2020 Speakers and Presenters
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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
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Amy Courter serves as principal of Azimuth Centers of Excellence, where she works as a John Maxwell certified coach, teacher, trainer and speaker offering workshops, seminars, keynote speaking and coaching. Her diverse professional history includes service as the national commander and CEO of the all-volunteer Civil Air Patrol, a federally chartered nonprofit that is the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.
She was headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama from 2007-2011, and her primary duty was to lead 61,000-plus volunteers in fulfillment of the organization’s three congressionally chartered missions: emergency services, cadet programs and aerospace education, as well as CAP’s increasing role in America’s homeland security. Amy served as a major general (2-star), the highest-ranking CAP officer and the first female to have attained that distinction in CAP’s 69-year history.
Amy previously had served as commander of CAP’s Michigan Wing from 1999 to 2002. Outside the military, Amy worked for 20 years at Valassis, a $2.3 billion public marketing services corporation, first as a manager, and last as vice president of information technology. She has served on numerous for-profit and not-for-profit boards, including Women In Defense, where she previously served as national president and now is on the National Council.
Amy is a member of the Go for the Greens Programs Subcommittee.
Laura Lane joined UPS in November 2011 as president of Global Public Affairs, where she is responsible for all worldwide government affairs activities for UPS among the more than 220 countries and territories the corporation serves. Prior to joining UPS, Laura was managing director and head of International Government Affairs at CitiGroup; and vice president for Global Public Policy with Time Warner.
Laura previously worked in the U.S. government, where she was responsible for bilateral trade affairs with the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries at the United States Trade Representative (USTR). There, she also negotiated market access commitments on trade in services with China as part of its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and served as U.S. negotiator for the WTO Financial Services negotiations, which resulted in a first-ever global agreement in 1997.
During her time in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1990-1997, she served part of that time as the economic and political-military affairs officer at the American Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, and led the evacuation effort of American citizens from Rwanda in April 1994 with the outbreak of the civil war. She also served as consular officer in Bogota, Colombia from 1990-1992.
James Leonard “Jim” Bacchus is an American politician. Bacchus currently serves as a Distinguished University Professor of Global Affairs and the Director of the Center for Global Economic and Environmental Opportunity at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, since September 2017. He was a founding member and twice chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland from 1995-2003. Bacchus served as a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 1991-1995. Bacchus has served as Chairman of the Global Trade & Investment Practice Group at Greenberg Traurig, a Miami-based international law firm. He was also co-chair of its Global Practice Group. Bacchus has regularly written trade-related articles[2][3][4][5] for publications including Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. On February 23, 2007, Bacchus was named to a Department of Defense panel reviewing the Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal
PRESENTERS & PANELISTS
Susan Harper is the Consul General of Canada in Miami. Prior to joining the Department of External Affairs in 1983, Susan taught at both Cambrian College in Sudbury and George Brown College in Toronto. She held trade positions in Yaoundé, Paris and Buenos Aires before becoming Ambassador in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 2001.
She subsequently was posted to the Embassy of Canada in Washington, DC, where she became Minister (Economic) from 2008-09. In Ottawa, she was Director General, Trade Controls and Technical Barriers, from 2009-2013, and then Director General and Senior Arctic Official from 2013-16. As the Consul General, she oversees the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service team in Miami to help grow the Canada-Florida commercial relationship by increasing two-way trade; facilitating R&D partnering, commercialization and sourcing of technology; and attracting investment to Canada.
The service also helps Canadian organizations successfully export to Florida, establish a presence in the market, tackle market access issues, pursue joint-ventures or other strategic alliances, participate in global value chains, and seek technology and R&D partners.
Maria Luisa Boyce serves as vice president for International Policy for UPS Global Public Affairs, where she advocates for the company’s priorities on Capitol Hill, supports the company’s government affairs efforts in Latin America, is part of the UPS core team leading the Women Exporter Program and serves as a liaison for UPS to national Hispanic organizations.
Prior to joining UPS, she worked for U.S. Customs and Border Protection as senior advisor to the commissioner for trade and private sector engagement and director for the Office of Trade Relations. She previously had served as the assistant commissioner for CBP’s Office of Public Affairs, where she advised the CBP commissioner and senior leadership about the impact of the agency’s policies and regulations on the private sector and was responsible for the agency’s trade outreach strategy. Before joining the federal government, Maria served as president of the Border Trade Alliance, a nonprofit that represents 2 million stakeholders involved in border and trade issues in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
A native of Bogotá, Colombia, she is fluent in Spanish and conversational in French. She earned a certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for completing the Strategic Management for Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies Executive Course.
Nancy Allen is the president and CEO of the Women’s Business Development Council of Florida/Her Company Inc., a not-for-profit organization that certifies, connects and champions women in business. The WBDC/Her Company is the Florida regional partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), which certifies that businesses are owned, operated, managed and independently controlled by women. Over the years, Nancy has been recognized for her work on behalf of women in business through numerous awards, and she is an international speaker on women’s issues.
Nancy is certified as an Energy Leadership Master Practitioner from the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching. This distinction, combined with her many years of business development expertise, enables Nancy and her team to coach and consult women business owners through all phases of their lives.
Nancy is a past founding member of the Go for the Greens Board of Directors and now serves as an advisor to the foundation.
Tandreia Bellamy is the engineering vice president for Global Freight Forwarding at UPS, where she is responsible for operation strategy, forecasting and technology tool development to optimize sustainable efficiency while driving world-class service. Tandreia held a similar position for the company’s Global Logistics business unit, where she directed all industrial engineering activities related to the company’s key product offerings: distribution, service parts logistics and mail innovations.
Prior to her supply chain roles, she was the Small Package West Region vice president of engineering, responsible for the industrial engineering, operations excellence (quality), asset management and technology support groups for the 25 states in the western half of the United States. Tandreia began her UPS career in 1986 as a part-time package handler while completing her undergraduate degree.
She held various engineering and operations positions in Orlando before being transferred to the UPS corporate office in Atlanta. Tandreia serves on the executive advisory boards for both the Virginia Tech University Industrial Engineering Department and the Associate for Supply Chain Management, formerly APICS.
