BUSINESS PAVILION MARKETPLACE & EXHIBIT HALL FACILITATORS |
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Berkhemer Clayton Inc. is a retained executive search firm celebrating 15 years in business, headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, specializing in senior-level executive positions in corporate communications, marketing, finance and general management. University clients include USC, UC Irvine, Caltech and UCLA. Corporate clients include Hilton, DirecTV, Disney, Toyota, Edison; non-profit clients include the American Lung Association of California, Kaiser Permanente, MALDEF, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and more. Betsy is the current (2008-09) statewide California president of the National Association of Women Business Owners and past president of NAWBO® Los Angeles (2000-01). In 2006, NAWBO-Los Angeles honored her for “Lifetime Achievement,” and she is past chair of the NAWBO-LA Enterprise Institute Foundation.
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Jeni Burgess
Principal Relationship Manager
Southern California Business Banking Division
Wells Fargo
Jeni is responsible for acquiring, maintaining and expanding Wells Fargo’s business banking relationships with high value clients in this Division that serves more than 5,900 customers.
Jeni’s prior experience includes establishing Metal Products Co. where she managed finances and operations; and serving as director of the Bankers Small Business CDC, SBA loan officer at Pacific Commerce Bank, and as commercial loan officer and senior relationship manager at Wells Fargo.
Jeni has received the Avante Garde Award from the California Local Economic Development Organization and been named U.S. Small Business Administration Financial Advocate of the Year.
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Julie Burkhart
Manager, Enterprise Knowledge Management
Sprint
Julie brings 25 years of expertise in leadership, learning and knowledge management to her role at Sprint. She leads the enterprise-wide knowledge management program where she is respnsible for the vision, strategy and standards deployment. Her team implements productivity solutions to improve workforce performance, reduce costs and impact bottom-line profits. She currently serves as president of WISE (Sprint's internal women’s resource group). Julie has a Bachelor's degree in Family Life & Human Development from Kansas State University and a Master’s degree in Business Communication from Fort Hays State University. She resides in Overland Park, KS, with her husband and daughter.
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Marilyn Bushey is an inspirational coach and facilitator who thrives on bringing out the best in people, teams and organizations. Over the last 25 years, Marilyn has coached more than 2,000 leaders in executive presence, leadership skills and business development skills. She also leads Fortune 100 companies, fast growth small businesses and nonprofits in result-driven strategic planning sessions, quarterly management retreats, on-boarding and sales boot camps and team building events. Marilyn has been praised for her ability to “combine practical experience with intellectual insight” and for “always inspiring innovation and creativity in her clients.”
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Richard Chacon
Vice President and Supplier Diversity Manager
Union Bank
Richard is responsible for providing diverse business enterprises with the maximum practicable opportunity to participate in the bank’s procurement of goods and services in California, Oregon and Washington. He joined Union Bank in 1998 and has been the driving force behind its increase in diverse business supplier spending, from $13 million in 1996 to $136 million in 2010. Prior to his current position, Mr. Chacon worked with Pacific Bell for 13 years in the personnel and supplies distribution departments, where he established the supplier diversity program for Pacific Bell’s Southern California region and then managed its California and Nevada Services for the disabled program.
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Michele Chang
Senior Advisor in the Office of Government Contracting and Business Development
U.S. Small Business Administration
Michele Chang was appointed as Senior Advisor in the Office of Government Contracting and Business Development at the U.S. Small Business Administration in 2010. She works closely with Joseph Jordan, the Associate Administrator of Government Contracting and Business Development, to support thousands of small businesses every year as they compete for over $500 billion in federal prime contracts.
Prior to joining SBA, Chang was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm. She specialized in developing marketing and merchandising strategies for Fortune 500 clients in the retail and consumer products industries. She also worked in the firm's public sector practice, where she helped re-shape the strategy of a charter school organization and worked on Chicago’s efforts to host the 2016 Olympics Games.
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DeDominic & Associates is a specialized business consulting firm that offers professional services to enterprise builders and other high achievers.
Patty is an expert in Executive Coaching, succession and strategic planning; the former owner of CT Engineering and PDQ Personnel Services, Inc., which she founded in 1979. Patty sold in 2006 to a privately held firm which is now over one billion dollars in annual sales nationally and one of the nation’s largest human resources/staffing firms. She is an author and co-creator of Reality Based Certification which assures the best coaching, consulting, and professional services and products from the most trustworthy sources.
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Heather M. Endresen
Senior Vice President
Union Bank
Heather M. Endresen is a senior vice president and manager for the Small Business Administration (SBA) and government lending unit within Union Bank’s Business Banking group. In her current role, Ms. Heather oversees a team of five SBA business development officers in California, Oregon and Washington dedicated to increasing lending to small businesses through SBA and other government loan programs. These officers assist small businesses from Seattle to San Diego with SBA loans.
