While the need for talented leaders is more critical now than ever, the number of women that make it to the top echelons of their industry is far and few between. This distinguished panel of female executives has defined their own path for success. Panelists will share their perspective on becoming a leader in today’s business environment as well as the contributions needed outside of the workplace to achieve ultimate success.
Lisa Jeffries Caldwell is Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Reynolds American and R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and the first African-American to rise to that level in the companies’ histories.
Caldwell joined R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in 1991 as manager of employment practices. Between 1993 and 1995, she served as a personnel manager for the company’s manufacturing division and later for other Operations departments. She was promoted to director of human resources in 1996, and managed various human-resources programs. In 2000, she was promoted to Director HR Strategic Planning. In 2002, she was promoted vice president of human resources For Reynolds American (RAI). She was promoted to Sr. Vice President Human Resource at RAI in November 2006. She has been promoted to Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Reynolds American and R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company effective June 1, 2008. She became EVP & Chief HR Officer at Reynolds American and RJRT on May 1, 2009. As of January 1, 2010, Caldwell is Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Reynolds American and RAI Services Company.
Before joining Reynolds Tobacco, Caldwell’s experience included working as an attorney for two firms – Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, and West and Banks – in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Currently, she serves on the Board of Visitors for UNC Chapel Hill. She is a past member of the boards of directors of Allegacy Federal Credit Union, The Safe Passage Group, LLC, the Friends of the Library (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill); RBC Centura Bank- Community board; Hospice and Palliative Care Center; the Center of Excellence in Research, Teaching & Learning; the University of North Carolina General Alumni Association; Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina, Inc. and the Morehead Scholarship Selection Committee. Caldwell is also a past member of the Novant Health Inc. Board of Trustees, the Winston-Salem State University Foundation board of directors, and the Winston-Salem State University Board of Trustees. Previously Caldwell has also served as chair of the UNCF Kennedy Evening of Elegance, a fundraising event for The College Fund.
A native of Burlington, N.C., Caldwell is the daughter of the late Roy and Pauline Jeffries. She graduated from Walter M. Williams High School, ranked 4th in her class, in 1979. She was chosen as the first female Morehead Scholar in Alamance County. She went on to attend UNC-Chapel Hill where she was also a UNC Cheerleader. After graduating from UNC-CH with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1983, Caldwell became a Wake Forest Law Scholar, earning a Juris Doctor degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 1986.
Caldwell is a member of United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, where she serves as chair of the Lifestyle Stewardship Campaign, and on the Senior Choir, Decorations Committee, Archives Committee and an ad hoc Personnel Committee. She is also is a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and a member of The Moles, Inc. She and her husband, Alan, have been married for 26 years. They have two children, Tyler Alan Caldwell, 22, a recent graduate UNC Chapel Hill and a first year student at Wake Forest University School of Law, and Lauren Brianna Caldwell, 18, a senior at East Forsyth High School. The Caldwell family lives in Kernersville, N.C.
Lisa Hall is the newly appointed President and CEO of Calvert Foundation, appointed by the Board in January 2011. Lisa, who joined Calvert Foundation in 2005, brings nearly 25 years of industry experience and has held multiple policy and financial posts.
Lisa has held positions in real estate and community development finance with the Enterprise Foundation, JP Morgan Chase and Travelers Insurance. She holds a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard University. In 2003, Lisa participated in the American Marshall Memorial Fellowship, a travel program for emerging leaders from the US and Europe.
Lisa serves on the Boards of Mentor’s Inc., The Funders’ Network, and ROC USA. She is also a member of the CARS (CDFI Assessment and Rating Systems) Advisory Council and a non-board member of the Policy and Communications Committee of the Corporation for Enterprise Development, a national non-profit that aims to expand economic opportunity. Lisa lives in Northeast Washington, DC with her husband and young daughter.
Valerie Mosley is Senior Vice President, Partner and Portfolio Manager for Wellington Management Company, LLP, a $625 billion global money management firm. She joined the firm in 1992 and personally manages billions of fixed income portfolios for corporate and public pension funds, endowments, and mutual funds. For five years, Valerie chaired the firm’s Industry Strategy Group, which identified key secular headwinds facing specific industries, and tailwinds likely to propel other industries. Unlike the quarterly earnings focus typical of research analysts, the Industry Strategy Group took a 3 to 5 year perspective, was comprised of thought leaders from across the firm, and provided a big picture investment framework and firm-wide discussion platform. Valerie is also a member of two of the firm’s fixed income strategy groups, which set investment strategy and parameters for several of the firm’s fixed income mandates.
Valerie began her career at Chase Manhattan Bank, where she was a Commercial Lending Officer for financial institutions (1982 – 1984). After graduate school, Valerie worked in institutional corporate bond sales at Kidder Peabody (1986 – 1990). Prior to joining Wellington Management in 1992, she spent two years as Chief Investment Officer at P.G. Corbin Asset Management (1990 – 1992).
Valerie is involved civically and in community leadership roles. She serves on the Board of Governors for The State of the USA, a non-partisan, non-profit effort using metrics to measure the U.S.’s current performance on issues of national interest. Most recently, Valerie accepted the invitation to join President Obama’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She is also on the Board of Directors for the Citi Performing Arts Center and the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board for the Harvard Kennedy School. Valerie is a founding member of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay Tiffany Circle Society of Women Leaders, is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Advisory Board for Diversity, and is a founding board member of the National Association of Securities Professionals, Boston Chapter. She has served as President of the Wellington Management Foundation and on the Board of Directors of the Meadowbrook School. She also served on the Board of Overseers for the Museum of Science in Boston and on the Board of Advisors and the Capital Campaign Advisory Board for Duke University’s Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.
Valerie graduated in 1982 with a BA in History from Duke University, where she served as President and Vice President of the student body. She received her MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1986, and served as President of The Wharton Club of Atlanta. In February 2010, Valerie was named as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in the country, and both in October 2006 and 2008 was identified as one of the Top 75 African Americans on Wall Street, by Black Enterprise Magazine.
Valerie speaks frequently on issues related to the economy and investments, personal empowerment, and financial literacy. She is also working with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to develop a high school personal finance program that can be scaled nationally.
Valerie's most prized accomplishment is being mother to her three children: Taylor- 20, Ryan-18 and Amanda-16.
Sara Prince is an Associate Partner in McKinsey & Company’s Atlanta Office. Sara joined McKinsey in 2005 as an Associate. She has partnered with clients in various industries with a primary focus on addressing multi-faceted organizational, sales, pricing, and strategy challenges in Travel, Transportation and Logistics organizations. Sara is a leader in McKinsey’s North America Sales and Pricing capability building efforts.
Prior to joining McKinsey, Sara traded U.S. Treasuries on the Government Bonds Desk at Morgan Stanley. At Morgan Stanley, Sara managed a multi-million dollar asset book.
Sara holds an M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia where she was recognized as a Shermet Scholar. Sara also earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in economics from Duke University. Sara lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and toddler son.