Jessica Bennett is a security representative at Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems. Her primary responsibility is ensuring the safety and security for the 200-acre campus in Orlando and all 4,000 employees, contractors and visitors daily. She works to ensure the facility is compliant with the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual.
Her role includes safeguarding classified spaces, contracts and assets, assisting with site investigations, and working as a member of the crisis management team. Jessica is also currently serving her 10th year of military service with the Florida Air National Guard. As an E-6, technical sergeant, her current role involves the accomplishment of mission readiness tasks, including the compilation of operational plans for deployment and mission planning.
She is instrumental in the training of unit members on personnel support for contingency operations and uses several military data systems to support and ensure a deployable and ready Air National Guard.
Debbie L. Berry has worked for more than 34 years with Lockheed Martin, where she currently manages the Innovation Demonstration Center in Orlando. She has supported the simulation and training industry domestically and internationally as an engineer, a program manager, a tradeshow manager and a business development senior staff analyst. As customer engagement liaison, she is responsible for management of capabilities demonstrations, business development and strategies.
She leads the Lockheed Martin Training and Logistics Solutions Military/Veterans Employee Resource Group. Debbie is a founding member of the Women In Defense (WID) Central Florida Chapter, the first of four active Florida chapters, which she served as the inaugural chapter president and currently serves as an advisor to the chapter and as chair of the WID National Council. She served as president for the National Defense Industrial Association Central Florida Chapter and continues to serve as a director.
Debbie served in several executive committee and officer positions for the Association of the U.S. Army Sunshine Chapter, including president, and now serves on its board of governors. In recognition of her distinguished service, Debbie was recognized with the prestigious NDIA Silver Medal, the AUSA Sunshine Chapter Royal of the Flamingo medallion and the Noble Patron of Armor. She is the inaugural recipient of the WID CFL Debbie L. Berry Legacy Award. Debbie serves as the programs chair for the 2019 Go for the Greens conference.
Doreen Blades is the founder and president of US Eco Products Corporation, which supplies safe, cost-effective industrial cleaning/sustainable products and services to aid clients and their vendors in reducing their environmental impact. Clients include the U.S. Coast Guard, Delta Airlines, National Guard, Federal Aviation Authority, Columbus Ohio Airport, National Grid, Home Depot, and Electric Boat. Doreen started US Eco Products in 2009.
She was the recipient of the Cheryl Snead Leadership Award from the Center for Women Enterprises, and she also was recognized as a WBE Star in 2016 by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Her company was recognized in a Massachusetts Office of Supplier Diversity success Story in September 2016 and has been named to the Irish American Small Business Top 50. As a business owner, Doreen has taken part in the U.S. Small Business Association’s Emerging Leadership class and the WBENC Tuck Program at Dartmouth College.
She serves as a board member for the International Aviation Snow Symposium in Buffalo, NY, and as board member emeritus for the Boston Irish Business Association. She is a member of the Go for the Greens Sustainability Subcommittee.
As executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), Camille oversees all functions of the headquarters office, including financial directives, human resources, marketing, technology and administration. She plays an active role in planning educational programs, annual meetings and conferences. Since joining the WPO in 2000, she has worked with Founder and President Marsha Firestone and the board of directors to help steer the significant growth trajectory of the organization. Camille is an ardent supporter of women’s economic development.
She represents the WPO and the women’s business community as a speaker at events around the world. She is a member of the advisory council of Enterprising Women magazine, the steering committee of the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC), and the board of directors for LilySarahGrace, a nonprofit that brings arts education to underfunded elementary schools.
Camille is on the board of directors of Go for the Greens Foundation and serves on the finance committee.
Matt Cannon is the vice president and information security officer for FAIRWINDS Credit Union, the largest financial institution headquartered in Central Florida, a financial cooperative established in 1949 that today has assets of $2.2 billion, more than 182,400 members and over 510 employees. He has spent more than two decades working in various security disciplines.
Matt holds a bachelor of science in technical management, a master of science in information systems management and a graduate certificate in information security. He also holds the following industry certifications: Certified Information Security Professional (CISSP), Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) and Certified Protection Professional (CPP), Board Certified in Security Management.
Dalia Cantor has been practicing as an accountant and tax advisor since 1997. She is a certified public accountant in the states of Florida and New York and a member of the American Institute and Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Dalia also holds a designation of certified valuation analyst and is a member of National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts.
Prior to establishing her own practice, Dalia worked in public accounting managing both domestic and foreign audit and tax clients. In private industry, she was involved in the regulatory environment, specializing in technical accounting, internal controls, SEC reporting and M&A transactions for publicly held international companies. In 2008, Dalia established her own firm, CPA Solutions, which today has two locations in the greater Orlando area and employs 15 professionals.
In her firm, Dalia specializes in the healthcare industry, supporting independent medical and dental practices with financial, tax, accounting and advisory matters.
Tim Center is an attorney and statewide leader focused on building better communities. He serves as the executive director of Sustainable Florida, which promotes sustainable practices in Florida that protect natural resources, strengthen the economy and improve quality of life. Tim is also the CEO of the Capital Area Community Action Agency, a $9 million nonprofit that helps people who have the will to move out of poverty positively change their lives.
He also operates Centerfield Strategy, a consulting firm. Tim previously served as the vice president of sustainability initiatives for the Collins Center for Public Policy, an alliance of private and public organizations committed to promoting economic growth and environmental stewardship. A fourth-generation Floridian, Tim received the 2014 Hero of Service Award from City Year and is a graduate of Leadership Florida and Leadership Tallahassee.
He was a founding member of the Go for the Greens executive steering committee and serves on the board of the Go for the Greens Foundation, where he is a member of the governance committee.
Cindy Chace is a director of sales for the government sector at UPS, where she has worked for 33 years. She is active in the corporation’s Congressional awareness program, working with elected officials who have included Robert Wexler, Ted Deutch and Clay Shaw, all of South Florida. Cindy represents UPS on the Corporate Board of Advisors for the Cuban American National Council and served on the President’s Advisory Council at Radford University, her alma mater.
For her work actively participating in activities with minority and women’s business organizations, she was recognized by The International Alliance for Women as a Leader in Global Development in 2012 and the National Association of Women Business Owners with a National Corporate Partner of the Year Award in 2008-09. In 2014, Cindy was recognized with the Corporate Advocate Award for the Women’s Business Enterprise Hall of Fame.
