LISA PRICE
Founder & CEO, Carol’s Daughter
From humble beginnings in her Brooklyn kitchen, Founder of Carol’s Daughter, Inc., Lisa Price transformed her beloved hobby of mixing up fragrances and creams at home into a multi-million dollar beauty empire.
In the early 1990’s, Price began experimenting with making her own fragrances and perfume sprays when she wasn’t busy working on the legendary sitcom The Cosby Show. She added oils to unscented lotions, and began learning the aromatherapeutic and healing properties of the oils. In August of 1994, Price officially established Carol’s Daughter (the company lovingly named after her mother). Initially starting out with a handful of steady customers, those numbers grew in leaps and bounds as women outside her neighborhood and circle of friends began to take notice. Almost overnight, celebrities like Jada Pinkett-Smith, Erykah Badu, Rosie Perez and Halle Berry became loyal customers. She is also the author of Success Never Smelled So Sweet, a remarkable memoir that chronicles her transformation from a young Black woman deep in debt and burdened by low self-esteem to the president of a multi-million dollar business.
DR. IYANLA VANZANT
With more than 8 million books in print, Iyanla Vanzant has truly established a dedicated fan base. Iyanla’s path to success took her through a multitude of life-changing experiences that shaped the profound insights she eagerly shares with others. Dr. Vanzant combined her professional skills with her life’s lessons and embarked on a writing and speaking career. Her mass appeal is evident in her overwhelming success as an author. In the Meantime was a #1 New York Times bestseller, where it spent 20 weeks on the list, and she has had numerous other major bestsellers. As a nationally recognized speaker she has sold out such prestigious venues as New York’s Jacob Javits Convention Center, Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, Atlanta’s Civic Center, and the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. Vanzant is also familiar to the daytime TV audience from her role as a regular contributor on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
LLOYD BOSTON
Author, Television, Host, Fashion & Style
Lloyd Boston is a one-man brand. Television Host. Style Expert. Best-Selling Author. He’s currently the host of HGTV’s ‘Closet Cases’. Boston has built a reputation as one of America’s favorite TV “Style Guys” and lifestyle TV Hosts. Millions of TV viewers trust his fashion and lifestyle philosophy, celebrated regularly everywhere from Oprah and NBC Today, to CNN and New York’s Full Frontal Fashion. His current book is entitled, The Style Checklist (Simon and Schuster).
Hon. Kimberly M. Esmond Adams, Esq.
Judge of the Fulton County Superior Court, Atlanta Judicial Circuit
Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams began her term on the Fulton County Superior Court in January, 2009. The Fulton Superior Court is the largest and busiest trial court in the State of Georgia. Prior to her election, Judge Adams served the citizens of Fulton County as a Chief Senior Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney for nearly six years where she prosecuted major felony cases, including homicides and crimes against women and children.
Siddiq Bello
Digital Media Expert, Rogue Venture Labs
Mr. Bello is an entrepreneur, media and technology professional with over ten years experience in the creation, development and management of consumer facing online businesses for publishing, broadcast and recording companies.
Peggy Duncan
Personal Productivity Expert
Peggy Duncan is a personal productivity expert who combines working smarter with effective uses of technology. She’s the founder of The Digital Breakthroughs Institute, a productivity and training firm in Atlanta. She’s an award-winning technology blogger and the author of several books. Peggy was formally trained at IBM where she was recognized by the chairman for improving processes that saved the company close to a million dollars a year.
Karmetria Dunham Burton
General Manager Supplier Diversity, Delta Air Lines
Karmetria Dunham Burton is general manager, supplier diversity for Delta Air Lines. In this position she is responsible for developing a Supplier Diversity program while enhancing the processes to assist the company to achieve its vision of being an industry leader of making minority and women owned business (MWBEs) a natural and integral part of the way the company does business. Karmetria has worked in strategic sourcing at Xerox and AT&T. Before Delta, Karmetria was supplier diversity manager for IHG (Intercontinental Hotels Group) Karmetria was the 2005 recipient of the Trailblazer Award presented by the Black Business Professionals and Entrepreneurs organization and is a Who’s Who of Black Atlanta in 2010.