The current investment environment has been characterized by smaller deals, restructuring distressed assets, as well as elevated valuations in both the equity and debt capital markets. However, financial professionals question whether pre-2008 returns are achievable. One question that is often asked is: How will the capital and private financing markets adapt to both economic and political changes, characterized most noticeably by low employment and weak housing markets as well as new regulations throughout the world? Join new leaders and industry veterans from premier financial institutions in what will be a thought-provoking discussion about future opportunities and risks.
T. Troy Dixon is a Managing Director in the US Residential Mortgage Backed Securities (RMBS) trading group in the Global Markets Division of Deutsche Bank. As Head of the Bank's US Residential Mortgage Backed Securities Trading effort, Mr. Dixon is responsible for managing the firm's multi billion dollar mortgage risk portfolio. He joined the firm from UBS Investment Bank in 2006, where he has been credited with being chiefly responsible for leading his team to the top ranked position in the industry acclaimed Institutional Investor Trading Rankings. In 2006 Mr. Dixon was honored by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the “75 Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street” and in 2007 he was named “Top 40, Under 40” by Investment Dealers Digest.
Prior to joining UBS, Mr. Dixon held several senior trading positions on Wall Street, most recently as a Director at Credit Suisse, where he ran the Mortgage Pass Through Group. During his tenure, he successfully advanced Credit Suisse to the number one ranked trading position within the MBS arena in 2001/2002.
A native of Hollis, Queens, Mr. Dixon attended Saint Francis Prep High School where he excelled both academically and athletically. He went on to earn a full scholarship to attend the College of the Holy Cross where he played both varsity football and baseball. T. Troy Dixon graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Economics from The College of the Holy Cross. He is currently a Presidents Council member with his alma mater.
Mark J. Johnson is a Principal in the U.S. buyout fund at The Carlyle Group. He has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry during which he has been involved in the investment of over $1.6bn of equity in leveraged buyout, growth equity, and venture capital transactions. Much of his career has been spent in the communications and services sectors where he has been actively involved in transactions in radio and television broadcasting, newspaper and magazine publishing, wireless services and infrastructure, and government and business services. As a senior member of Carlyle’s telecommunications and media practice, Mr. Johnson is responsible for sourcing, executing and managing leveraged buyouts and growth equity investments in the communications sector globally.
Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Johnson was a member of the private equity team at the Blackstone Group where he executed equity investments in an array of industries, including investments in the Columbia House Company, TRW Automotive, and Freedom Communications. He has also worked at JH Whitney & Co., Level (3) Communications and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Johnson served as a member of the Obama ’08 Telecommunications, Media & Technology Policy Group and both the Technology, Innovation and Government Reform (TIGR) and CFTC Agency Review transition teams.
Mr. Johnson is a graduate of Princeton University and received his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. He has held seats on the boards of TRW Automotive Holdings, Insight Communications and the Investment Committee of the Governing Board of St. Albans School.
Aren LeeKong joined KKR in 2007 and is a Director in the firm's capital markets group. Mr. LeeKong’s primary focus, within the capital markets team, is managing the firm's U.S.equity syndication s . He has been involved in placements for Alliance Boots, Aricent, Avago, Dollar General, First Data Corporation, Energy Future Holdings (formerly TXU Corp.), Northgate Information Systems, and Rockwood Holdings. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. LeeKong spent 9 years at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Most recently, he served as a Director in Citigroup’s Equity Capital Markets Division, overseeing the firm’s equity private placement initiatives.
Ernest ("Ernie") Lyles II is a Director in the Technology Media and Telecom group at UBS Investment Bank. Before arriving at UBS IBD, Ernie earned his J.D. at the Howard University School of Law.
He has broad experience that includes mergers & acquisitions as well as debt and equity capital markets transactions.
Ernie is one of the investment bankers most responsible for UBS IBD's inroads in the Software and Government Technology sectors. Most recently, Ernie executed and advised IBM on its landmark $1.7 billion acquisition of Neteeza, CSG Systems in its $372 million cross border acquisition of Intec Telecom and a Private Equity sponsor owned company on a balance sheet restructuring.
UBS has rewarded his ability to lead teams to execute complex investment banking transactions with inclusion in the firm's prestigious ASCENT Leadership Program.
Robert Reffkin is a Vice President in the Principal Investment Area of Goldman Sachs. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he worked at Lazard Frères and McKinsey & Company. In 2005, he was appointed as a White House Fellow to serve as special assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury. He was selected to be a member of the Economic Club of New York and a Council on Foreign Relations term member. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of USI Holdings Corporation and Citizens Committee for NYC. He was appointed by Mayor Bloomberg to serve on the NYC Workforce Investment Board and the NYC Board of Education, known as the Panel for Educational Policy. He also founded New York Needs You, founded Bronx Success Academy charter school, and is an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn College. He received a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School. His primary philanthropic undertaking includes running 50 marathons, one in each U.S. state, to raise $1 million for youth education and enrichment programs.
Steven L. Sanders has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. In 1986, Mr. Sanders served as a partner in Hunt & Sanders Investment Advisors which specialized in investment strategies for small pension plan sponsors and high net worth clients. Its success led to the formation of Advent Capital Management Partners which provided investment management to larger retirement plan sponsors. In 1996 Steve merged Advent Capital into MDL Capital and helped grow the firm to over $4.5 billion asset management. He was responsible for macro-economic analysis, equity portfolio management and new business development.
Prior to joining StoneRidge Investment Partners as CEO and Chief Investment Strategist, Mr. Sanders co-founded and served as Chairman and CEO of First Genesis Financial Group a division of CFG Asset Management where he served as Chief Investment Strategist. Mr. Sanders serves on several corporate and civic boards; The Philadelphia Foundation, chairman of the investment committee, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, member of investment committee. Mr. Sanders holds a B.B.A. in Risk Management from Howard University.
Education in America has become an increasingly hot topic especially after the controversial film, “Waiting for Superman,” was released earlier this year. Explore and discuss the state of education in America and hear from pioneers in the field who are chartering schools, changing policies, and shaping the future of our schools to address the education crisis in this country.
Kwasi Asare is associate director of education technology at the U.S. Department of Education. He is responsible for teaching and learning technology strategy, policy, and research in the Office of Education Technology. He leads internal and external teams, fosters partner projects, and drives education technology initiatives in support of the Education Secretary’s priorities. Prior to joining The Broad Residency, Asare was a senior product manager in the Tivoli brand of IBM’s Software Division. In this role, he was responsible for the profit and loss of compliance software helping customers satisfy regulatory requirements.
Previously, Asare was the worldwide product marketing manager for IBM’s energy management portfolio and brand manager. In that capacity, he was a key leader in the establishment of IBM’s market presence in energy efficiency as part of a larger program for a smarter, greener, more efficient planet. Asare has held positions in product management, brand management, software development, consulting, business development, and strategy. He also serves as the college relations director and a mentor for the Simmons Memorial Foundation, a mentoring organization for college bound high school students. Asare holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Wake Forest University and a master’s degree in business administration from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Asare is a participant in The Broad Residency in Urban Education (Class of 2009-2011), serving his two-year Residency at the U.S. Department of Education.
