the Senior Small Business Specialist in March 2023.

Larncell Hymon

Senior Supply Chain Manager
Boston Scientific

With a wealth of experience in global supply chain leadership and strategy, team building, and sales and operations management, Larncell has successfully navigated complex supply chain operations in the healthcare and retail space.

As a Senior Supply Chain Manager at Boston Scientific®, Larncell has been instrumental in delivering significant cost savings, maintaining optimal inventory levels, and ensuring exceptional service levels, even during challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Their expertise extends to international and national vendor management, inventory management, new product launches, and operational scorecard management. They have a proven track record of driving operational excellence, leading cross-functional teams, and implementing strategies to enhance supply chain efficiency and effectiveness.

In their role at Boston Scientific, Larncell has successfully improved the efficiency of the Global S&OP process, integrated warehouse operations, and transitioned legacy processes to align with company standards. Larncell has also partnered with global distribution to drive significant transportation savings and led initiatives to enhance hiring and retention practices within the organization.

Prior to their current role, they held key positions at Newell Brands®, where they led complex supply chain operations for electronics, consumables, arts and crafts, and writing business units. Larncell has a strong background in supply planning, vendor management, and operational strategy development, resulting in improved inventory management, increased shipment performance, and significant cost savings.

Larncell holds a MBA from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor's in Packaging from Michigan State University. With certifications in SAP BPC and previous participation in professional organizations such as APICS, Larncell is committed to continuous learning and professional development in the field of supply chain management.

Cedric Cravens

Director, Patient Engagement & Health Access Equity
Edwards Lifesciences

Todd Gray

Director, Supplier Diversity NFS
Kaiser Permanente

Todd A. Gray is Director of Supplier Diversity for Kaiser Permanente NFS. In this role, Gray is responsible for system wide Supplier Diversity for National Facility Services. The Nations largest vertically integrated healthcare delivery system. His responsibility include: Facility Development, Maintenance, Sustainability, and Social Economic Impact. Prior to, Gray served as Director, Supplier Diversity at Grady Health System. Where Gray’s responsibilities included the development, implementation, and facilitation of Grady’s corporate supplier diversity program. Grady Health System is the 5th largest public academic health system in the United States.

Prior to joining Grady Health System, Gray served as the Head of Supplier Diversity for CVS Caremark at their corporate headquarters in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. In this role, Gray led CVS Caremark’s supplier diversity program, and was an instrumental workforce diversity partner. Previously, Gray also served as Assistant Vice President of Wachovia, and Wells Fargo Corporate Diversity with responsibility for the implementation of processes, procedures, and tools that supported enterprise-wide Diversity initiatives with Wells Fargo. He actively promoted and encouraged the success, and inclusion, of minority and women-owned business enterprises as they sought supplier partnership opportunities within the institution. Gray was a certified HR workforce diversity practitioner for the company. Gray joined Wachovia in 2005 as Lease /Portfolio Administrator of Corporate Real Estate.

As a Metro Atlanta native, Gray is an active participant in civic, and state level initiatives impacting diversity, and community. Gray has partnered over the last decade as a mentor through the State of Georgia’s Mentor/Protégé Program for small business development. He also supports youth minority entrepreneurship through his partnership with the Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance Construction Skills Development Institute and other organizations that provide current and future entrepreneurs with education, awareness and technical assistance. Gray also founded an Atlanta community youth development initiative for young men ages 12-17 called P.O.L.I.S.H.E.D. to help young men in the Atlanta Community develop life, social and community involvement skills through ongoing tutoring and mentorship.

