How We Partner For Business Success

Chamber Leaders will dive into how they uniquely and individually represent their constituencies, how they've worked together over the years, supported each other during COVID-19, and what they do - continue to do- and can do, for the small, minority and other diverse business communities.

Speakers

Susan Au Allen
CEO USPAACC

Susan Au Allen

CEO
USPAACC

Justin Nelson
Co-Founder & President National LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Justin Nelson

Co-Founder & President
National LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Justin Nelson is the Co-Founder & President of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the business voice of the LGBT community and the largest LGBT economic advocacy and business development organization in the world.

In addition to over 50 LGBT affiliate chambers in the United States representing America's 1.4 million LGBT business owners, NGLCC leads economic development opportunities at over 20 international affiliates. NGLCC is responsible for major victories for the LGBT business community, among them the first-in-the-nation inclusion of LGBT suppliers in statewide contracting opportunities with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Justin regularly advises senior leaders at the White House, in Congress, and corporations throughout the world to build business opportunities through commitments to LGBT-inclusive supplier diversity programs. He is a sought-after speaker at conferences and meetings around the globe promoting the business case for LGBT inclusion and creating equity for the LGBT business community.

Justin and Team NGLCC are also responsible for the creation of the National Business Inclusion Consortium (NBIC), advocating the business interests of a diverse range of people, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, ethnic minority, disability, and women-owned business communities, representing a total of over $9 trillion in annual consumer spending power and significant contributions to the marketplace and workplace.

For his efforts in establishing the NGLCC, Justin was named to OUT Magazine's Top 100 Greatest Gay Success Stories. Justin was also named to the 25 Leading Men of 2006 list by Instinct Magazine, SmartCEO Magazine's 2012 Top 20 Leaders We Admire, and the 2012 Global LGBT Power 100 from the Guardian Newspaper in Great Britain. In 2010 Justin received the Outstanding Collaborative Partner Award from the U.S. Business Leadership Network for his partnership work on disability issues and is the recipient of the 2014 Vanguard Award from the Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to launching the NGLCC, Justin was the Director of Federal Affairs and External Relations for the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Washington, DC. During his tenure, the organization was named one of the top 100 lobbying organizations in Washington, DC by Forbes Magazine. Prior to lobbying Congress and the White House, Justin spent five years as an aide in the United States Senate. He has served as a past volunteer coordinator for the Wyoming Special Olympics, a Capitol Hill Chair for the March of Dimes Walk America and on the advisory board for the First Wyoming Race for the Cure. Justin holds a BA in political science from the University of Wyoming.


Ron Busby
President & CEO US Black Chambers, Inc.

Ron Busby

President & CEO
US Black Chambers, Inc.

As President/CEO of the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC), Ron Busby, Sr. brings business management skills as well as a lifetime of community development experience to the organization. Mr. Busby is a former successful business owner himself, and he has been recognized as one of the nation’s best CEOs. Ron grew his first company, USA Superclean, from $150,000 annualized revenue, to over $15 million in only 10 years. Early on in his career, USA Superclean was recognized as the largest Black-owned janitorial firm in the country. Mr. Busby has also started and grown two other janitorial firms, both resulting in over $4 million in annualized revenue. Currently, Ron serves on the Pfizer Small Business Council, National Newspapers Publishers Association Foundation Board of Directors, and White House African American Leadership Council. He has also formerly served on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Council on Underserved Communities.

Trained by some of the country’s leading corporate executives, Ron developed his skills at some of the nation’s largest corporations including; Exxon, Xerox, IBM, and Coca-Cola USA. While in corporate America, he was recognized as National Sales Person of the Year.

Ron also has chamber experience as he was previously the President of the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce for five years.

A native of Oakland, CA; and graduate with honors from both Florida A&M and Clark Atlanta University, Ron has dedicated himself to the empowerment of the African-American community. Ron is also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Ron has two sons and currently lives in the Washington, DC area.


Ramiro Cavazos
President & CEO US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Ramiro Cavazos

President & CEO
US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Moderator

Andrea Roane
News Anchor WUSA 9

Andrea Roane

News Anchor
WUSA 9