Born and raised in NYC, Jemina R. Bernard worked as an Associate Program Officer at the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation (UMEZDC) after graduating from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science. After two years at UMEZDC, Jemina received an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School and joined Deloitte Consulting where, as a Senior Consultant, she led the training development and communications planning activities as part of a year-long international assignment with the UK’s Child Support Agency.
In 2003, Jemina returned to NYC’s public sector and for the last four years served as a member of the central leadership team at the New York City Department of Education. Jemina served as the Executive Director of Teach For America in New York City which support 1,000 corps members serving over 60,000 students in more than 300 public schools in the Bronx, Washington Heights, Harlem, the Lower East Side, and Brooklyn. She is currently the Vice President of the Mid-Atlantic region for Teach For America.
Channa attended Stanford University for her undergraduate and graduate degrees earning a Bachelors in English and African American Studies and a Masters degree and teaching credential through the Stanford Teacher Education Program. She then taught high school English and was a Literacy Coach in Los Angeles Unified School District before going on to earn a Master of Science from Pepperdine University in Educational Leadership and Administration.
In 2007 after a service trip to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, Channa, along with her co-founder, applied for and was awarded a New Schools for New Orleans School Founder Fellowship. She immediately relocated to New Orleans and began work writing the charter for Sojourner Truth Academy (STA) in New Orleans.
Sojourner Truth Academy was founded to address the overwhelming need for educational alternatives for New Orleans high school students post-Katrina. In that spirit, STA empowers any interested student, regardless of past academic and behavioral history, to prepare for both college and community leadership. Sojourner Truth Academy is one of only two completely open-enrollment public charter high schools in the city school that serves students from all neighborhoods in New Orleans. Currently Sojourner Truth Academy has 260 students enrolled in grades nine through eleven and will grow next year to serve grades nine through twelve. Channa has been the principal of STA since its doors opened in August of 2008.
Tim King is founder, President and CEO of Urban Prep Academies. Urban Prep is a nonprofit organization operating a network of Public (tuition-free) boys schools including the United States’ first all male public charter high-school: Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men—Englewood Campus. Urban Prep schools are the only public all-boys schools in the state of Illinois and their mission is to provide a high quality comprehensive education that prepares young men for success in college. Approximately 85% of Urban Prep students are economically disadvantaged and all are African-American. Urban Prep students consistently outscore their counterparts in traditional public schools on standardized tests. 100% of Urban Prep’s first graduating class has been admitted to four-year colleges and universities and earned more than $3 million in scholarships and grants.
Before launching Urban Prep, Tim was President & CEO of Hales Franciscan High School, an independent Catholic school serving African-American boys on Chicago’s South Side. Tim was the first lay and youngest President in the school’s history. Tim has been involved in education in some capacity his entire professional career including stints as instructor at the high-school, community college, and university levels as well as serving as a founding Board member of the Alain Locke Charter Academy—one of Chicago’s highest performing public elementary schools.
As a fourth generation Chicagoan, Tim has continued his family’s longstanding commitment to civic involvement in the city. He has been a member of several organizations including 21st Century Urban Schools, The Chicago Public Education Fund, The Economic Club of Chicago, Leadership Greater Chicago, The Field Museum of Natural History, The Chicago Legal Aid Clinic, and The Donors Forum of Chicago among others. Tim is also an instructor at Northwestern University in the subjects of Philanthropy and Urban Education. An avid writer and public speaker, Tim is a contributor to the Chicago Tribune and has lectured to many groups. Tim was selected by ABC World News as “Person of the Week”, Ebony Magazine as one of “30 Leaders of the Future” and Crain’s Chicago Business for its annual “40 Under 40” list. Tim was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, as well as other elected officials and community groups, have recognized him for his work with youth.
Tim earned a Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs and a Juris Doctorate Degree from Georgetown University. He completed additional studies at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and at the University of Kenya in Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr. Porter began his academic career on the faculty at Michigan State University (1967-1988), where he co-directed the Institute for Research on Teaching and served as associate dean for Research and Graduate Study. During this time, he also took three years’ leave from MSU to serve as a visiting scholar at the National Institute of Education, where he created and was first chief of the Methodology and Measurement Division and later associate director in charge of the Basic Skills Group.
From 1988 to 2003, he served as Anderson-Bascon professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he directed the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. In 2003, he joined the faculty of Vanderbilt University, where he was the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations in the Peabody College of Education and Human Development and served as director of the university’s Learning Sciences Institute.
Dr. Porter is a former president of the American Educational Research Association (2001) and was elected a member of the National Academy of Education in 1994, where he has been vice president since 2005. He is a Lifetime National Associate of the National Academies.
He is a present or past member of a dozen scholarly editorial and advisory boards, including American Educational Researcher, Educational Researcher, Teachers College Record and Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness. He is the author or co-author of 42 book chapters, 70 scholarly articles, dozens of technical reports, and one book.
Blacks generate enormous wealth in the entertainment industry as artists, athletes, and consumers, yet remain glaringly absent from positions of power. Leaders in this field will discuss this dichotomy, touching on the economic issues facing the industry today and providing insights on how to improve our leadership presence.
For more than a decade, DMA has been a writer, producer and show runner of dozens of high-rated non-fiction TV shows for networks such as CBS, Fox, Bravo, Travel Channel, History Channel, Disney Channel and more. She is the author of "The Show Starter Reality TV Made Simple System, Vol. 1: How to Create and Pitch a Sellable Reality Show" and, as a former film story analyst, she also is the author of "The 1-3-5 Story Structure Made Simple System: The Nine Essential Elements of a Sellable Screenplay," the first story structure system integrated into Final Draft's industry-leading screenwriting software. Her "Show Starter Scheduling & Budgeting Plus" production software was named one of the "Top 40 Film-Friendly Businesses" by MovieMaker Magazine. DMA is a graduate of Stanford University and an active member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Producers Guild of America and Showbiz Mensans.
Profile coming soon.
Once ranked #2 on The Source magazine’s Power 30 list, Kelly G currently serves as Black Entertainment Television (BET’s) Senior music supervisor. Since 1999 Kelly G has taken BET’s music and programming to levels that have set trends which ultimately jump started and influenced the careers of many multi-platinum artist like Kanye West, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Drake, Trey Songs and countless others. His responsibilities include choosing all the music videos on BET; developing the BET Music Library, dealing with artist and celebrities, and programming to the minds of nearly 80 millions households weekly.
Kelly G constantly monitors viewer response and industry trends to tailor the network’s video rotation to ensure that the network is always ahead of its competition and consistently on the pulse of its viewers. For many years he has overseen the music and production of the network’s franchise programs including BET Awards, 106 & Park, BET’s Music Matters, BET Live, Rap City, Uncut and BET Access Granted.