Cindy is co-founder and co-chair of the Go for the Greens conference and a director and founding chair of the Go for the Greens Foundation Inc. She serves on the sponsorship, golf, mentorship, logistics and marketing committees.
Jessica Chace is a senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service, the government agency responsible for issuing weather forecasts, watches, warnings and advisories to protect life and property. After graduating with a degree in atmospheric sciences in 2010, Jessica began her full-time career as a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham. While working full time, she earned her master’s degree in geographic information sciences.
She quickly worked her way up the career ladder and was promoted to senior meteorologist in Huntsville in 2018 as only the second woman to hold this title at the Huntsville office. Jessica was recognized as a future industry leader when she was selected for the NWS Southern Region leadership program in 2018. S
he was the 2016 recipient of the Local Isaac Cline Program Management/Administration Award and the 2014 and 2015 Local Isaac Cline Leadership Award.
Jennifer Cooke is the corporate lead for Women in Trade at Export Development Canada, where she works directly with Canadian companies to help them succeed in international markets. Her job is focused specifically on helping more women entrepreneurs export to grow their business. EDC is Canada’s export credit agency and offers specialized trade knowledge, facilitates trade with financing and insurance, and provides connections to enable companies to go, grow and succeed globally.
She previously worked in large multinational corporations as well as part of entrepreneurial start-ups. Jennifer is bilingual in both English and French and knows some Spanish.
LaKay Cornell is the founder of Champagne Hippies, which helps entrepreneurs, small business owners, startup founders and corporate leaders increase profits plus impact by incorporating their values into their business decisions. She is a speaker, writer, consultant, advocate for conscious capitalism and the B Corp movement, and a serial collaborator.
Charlene Curtis has been involved professionally in the game of basketball from the court, the sideline, the coach’s box, and the broadcast booth for 43 years. Recently retired as the supervisor of women’s basketball officials for the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big South Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, and Southern Conference, Charlene also served as a game analyst for Fox Sports South and ESPNU Basketball television broadcasts and as a studio analyst for ESPNU. Charlene was head coach of Women’s Basketball at Wake Forest University (NC), Temple University (PA), and Radford University (VA).
Her assistant coaching career includes tenures with the nationally renowned University of Connecticut women’s basketball program, Georgetown University, and the University of Virginia in addition to summers with various USA Basketball teams. Radford University inducted Charlene into its 1995 Inaugural Hall of Fame class as both a student-athlete and a coach. The Big South Conference elected Charlene to the 2006 Hall of Fame Class and named her to the 30th Anniversary All-Decade Team in 2013. Off the court, Charlene serves as chair of the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee and has been a Sunday School teacher at her home church.
She formerly served as a Big Sister and a member of the local Big Brothers Big Sisters Board of Directors, Radford University Alumni Association Council, and Radford University President’s Advisory Council.
Iranetta J. Dennis is the Supplier Diversity Director with the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX), which is responsible for construction, maintenance and operation of toll roads in a four-county area of Greater Orlando. As the director, she is responsible for implementing CFX’s supplier diversity policy and programs.
She has 21 years of experience in state government, including 14 years in areas of program development for small, minority- and women-owned business enterprises. Iranetta has been acknowledged for her contributions and support of small, minority- and women-owned business enterprises. Through her career, her primary objective has been to transition these businesses from the role of subcontractors to sustainable prime contractors.
Tara Dodson is the owner and co-founder of Full Circle Resource Management LLC and the creator of the Living Full Circle Blog. While providing sustainability consultation through her business, she also enjoys inspiring others through her journaling of the stories, people, places and partners that bring sustainability into their daily lives through their travels or business ventures.
Tara has demonstrated her commitment to conservation and sustainability over the past 15 years through her work with St. Johns County in Florida to help manage its beaches for endangered species protection and continued public access. She is also co-founder and president of Keepers of the Coast, a nonprofit that offers coastal education programs to provide signature experiences such as beach clean-ups and the annual sustainable-living event Full Circle Fest.
A committed sea turtle patrol volunteer for over 10 years, she serves as co-chair of the events committee for the North Florida Green Chamber and is also a member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals.
She was elected as the Jaguars TIAA Community Champion and will be featured at an upcoming NFL Jacksonville Jaguars home game.
Josh Ferguson is the group fleet manager for Northeast Florida at Enterprise Holdings, where he has worked for the past 12 years. Enterprise Holdings and its affiliates offer extensive car rental, car sharing, truck rental, fleet management, retail car sales and other transportation services. The company operates 9,600 fully staffed neighborhood and airport locations worldwide and has 2 million vehicles in its global fleet. Josh actively participates in the corporation’s formal mentoring program.
After several years of participating in the Go for the Greens conference golf event, Josh joined the planning committee in 2017. He serves as co-chair of the golf subcommittee.
Kate Fishers, CPA, is a partner and director of international tax services for Ferrell & Kelly Certified Public Accountants. With more than 30 years of tax experience, including 20 years in international tax consulting and compliance, Kate is a trusted resource for clients and businesses navigating the complex world of global tax.
Because of her extensive expertise, Kate is also frequently engaged by law firms and other CPAs. She provides integrated services for individuals, corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, and estates and trusts; and she addresses issues related, but not limited, to inbound and outbound business activity, business plans for E-2 visa applications, tax structuring, international gift and estate tax, tax planning for working abroad, tax compliance and transfer studies. Prior to joining Ferrell & Kelly, Kate worked with a large nationwide CPA firm.
She is a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Florida Institute of Public Accountants (FICPA), the German American Business Chamber of Florida, the British American Business Chamber, the American Committees on Foreign Relations – Orlando Chapter, the Winter Park Rotary Club and the Executive Advisory Board Exchange, and she previously served on the board of directors for the Orlando Ballet. She is fluent in Danish and German.
Benita Fortner started a consultancy in 2018 after retiring as director of supplier diversity for Raytheon Company. She served in the supplier diversity space for 28 years.
