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Diversity Institute Advisory Council Members are Vital Resources
By Sonya Brathwaite
The association is honored that these organizations have agreed to join the IFA in its efforts to increase diversity in the franchising community. IFA is eager to learn from their past successes and is ready to partner in future initiatives and encourages all its member companies to do the same. To facilitate this process, each Diversity Institute Advisory Council member is listed below along with a brief description of their organization.
Susan Au Allen
President
U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce
www.uspaacc.com
The U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1984 as a national, non-profit business organization representing all Asian-Americans and Asian-American-related groups in business, sciences, the arts, sports, education, public and community services. The organization represents more than one ethnic group, including those originating from China, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Korea, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Mongolia and Indonesia. USPAAC promotes, nurtures and propels economic growth by opening doors of contract, education and professional opportunities for Asian-Americans and their business partners in corporate America and government agencies.
Lezli Baskerville
President and CEO
National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
www.nafeo.org
National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education was founded in 1969 as the professional association of the presidents and chancellors of the nation’s historically and predominantly black colleges and universities. The association is serving 400,000 students and their families. Association-member institutions are public and private, two- and four-year community-based institutions that are located in 25 states and the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Brazil.
The mission of the association is to champion the interests of historically and predominantly-black colleges and universities with the executive, legislative and judicial branches of federal and state government. The association carries out this mission with corporations, foundations, associations and non-governmental organizations and builds relationships with black colleges and universities, their executives, administrators, faculty, staff and students. The National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education serves as an international voice and advocate to preserve and enhance black colleges and universities and for blacks in higher education.
Carl Brooks
President
Executive Leadership Council
www.elcinfo.com
The Executive Leadership Council was founded in 1986 to change the face of corporate America. Today, the council has more than 340 members, one-third of them women, representing more than 200 companies. The council provides African-American executives in Fortune 500 companies with a professional network and forum. It is dedicated to increasing the visibility, recognition and advancement of African-American business executives at all levels by creating and developing new economic opportunities for minority enterprise. The council helps ensure that corporate philanthropic programs are inclusive of and responsive to African-American communities and provides educational opportunities, mentoring projects, and programs that identify and prepare the next generation of African-American managers and executives.
Rev. Luis A. Cortes Jr.
President
Esperanza USA
www.esperanza.us
Begun in Philadelphia in 1987 as Nueva Esperanza, Esperanza USA is a network of Hispanic Christians, churches and ministries committed to raising awareness and identifying resources that strengthen the Hispanic community. It is the largest Hispanic faith-based community development corporation in the country and boasts a national network of 10,000 Hispanic faith and community based agencies.
Esperanza USA’s cornerstone initiative is the Hispanic Capacity Project. With operations in Orlando, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, Southern California, Northern and Southern New Jersey and Seattle, the project provides capacity building, technical assistance and small grants to Hispanic faith-based agencies. In July 2004, Esperanza USA launched Esperanza Trabajando (Hope is Working), an $11 million, nine-city, three-year project working with Latino at-risk and adjudicated-youth, transforming lives from unemployed aimlessness and a troubled future into career-oriented lifetime employment. Other Esperanza USA national projects include Hogares de Esperanza (Homes of Hope), a national homebuilding, mortgage and financial counseling initiative and Pacto de Esperanza (Pledge of Hope), a national HIV and AIDS education initiative.
Gerald A. Fernandez
Founder and President
MultiCultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance
www.mfha.net
The Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance was launched in 1996 to increase the awareness and presence of diversity in the foodservice and hospitality industry. All of its programs and activities are built around the image of a dinner table, with four seats representing four industry components: workforce, customers, community and suppliers. It is the diversity of cultures, ideas, and perspectives from each component that will provide the industry with the richest resources to advance, to remain competitive and to attract the best talent.
From their line of QuickVue English to Spanish workplace guides to their Showcase of the Stars program for high school and college students, the organization delivers products and programs that are focused on meeting the needs of the foodservice and hospitality industries related to diversity.
Ronald Langston
National Director
Minority Business Development Agency
www.mbda.gov
The Minority Business Development Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the only federal agency created specifically to foster the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in America. The agency provides funding for a network of Minority Business Development Centers located throughout the nation in areas with the largest concentration of minority populations and the largest number of minority businesses. These centers provide minority entrepreneurs with one-on-one assistance in writing business plans, marketing, management and technical assistance and financial planning to assure adequate financing for business ventures.