The response BET’s audience has had to Kelly G’s influence is clearly evidenced by the increased ratings the network’s music programming has enjoyed under his leadership. BET’s music programming is largely responsible for the network’s increased ratings in its key target market of 18 – 34 year olds by over 37% for over the past 10 seasons. He has taken that influence even further and partnered with Live Nation to develop a live events business entitled BET Live. This franchise has launched many live events including The 106 & Park Tour, Music Matters Tour and Young Starz Tour. In addition to helping program the number one rated Music video show on all of television, BET: 106 & Park Top Ten Live, Kelly has also created a new music platform called Music Matters. This groundbreaking program is design to identify the next BET superstar and uses the networks massive on air and digital platforms to make artist and producers a house hold name. Kelly leveraged the networks largest franchise, The 2010 BET Awards to launch Music Matters with artists J. Cole, CJ Hilton and Elle Varner.
Prior to joining BET, Kelly G worked for Chicago’s Number One rated hip-hop and R&B; station, WGCI. While at WGCI, Kelly G learned the ways of playing the hits from legendary program director, Elroy Smith. Shortly after joining the radio station, he began doing production for many of the shows including Steve Harvey’s Morning Show, George Wallace Show, Tom Joyner and Doug Banks. He eventually landed his own trend setting four-hour mix show called Da Bomb; a show that ultimately maintained a number one rated position for 5 years.
Under Smith’s tutelage, Kelly G learned the business of radio and programming. Kelly G took those lessons along with his Djing skills to do house remixes for major artists including India.Arie, Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, Brandy, Faith Evans, Tina Moore and countless others. In addition to his work remixing the work of today’s top artists, Kelly G can be seen DJing special events the world over. Although his heart is playing soulful Chicago House Music, he is well experienced in rocking any hip-hop and R&B; event. Some of his DJ appearances include opening concerts for artists, Aretha Franklin and LL Cool J and doing parties for top celebrities like Kanye West, P-Diddy, and Dallas Austin.
Elaine Welteroth is the Beauty & Style Editor of Ebony Magazine. Welteroth has interviewed Oscar and Grammy award winners including Halle Berry, Beyoncé and P. Diddy. She regularly covers fashion week, red carpet events and has appeared on BET as an entertainment commentator. Welteroth is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento and currently resides in New York City.
Gideon E. Moncrieffe is a Brooklyn, NY born individual. Early on in life he knew that he was interested in entertainment and sports. He would constantly try and entertain his family either by impersonating Michael Jackson or Eddie Murphy to make his family laugh. He also was screaming along whatever sports teams his family was rooting for, often being over dramatic.
As Gideon got older, he channeled his love for both entertainment and sports as he entered several talent shows and tried playing in every sport he could. The love for entertaining quickly turned into a love for songwriting and producing music. The love for sports turned into a specific love for tennis. The love for tennis eventually turned into a full scholarship to a division 1 school, Iona College. After 4 yrs. of college and realizing he wasn’t going pro in tennis as well as getting experience in various internships, Gideon would dive in head first into the entertainment industry.
After graduating with honors, Gideon took his passion for music and entertainment and started working at Emmis Communications. While there he worked for 98.7 Kiss FM, Hot 97.1 FM, and CD 101.9. While there he learned various skills about radio production, event production, and on-air responsibilities. While networking at Emmis Communications, he met a DJ named Jazzy Joyce, who soon after discovering they had the same birthday hired him to be her personal assistant. After a few years of working for her Gideon went to work for Power 105.1.
While working at the new radio station, Gideon also landed a job at NBC in the illustrious Page Program. While at NBC he worked on such shows and Conan O’Brien, Saturday Night Live, and The Today Show. After working at NBC for a number of yrs., Gideon then went to work for MTV’s Sweet 16. After his stint with MTV. He then went to work with on air Personality Carlos Watson as his Executive Consultant. From there Gideon went to work with BET, where he has worked on several shows such as 106 & Park and various specials. During his stint at BET he has directed a music video called Here I Am for Von Sway, had a morning show with BET called The Heat, has been featured in a Fortune Magazine’s Faces of The Future, as well as starred in a national Match.com advertisement. He still has aspirations to sell one of the songs he has written and produced. He is also looking forward to more acting opportunities in the near future.
Listen as leading political consultants and experienced politicians provide insight through an informative discussion on shaping political influence. The active dialogue will emphasize various approaches including running for office, managing an effective campaign, serving in appointed office, and funding candidates.
President Barack Obama has said he is, "One of a handful of people who, when they speak, the entire Congress listens." As Assistant Democratic Leader in the 112th Congress, the number three Democrat in the House, James E. Clyburn will be the leadership liaison to the Appropriations Committee and one of the Democratic Caucus' primary liaisons to the White House. Working with the internal caucuses, he'll play a prominent role in messaging and outreach.
His humble beginnings in Sumter South Carolina, as the eldest son of an activist fundamentalist minister and an independent civic minded beautician, grounded him securely in family, faith and public service. He was elected president of his NAACP youth chapter when he was 12 years old, helped organize many civil rights marches and demonstrations as a student leader at South Carolina State College, and even met his wife Emily in jail during one of his incarcerations.
When Clyburn came to Congress in 1993, he was elected co-President of his Freshman class and quickly rose through leadership ranks. He was elected Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1999, and his reputation as a leader and consensus-builder helped him win a difficult three-way race for House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair in 2002. Three years later, he was unanimously elected Chair of the Democratic Caucus. When Democrats regained the House majority in 2006, Congressman Clyburn was elevated by his colleagues to House Majority Whip.
As a national leader he has worked to respond to the needs of America's diverse communities. He championed rural communities supporting the development of regional water projects, community health centers, and broadband connections. He has supported higher education by leading the charge for increased Pell grants; investing millions in science and math programs and historic preservation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He has encouraged economic development by securing funding for Empowerment Zones; investing in green technology development such as nuclear, wind, hydrogen and biofuels; and directing 10 percent of Recovery Act funding to communities 20 percent under the poverty level for the past 30 years. Clyburn was instrumental in advancing into law measures to resolve historic discrimination issues, significantly reducing the statutory disparity in cocaine sentencing and compensating African and Native American farmers who suffered racial discrimination under the USDA loan program
Jim and Emily Clyburn have three daughters, Mignon, Jennifer Reed, and Angela Hannibal; two sons-in-law, Walter Reed and Cecil Hannibal; and two grandchildren, Walter A Clyburn Reed and Sydney Alexis Reed.
Congressman Chaka Fattah is serving in his 17th year in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a Member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. This committee is responsible for setting spending priorities of over $1 trillion in annual discretionary funds. Congressman Fattah has just been named Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies (CJS). The Subcommittee on CJS oversees close to $70 billion in discretionary spending. Representative Fattah is also Chairman of the Congressional Urban Caucus a bipartisan group of 57 Members representing America's metropolitan centers. These Members work collaboratively with other stakeholders to address the unique challenges facing America's urban communities.
During the 111th Congress, Representative Fattah led three major legislative victories. To date, The American Opportunity Tax Credit Act, a $14 billion program to provide a $2,500 tax credit for tuition and other expenses for college students or their parents, has assisted 12.5 million students in meeting their college expenses. Success of the AOTC led Congress to extend the credit for an additional two years.
He secured $3.2 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants Program (EECBGP) that will assist over 1,041 local communities in the development of programs to implement various energy efficiency and conservation projects. Philadelphia and its region is the recipient of $39 million in EECBG funds.