Gray contributes leadership by serving as Vice-Chair of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Councils Board of Directors, Business Opportunity committee chair on The Atlanta Business League Board, and Board Co-Chair of The Villages at Carver Family YMCA. Where Gray represents his location for the collective YMCA of Metro Atlanta’s annual “Why it Matters” fund raising campaign. Gray also serves on the City of Atlanta Ethics Board and previously held board positions with the South Region Minority Supplier Development Council, the South Florida Minority Supplier Development Council, and the Atlanta Berean Church. Gray was recognized in 2008 by the Atlanta Business Journal as one of Atlanta’s Top 50 Rising Stars. Received the 2015 and 2017 Advocate of the Year Award from the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council, 2016 Advocate of the year from the Greater Women’s Business Council, and in both 2016 and 2017, led Grady Health System to become the 1st Health System in the state of Georgia to receive the Corporation, and Local Corporation of the Year awards from the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council. Mr. Gray is a featured public speaker, cover feature in the 2017 Who’s Who in Black Atlanta, and nationally recognized for his achievements in Diversity & Inclusion, and direct contributions in assuring stronger communities across the nation. Gray has founded The Gray Impact, a platform which empowers, and tools community stakeholders to be at the front line in assuring social, and economic equity in communities across the State of Georgia.

Gray received a Bachelor’s of Science in Network and Communications Management from DeVry University, and a Master of Business Administration with concentration’s in both Finance and marketing from DeVry’s Keller Graduate School of Management.

Andrea Arce

Specialist, Global Economic Inclusion & Supplier Diversity
Merck

Andrea Arce is a Specialist, Global Economic Inclusion & Supplier Diversity at Merck. Joining the company in 2019, as part of the Global Economic Inclusion & Supplier Diversity Team, Andrea has been responsible for supporting Research Development Sourcing & Procurement category when it pertains to sourcing diverse suppliers. Andrea also leads the Merck Drexel Advanced Leadership Program for Diverse Suppliers, along with external and internal communications. Prior to joining Merck, Andrea was the Site Manager at Express Employment Professionals, where she was responsible for large clients and their staffing needs. Andrea has a Bachelor of Arts from William Paterson University.

Ravi Chander

Chief Executive Officer
Softpath System, LLc

Ravi Chander, technologist, seasoned entrepreneur, strategic visionary, and thought-leader is a co-founder and CEO of Softpath System, a leading, 23-year-old talent management company located in metro Atlanta. Ravi creates and drives the company’s vision with a key focus around job creation and helping clients win in the global marketplace. Ravi is also the co-founder of OPTEVUS, an AI/ML-driven product made to reduce the recruitment life cycle by 50%, and Wydur, a cybersecurity practice that provides solutions for cloud security, vulnerability risk management, and threat detection and response.

Ravi, along with his partner, Sushumna Roy, successfully leads Softpath as a top diverse business with numerous awards.

With more than 25 years of expertise in the development and delivery of innovative technology solutions, Ravi is responsible for managing one of the fastest-growing technology and staffing firms in the nation, with over 800 employees and multiple offices in the U.S., Canada, and India.

Ravi is a committed small business advocate and supports women and minority-owned business enterprises as well as various STEM programs. Ravi served as a President of USPAACC-SE from 2017-2020, President of IT Serve Alliance’s Atlanta Chapter in 2018, and Rotary President for Emory Druid Hills Club 6900 in 2013. He currently serves as a USPAACC-SE Regional advisory council chair.

Outside of work, Ravi is a proud Rotarian, a lifetime Paul Harris Fellow recognized as a major donor, and the recipient of multiple “Rotary Cares Awards” for his contribution to providing clean, safe drinking water to remote villages in rural India. He is a community leader for multiple nonprofits and an active volunteer at Ridge Girls Lacrosse and Robotics. He attended Jackson State University for his master’s in Computer Science and received a bachelor’s degree in electronics from Kakatiya University in India.

He is married to Sushumna Roy Jalajam and they reside in Atlanta, GA along with their three daughters.

Sandhya Mukkamala

Co-President; Partner and Co-Founder
ASTUTE; USPAACC Western Regional Chapter

Sandhya Mukkamala is a Partner and Co-Founder at ASTUTE and an accomplished CPA in the State of California. She advises clients on R&D tax incentives, technical accounting, forensic audits, as well as works closely with clients’ CFOs/Controllers to develop stronger processes and controls within the business. She has more than 15 years of experience in audit and review engagements, and complex Merger & Acquisition due diligence audits for private and public accounting sectors.