In her previous position as procurement manager at Hughes Aircraft Company, Benita was instrumental in significantly increasing the number of corporate agreements awarded to small, minority and women-owned suppliers, implementing supplier customer feedback sessions and second-tier alliances.
Benita is past chair of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) and served in numerous leadership roles with government, industry and advocacy groups focused on business owner diversity in the supply chain. She served as the chair of the advisory board for the Tuck Minority Business Executive Education Programs and served on the Tuck School of Business Board of Overseers. Benita has been inducted into the Women’s Business Enterprise Hall of Fame from the American Institute of Diversity and Commerce and was recognized with a Clarion Award from the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
She is a member of the Go for the Greens Foundation Board of Directors and serves as the Development Committee chair.
Karen Fray is a project manager at AISG Inc., where she is responsible for oversight and guidance of the Merchant Marine Training Program. She leads a remote team balancing big-picture, long-term strategy with tactical project oversight. Karen employs agile project management with an emphasis on innovation, process improvement, performance measures and leadership development. Karen’s expertise involves developing training for leaders, team and talent management, and strengthening individual performance and skills.
Karen served as the Women in Defense Central Florida Chapter (WID CFL) president for the past two years, handing over the chapter to the next president in July 2019.
Karen supports local STEM and professional development outreach at local after-school programs, the Orlando Princess Ball, Collegiate Pathways Inc., the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), Orlando’s Professional Technology Innovation Collaborative and the East Orlando Chamber of Commerce.
Beth Gitlin is principal and founder of BJG Global Consultants, which provides evidence-based interventions and solutions in business mentoring, leadership development, executive coaching and teamwork for leaders and their organizations to effect profitable and sustainable strategic growth.
She previously served as executive director of weVENTURE, powered by Florida Institute of Technology, a regional economic development initiative focused on accelerating sustainable business growth for womenpreneurs. weVENTURE was recognized by the SBA in 2014 and 2015 as a Regional WBC Center of Excellence and won the national WBC Center of Excellence in 2012. Beth was awarded the 2014 Small Business Advocate of the Year for Florida and the 2014 Space Coast Business Leader of the Year for Business Development.
She formerly served as president and owner of Global Passages, an international trade consulting company. Additionally, she has 20-plus years of experience in the retailing, manufacturing and global sourcing of consumer packaged goods. She also served for four years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Beth completed a doctorate in industrial/organizational psychology in July 2019, and her dissertation focused on investigating factors affecting venture growth intention for women entrepreneurs.
She serves on several local and regional organizations, including the Brevard Zoo, Lead Brevard and the Space Coast Dragon Boat Club.
Beth is a member of the Go for the Greens Foundation Board of Directors, serving as the Governance Committee chair and a member of the Programs Committee.
Lena Graham-Morris is a business coach with her company Entreprenista Enterprise. She also serves as vice president of market development and community outreach for Horus Construction, her family’s third-generation company with six offices in the Southeastern United States. In her nonprofit work, Lena formerly served as director of community affairs for Healthy Start and worked for six years with PBS/NPR broadcasting, where she was recruited as the on-air fundraising and membership manager for Central Florida station WMFE 90.7.
She previously served as director of business development and marketing for the Metro Orlando Urban League and director of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida. She currently serves on the boards of directors for the Orlando chapter of National Association of Women Business Owners and Dress for Success.
As president and CEO of HRSS Consulting Group, Karen Gregory has grown her company to include a team of experts in organizational assessments, employee and leadership development, and talent management in support of the public and private sectors. Clients include NASA/Kennedy Space Center, Canaveral Port Authority, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Treasury and commercial clients across Central Florida and the U.S.
Karen is also the co-founder of B2GLife, a nonprofit grassroots initiative that raises money to provide practical solutions to those in need and stands grounded in that it is better to give (B2G) than to receive. She is also a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, currently serving with Headquarters Air Force at the Pentagon.
Additionally, Karen serves on Congressman Bill Posey’s Veteran Advisory Council and several boards, including the Florida Association of Veteran Owned Businesses, Space Coast Chapter of Women In Defense, the LEAD Brevard Curriculum Committee, and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast.
Latasha Griffin is a supplier diversity manager with UPS, where she has worked for nine years. She previously worked as a commodity supervisor, where she supported various finance and analytics functions within sales operations, legal and procurement. She managed a portfolio of commodities including marketing, sponsorships, communications, public relations, audit and cafeteria services.
Latasha is also aligned with UPS’s commitment to creating a rich and diverse workplace for its partners, serving as the community connection chair for the UPS LGBT & Allies Business Resource Group since 2014. In this role, Latasha works closely with the UPS Foundation to sponsor and participate in the annual Atlanta AIDS Walk and Atlanta Pride Parade.
Desiree Hanson serves as the manager of supplier diversity for Moffitt Cancer Center and has more than 25 years of supply chain experience in the public and private sectors in the manufacturing, information technology and health care fields. Desiree administers the supplier diversity program and is responsible for policy development, implementation and management of the center’s supplier diversity vision and strategy.
She actively pursues purchasing opportunities and promotes the inclusion and utilization of diverse suppliers in the center’s procurement and supply chain processes. Desiree serves as a board member for the Minority Enterprise Development Corp. and previously served as president of the West Coast Chapter of the Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council. She has received numerous awards for her leadership, outreach, and mentoring of diverse suppliers.
In addition, under her leadership, the supplier diversity program at Moffitt Cancer Center has received both local and national recognition and is a recipient of numerous supplier diversity awards and recognitions from the Florida Minority Business Opportunity Center, Central & North Florida Minority Supplier Development Council, Tampa Bay MedWeek, Tampa Organization of Black Affairs, and Premier Inc.
Desiree previously served as the supplier diversity manager for the University of South Florida and worked for the Fulton County government in Atlanta as a cable franchise manager administering cable television/telecommunication franchise agreements.
Mindi Hertzog is a senior international trade specialist with the U.S. Commercial Service, where she has worked for six years. She works with colleagues in U.S. embassies and consulates all over the world to provide unique solutions and strategies to help U.S. manufacturers and service providers grow their sales, thus increasing jobs in the U.S.