Congressman Fattah created the Emergency Homeowners’ Relief Fund, which was included in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, signed into law by President Obama. The program, patterned after Congressman Fattah’s Pennsylvania Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (HEMAP), will provide $1 billion in funds to help millions of responsible American homeowners avoid foreclosure. Targeted to recently unemployed borrowers, the program will keep families in their homes and mitigate the effects of recession.
Fattah is also the architect of the country’s most successful early college awareness and preparation program – Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), which he shepherded through reauthorization in 2008. Over the past 10 years, more than $3 billion in federal funds have been used to serve some 12 million students in 49 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. GEAR UP serves as an international model to aid underserved students in their preparation and pursuit of a college education.
A father of four, Congressman Fattah is married to Renee Chenault-Fattah.
Jamal Simmons emerged from the 2008 election as one of the new young voices in the world of political analysis. With an extensive background in Democratic politics and international affairs, he was a strong supporter of Barack Obama's campaign and became a fixture on CNN's political coverage, where his entertaining and pithy opinions distinguished him as one of freshest commentators in the media.
Simmons got his start in presidential politics traveling with candidate Bill Clinton during his successful 1992 campaign and was a political appointee during the first Clinton Administration. In 2000, he was a communications aide for Vice President Al Gore during his presidential campaign and served as a Gore spokesman in West Palm Beach, Florida, during the recount. He has also served as traveling press secretary to two presidential candidates, communications director for a U.S. Senator, chief of staff to a member of Congress, and media advisor to a successful congressional campaign in 2006. Simmons was an advisor to Nevada Democrats, the Democratic National Committee, and the Obama/Biden Campaign for the 2008 election.
Simmons planned events for the Clinton White House in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, and has represented major corporations in China and Latin America. He worked on the 2004 We Are the Future charity concert with Quincy Jones in Rome and Al Gore's Live Earth concert in Hamburg, Germany in 2007. He is a French American Foundation Young Leader (2009-10) and former term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
A graduate of Morehouse College, where he recently received the Presidential Award of Distinction, Simmons received a master's in public policy degree from Harvard University and is currently a principal at The Raben Group, a Washington, DC-based consulting firm. Simmons' views and opinions have been featured in major publications such as GQ Magazine, the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, and USA Today and on CNN, MSNBC, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and the BBC.
NYC Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development, Dennis Walcott: Dennis M. Walcott is the Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development. In that capacity, he oversees and coordinates the operations of the Department of Education, the New York City Housing Authority, the Department of Youth and Community Development, the Mayor's Office of Adult Education, as well as reviews the activities of the New York City School Construction Authority, City University of New York, and the City University Construction Fund. Mr. Walcott is also responsible for collaborating with community-based organizations citywide and coordinating policies concerning youth programs and adult education. He currently serves on the board of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation, and previously served as Co-Chair of the Mayor's Commission for Construction Opportunity.
As a kindergarten teacher in the childcare center where he began his career, Mr. Walcott recognized the need for a male role model in many of the children's lives, and in 1975, he founded the Frederick Douglass Brother-to-Brother program, a mentoring program for young boys. Before joining the Bloomberg Administration in 2002, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Urban League where for more than 12 years he expanded educational and youth service programs including Jeter's Leaders and Bridge to Brotherhood programs, Healthy Start, Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership, and the 140th Street Building Block Program. He was previously the Executive Director of the Harlem Dowling Westside Center where he expanded services to children and families.
A graduate of New York City public schools and a lifelong Southeast Queens resident, Mr. Walcott graduated from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut with a Bachelor's degree and a Master of Education in 1973 and 1974, respectively, and in 1980, received his Master of Social Work from Fordham University. He has served on numerous boards including Carver Bank Corporation, Primary Care Development Corporation, the former New York City Board of Education, an adjunct professor of social work at York College, and as a talk show radio host. Mr. Walcott and Denise, his wife, have four children: Dejeanne, Dana, Shatisha and Timmy; and two grandsons, Justin and Gavin.
The contentious debate around the merits of Obama’s healthcare reform have led to divergent outlooks from industry professionals, medical practitioners, and the sundry businesses that the legislation will affect. Hear from industry leaders on the arising challenges and implicit opportunities that underlie the policy changes that are underway.
Jackie Jennifer serves as senior vice president of operations at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. In her role she is responsible for leading the strategy and implementation for service operations and claims systems.
Jennifer has more than 30 years of service operations experience. Most recently she served as the senior vice president of service at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Her experience also includes serving in senior leadership positions with Premera Blue Cross, Omni Healthcare, Inc. and Foundation Health Federal Services and with Health Net.
Jennifer received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore. She has been a long time member of the board of trustees of United Way; and is a past chair of SERV Foundation, a Princeton, N.J.-based organization that provides support to mentally challenged adults.
Frank McClellan is Professor of Law Emeritus, of the Beasley School of Law of Temple University, and currently serves as the Co-Director of the Center for Health Law, Policy and Practice. He teaches courses on bioethics, medical malpractice, a law and medicine writing seminar, and torts. During the fall of 2010 Professor McClellan served as the Garwin Distinguished Visitor in Law and Medicine at Southern Illinois University School of Law where he taught torts, a seminar on healthcare law, and delivered the Grayson Annual Lecture on health law. An expert on health disparities, bioethics and medical malpractice law, Professor McClellan lectures regularly at Temple University School of Medicine in interdisciplinary courses and at grand rounds.. He joined the Temple faculty as a full professor of law in 1982, after teaching 9 years at Duquesne University
During his tenure at Temple University Professor McClellan has been awarded: the Phyllis S. Beck Chair, the Shusterman Alumni Faculty Award, the Lindback Award for outstanding teaching; the I. Herman Stern Chair for excellence in teaching; and the Friel- Scanlon Award for excellence in scholarship.
Professor McClellan earned his J.D. degree from Duquesne University where he was an editor of the law review, his A.B. Degree from Rutgers University and his L.L.M. degree from Yale University. For his work in legal philosophy at Yale he was awarded the Felix S. Cohen Prize in Jurisprudence. After graduating form law school he served as a law clerk to Chief Judge William H. Hastie, of the U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and an associate attorney with the Washington, D.C. Law firm of Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering. He began his law teaching career as an Assistant Professor of law at Duquesne University, and was promoted to full professor with tenure in 1978, and then joining the Temple University faculty in 1981.
Professor McClellan has published numerous law review articles on subjects related to health care law, tort law and civil rights, and an award winning book entitled Medical Malpractice: Law, Tactics and Ethics (1995). He is the co-author of a casebook on Tort Law, first published in 1994, and now in its fourth edition, TORT LAW: CASES, PERSPECTIVES, AND PROBLEMS (LexisNexis 2007).