Prior to founding Astute, Sandhya has served as M&A due diligence auditor for several years in a reputed public accounting firm in Silicon Valley. She has led the audit team in planning, structuring, and performed M&A due diligence activities across all functional areas such as financial, products, operations, and technology etc. She has also served as an external Auditor for various high-tech, automotive, retail, manufacturing, and service industries nationally and globally. As an acumen auditor, she helped companies uncover millions of dollars lost due to fraudulent activities or lack of control over processes, addressed complex accounting and financial reporting challenges.

Besides Auditing and Corporate finance, Sandhya has extensive experience in R&D tax credit consulting projects, performed numerous financial and M&A due diligence audits, resolved complex Accounting for Income tax provisions, SEC Reporting, internal controls testing and fraud testing over financial reporting for a multitude of industries from early startups to Pre-IPO to public companies nationally and globally.

Her unique understanding, problem-solving skills and providing reliable solutions have benefited clients in various industry sectors.

Pamela Prince-Eason

President & CEO
The Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)

Pamela Prince-Eason is the President and CEO of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a role she assumed in 2011. She was previously Vice President of Worldwide Procurement for Pfizer Inc. and held various leadership positions at Texas Instruments, GSE Systems and Warner Lambert, as well as co-owner of RMR Associates.

Pamela is a member of the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC), a non-partisan federal advisory council who advises the President, Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues of importance to women business owners.

Pamela’s dedication to women’s business leadership is illustrated in her many professional and personal roles advancing women’s excellence and opportunity. She serves on women’s advisory committees of several corporations including the CVS Health Executive Learning Series, EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women Program, the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network, and Walmart’s Women Owned Business Advisory Council.

Pamela holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from East Tennessee State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland with a Master of Administrative Science in International Business and Finance. In 2008, she was among the first to receive ISM’s Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) designation, in 2010 was named a Power Women by NYMoves, and in 2012 she received the AIDC WBE Hall of Fame “Executive Leadership” award. In 2013 and 2017, she was named a top leader in Supplier Diversity by WE-USA Magazine and selected by the National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) as the 2014 Woman of Achievement. Most recently she was inducted into the Enterprising Women Hall of Fame in March 2018 and was recognized as Alumna of the Year at East Tennessee State University in May 2018.

She and husband John have three children and six grandchildren. Favorite family activities include tennis, basketball, and snowboarding.

Susan Au Allen

CEO
USPAACC

Cynthia Sugiyama

Head of Communications for Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion
Wells Fargo

Cynthia Sugiyama is head of Communications for Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion at Wells Fargo. She leads a team responsible for developing and delivering an integrated communications strategy for the company’s work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prior to this, Cynthia served as head of Human Resources Communications at Wells Fargo. Cynthia first joined the bank in 2017, leading the Communications Strategy and Corporate Media team. With more than 25 years of experience in public affairs, Cynthia has worked in public relations, issues management, community relations, executive communications, and employee communications. She has held senior communications roles at some of the world’s most recognizable companies – from global Fortune 500 retailers, such as Walmart and Gap, to industry-leading health care systems, like Kaiser Permanente. Cynthia began her career in journalism, as a reporter at the CBS affiliate in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Cynthia serves on the advisory board of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the advisory council of the Asian Pacific Fund. She is also a founding board member of VOICES, which is dedicated to representing, promoting and advocating for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in communications.

Cynthia received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California.

Jenny Zhu

Founder & CEO
Chairwoman of the Board, Lush Decor Home & Impact Investor

Jenny Jing Zhu is an award-winning entrepreneur, business pioneer and motivator-in-chief who inspires a diverse, powerhouse team to create, produce, market and deliver unique home decor that customers love.

As Founder and CEO of Triangle Home Fashions (THF) and its signature brand, Lush Décor, Jenny’s visionary perspective earned her opportunities a less keen eye would have missed. Armed with a degree in textile and surface design from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and a few years’ experience in the home textile category, Jenny envisioned a better way of doing business – one where the company delivered more than what was expected.