Actively involved in her professional and personal communities, Heather serves on the board of the CDC Small Business Finance group, which leads the nation in providing SBA loans and other financial capital through its products and services.
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Linda brings 24 years of pharmacy experience to her role, including two years of external experience as a pharmacist prior to joining Walmart in 1989, as a Pharmacy Manager in Carthage, Mo. In late 1999, she was named a Walmart Pharmacy District Manager and was responsible for districts first in Southern Missouri/Northern Arkansas and then southern Arizona. She was then named a Regional Pharmacy Manager with Walmart and held that position until joining Sam’s Club. Linda has been a Regional Pharmacy Manager with the Sam’s Club Pharmacy Division since 2004 and has been responsible for 275 pharmacies in 30 states, overseeing 13 Pharmacy Directors of Operations.
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Under Renée’s leadership, Fraser Communications has developed into one of the top 10 private companies in Los Angeles. With more than $42 million in sales, it is also ranked #36 nationwide by Entrepreneur Magazine as one the fastest growing woman-owned businesses in the United States. The full-service advertising and marketing agency has attracted a broad spectrum of local and nationally recognized clients, including Toyota, Wendy’s, Whole Foods Market, East West Bank, Nevada State Bank, Saint John’s Health Center, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Flex Your Power (the California State Energy Conservation Campaign), First Five California, The Presidential Climate Action Project (PCAP) and the Los Angeles Department of Health.
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Ana Recio Harvey
Assistant Administrator for Women’s Business Ownership
U.S. Small Business Administration
As the U.S. Small Business Administration’s assistant administrator for women’s business ownership, Ana Recio Harvey oversees the agency’s efforts to promote the growth of women-owned businesses through programs that provide business training and counseling, access to credit and capital, and multiple business and networking opportunities.
Harvey manages a nationwide network of women's business centers that provide training and counseling to hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs in nearly every state and two U.S. territories. Her office also works with representatives in every SBA district office to oversee operations of the women’s business centers and to coordinate services for women entrepreneurs.
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Colleen’s areas of focus include retirement planning, wealth preservation strategies, investments, education funding, cash flow management and much more. She helps her clients develop strategies designed to help their money work hard for them. At Ameriprise Financial since 2009, Colleen advises clients on financial solutions related to the issues that matter most to them, such as a good education for their children, a comfortable retirement and protection for their families. She works one on one with them to identify their short- and long-term goals and then supplies the knowledge and advice needed to help them feel confident that they’re making informed decision for their family’s future.
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Erica manages the supplier diversity initiative within the Enterprise Procurement department at Ameriprise Financial. Ameriprise Supplier Diversity increases opportunities for certified diverse vendors and is closely aligned with the company’s overall diversity and inclusion strategy. It promotes awareness of diverse business enterprises, increases the company’s exposure within our community, fosters business growth for diverse vendors and expands our relationships with local and national organizations.
Erica joined Ameriprise Financial in 2010, prior to which she led diversity and recruiting initiatives at a prominent Midwest-based law firm. Erica was an intern at the White House during the Clinton administration and also held roles with a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.
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Tracey Lewis
West Region International Director
UPS
Tracey is responsible for the growth of imports and exports for small package shipments, ocean and air freight and customs brokerage in 17 western states. She joined UPS 25 years ago as a part-time telephone representative and has held various sales positions in her career. Her international experience began in 2003 when she led an international sales team in Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire. She holds several certifications from the Department of Commerce including a certificate in Export Compliance.
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Lisa Matta
Vice President and Business Market Manager
Citibank
Lisa manages a sales team of business bankers in Southern California and Nevada. She has been in banking for 18 years, most of which have been in commercial and business banking. She specializes in understanding the small business model and offering solutions for them. Lisa shares her expertise with several community groups, including NAWBO®, California Disabled Veterans, LBA, SBDC and many more. Lisa and her husband reside in South Corona and have twins—a boy and a girl.
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Tamara is part of the Group responsible for the promotion of Ex-Im Bank programs to underserved markets, including minority and women-owned businesses. These programs have resulted in annual increases of Ex-Im Bank’s authorizations to minority and women owned businesses to help them increase their export and domestic sales.
Prior to her current position, Tamara was a Business Development Assistant whose primary focus was working with the Latin American market. While working in Business Development and other areas within the Bank, Tamara gained extensive experience assisting small businesses in structuring international transactions to meet Ex-Im Bank’s program requirements.
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Mertz founded the non-profit organization that seeks to support, develop and honor women leaders, inspire women to reach their full potential and create balance in leadership worldwide. Mertz was President of ATHENA International from its inception in 1982 to May 1999. She serves ATHENA now as a board member and an ambassador, traveling the globe to share its message: That women bring a distinctive, transforming approach to leadership—an approach that goes beyond gender to speak to all who would lead in the 21st century. She is also a speaker, author and successful real estate entrepreneur as president and owner of the Michigan-based firm Mayhood/Mertz Investment, Inc.
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