Dr. Orelien serves as the CEO and president of SciMetrika, a company that he founded in 2001. The mission of SciMetrika is to provide scientific, technical and logistics solutions that lead to advancement in human health. He has grown SciMetrika from scratch to more than 80 employees and more than $10M in annual revenues. SciMetrika is building a reputation as a reliable solutions provider for projects related to human health. The company was recognized as one of 24 companies to watch in North Carolina by the Lowe’s foundation. Also, in 2010 SciMetrika made the list of Inc. magazine fastest growing privately held companies in North America (# 374) and was recognized as one of the top 50 companies in the Research Triangle Park region.
During his career, Dr. Orelien has served as project manager or lead statistician on various public health research studies sponsored by government agencies. His management experience includes several projects that involved data management, data analysis, software development, and survey research. Of relevance to this conference, SciMetrika is assisting the US Department of Health and Human Services in identifying and accessing alternate data sources that can be used for surveillance systems to track the impact of health reforms (e.g., whether underserved populations are receiving better access to preventive treatment as a result of health reforms).
Until November 2010, Meena Seshamani served as Deputy Director for the Office of Health Reform at the Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, she helped coordinate policy development and implementation of the various provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
Before joining the administration, Dr. Seshamani was a resident physician in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She received her B.A. with honors, magna cum laude, in business economics from Brown University, her M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and her Ph.D. in Health Economics from the University of Oxford, where she was a Marshall Scholar. She has now returned to Johns Hopkins to finish her medical training.
Jonathan C. Silverstein, associate director of the Computation Institute of the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory is associate professor of Surgery, Radiology, and The College, scientific director of the Chicago Biomedical Consortium, and president of the HealthGrid.US Alliance. He focuses on the integration of advanced computing and communication technologies into biomedicine, particularly applying Grid computing, and on the design, implementation, and evaluation of high-performance collaboration environments for anatomic education and surgery.
Mr. Silverstein holds an M.D. from Washington University (St. Louis) and an M.S. from Harvard School of Public Health. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics. Dr. Silverstein provides leadership in information technology initiatives intended to transform operations at the University of Chicago Medical Center and is informatics director for the University of Chicago’s Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program. He has served on various national advisory panels and currently serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the Lister Hill Center of the NIH National Library of Medicine.
Explore the ways entrepreneurial ventures can both establish long-term wealth for individuals and the black community. This session will also provide an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to speak with venture capital firms as well as share best practices with those that have succeeded in creating their own ventures.
Fritz Charles is currently a second year MBA student at the Wharton School of Business. Fritz is part of Wharton's student business incubator, the Wharton Venture Initiation Program. Fritz also serves as a facilitator of Haitian disaster relief efforts at the Wharton School. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Investments from Baruch College, Fritz worked as an equity derivative trader at Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. In this role, he was part of a lean team responsible for managing the firm’s delta one client flow and proprietary book. Fritz has also had significant exposure to inner city economics, both as an investor and as a consultant in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The multi-talented Roland “Ro Spit” Coit started at the roots deejaying parties across the Metro Detroit area including the iconic St. Andrews/The Shelter, eventually grasping the sound hip hop crowds love to hear. Amidst his deejay sets, Coit wrote rhymes as well, a testament to his insatiable work ethic. His launch-pad arrived in the form of his cousin, One Be Lo, whom he connected with through Binary Star. A duo project with long time friend Terron “Illite” Calmese entitled The Forgotten Chosen would ensue.
In an effort to present his material Coit became a ubiquitous performer, rocking mics at venues across Metro Detroit area, Chicago, and Ohio. He vastly expanded his fandom eventually opening national acts including The Clipse, Wale, and Talib Kweli as well as performing with seasoned veterans such as DJ Premier and Slum Village.
From a kid growing up in Pontiac, Michigan imitating his favorite emcees as a kid with his cousin, to a national performer Ro Spit has helped shoulder the re-branding of Michigan hip hop. From rapping with dry cleaning hangers to holding authentic microphones, Ro Spit saw his future before he knew it. At home in Michigan he’s referred to as a “Champion” a tagline his highly acclaimed sneaker boutique “Burn Rubber” coined, looks like the title fits.
Ro Spit has a solid foundation with his inaugural release The OH S#!T Project which was sponsored by Acapulco Gold x Burn Rubber. He has managed to keep inspirational company working with Bun B, Big Sean, Curtains, and Monica Blaire. His latest composition A Different Arrangement, is an ode to his fellow Michigan native Mayer Hawthorne, using only original music from Hawthorne’s tape. Ro Spit has multiple projects to follow including a pending EP with 14KT slated for the end of 2010.
Kevin Jennings is President and CEO of Millennium Corporation. As founding partner, he is the driving force behind Millennium Corporation’s positioning as an industry leader in integrated business and scalable technology solutions for all levels of government and commercial enterprises.
Kevin brings more than 20 years of senior-level experience in program management, strategic planning, and systems engineering, as well as extensive operational expertise. This has led to Millennium Corporation’s recognition by INC 500, Black Entrepreneurs, and Washington Fast 50 as one of the fastest growing private companies in the Nation.
A veteran member of the U.S. Army Acquisition Corps prior to founding Millennium, Kevin spent more than 20 years acquiring in-depth knowledge of the Army’s War-fighting tactics and then transitioning those skills to the acquisition profession, culminating his career as a Department of Army Product Manager responsible for cost, schedule and performance of a $1.3 Billion Research and Development and Production program.
Prior to working with the U.S. Army Acquisition Corps, Kevin was the lead Program Integrator for Missile Defense Agency’s Airborne Laser program where he led the development and acquisition of the $9.5 billion Airborne Laser, a major defense acquisition program. He was also responsible for researching, analyzing, and integrating a multitude of complex acquisition, R&D;, and business management initiatives for the Commanding General.
Kevin holds a B.S. from Virginia State University, a M.S. from Florida Institute of Technology, and is DAWIA Level III certified in Program Management and a Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt, making him a proven authority in technical and managerial proficiency. Kevin has been active as a volunteer in several organizations including Adopt a Solider, The Wounded Warrior Program, and ALS Walk supporting Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Kofi received his Bachelor of Art degree in Biology from Harvard College, his Masters in Education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and his MBA from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a Joseph Wharton Fellow. Kofi is a co-founder of Admit Advantage and is a senior consultant.
Professionally, Kofi's experience includes co-founding a wireless, GPS-based social networking company servicing Asia. Kofi also co-founded an educational software company offering job-training and preparatory material to universities like Rutgers and various corporations. Kofi began his career as a consultant for Accenture in New York City servicing the telecommunications space.
At Wharton, Kofi was the Chairman of Wharton's largest student-run conference, a Strategic Marketing teaching fellow, and the founder of the Wharton Comedy Club among several other activities. Kofi currently serves as the Vice President of Marketing and Communication for the Wharton Club of New York and is an alumni interviewer for Wharton School and Harvard College. Kofi has successfully coached several clients to gain business school entry since 2004. Kofi's interests include comedy, community service through his fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, and martial arts.
Kofi received his Bachelor of Art degree in biology from Harvard College, his Masters in Education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and his MBA from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a Joseph Wharton Fellow.
Kofi serves on the Beginning with the Children Foundation Senior Board and resides in New York City with his wife, Nicole.