In 2008, driven by her love of design and passion to create affordable luxury home décor. Jenny founded THF determined to be a game-changer in what was then a still fledgling e-commerce market. Jenny invented a company culture of leadership and innovation that not only originates impeccably detailed, accessible home decor for every room, every lifestyle and every life stage, but one that also manages global production, comprehensive warehousing and a direct distribution network for fast delivery.

Vibrant e-commerce growth and the expansion into brick-and-mortar stores led Jenny to launch Lush Décor in 2013. As the company’s signature brand, Lush Décor is crafted in a range of aesthetics and styles, inspiring consumers to create a home that is unique and personalized to their space, lifestyle and life stage. In 2023, with plans to expand the Lush Décor platform, THF began operating as Lush Décor Home.

An innovator with a heart, Jenny not only wants to do good work but do good work that matters. This led to a first-ever licensing partnership with Make-A-Wish America where 5% of all net sales from the Make-A-Wish Collection by Lush Décor are donated to the organization to help fulfill the wishes of children with critical illnesses.

Jenny attributes her success and the success of the company to the strength and shared vision of her team – or family as she calls them. The THF family is more than 60% female, hails from 8 different countries and collectively speaks 11 languages.

In 2019, Jenny’s hard work and focus earned her EY’s New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year Award and a national nomination in the consumer category. And, in 2021, Jenny was named an Enterprising Woman by Enterprising Women media. In 2021 and 2022, the company was named one of the Women Presidents Organization’s 50 Fastest Growing Women Owned/Led Companies. Inc. Magazine named Triangle Home Fashions | Lush Décor a 2022 Top 500 Fastest Growing Company.

According to Jenny, “Clear vision, top performing teams and nimble execution are what motivates us and what drives success through today’s complex business terrain.”

Breana Chan

Vice-President, Global Supplier Diversity
JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Doing Business with Corporations & Government Agencies Roundtables

Breana Chan's journey began in the dotcom boom, navigating the fast-paced world of Silicon Valley startups. This entrepreneurial spirit, coupled with her 30+ years of Procurement and Supplier Diversity experience across industries, fuels her approach to consulting and mentoring individuals and businesses. Breana believes diversity isn't just a box to tick; it's a strategic imperative for growth.

Featured in Winning Leadership by Two-Time Olympian Sherry Winn, Breana empowers businesses to unlock untapped talent pools, gain a competitive edge, and build cultures of inclusion and does so with a constant attitude of gratitude.

Ranked #78 in the Top 100 Women in Procurement in 2023 (Procurement Magazine, 2023), #11 in the Top 100 Women in Procurement in 2022 (EY & Procurement Magazine, 2022), and Corporate Buyers of the Year in 2022 (Minority Business News USA, 2022) she understands the challenges businesses face and brings practical, results-oriented solutions. Whether with a global giant or a nimble startup, Breana can craft a diversity strategy that delivers measurable impact.

Build a Business, Not a Hobby was authored and published by Breana in an effort to share her experiences and mentorship with more entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship-minded individuals like herself as they dream of and start businesses of their own.

Breana is married to her high school sweetheart, Isaac. They have four children and a granddaughter whom they adore. You can often find Breana cruising the seven seas in her quest to see the world.

Let's build a more equitable future together

Cassandra Faire

Director, Global Partnerships
Tapfin

An energetic, goal focused management professional, with a proven performance record building businesses from startup to profitable operations in highly competitive environments.

Highly skilled at identifying market opportunities and developing strategies to effectively exploit them. Proven track record of success, setting strategic direction, executing to plan, optimizing operations and developing and leading high-performing teams to achieve outstanding results

Doris Li Yeh

CEO & Co-Founder
Mirapath

Doris Li Yeh is the CEO and Founder of Mirapath, a Datacenter Critical Infrastructure Total Solution Provider. . In her role, Doris drives growth strategy for the company using Mirapath’s four core values: relationships matter, commitment to excellence, results driven, and strive for innovation and excellence – while having fun and enjoying the journey together. She is passionate about leadership development, women empowerment and cutting-edge technology related to platform development in the data center and IoT space paired with AI and Automation.