Her responsibilities include consulting for U.S. businesses on potential markets of export, advocating for U.S. private sector interests, developing and executing commercial diplomacy strategies globally, project management, and trade and foreign policy coordination. Mindi previously was a foreign commercial service officer, digital attache and diplomat with the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service under the U.S. Department of Commerce. She worked in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and in Orlando.
Mindi previously worked with Trade & Invest British Columbia, UK Trade & Investment, Pharmers Market and GreenFuel Technologies Corp. She speaks English and Portuguese.
Jeanne Hess is a newly retired professor of physical education and volleyball coach at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, where she was a member of the volleyball team for four years. Volleyball then defined the next 40 years for her as a coach.
Jeanne earned her master’s in exercise science at Western Michigan University prior to her teaching and coaching career. WMU inducted her into the Alumni Honor Academy for Health, Physical Education and Recreation in April 2010.
She sports five MIAA championships and six NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. She ed her team on four international touring, competition and service trips to China, Costa Rica, Trinidad and South Africa.
Jeanne published her first book in 2012, Sportuality: Finding Joy in the Games. Her second book, MaxAbility: Who Are You and What Are You Here For, is coming out in 2019.
Clayton Judge became the director of Global Supplier Diversity for Nike in March 2019. He is responsible for envisioning, building, implementing and leading the future of supplier diversity for the multinational corporation that designs, develops, manufactures and sells footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services.
Clayton provides strategy, communication, performance management and all necessary tools, resources and support to teams across the globe. He work in partnership with other supplier management efforts around technology, risk screening, data information, spend analytics and roles and responsibilities of source-to-pay activities.
Additionally, he partners closely with Nike’s diversity office to ensure connection into larger strategy and vision around diversity viagra nz over the counter. Clayton previously worked for Molson Coors in global procurement development, where he was a sustainability and diversity lead responsible for developing, designing and managing the company’s global supplier diversity initiative.
He also worked as a senior procurement sustainability and diversity manager there. Clayton also previously worked with Major League Baseball, first as a senior manager of diverse business partners, then as director of strategic planning and diversity, and then as a consultant in Costa Rica.
Moe Kashi is a manager of strategic sourcing with Walt Disney World, where she has worked for 14 years. She previously served as a project buyer with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines and as a project manager with The Parker Company , which provides hospitality procurement services.
Lori Lemmon is regional membership director for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO). She is responsible for helping NAWBO grow and expand its footprint and support women business owners across the U.S. She assumed that role after retiring from UPS after more than 25 years of service.
As a passionate advocate for UPS’s customers, she applied her expertise in communications to manage messaging for customers during crisis events. Lori also directed UPS’s sponsorship of organizations for women business leaders including Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), NAWBO and Go for the Greens.
Her other favorite roles included recruiting MBAs for marketing and leading UPS’s 2007 Centennial celebration. Lori serves on the Go for the Greens Mentorship Subcommittee.
After the sudden death of her seemingly healthy 10-year-old son in 2004 blindsided Martha Lopez-Anderson, she immersed herself in education and training relating to the prevention and treatment of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in young people.
For nearly a decade, Martha chaired the board of directors of Parent Heart Watch (PHW), the only national organization solely dedicated to the prevention of SCA and sudden cardiac death in youth. Martha led the organization through the development of its vision and strategic plan, helping enable the organization to evolve and affect significant change.
Now, as executive director of PHW, Martha continues to advocate for prevention strategies, namely heart screenings for early detection of conditions that may lead to SCA and the importance of being prepared in the event of a cardiac emergency.
Her next challenge is to see that PHW’s vision to eliminate preventable deaths and disabilities from SCA in youth by 2030 is achieved.
Martha has co-authored several research papers on SCA and death in the young with leading medical experts that have been published in medical journals. She has also been a guest speaker at numerous conferences focused on youth health and safety.
Susan Matos is a physical education and reading teacher in Osceola County, Florida. She also teaches English online to students in China through VIPKid and is the business development director for AmDen Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical liaison corporation. Susan worked as a geriatric social worker for more than 20 years in nursing home settings and was also the administrator of an assisted living facility in Winter Park, Florida, before changing careers.
Susan obtained her bachelor’s degree in social work from Monmouth College (now Monmouth University) in New Jersey and her master’s degree from Rutgers University. Both degrees were funded by NCAA Division I undergraduate and postgraduate basketball scholarships.
Susan was a high school basketball referee for several years and has coached girls’ soccer, volleyball, basketball, softball and track.
Susan Mazza is an author and the founder of Random Acts of Leadership as well as the CEO of Clarus Consulting Group. She works with leaders and their teams to lead change and transform their performance, relationships and work environment as a business consultant, master facilitator, leadership coach and motivational speaker.
She has been named a Top 50 Thought Leader in Leadership and a Top 100 Conference Speaker in Inc. as well as a Top 100 Thought Leader by Trust Across America/Trust Across the World. She is the founder and author of the blog RandomActsofLeadership.com and the creator of the Leadership in Action System™, a proven system for elevating your leadership and amplifying your impact through the power of simple everyday actions.
Susan’s Strategy in Action™ Programs offer business leaders practical access to thinking and leading strategically to get clear, stay focused and work smarter, dramatically improving performance while increasing work satisfaction and reducing burnout.
Steph McFee is the founder of Connections Curator, a coaching business she started in 2018 that helps businesses and individuals build connections strategies to further their professional and personal growth. Her signature program, Curate YOU!, offers individuals the opportunity to discover their story and build confidence.
Steph has been a champion of women for more than 15 years. She started her career in education working in both the U.S. and Australia as a professor, lecturer and recruiter before accepting a position with Walmart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Arkansas. At Walmart, she developed partnerships with women’s organizations to help the company focus on evolving its policies and products to attract female employees and consumers.
She later served as director of membership for Women Impacting Public Policy, where she focused on building programs to recruit and educate members, and with the Network of Executive Women, where worked with women in retail and consumer products.
Most recently, she has been working with the Women’s Business Development Council of
Florida, where she has created and launched the HER Community membership aimed at providing women business owners with the support they need to ensure success.
Steph is the chair of the Go for the Greens sustainability subcommittee.
Beth Merrick has been a cast member with the Walt Disney Company for more than 25 years, including 15 as a recruiter with the Parks and Resorts division. Her story began with an opportunity to work as a tour guide at the Magic Kingdom after college. This was very exciting because her father also worked as a Disney cast member on the opening team of Epcot.