Kim Blackwell
Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer, PMM Agency
Kimberly A. Blackwell is the Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of PMM Agency (PMM), Progressive Marketing & Management, a full-service advertising, marketing and communications firm. PMM was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Highly regarded in her industry, Ms. Blackwell was featured in the February 2011 Power Issue of Black Enterprise magazine in a special feature as one of the Top African Americans in Marketing & Advertising. In March 2011, Ms. Blackwell was appointed to the National Women’s Business Council, a federal advisory council to the President, Congress and SBA representing the interests of women business owners. She has been recognized both nationally and locally as a 2010 Forty Under 40 recipient by The Network Journal along with Columbus’ Business First publications.
Tamara S. Bowens
Co-Founder, BowensBergeron
Tamara S. Bowens, a style icon, avid art collector, community activist, and business executive has always had a passion for all things art and fashion. Equipped with 15 years of marketing experience, Ms. Bowens co-founded BowensBergeron, a luxury handbag company that produces limited edition handbags made from exotic woods. Designed and produced in Atlanta, BowensBergeron handbags are desired by the most discerning tastemakers throughout the country.
In 1996, Mrs. Bowens earned a bachelor of business administration with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Texas-Austin. Mrs. Bowens later completed her MBA from Harvard Business School where she was a Bert King Scholar. She is also actively involved in her community where she serves as a board member of The Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center, Fernbank Corporate Leadership Council, and the Board of Directors of the Harvard Business School Club of Atlanta. She is also an active member and volunteer with a host of other non-profit organizations including chairing events for the National Black Arts Festival.
Dolores Cadette-Branch
Regional Director, ING
Dolores Cadette-Branche is the Regional Director covering Alabama and Georgia for ING’s southeast region. Dolores oversees ING’s group retirement plan clients in the government, healthcare, and education markets, collectively known as the public markets. Dolores is also responsible for managing ING’s distribution partners and for designing and implementing ING’s service and communication strategy for its key clients. She previously served as District Manager and a Client Relationship Manager with ING. Prior to joining ING, Dolores worked as the government affairs liaison for the Florida Retail Federation. Dolores earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Florida A&M University.
Robyn Corr
Vice President, Partner Resources, Starbucks Coffee
As the Director of Partner Resources, Ms. Corr is responsible for strategic operations planning reporting to the EVP of Partner Resources.Robyn joined Starbucks Coffee Company in 1998 as Diversity manager, and was promoted to the position of Staffing and Diversity manager later that year, she served in that role for two years. Next, she joined the Supply Chain Organization as the HR manager for the Starbucks Support Center (SSC).
CaSondra Devine
SVP, Senior Business Manager Corporate Supplier Diversity, Wells Fargo
CaSondra Devine is Senior Vice President and Senior Business Manager for Wells Fargo’s Corporate Supplier Diversity. Devine is a senior leader charged with managing Wells Fargo’s external relationships, sponsorships and partnerships with communities and organizations supporting diverse supplier development and inclusion. Devine’s leadership oversees enterprise-wide initiatives supporting Wells Fargo supplier diversity objectives through project management tools and process improvement methodologies. CaSondra plays a key role in implementing Wells Fargo’s Leaders of Change initiative that provides coaching and development for diverse businesses and emerging entrepreneurs. Devine has led Wells Fargo’s participation and sponsorship with multiple national organizations and annual conferences including; the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the National Council of Asian American Business Associations. Devine also represents Wells Fargo on the Tuck Executive Management Scholarship selection.
Marian Cover Dockery
Chair and Founder, The Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys, Inc.