Mirapath ‘s was #54 fastest-growing women-owned business. In 2017, the company was on the Fast 100 Asian American Business by USPAACC, the CRN Fast Growth 150, and the CRN Solution Provider 500, as well as the #6 Biggest Minority-Owned Business by Silicon Valley Business Journal.

Doris holds a BSEE from the University of São Paulo and graduated in 2018 from the prestigious Harvard Business School Owner President Management (OPM52) program. She was nominated Silicon Valley Women of Influence in 2018 by Silicon Valley Business Journal, 2018 Enterprising Women Award, 100 Fast USPAAC Company and Infrastrastructure Mason IM100 2020 Recipient . She is a proud Platinum member of Women President Organization, Co-Chair USPAAC WISE ( Women Initiative for Strategic Empowerment) and advisory boartd of USPAAC-West. Doris is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Portuguese.

Carolyn Joshua

President & CEO
Trilyon, Inc.

Carolyn Joshua is the President and CEO of Trilyon, Inc., a leading content management, documentation, and technology services provider for Fortune 500 companies. Under Carolyn's exceptional leadership, Trilyon has earned notable recognition, including the esteemed 2023 Fast 100 Asian American Business Award from USPAACC. Her outstanding achievements have also been acknowledged through the prestigious Enterprising Women of the Year Award in 2023. Furthermore, she has been honored as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of San Francisco for 2023 by Women We Admire, highlighting her significant contributions to the business community.

In addition to her role at Trilyon, Carolyn holds a board position at the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC West), a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering economic growth and promoting diversity through leadership, education, and business networking. Carolyn also plays a pivotal role as the Co-Chair of USPAACC WISE (Women Initiative for Strategic Empowerment), spearheading initiatives that empower and advance women professionals in the business world.

Carolyn serves as a General Partner at Early Equity Capital Advisors, specializing in late-stage technology startups. Additionally, she contributes to How Women Invest as an LP, a venture capital firm focused on promoting women-led companies and advancing women leaders within the venture capital ecosystem. Carolyn's commitment to diversity and inclusivity is further exemplified through her role as a global advisor for the Women Leaders for the World Fellowship Program. This transformative leadership training program empowers social change innovators and industry disruptors to create positive impacts on society.

Roy Yang

Principal
Deloitte Digital

Amira Gonzalez

Supplier Diversity Manager
RTX

Judge, What's Your Pitch?

She has been with RTX for 16 years leveraging roles of increasing responsibility within Operations and Supply Chain including Material Program Manager, Strategic Sourcing Manager, and Senior Manager Supply Chain. In mid-2018, Amira moved to her current role in Corporate Supplier Diversity where she is responsible for executing strategic outreach initiatives for collaboration to drive utilization of small and diverse businesses in procurement across RTX. Prior to joining RTX, Amira spent 13 years in the telecom industry in various roles in supply chain, operations, project management, and new product marketing & introduction.

Amira has a Bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University. In the Dallas area where she lives, Amira serves on the Board of Directors for a local nonprofit, Helping Hands, Open Hearts, and actively serves the unhoused and elderly shut-ins in Dallas on her weekend time

Dennis Thurston

Supplier Diversity Manager
Southern California Edison

Dennis J. Thurston, a 36-year employee of Southern California Edison (SCE), beginning in August of 1987 serving in his current capacity as a Supplier Diversity Program Manager for 25 years assisting small and diverse businesses understand the Company’s general procurement practices and procedures.

Prior to SCE, Mr. Thurston worked at Consolidated Edison in New York bringing 12 years of experience with him.

In 2021, Dennis received the 2021 Corporate Advocate of the Year Award from the Southern California Minority Development Council.