Her career has included time in theme park guest relations and resorts concierge, as well as management roles in parks and resorts and workforce management.
Some highlights Beth is most proud of include writing and creating the orientation program for the Magic Kingdom cast members, “Once Upon a Time is Now”; opening team for the first “Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party”; part of the events team for the “Remember the Magic” 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Magic Kingdom; many company and local volunteer events; and being the recipient of the Recruiter of the Year Award for the National Hispanic Corporate Achievers.
Beth currently supports recruitment for the sales and marketing and new vacation operations segments.
Kris Oswold is a leader in global business process design and organizational transformation. With more than 28 years at UPS, she has built a career designing and executing global organizational change.
As the director of supplier diversity, she brings a unique perspective to the role. In addition to being passionate about expanding opportunities for diverse suppliers to transact with UPS, Kris brings experience from across the UPS enterprise identifying where results fall short of desires and redesigning metrics, processes and systems to better achieve goals.
Prior to her current role, Kris had responsibility to execute, and then to redesign, UPS processes across the globe, including all aspects of customer support, technical support, billing, payment processing and collections.
In addition to pioneering enterprise-level process design and ownership at UPS, Kris has opened and operated UPS offices in the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Ximena Pauvif-Machado joined the Trade Commissioner Service at the Consulate General of Canada in Miami in 2008. As a trade commissioner, she focuses on two priority sectors — life sciences and defense — but is also active in supplier diversity with a focus on women-owned businesses.
She promotes Canadian business abroad and assists Canadian companies by fostering strategic partnerships in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Along with her business development activities, Ximena assists foreign companies that are interested in sourcing Canadian products/services or expanding into Canada.
Prior to joining the Consulate General, Ximena spent more than 18 years in the tourism and hospitality industry in both Toronto and Miami, holding positions in product development, sales and software support.
Karen Pelot, MBA, MDR, is the founder and CEO of Perspectives LLC. Her specialty is partnering with leaders to remove barriers and remedy distractions so they can focus on priorities and achieving their goals. Karen is a Florida Supreme Court certified mediator and holds a master certification in executive coaching.
Prior to founding her company in 2008, she served as a senior corporate leader with three Fortune 100 companies in the financial services industry, where she developed and led special investigation units.
Karen serves as a mediator, executive coach, group trainer, meeting facilitator and keynote speaker. A partial list of clients includes multiple branches of the U.S. Department of Interior, PCI Pharmacy Solutions, Florida State University, Florida Food Services, The Gehring Group, AAA, AMICA Insurance, IMSA and Disability Rights of Florida.
Elizabeth Reid is an experienced deputy director at Global Affairs Canada with a demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry. Elizabeth’s current priorities include planning and implementing ministerial outreach events, as well as assisting Canadian diversity businesses to grow and expand internationally.
She actively seeks to engage in supplier diversity opportunities and is planning a number of outreach events in the coming months to support Canadian women-owned, indigenous and LGBTQ2 companies among others in exporting abroad, making business connections, and receiving business advice from the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service.
In the past, Elizabeth has worked as a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, as well as served as deputy director for the Invest in Canada, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada divisions.
Robin Richter is a longtime entrepreneur, an avid golfer and president of Wearable Imaging, a promotional product distributor based in Orange County, California. For 27 years, Robin has used her golf and marketing expertise to help her clients stand out by providing them with cutting-edge, out-of-the-box promotional products.
In 2016, Robin was named Supplier of the Year by WBEC-West, where she served as the forum chair for three years. Robin is involved in several philanthropic endeavors, fundraising for a variety of different organizations such as Alzheimer’s Orange County.
Her new book, The Golf Course Millionaire: How to Turn Relationships into Big Business through Golf, became an Amazon #1 bestseller in the first 30 days and provides valuable insight on how the game of golf can grow any business.
Robin recently joined the board of directors for the Southern California Golf Association.
Marisol Romany is the director of Diversity and Minority Business Development at Orlando Health, where she has worked for 10 years. In a growing organization with more than 23,000 team members spread across nine geographic locations, the diversity program led by Marisol provides training and resources that support Minority Business Development, Diversity and Inclusion, and Culture and Language Resources.
Under her leadership, the Minority Business Development program supports the introduction of diverse vendors to Orlando Health’s supply chain and group purchasing organization, with the goal of increasing diverse supplier participation in Orlando Health projects.
In taking the lead in new initiatives, Marisol has shaped Diversity and Minority Business Development’s main objective to establish and grow successful relationships by valuing diversity and inclusion in the workplace as well as in the marketplace.
Today, these supplier diversity efforts positively impact the economy of more than 1,180 diverse suppliers.
Pamela Rogan is the President and CEO of Rogan Marketing and Communications, a full service outsourced firm where they play the role of marketing department for their clients. Rogan is known by colleagues and clients for her natural leadership ability, team-building skills and a commitment to “Blue Sky” thinking, where ideas can be shared collaboratively without fear of being judged.
While working in New York City, Rogan successfully ran two in-house advertising agencies and went on to turn around a third. She then launched her own agency which she ran for 8 years in NYC before closing the company to relocate to Atlanta, GA where she opened a similar company and then transferred it when she and her husband relocated permanently to Orlando, FL in 2010.
Throughout her career, Rogan has been heavily committed to volunteerism. The majority of her efforts have been directed towards encouraging the growth of women and young adults who display entrepreneurial leanings while continuously educating herself in order to best foster diversity in order to best stimulate growth, education and employment.
Rogan receives many nominations to participate with numerous boards. She takes pride in the fact that she will not serve a board unless it is something that ignites her passion for helping those who are unable to totally help themselves. And, it’s a bonus when the organization supports diversity and inclusion.
In Orlando, she previously served as President of NAWBO Orlando (4 years). Her current volunteer efforts include: Governing Board member for Athena PowerLInk; Go for the Greens Foundation Board member and marketing chair; Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board member; Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund of Metro Orlando Board memberMost recently she has been awarded the i4 Business Magazine 2019 Women’s Inspired Leadership Award for “Spirit of Mentorship”.