Marian is the Managing Member of Marian Dockery & Associates LLC. Marian specializes in employment discrimination, wage and hour, labor relations and diversity training. Her firm also negotiates severance agreements and business transactions for small to mid-size entities. Marian provides her expertise to the State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program designing CLE programs to promote diversity among its members. Marian also serves as a special Master for the Fulton County Superior Court. Additionally, Marian serves on the arbitration panel for the FNRA. Prior to her current positions, Marian has practiced at the Office for Civil Rights, Department of Education (Atlanta) as a Senior Attorney, and was an Adjunct Professor at the John Marshall School of Law.
Sonya Dukes
SVP – Director of Corporate Supplier Diversity, Wells Fargo
As Wells Fargo’s Director of Corporate Supplier Diversity, Sonya Dukes is a senior leader within the financial services industry charged with creating increased access, visibility and development to diverse businesses nationwide. Dukes is a key resource and representative working with national organizations impacting a range of issues including; community development, workforce diversity and inclusion. Further, Dukes is a member of the recently established Wells Fargo Diversity Strategy Development Committee.
Recognized for her leadership, Dukes is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has received numerous awards for her contributions in the field of diversity and inclusion including being named as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America (Savoy Professional Magazine, 2009), Corporate Stewardship Award (National Association of Minority Contractors) Chair Award (U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce). Dukes also lends her expertise to a variety of organizations impacting diversity including; the Howard University School of Communication Advisory Council, executive mentoring to the Black Economic Council and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce.
Philippa V. Ellis, Esq.
In 2000, Philippa became one of the original partners of the Atlanta firm — Owen, Gleaton, Egan, Jones & Sweeney, LLP. She serves as lead trial counsel for the firm’s product liability litigation team. Handling complex insurance defense litigation and business entity representation have also been longstanding components of her practice since she graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1988, where she earned an American Jurisprudence Award and was a member of the Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honor Fraternity. She received the honor of being selected as a Georgia Super Lawyer ~ 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011 and Super Lawyer/Corporate Counsel Edition ~ 2007, 2009.
Gail Evans
Vice President & General Manager, HP.com Hewlett-Packard Company
Gail Evans leads the HP.com team and the most ambitious website redesign and technology transformation project in the history of HP. She and her team are introducing a new design, a new technology stack and a new operating model to build a world class HP.com site. Prior to joining HP, Gail was the Global Consumer and Small Business Banking eCommerce Application Development executive at Bank of America. In this role, she was responsible for managing a global team of more than 300 associates to deploy innovative customer experiences to grow online, mobile sales and provide more efficient agile development processes that leverages the speed of the web channel. She also developed a $60 million Technology Transformation strategy and business case.
Devon Franklin
DeVon Franklin is a rarity: an African-American studio executive at the forefront of Hollywood’s hit machine. He recently oversaw the summer blockbuster, The Karate Kid, starring Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith. He has also worked on many films including The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith, Not Easily Broken produced by T. D. Jakes and Jumping the Broom starring Angela Bassett. He was formerly an executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and got his start as an intern for Will Smith and James Lassiter. In addition to his entertainment industry pursuits, DeVon is a preacher and motivational speaker. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California. He lives in Los Angeles.
Cathy Hampton, Esq.
President Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council
As City Attorney, Cathy Hampton serves as the Chief Legal Officer for the City of Atlanta and leads the Department of Law. She is responsible for providing legal counsel to the Mayor and to the Atlanta City Council and is vested with exclusive authority and jurisdiction in all matters of law relating to the executive branch of the city government and every department, bureau, office, institution, commission, committee, board and other agency thereof.
Claire Jason, Esq.
Co-Founder, Vice President & Creative Director, Pzi Jeans
Claire Jason is Co-Founder with her husband Dan Jason, of PZI Jeans. Claire is Vice-President and Creative Director. Claire is an attorney and partner with her husband of the Law Firm of Jason & Bradley, Stone Mountain, Georgia. Additionally, Claire presides as a Magistrate Judge where she presides over various criminal and civil matters.