In 2018, Dennis received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California for outstanding work within the Native American business community and tribal leaders.

The U.S. Small Business Administration, Santa Ana District Office selected Dennis as the 2017 Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year for his devotion to the success and advancement of Veterans in business in his professional capacity at SCE and his personal life.

During the 2017 Inaugural Veterans In Business (VIB) Network National Conference, Dennis Thurston received the Above & Beyond Bravo Zulu Award recognizing Veteran Business Advocates that go Above & Beyond to help the Veteran business community grow and succeed.

In 2016 Dennis was nominated for the State Agency Recognition Awards (SARA) given by the Department of General Services.

In recognition of his contributions as a role model of Edison International’s values and guiding behaviors of integrity, continuous growth and improvement, excellence, respect, and teamwork, Dennis was awarded the Chairman’s Award, now the Edison Award in 2009. Edison selects only 40 employees out of over 15,000 for the first of the prestigious award.

Mr. Thurston still volunteers for many community activities geared toward mentorship and guidance of small and diverse businesses in the areas of career, jobs, and starting businesses.

For the past 27 years, served as an off-ice official for the National Hockey League (NHL) assigned to the Anaheim Ducks and Dennis represented the NHL at the first ever game played outside North America in Japan, Helsinki, and Berlin.

Komal Dangi

Founder/CEO
Synkriom

Jackie LaJoie

Retired Diversity Supplier Manager
USPAACC

Jackie LaJoie joined Ingersoll Rand in September 2012. She has overall leadership responsibility for Supplier Diversity and Supplier Sustainability at Ingersoll Rand. In this role, she is responsible for building world class programs and driving results around supplier diversity strategy throughout the enterprise as well as supplier sustainability in areas such as conflict minerals and environmental initiatives.

In her supplier diversity leadership role, Jackie created a strategic plan for Ingersoll Rand based on NMSDC Best Practices to ensure a successful and sustainable program that creates jobs for supplier partners, economic growth for local communities, and customers for life for Ingersoll Rand. Specifically, to ensure sustainability and future growth of the program, she created a robust program and various supplier development initiatives to equip 41 direct and indirect commodity teams to identify and document supplier requirements and opportunities.

Under Jackie’s leadership, Ingersoll Rand spend with minority-owned businesses has increased 228% over the past three years. Jackie’s work also resulted in a $50,000 grant from the Ingersoll Rand Foundation to support an NMSDC Center of Excellence with the TriState MSDC, which launched in August 2016. As a result, 10 corporations and 20+ minority-owned businesses are spending 18 months working together to improve the corporations’ supplier diversity programs, and build capacity and increase business opportunities for the MBEs.

Prior to joining Ingersoll Rand, she served as vice president of the Carolinas-Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, director of Supplier Diversity at Merck and manager of Supplier Diversity at legacy AT&T.

Jackie is also the co-founder of Diversity Alliance for Science in 2007, a non-profit organization focused on supplier diversity in the life science and healthcare industries. Under the leadership of Jackie and Leah Brown, her co-founder, the organization unites healthcare, pharmaceutical, academic and government entities with industry diversity leaders, such as NMSDC, to promote economic growth of small and diverse companies.

Jackie has been recognized nationally for her leadership and service in the Supplier Diversity field with multiple awards and recognitions across her 28-year career, including:

· Co-founder and past president of Diversity Alliance for Science

· Best of the Decade and Women Who Mean Business – Minority Business News

· Top 25 Women of Power Impacting Diversity – Diversity Plus Magazine

· Supplier Diversity Advocate of the Year – U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce

· Chairman’s Award – PA-NJ-DE Minority Supplier Development Council (MSDC)

· YWCA Tribute to Women and Industry Award – YWCA of Central New Jersey

· First Ladies of Supplier Diversity – MBNUSA and Women Business Enterprise USA Magazine

· Champions of Supplier Diversity – Diversity Plus Magazine

· Women Who Mean Business – MBNUSA

· First Ladies of Supplier Diversity – MBNUSA / WEUSA

· Supplier Diversity Advocate – AT&T CEO

· El Paso Trade Conference – Keys to City of El Paso

· AT&T Creating Excellence Award

She has a B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration and a B.S. in Economics from High Point University and an MBA from Wake Forest University. She and Ed, her husband, reside in Mooresville, N.C. Jackie enjoys spending time with her son and daughter and spoiling Franklin, her first grandchild and pride and joy.