Since 1983, the agency has hosted the National Minority Enterprise Development Week Conference, which is the largest federally-sponsored activity held on behalf of Minority Business Enterprises. In addition, the agency hosts a free database of minority-owned firms (called the Phoenix Database) and an Opportunity Contract Matching System. The system matches firms with contract opportunities from government and private-sector procurement managers.
Delia De La Vara
Deputy Vice President, Strategic Communications Group
National Council of La Raza
www.nclr.org
The National Council of La Raza–the largest national constituency-based Hispanic organization and the leading voice in Washington, D.C. for the Hispanic community–was established to reduce poverty and discrimination and improve life opportunities for Hispanic Americans. Four major functions provide essential focus to the organization’s work: capacity-building assistance; applied research, policy analysis, and advocacy; public information efforts; and special and international projects. These functions complement the council’s work in five key strategic priorities: education, assets and investments, civil rights and immigration, employment and economic status, and health.
Founded in 1968, the council began as a regional organization concerned primarily with providing grassroots support to Mexican-Americans in the Southwest United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NCLR has field offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio and San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 2004, the council opened an office in New York City. Through its community-based efforts, the council reaches more than four million Hispanics through a formal network of affiliates, including more than 300 Hispanic community-based organizations that serve 41 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, and a broader network of more than 35,000 groups and individuals nationwide.
Carlos F. Orta
President and Ceo
Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility
www.hacr.org
Founded in 1986 as an association of some the most prominent national Hispanic organizations, the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility strives to ensure that there is an equitable participation of the Hispanic community in corporate America commensurate with Hispanic purchasing power. Responsible corporations endeavor to include Hispanics in employment, procurement, philanthropy, and corporate governance.
Through the HACR Research Institute, the association publishes annual studies on the state of the Hispanic community and corporate best practices in governance, philanthropy, procurement and employment. The association’s Leadership Institute prepares highly-experienced Hispanic leaders for corporate directorship appointments. Moreover, the HACR Corporate Index ranks Fortune 100 corporations in the United States relative to their total Hispanic inclusion practices. By providing information on the status of Hispanics in corporate America, the association can focus on issues relevant to Hispanics and investigate solutions to the inequity that exists.
Marvin Owens
Executive Director, Urban Entrepreneurship Program
National Urban League
www.nul.org
Founded in 1910, the National Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement whose goal is to enable African-Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity and power and civil rights. The heart of the Urban League movement is the professionally-staffed Urban League affiliates in more than 100 cities in 34 states and the District of Columbia.
The league operates a myriad of programs across the country focused on education and youth, economic empowerment, health and quality of life, civic engagement, civil rights and racial justice. The organization recently launched a nationwide Hurricane Katrina relief fund and the Urban Entrepreneurship Program to support, mentor and provide services to entrepreneurs.
Donald T. Wilson
President/CEO
Association of Small Business Development Centers
www.asbdc-us.org
The Association of Small Business Development Centers is a partnership program uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. The centers deliver nationwide educational assistance to strengthen small and medium business management, thereby contributing to the growth of local, state and national economies. More than 500,000 businesses are assisted by the centers’ member programs on an annual basis.
Founded in 1979, the centers provide a vehicle for continuous improvement of the Small Business Development Center program, an exchange of information among members regarding objectives, methods and results in business management and technical assistance and advocacy of America’s small-business community.
Ben Litalien
President and CEO
Social Franchise Ventures
www.socialfranchise.com
Social Franchise Ventures is a social enterprise consulting firm that was founded in 2006as a for-profit subsidiary of Share Our Strength, one of the nation’s leading anti-hunger and anti-poverty organizations. Share Our Strength launched the firm on the premise that every organization can increase its social impact by building on its own internal assets, rather than relying on support from external organizations.
The firm helps nonprofit organizations become more self-sustaining by generating revenue through franchise ventures and corporate partnerships. Through its consulting and research, the firm influences both nonprofits and corporations to think differently about market-based approaches to their social sector activity.
W. Kenneth Yancey
President
SCORE Association
www.score.org.
Since 1964, SCORE volunteers have provided counseling and training support to more than seven million entrepreneurs and small businesses. Experienced executives and business owners donate their time and expertise as volunteer mentors. More than 10,500 volunteers provide counseling and workshops to local business communities. In 2004, 389 SCORE chapters provided 468,499 hours of business advice, counseling, mentoring and workshop sessions. The association offers free, confidential counseling services in face-to-face sessions and online through Ask SCORE on the SCORE Small Business Web site.