Pamela serves on the board of directors of the Go for the Greens Foundation and is the chair for the Marketing Committee.
An intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserves, Shelly Rood served the nation for 16 years while attaining the rank of captain and being awarded the Shield of Sparta and the St. Joan D’Arc. Shelly is a strategic thinker encouraging people to raise the bar and invest in building relationships for the greater good.
Tactically, she led intelligence briefings during highly sensitive overseas missions. Strategically, she orchestrated security programs protecting 4,000 soldiers. As a civilian, Shelly brought her leadership to the broadcast television and fitness industries. This third-generation Detroit business owner educates military and civilian personnel on intelligence and professional development.
Shocked by the mental health statistics of fellow service members, Shelly launched HelloMissilia.com, connecting like-minded women and honoring them with gifts of wellness.
Andrea Ruiz-Hays is the founder of Eco Strategies Group. She brings more than 28 years of experience within the hospitality industry to her consulting firm. Andrea combines her unique skillset, experience, and her passion for conserving the planet’s natural resources by educating others on how to be excellent environmental stewards.
She worked with Walt Disney World for more than 20 years, leading multimillion-dollar organizational programs, employee engagement, resiliency planning and sustainability integration. During that time, she led the Green Lodging designation for all Disney resort hotels through the Florida Department of Environmental Integration.
Additionally, she and her team led the revitalization of the recycling program for all employees and visitors. In 2016, Andrea received her Zero Waste Associate certification from the U.S. Zero Waste Association and recently was certified as a climate reality leader with Climate Reality Leader Corps.
She serves as the director of outreach and engagement for the Central Florida chapter of Climate Reality Leaders.
Billie Bryant Schultz is CEO of CESCO Inc., an award-winning printing equipment and software solution provider focused on managed document services and sales of copiers, smart multifunctional devices, scanners, plotters, 3D printers and supplies. Since joining the company, Billie has transitioned CESCO from a coin and office equipment service company to one that has extensive experience and knowledge cultivated through partnerships with leading printing equipment manufacturers and software providers, all for the benefit of sustainability and cost reduction in document printing.
Those partnerships include Xerox, Lexmark, HP Ricoh, Dell, Epson, Brother and Y Soft SafeQ Software. Billie served on the formation boards of the Women’s Business Council Southwest and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, where she served for 10 years. She was the first chair of the WBENC Leadership Forum and a chair of the certification committee and task force. Billie continues to serve on the WBCS board of directors, in addition to the board of directors of the American Institute for Diversity and Commerce’s Women’s Business Enterprise Hall of Fame.
For her advocacy for women, minorities and small businesses, she has won numerous awards, including the WBENC Applause, WBE Hall of Fame, WBENC Star vendor, WBE WBCS award of the year, TXU/CESCO Star Vendor, EFH CESCO/Xerox Partnership award, and Enterprising Woman of the Year.
Billie serves on the Go for the Greens Foundation board of directors and is the board liaison to the mentorship subcommittee.
Diane Sears is the founder and president of DiVerse Media LLC, which assists clients with content marketing projects, including nonfiction books, research, white papers, TED Talks, executive speeches, event planning, media relations and online marketing. She is the author of Tapping Your Inner Entrepreneur: Making the Move from Employee to Business Owner and Inside AP: A Guide to Today’s Accounts Payable Profession, as well as thousands of magazine and newspaper articles. An award-winning journalist, she is a co-owner and the editor-in-chief of i4 Business magazine.
She has served as editor-in-chief of two other business magazines and as a writer and editor for several others. She also worked as an editor and news reporter at The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today newspapers. Diane is the Central Florida regional director for the Women’s Business Development Council of Florida, a founding governing body member of ATHENAPowerLink in Central Florida and former Orlando chapter chair for the Women Presidents’ Organization.
She was inducted into the Women’s Business Enterprise Hall of Fame in December 2015 by the American Institute of Diversity & Commerce. She also was presented with a 2015 World of Difference 100 Award by The International Alliance for Women, and the National Association of Women Business Owners named her National Member of the Year in 2006 and again in 2009.
Diane is co-founder and co-chair of the Go for the Greens conference and is a founding director of the Go for the Greens Foundation. She serves on the governance, programming, marketing, sponsorship and philanthropy subcommittees.
In June 2010, four months after having a clean mammogram and ultrasound, Debbie Setuain detected a lump during a self-exam. She was 49 years old. Due to a family history of multiple cancers — including breast cancer, which took the life of her mother at age 44 as well as three of her aunts — her oncologist recommended genetic testing, which revealed she was positive for the BRCA1 genetic mutation. After a diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer and multiple treatments, she is cancer free.
Today she is a volunteer for FORCE – Facing our Risk of Cancer Empowered, as well as Your Bosom Buddies and the Day of Caring.
She is a passionate advocate to improve cancer care for survivors. In 2018, she was in Washington, DC, advocating for a survivorship cancer care plan with members of Congress.
This summer she attended Project LEAD to continue her training in advocacy.
Wendy Sellers, MHR, MHA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is a consultant, speaker, author and human resources expert known as The HR Lady®. Her focus is on change management, HR operations, leadership development, employee relations, attraction and retention, management training and team building.
With a master’s in human resources and a master’s in health care administration, she keeps watch over the bottom line for her clients. Wendy has worked with hundreds of corporations and associations conducting management training, leadership development, and HR advisory services.
She has experience as an HR executive and practitioner, an HR advisor, a board member, and an adjunct faculty member.
In 2015, HRO Today magazine named her an “HR Superstar Practitioner.”
Leonard Spencer is the senior manager of supplier diversity at The Walt Disney Company, where he leads the supplier diversity program. He is responsible for setting the vision and business strategy for the identification and utilization of diverse suppliers that help the company drive innovation and enhance economic inclusion reflective of the guests Disney serves and the communities where Disney operates around the world.
Leonard has extensive experience in operations and finance leadership roles. He previously led the procurement operations organization for Disney’s theme parks and resorts. His team provided the financial planning, spend analysis and reporting for strategic sourcing teams based in Asia, Europe and the United States and was responsible for identifying and implementing best-in-class procurement processes, procedures and tools.