Saima Cardwell

Supplier Diversity Specialist
SAS Institute

Saima has had a lifelong passion for helping others for the past 8 years and is the supplier diversity specialist. Her current role allows her to use this passion and energy by engaging with diverse business owners, and SAS to increase utilization of minority, women, veteran, LGBTQ and disabled-owned businesses. Currently she serves on the ISM-Carolina Virginia-Triangle Chapter- President, HarmonyNC - Board of Directors. Disability-IN-NC- Board of Directors.

Saima has held various positions in her 24+ years at SAS, Finance, Licensing & Contracts, Strategic Sourcing & Procurement. Her experience has given her an in-depth knowledge of business development, contracts and sourcing & procurement. She has a Bachelor's from Campbell University.

Jerome Flores

Senior Consultant - Diversity & Inclusion
Wells Fargo

Jerome Flores is a Senior Diversity & Inclusion consultant focused on enhancing the employee resource network program to grow leadership capabilities, bench strength and serve as a diverse resource to influence business outcomes. Jerome has always been passionate about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging helping to stand up the Washington, DC chapter of Pride Connections, and forming relationships through community outreach and engagement.

As a highly skilled and experienced professional, Jerome has spent 19+ years working in the financial services industry. With a proven track record of success. Jerome is become known for their thought leadership, creativity, problem-solving, and attention to detail. Jerome has a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate from University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business, Office of Executive Education, and a Bachelor of Science Degree from the Pennsylvania State University and is committed to staying up to date with the latest industry trends and best practices.

And is based in Washington, DC

Naheed Syed

CEO & President
Global Resource Management Inc.

Ravi Chander

Chief Executive Officer
Softpath System, LLc

Ravi Chander, technologist, seasoned entrepreneur, strategic visionary, and thought-leader is a co-founder and CEO of Softpath System, a leading, 23-year-old talent management company located in metro Atlanta. Ravi creates and drives the company’s vision with a key focus around job creation and helping clients win in the global marketplace. Ravi is also the co-founder of OPTEVUS, an AI/ML-driven product made to reduce the recruitment life cycle by 50%, and Wydur, a cybersecurity practice that provides solutions for cloud security, vulnerability risk management, and threat detection and response.

Ravi, along with his partner, Sushumna Roy, successfully leads Softpath as a top diverse business with numerous awards.

With more than 25 years of expertise in the development and delivery of innovative technology solutions, Ravi is responsible for managing one of the fastest-growing technology and staffing firms in the nation, with over 800 employees and multiple offices in the U.S., Canada, and India.

Ravi is a committed small business advocate and supports women and minority-owned business enterprises as well as various STEM programs. Ravi served as a President of USPAACC-SE from 2017-2020, President of IT Serve Alliance’s Atlanta Chapter in 2018, and Rotary President for Emory Druid Hills Club 6900 in 2013. He currently serves as a USPAACC-SE Regional advisory council chair.

Outside of work, Ravi is a proud Rotarian, a lifetime Paul Harris Fellow recognized as a major donor, and the recipient of multiple “Rotary Cares Awards” for his contribution to providing clean, safe drinking water to remote villages in rural India. He is a community leader for multiple nonprofits and an active volunteer at Ridge Girls Lacrosse and Robotics. He attended Jackson State University for his master’s in Computer Science and received a bachelor’s degree in electronics from Kakatiya University in India.

He is married to Sushumna Roy Jalajam and they reside in Atlanta, GA along with their three daughters.

Lissa Miller

SVP, Head of Supplier Diversity
Truist

Susan Au Allen

CEO
USPAACC