Procurement & Contracting Track:

Are you Ready for Prime Time? Learn to do business with government entities, corporations and prime contractors.  The MWBE certification process and a business assessment seminar will be featured.
 

Seminars:

WHY Certification?  WHAT it Does for Your Business:

If your target market is to sell to federal, state or local government institutions, corporations or construction prime contractors, you should consider certification.  This class helps take the mystery out of the certification process by helping you understand the application process, learn the different types of certifications, which type of certification is right for your business, as well as how to USE your certification. 

Time: 8:00 AM		Location: Room 104
Speakers:
Eugene Allen, Small Business Administration Federal certifications		Eugene Allen is a Business Development Specialist for the Dallas/Fort Worth Small Business Administration (SBA) working with the 8(a) Business Development Program. Eugene has previously worked as a Director for Minority Business Development for the Southeast Arkansas Development District, Area Coordinator and Program Consultant for the state of Arkansas and with the management team of Marriott Management Services as Assistant Manager for a nationwide contract on environmental services.
Jean Carlton, University of Texas at Arlington State certifications		Jean Carlton has 20 years experience as a public sector professional and for the past four years has been the Director of the HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) Program at the University of Texas at Arlington.  She works with supply chain management in an academic setting.  Since joining UT Arlington, she has assisted 100+ firms to become HUB certified and is proud to say that forty percent of those firms have contracts with the university.
Sheena Morgan, North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency		Sheena Morgan started her career with the minority, women, and disadvantaged business community in 1999 at the North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (NCTRCA).  In May 2006 she accepted a position with the South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (SCTRCA) in San Antonio, Texas as the Executive Director.   In August 2008 she accepted the position as Agency Director with the NCTRCA.
Moderator:  Weldon Gray, City of Irving, Minority-and- Women-Owned Business Enterprise Coordinator		Weldon Gray is MWBE Coordinator for the City of Irving.  He is also a small business owner and an adjunct professor of business at a local university, and understands and appreciates the need for the local government to do business with all businesses.  Weldon graduated from Paine College in Augusta,Georgia with a degree in Business Administration.  He received a Master’s in Administration from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant Michigan and a MBA in Corporate Finance from the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas.

ABC:  Agenda for Building Capacity - Contracting & Bid Opportunities

Learn your business ABC’s!    Representatives from corporations and public entities will be present to provide information on upcoming bid and contracting opportunities.  Meet buyers from BNSF Railway, City of Fort Worth, DFW International Airport, Lockheed Martin and Tarrant County. 

Time: 3:15 pm		Location: Room 102
Speakers:  Cherie Gordon, BNSF Railway		Cherie Gordon is Manager of Diverse Business Enterprise for BNSF Railway.  She is responsible for managing the supplier diversity program for BNSF, which is approaching $400 million in purchasing from women and minority owned businesses.  Prior to this position, she held other Procurement and Finance positions at BNSF and was employed with American Airlines for ten years.  She holds a Masters of Science in Accounting from the University of North Texas.  She was recognized in 2008 by Women’s Business Enterprise as a First Lady of Supplier Diversity, one of 100 women supplier diversity professionals nationally, and is a proud partner of the Agenda for Building Capacity in Tarrant County.
Jack Dale, City of Fort Worth		Jack Dale is the Purchasing Manager for the City of Fort Worth, a position he has held for almost three years.  The Fort Worth Purchasing Division handles procurement planning and acquisition of goods and general services for City departments.  Jack has over 15 years of experience in contracting and procurement.  He is a Certified Purchasing Manager and holds Bachelor of Business Administration and Jurist Doctor Degrees.
Reginald Cleveland DFW International Airport		Reginald Cleveland is a Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Business Specialist with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.  He has over 13 years experience assisting small, minority- and women-owned businesses in certification and business development.  Reginald earned his Bachelor of Public Administration from Grambling State University and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Dorothy James-McAllister, Lockheed Martin		Dorothy James-McAllister is Supplier Diversity Program Site Lead for the Fort Worth, Texas location of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.  Prior to joining Lockheed Martin, Dorothy was an employee at L-3 Communications Integrated Systems where she served as the Supplier Diversity Program Manager for ten procurement locations and negotiated the L-3 DoD Comprehensive Small Business Subcontracting Plan in 2005 and 2006.  She has served as procurement specialist, buyer, subcontract administrator, material acquisitions support/compliance manager and purchasing manager for Texas Instruments, Tokyo Electron America, Motorola and Raytheon TI Systems.  Dorothy is a graduate of the Concordia University at Austin with a degree in Business Management.
Velina Willis, Tarrant County		Velina Willis is the HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) Coordinator for Tarrant County.  She is responsible for increasing awareness, recruitment and education about the purchasing process for Tarrant County.  Prior to joining Tarrant County,  Ms. Willis worked with the Texas Department of Transportation, Fort Worth ISD and Fort Worth Transportation Authority.  She holds a master’s degree in organizational management and a bachelor of applied business administration from Dallas Baptist University.
Moderator: William Johnson, City of Fort Worth Housing & Economic Development		William Johnson is the Assistant Director of Business Development, a division of the City of Fort Worth’s Housing and Economic Development Department.  The Business Development Division includes the Minority and Women Business Enterprise Office and the Business Assistance Center.  Prior to assuming this role in January 2008, William served as the manager of the Small & Emerging Business Department at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport for over nine years.  His past work experience also includes serving as the Fort Worth Transportation Authority’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Coordinator.