Stacey Key
President Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council
Stacey Key is president and chief executive officer of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council (GMSDC), a leading authority in supplier diversity and minority business development. GMSDC is a not-for-profit organization that fosters value-driven partnerships between corporate/government entities and ethnic minority-owned businesses in the state of Georgia. GMSDC offers innovative programs and industry-leading resources for enhancing the economic landscape for minority development in Georgia. GMSDC is located in Atlanta, Georgia, as a regional affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
Sheila Marmon
Co-Founder and CEO, UrbanAdserve
Sheila Marmon is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of UrbanAdserve, a digital media company reaching multicultural consumers, where she is responsible for strategy, growth, development and planning. UrbanAdserve clients include Proctor & Gamble, State Farm and CHANEL among others. Before UrbanAdserve, Sheila was part of the development and launch teams for several businesses while at Time Inc. — one of these was Suede Magazine, a multicultural fashion publication.
Terri Plummer McClure
SVP of Legal, Compliance & Public Affairs, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary UPS
Teri Plummer McClure, Senior Vice President for UPS, oversees the company’s legal, compliance and public affairs activities, worldwide. In addition to her corporate responsibilities, McClure is a member of various bar associations and serves on the boards of the UPS Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights. McClure has also served as former co-chair of the Georgia Supreme Courts Committee on Civil Justice. She also is active with many church-related, civic and professional organizations.
Rhonda Mims, Esq.
President, ING Foundation and Senior Vice President, Office of Corporate Responsibility and Multicultural Affairs
Rhonda Mims is responsible for creating a corporate responsibility strategy focusing on children’s education, financial literacy, outreach to diverse communities, and environmental sustainability. In this role, she is also responsible for workforce diversity and diversity marketing.
Mims currently serves as an Alliance Trustee for America’s Promise, and she sits on the Board of Directors of The Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Woodruff Arts Center, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, UNICEF and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Business Civic Leadership Center. She is also an active member of the Executive Leadership Council. Mims is a 2007 Leadership Atlanta Graduate, and PR News honored her as one of their 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Executives of the Year. Mims received her bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina and her Juris Doctorate from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She currently holds NASD series 7 and 66 designations.
Dr. Joyce Morley, Ed.D.
CEO, Morley & Associates
Dr. Joyce has served as an educator in the public school system, & as a professor at the post secondary level. She engages in motivational & keynote speaking, training, executive, relationship, life coaching, and mediation at national, state, local, & global levels, & she serves as a licensed psychotherapist in private practice. Dr. Joyce does consulting for businesses, organizations, & educational institutions, including The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), the Georgia Center for Nonprofit (GCN), The U. S. Dept. of Education, The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Project GRAD Atlanta, The CO Group, the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), & other organizations.
Felicia Norwood, ESQ.
President of the Mid America Region, Aetna, Inc.
Felicia Norwood is President of the Mid‐America Region for Aetna, Inc. Felicia is responsible,within the 17‐state region, for sales and distribution of all products for middle markets, small businesses, individuals, Medicare, public sector and labor segments. She is also responsible for network management and medical economics for the region. Prior to her current role at Aetna,she was President and CEO of ActiveHealth Management, Inc., a wholly‐owned Aetna subsidiary.
Shawn Outler
Group Vice President, Multicultural Merchandising and Vendor Development at Macy’s
Shawn R. Outler was appointed Group Vice President of Multicultural Merchandising and Vendor Development for Macy’s Inc. in May of 2009. This newly created position gives Shawn the responsibility of identifying merchandise assortment opportunities and developing strategic initiatives to better serve Macy’s multicultural customers city-by-city, store-by-store. Shawn is also responsible for multicultural vendor development, where she fosters innovation through the sourcing, mentoring, and growth of multicultural and women owned vendors. To that end, Shawn has authored The Workshop at Macy’s, a formal retail business development and mentorship program designed to educate and prepare new and existing vendors on retail business practices. The program will officially launch May 2011. The Workshop will become the benchmark for other retailers in the Retail Supplier Diversity area. These initiatives are in line with MyMacy’s, a national, localization strategy designed to ensure that customers at each Macy’s store find merchandise assortments that are custom tailored to meet their lifestyle needs.