Leonard is passionate about economic development and holds leadership positions in several professional and community organizations focused on business development, youth education and financial literacy.
Dein Spriggs is president of the Florida Amateur Driving Club, an organization of licensed harness racing drivers who compete on a professional level and donate 100% of their race earnings to charity. The organization began partnering with the Go for the Greens Foundation in 2013 to provide an annual donation to help a woman business owner who has survived breast cancer. As a racer, Dein has in excess of 400 wins. When he is not on the horse track, Dein is a real estate consultant.
John Stephenson’s journey with Disney began in the 1980s in what was then known as The Magic Kingdom College Program. His travels with the Walt Disney Company have led him to all 12 Disney theme parks around the world. John has also worked in the company’s headquarters in Burbank, California, with Disney Consumer Products.
In the early 1990s, he was part of the opening management team of Mickey’s Kitchen, the first Disney restaurant ever opened outside of a Disney theme park. In 1992, John left Disney to pursue a career with Starbucks Corp., where he was the first recruiter to be hired outside of the corporate office of Seattle. After 13 years, he returned to Disney. The highlight of his career came in 2005, when he was selected as the recruiter to launch the Disney College Program at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
In 2006, he was awarded the highest honor a cast member can receive: the Spirit of Disneyland award. After the successful launch of the program at Disneyland, he rejoined the cast at Walt Disney World in Florida as a college program recruiter.
He has recruited for Disney professional internships since 2013, starting with technology positions and now for sales, service and events.
Barbara Tulskie is the president of TREC Group Inc., an engineering consulting business she and her husband Joe Tulskie founded 18 years ago. TREC is certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council as woman-owned and operates in the Mid-Atlantic Region and also in Florida.
Barbara holds professional engineering licenses in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Florida. She has volunteered as a youth coach for both volleyball and basketball for her local Catholic Youth Organization.
She is actively seeking and mentoring young women in the technical fields of study. Barbara is co-chair of the Go for the Greens mentorship subcommittee.
Karen Williams is an export development executive with Nova Scotia Business Inc., the private-sector-led business development agency for the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. Her file is working with businesses of diversity including: aboriginal and/or indigenous persons; persons with disabilities; LGBT+; veterans; visible minorities; and women.
Her role is to work with partners to develop international relationships for her clients and prepare her clients to access these opportunities and succeed in the global economy. Her clients benefit from her 17 years of experience in export development with the province of Nova Scotia and her private sector background in business and market development.
Karen is a Certified International Trade Professional (CITP).
Patti Winstanley is founder and president of Winstanley Consultants, where she helps individuals, small businesses, corporations, government agencies and nonprofits with relationship building and strategy to improve the bottom line. She formerly owned and operated the Aztec family of companies, which were certified woman-owned businesses with locations in Arizona and Texas, including Aztec Promotional Group and its subsidiaries.
Patti served as vice chair for small business for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce in 2015 and as co-chair of the AISD Reagan Early College High School community advisory committee for 10 years, where she helped with the addition of the college credit program. She is on the board of directors for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council and Women’s Business Council-Southwest, and she won the Advocate of the Year in 2017 and 2018, the Women Working Together in 2018 and the Lilly Knox Investing in Growth Award in 2011.
Patti also represents WBCS as an advocate on the WBENC Forum, where she served on the forum leadership team from 2012-17, and served as chair of the 2015 WBENC National Conference and Business Fair host committee. She is a member of WBEC-West, where she was nominated for WBE Advocate of the Year in 2012 and served as Forum Chair for Tucson from 2010-18. She was named an Enterprising Woman for 2013 by Enterprising Women magazine and as a WBE Who Rocks by MBE magazine in 2017, and she won the Mary Schnack Woman Helping Women Award at Go for the Greens.
As a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization, she served on the steering committee for WPO’s 2013 annual conference.
Patti serves on the board of directors of the Go for the Greens Foundation and is the board liaison for the marketing subcommittee.
Kristin Woodling is a licensed mental health counselor and certified marriage and family therapist who owns Pamper Your Mind LLC. She is devoted to providing a confidential and elite therapeutic experience to professional women seeking healing, clarity and balanced lifestyle for optimal health.
She has more than 10 years of experience and is known for her ability to help clients alter toxic thoughts, cleanse adverse emotions, pursue healthy responses to stress, and understand the connection between physical and emotional wellbeing. Additionally, she promotes strong mental health services in her community as the past president of the Space Coast Mental Health Counselors Association and by teaching counseling courses at Webster University and Eastern Florida State College. She is a graduate of the 360 Ignite program offered by WeVenture at the Florida Institute of Technology and now enjoys volunteering as a mentor to help other professionals excel personally and professionally.
Toya Woods is a business development specialist in the Office of Small Business at the Export Import Bank of the United States (EXIM Bank). EXIM is an independent federal agency that provides export credit insurance and working capital guarantees specifically designed to help develop and expand U.S. small businesses in the global marketplace.
Toya is responsible for promoting EXIM’s export financing programs and services to the underserved business community, working primarily with minority- and women-owned businesses as well as veteran-owned enterprises.
Toya has been with EXIM Bank for more than 18 years, where she has also worked in the Office of Records Management and in the bank’s Division of the Treasurer and Controller.
Bonnie Yauilla is a business diversity specialist at Tampa International Airport (Hillsborough County Aviation Authority), where she is responsible for actively seeking out women- and minority-owned businesses to introduce them to the Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) program in the state of Florida.
She helps businesses understand the benefits of becoming certified and guides them through the DBE application process. Bonnie has more than 12 years of experience and is a passionate and enthusiastic champion for the DBE program. Bonnie oversees the DBE application process and actively participates in the Florida Unified Certification Program.
She takes an active role in promoting and representing the airport at events, including Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council, the Tampa Bay Minority Enterprise Development Conference (MED Week), Hillsborough County Open Doors, SBDC Annual Government Small Business Conference, NIGP – The Institute for Public Procurement Annual Reverse Trade Show, and the National Association of Black Women in Construction.
Her office received an Award of Appreciation from the Tampa Bay Community Advocacy Committee for its support during the construction of a $750 million rental car center. About $179.3 million of that project was committed to be spent with more than 145 women- and minority-owned businesses.