Mr. Richard Lewis, the owner of RTL Networks, Inc. is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and William and Mary’s MBA program. Additionally, he has a Masters degree in Computer Systems Security and 20 years of military and corporate leadership experience. Mr. Lewis received his honorable discharge from the U. S. Air Force at the rank of Captain after serving his country in Operation Southern Watch and various international assignments.
Before founding RTL Networks, Inc., Mr. Lewis served in senior management positions for Cisco Systems, Qwest and Avaya, where he was responsible developing and executing strategic plans and delivering network consulting services to Fortune 500 and national service providers. As President/CEO of RTL Networks, Mr. Lewis has effectively leveraged his education and wealth of past experiences to grow his company from an idea into a multi-million dollar organization.
Laurence C. Morse began his career in venture capital in 1983 as an Associate at UNC Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital investment firm. In 1988, he joined Equico Capital Corporation, a venture capital investment subsidiary of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, as Vice President. In 1992, Dr. Morse participated in the privitization of Equico Capital as a founding principal of TSG Ventures, the inaugural investment fund of TSG Capital Group of Stamford, Connecticut. In 1994, he co-founded Fairview Capital Partners, Inc., an independent investment management firm that creates and manages private equity fund-of-funds investment vehicles for public and corporate pension funds, and other institutional investors.
As a general partner of Fairview’s sixteen managed funds aggregating $3.1 billion, Dr. Morse has participated in the investment of over $2.5 billion in more than 60 traditional and specialized venture capital and private equity limited partnerships and currently serves on the advisory boards of a number of such private equity funds including Battery Ventures, Sierra Ventures, Syndicated Communications Venture Partners, Trinity Ventures and U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), to name a few.
He is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Investment Companies, a private, non-profit trade association representing some 40 private equity and specialty finance investment firms with approximately $6.5 billion in aggregate capital under management. He is a member of the board of directors of Webster Financial Corporation (NYSE:WBS) and the Institute of International Education; and a former member of the boards of the Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO) and The English Speaking Union of the United States, for which he continues to serve as chair of its Luard Scholars selection committee. In January, 2003, he was named one of “The Top Ten Minds in Small Business” by Fortune Small Business (FSB) Magazine.
Dr. Morse graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Howard University with a B. A. in Economics, having spent his junior year at The London School of Economics and Political Science as a Luard Scholar. He earned M. A. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics at Princeton University and has been a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University.
Mr. Sarelson is a co-founder of RevTrax, a technology company headquartered in New York City focused on helping advertisers track the effectiveness of digital media on offline transactions.
RevTrax specifically provides digital coupon security and analytics to some of the nation’s largest retailers, restaurants, and consumer packaged goods companies. These companies utilize the RevTrax Platform to securely deliver, track, manage and measure in-store promotions via existing email marketing, paid search, social media, display ads, rich media, mobile, and other digital media.
Mr. Sarelson has run the daily operations at RevTrax since the company’s formation. Prior to RevTrax, Seth worked in Citigroup’s Global Commercial Cards business in brand management for the Purchasing Card, Fleet Card, and Electronic Account products. In addition to his corporate activities, Mr. Sarelson has been published and quoted in a number of marketing industry publications, including AdWeek, MultiChannel Merchant, iMedia Connection, Chain Store Age and CRM Buyer. Mr. Sarelson holds a Bachelor of Science, Magna Cum Laude, from Cornell University.
In this candid discussion, admissions officers and professionals from Management Leadership for Tomorrow will share insight on the resources available during the application process, crafting the best application, and what to really expect in business school.
A native of Indiana, John T. Burt, Jr. received his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Indiana University in 1998. Burt began his career within the finance component of Eli Lilly. He achieved career success and promotions within the company and received sponsorship to pursue an MBA in 2001.
Burt earned his degree from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in 2003. While at Duke, Burt served as an executive fellow of the Dean’s office and worked, simultaneously, as a consultant to a small business in the Durham community. During those two years, Burt co-authored a published article on executing an effective career search and mastering interview skills. He also won a national competition through the Executive Leadership Council (ELC) for his commentary on leadership.
After graduation, Burt worked as a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, a management-consulting firm focused on strategic business concerns. He returned to Eli Lilly in 2004 as a consultant focused on International Treasury and working capital strategy for Africa-Middle East and Asian Operations; creating an internal consulting unit for Lilly USA. In 2005, he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer for Lilly’s $2B diabetes business.
Prior to his current role at BCG in mid-2007, Mr. Burt was a co-founder of MBA JumpStart, a consulting firm focused on increasing minority presence in consulting and financial service industries. From 2004-2009, MBA JumpStart has identified and educated more than 600 minority MBA professionals who intend to pursue careers in our targeted industries. MBA JumpStart has partnered with top-tier firms including but not limited to; JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Credit Suisse, Fidelity, Wellington, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, UBS, Accenture, Deloitte, McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group, Booz & Co., and others to fulfill their diversity strategies.
In late 2007, Burt joined the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as the Director of Diversity Recruiting, North America. Under Burt’s guidance, BCG launched several new initiatives resulting in work experiences, scholarships, and the most # of diversity hires within the firm over the last 10 years. In 2008, Fortune Magazine recognized BCG as the #3 company to work for in America and highlighted the firm’s improvement in the area of recruitment of minorities. In addition, Universum recognized BCG as having the ‘best on-campus recruitment” for minority students.
Along with his efforts at BCG, Burt is an adjunct professor of finance and business planning at Concordia University-Wisconsin, Marian College, and Indiana Tech. He has served as a debt reduction counselor at his church and a treasurer and board member for several local nonprofits. Burt is a member of the 100 Black Men of America, the National Black MBA Association, and NextGen Network, Inc (affiliated with ELC).
Tiffany Gooden is a Senior Associate Director in the Office of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid at the Wharton School. Tiffany joined the MBA Admissions Office in July 2008. She is responsible for diversity recruitment, including pipeline development for prospective students of color.
Immediately prior to joining Wharton, Tiffany graduated from Harvard with a Master’s degree in Education. Prior to graduate school, Tiffany spent several years in the Dartmouth College Undergraduate Admissions Office, her alma mater. In that office she focused on diversity and international student recruitment. Before transitioning to the field of admissions, Tiffany worked at the Advisory Board Company, a Washington, DC-based healthcare consulting company.
Olubunmi "Boomie" Odumade graduated from the Wharton MBA Program for Executives in 2009. She also holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's degree in Computer Science. She is a technical consultant and is also working with two classmates on Nexercise, a product which was reviewed in January in the Washington Post. She highly values the Wharton experience.
Helen Summers is the Director for MLT’s MBA Programs. Prior to attending business school, Helen worked for Johnson & Johnson (J&J;) as a Senior Financial Analyst. She began her five year career with J&J; as part of the Financial Leadership Development Program (FLDP). Her rotations included Finance and Accounting positions within Ethicon Inc. in Somerville, NJ, McNeil Consumer near Philadelphia, PA, and Cordis in Miami, FL. Through these rotations, Helen gained valuable experience by managing the $50 million Motrin Franchise marketing expenses, as well as analyzing the financial impact of new initiatives in the production process of cardiac catheters and stents. As a graduate of FLDP, Helen returned to the corporate headquarters of J&J; where she helped develop a new financial reporting system and managed the $160 million budgets of the company’s CEO and CFO. Additionally, she partnered with the 13 top executives within the corporate management (CEO) and corporate finance (CFO) divisions to accomplish objectives of each finance department. Helen also managed the $300 million budget and expenses for Johnson & Johnson’s Corporate Executive Compensation program that served the top 100 corporate executives.