Michelle Sourie Robinson, Esq.
Director, Supplier Diversity, The Home Depot
Michelle Sourie Robinson is Director, Supplier Diversity for The Home Depot. In her thirteen year tenure with the company, she has led several areas of the organization through successful growth andchange processes. Her assignments began within Merchandising where she bought Lighting, as well as Décor: Wallpaper and Window Treatments. Later, as the Director of Learning, she spearheaded the restructure and repositioning of Training & Development for the organization’s 315,000 associate population. Prior to joining Home Depot, Michelle was employed by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. where she was the youngest and first African American attorney to serve as Corporate Counsel. During her lengthy tenure at Wal-Mart, Michelle was also a Buyer and held various hourly and management positions within the stores.An Oklahoma native, she earned her B.S. in Organizational Administration from Oklahoma State University and holds a J.D. from the University of Kansas.
Jenell R. Ross
VP, Dealer Operator – Bob Ross Buick, GMC and Mercedes-Benz
Jenell R. Ross is the Dealer Operator and Vice President for the BobRoss Dealerships in Centerville, Ohio. The Bob Ross Dealerships include three franchises: Buick, GMC, and Mercedes-Benz. Ms. Ross directs a team of managers representing the operational departments within the dealership. These include sales, service, parts, body shop, financing, and accounting. Jenell develops long-range goals, objectives and policies for the Bob Ross Dealerships and works to maintain an open atmosphere of communication for 90 employees.
Candi Castleberry Singleton
Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Candi Castleberry-Singleton is the Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer (CIDO) at UPMC, a $7 billion integrated global health enterprise with 48,000 employees. She is responsible for the UPMC Center for Inclusion in Health Care. Candi received an MBA from Pepperdine University, a bachelor’s degree in legal studies from UC Berkeley, and graduated from the Stanford University Human Resources Executive Program. Her board memberships include Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, Cable Positive, League of Black Women, and The Pittsburgh Promise. She is a former Co-Chair of The Conference Board’s Diversity Business Council and member of the Board of Directors of the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.
In 2008, Candi was recognized by Savoy Professional magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America and The Pittsburgh Courier as one the 50 Women of Excellence.
Dr. Jill Perry Smith
Jill Perry-Smith is an Associate Professor of Organization and Management at the Goizueta Business School, Emory University. She received her PhD in Organizational Behavior from Georgia Institute of Technology. Her teaching focuses on the psychological principles behind the success of individuals and organizations. In particular, her research emphasizes three primary areas: creativity and innovation, social networks, and work-life initiatives. Her research has appeared in journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes and books such as Handbook of Organizational Creativity and Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results.
Noni Ellison Southall, Esq.
Senior Counsel, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
Noni Ellison Southall serves as Senior Counsel for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (Turner) and heads the Turner Music Group. In this capacity, she oversees business and legal affairs related to music utilized by Turner, both domestic and international, including the Turner music publishing companies and Williams Street, a record label which she helped to establish. Noni also provides legal guidance to the Turner entertainment networks (TNT, TBS, TCM, TruTV) with respect to marketing campaigns, promotions, and sweepstakes, including copyright, trademark, privacy and publicity issues. She began her legal career as a corporate finance and securities associate in Houston, Texas and prior to her current role, Noni was Director of Legal Affairs for Scripps Networks, Inc. in New York City. Noni earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University, magna cum laude and simultaneously earned a Doctor of Law, Master of Business Administration and Certification in Health Administration and Policy from the University of Chicago.
Jai Stone
Chief Brand-ologist, Founder & CEO, The Brand Coach
As the Chief Brand-ologist and CEO, Jai leads the creation of corporate & celebrity brand strategies and delivers programs to clients such as The Coca Cola Company and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. As a pioneer in her field, Stone has been recognized by the Cambridge Who’s Who, the Georgia Women’s Business Council, the Atlanta Business League and the Atlanta Tribune Magazine for her innovation and creative style of brand development.
