The 9 leaders representing the country's top small and underdeveloped business organizations gathered at the virtual Synergy Forward panel on November 8 to discuss key issues on supplier development, equal opportunity, and certification.
Mark Madrid, Associate Administrator, Office of Entrepreneurial Development at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), gave the opening remarks, praising the panel's breadth. He also called for a level playing field and breaking down barriers for small and underdeveloped businesses to grow and prosper, especially those hardest hit by the pandemic and those unable to join in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Hosted by the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC), the Synergy Forward Panel included:
- Jill Houghton, President & CEO, Disability: IN;
- Justin Nelson, Co-Founder & President, National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC);
- Ying McGuire, President & CEO, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC);
- Matthew Pavelek, President & CEO, National Veteran-Owned Business Associations (NaVOBA);
- Keith King, Founder & CEO, The National Veteran Business Development Council (NVBDC);
- Ron Busby, President & CEO, US Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC);
- Raul Salinas, Board Member and General Counsel of United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC), representing Ramiro Cavazos, CEO of USHCC;
- Susan Au Allen, National President & CEO, US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC); and
- Pamela Prince-Eason, President & CEO, The Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
'It can't get any better than this,' said host and moderator, USPAACC National President and CEO Susan Au Allen. 'We're proud to have gathered 9 independent organizations for a candid and substantive exchange of views on supplier development, the importance of certification, and especially on how we could all work together, harness the power of synergy, and move forward to help our unique constituents grow and thrive in the post-pandemic marketplace.'
Allen said that certification of small and underdeveloped businesses is more important than ever after President Biden's Executive Order 13985 instructed all federal agencies to increase their purchase from underdeveloped businesses from 5% to 15% in the next five years.
Eight of the nine organizations have an established certification program that validates businesses are at least 51% owned, controlled, and managed on a day-to-day basis by one or more Asian American, Black American or Hispanic American or a combination of any of them; people with disabilities, LGBT, disabled veterans, and women.
While the federal government recognizes certification of underdeveloped-, veteran-, and women-owned businesses, corporations also recognize certified disability- and LGBT-owned businesses.
The panelists discussed the value to corporations of partnering with their respective organizations, measuring supplier development impact, the importance of certification and creating synergy among the organizations to benefit their constituents.
The panel is part of the second line-up of programs presented at CelebrASIAN Business Development Conference, which held its first part in early June.
To learn more about USPAACC or CelebrASIAN, visit uspaacc.com or celebrasianconference.com.