Helen holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she discovered her passion for increasing the enrollment of minorities at the top MBA programs. Due to her significant involvement in admissions efforts and minority outreach, Helen was the recipient of the Bert King Fellowship and the HBS Student Association Award. She is also a graduate of Southern Illinois University, where she earned a BS in Accounting and was a division I scholarship tennis player for four years.
Helen is a Certified Public Accountant and resides in Chicago, IL.
Leadership today requires more than reaching the top of our respective industries. The time has come for influence at a higher level and this panel will provide you with insight and know-how to get a seat at the table. You will hear from leaders who are shaping their communities and the landscape of corporate governance by sitting on the boards of major non-profit and corporate organizations across the country.
Larry D. Bailey is a certified public accountant (CPA) with over 26 years of experience in the field of public accountancy. He obtained the position of partner in the international firms of KPMG Peat Marwick and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. During this time, he provided tax services to financial service companies (many of which were U.S. branches of foreign banks), real estate and energy companies, and wealthy individuals. Bailey served as the partner-in-charge of the Africa desk for the U.S. firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers. In this role, he served as the liaison for the U.S. firm's clients doing business in Africa with its office on the Continent. Bailey currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Africare and is a former Vice Chairman and Treasurer of the Board for Corporate Council on Africa. He also previously worked as an Internal Revenue Agent for the United States Treasury Department where he audited statements to ensure compliance with U.S. laws.
Bailey currently serves on the Board of Directors of CareFirst, Inc., which is the regional Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance company. He serves on the Audit and Finance committees. Bailey holds an MBA with a concentration in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a BS in accounting from Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Business Advisory Board.
Robert R. Davenport, III is Managing Partner of Brightpath Capital Partners, LP (BCP) and Chairman of Up Communications Services, LLC (UCS). BCP is a triple bottom line emerging growth investor focused on clean tech and UCS is an information technology and outsourced fulfillment services company headquartered near Nashville, TN. Prior to BCP and UCS, he was President and CEO of Covad International, a broadband services provider in Asia and Europe. He also served as SVP of Tele-Communications, Inc. (now Comcast) where he managed the broadband data business unit. He began his career in private equity, risk arbitrage and business development at First Boston, Lehman Brothers and TLC Beatrice Foods. He has served on the board of directors of MCI, Inc., Teleport Communications Group, Sprint PCS and St. Paul’s Episcopal School in Oakland, CA, and is currently a Director of One PacificCoast Bank, FSB and the East Bay Community Foundation. He has also served on the board of directors of several private companies. He earned his AB and MBA from Harvard University. He also completed postgraduate work in political economy at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, as a Rotary Fellow.
Glenda McNeal is Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Global Client Group in Merchant Services Americas at the American Express Company. In this role, she has led the formation and launch of the group and the transition from a US account focus to an integrated global approach. She manages a portfolio of the largest and most complex global customer relationships in the airline, lodging, retail, oil, car rental, and online industries representing over $150B in sales, where she is responsible for growing revenue, market share and profitability. She leads the company’s efforts in making American Express a more accessible partner, developing and negotiating strategic partnerships, and executing business-building opportunities. Glenda worked at Salomon Brothers and Arthur Andersen & Company before beginning her career at American Express in 1989.
Glenda is a member of the board of directors of United States Steel Corporation. She is also a member of the PepsiCo Ethnic Advisory Board where she chairs the Human Sustainability committee and past chair of the Marketing committee, and a member of the board of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention. In addition, she is a trustee of Dillard University, where she serves as vice chair and chair of the Governance and Nominating committee. She has served as a board member of the National Retail Federation Foundation, the Harlem School of the Arts, as well as other not-for-profit boards over the years. Glenda has been recognized for her community and professional achievements.
Glenda holds an MBA degree in Finance and Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Accounting from Dillard University.
Greg Shell is a portfolio manager in the $10B International Active division of GMO, managing a sleeve of the U.S. portion of the Global Active Portfolio. Before coming to GMO, Greg was a Senior Equity Analyst at Columbia Management. Previously, he was a Consultant at Bain & Co. in both the Strategy and Private Equity practice.
Greg currently serves as Board Chair of the Roxbury Prep Charter School, Board Chair of the Chestnut Hill School, is on the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s New England Advisory Committee, and is on the Board of The Boston Foundation.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree from MIT and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where he was a Bert King and Robert Toigo Foundation Fellow. He is married, has two children and lives in Milton, Massachusetts.
Lyndon A. Taylor is a member of the Financial Services sector and works with clients across both banking and investment management. He is also a member of the CEO/Board Services team and leads the firm's Diversity practice. Lyndon has worked with both publicly-traded and private-held organizations. His recent financial services assignments include the Chief Executive Officer of a large asset & wealth management firm, the Chief Investment Officer for a large corporate pension plan, and the Chief Risk Officer for one of the largest financial institutions in the U.S. Lyndon’s recent board experience include working with one of the world's largest asset managers to replace retiring board members; a Fortune 500 company to add board members with services experience; and a fast growing regional bank to increase board diversity.
Prior to joining Russell Reynolds Associates, Lyndon worked in investment banking at UBS. Earlier in his career, Lyndon worked in corporate development for Enron, investment banking with Merrill Lynch, and also served in the U.S. Navy. Lyndon received his B.A. in history and his B.S. in ethnic studies from Southern Methodist University, and his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business.
Lyndon serves on the Board of Directors of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. He previously received the Rising Star Award from the University of Chicago African American MBA Association.
Ray Whiteman is a Managing Director of The Carlyle Group’s Distressed Investment Fund. The Carlyle Group is one of the world’s largest private equity firms with more than $97.7 billion under management.
Mr. Whiteman joined Carlyle’s US Buyout Group in its Aerospace and Defense Group in May 1996 and was a founding principal of Carlyle Management Group in 2000.
Mr. Whiteman graduated from Williams College as a Lehman Scholar with a B.A. in political science. He received his M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business, where he majored in Finance and Accounting.
Mr. Whiteman has sat on boards of numerous Carlyle portfolio companies, such as The Aerostructures Corporation, United States Marine Repair, Norfolk Shipping and Drydock, Key Plastics and Stellex Aerostructures, to name a few. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Diversified Machine Inc., MD Investors Corporation, holding company of Metaldyne, LLC and RPK Capital Partners, LLC (current portfolio companies), the Executive Committee of the National Symphony Orchestra of The John F. Kennedy Center and Prince George’s Community College Foundation.
Mr. Whiteman is also actively involved with Capital for Children, an organization that assists underprivileged children in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. He is also a former Advisory Board member of the Smithsonian African Art Museum.