Last month, a staff delegation from the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) visited five Affiliate Chambers in California and convened a series of events and meetings collectively called the "California Roadshow". The trip included two Supplier Diversity panels, held in northern and southern California, which a explored the benefits of LGBTBE Certification and provided perspectives from Certified Business Owners and Corporate Supplier Diversity professionals.The panels were both sponsored by NGLCC's Corporate Partner, Miller-Coors.
The roadshow began in San Francisco, where the first panel occured at New York Life's San Francisco office on March 15th. The panel featured Phil Giorgianni, Certification Specialist, NGLCC, Sam McClure, Director of Affiliate Relations, Tom Thatacherrry, Supplier Diversity Manager,Genentech and Dawn Ackerman, co-owner of Outsmart Office Solutions and a Certified LGBT Supplier. In addition to an overview of Supplier Diversity, Ackerman discussed Outsmart's new strategic partnership with Office Depot which allows her to provide the customer service of small business with price point and supply chain of a large organization.
" At New York Life our mission is to provide resources, to help educate the communities where we live, work and serve, " said Anthony Conde of New York Life. "The NGLCC and its affiliates help to bring us all together for one purpose; to empower us and our businesses to make a difference in our community. We are happy to do our part for the LGBT community in San Francisco."
The Los Angeles Supplier Diversity Panel convened on March 18th at the offices of Keller Williams, a Certified LGBTBE real estate agency. The panel featured Wendy Matheu, Procurement Manager, Supplier Diversity Liaison Office, Amgen Inc., and Stephan Roth, the Principal of OutThink Partners, a Los Angeles-based communications agency and Certified LGBTBE.
"My hope is to continue to partner with NGLCC to create a positive and inclusive environment for GLBT business owners similar to what we have created for our staff at Amgen so that they can bring their whole selves to work," said Matheu.
Giorgianni, McClure, and Joanna Dees, Senior Manager of Corporate Relations, also met with the leadership of the Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, the Long Beach Community Business Network and the Greater San Diego Business Association. Discussion focused on deepening the relationship between the NGLCC as the national organization prepares for its annual National Business & Leadership Conference, being held in Las Vegas from August 2 - 5.
"I am inspired by all of the amazing LGBT business leaders and entrepreneurs that I meet when we're out on the road," said McClure. "There's a strong desire within our local affiliate members to access opportunities that will drive strategic growth in their businesses. These cities are lucky to have such strong business communities and LGBT chambers of commerce and we are proud to have them as our partners."
In addition to its ongoing work educating the LGBT business community about the opportunities created by corporate Supplier Diversity Programs, NGLCC used the Roadshow as an opportunity to explore new benefits for affiliate chambers. As of February, 2011, the NGLCC will waive all fees for LGBT Business Enterprise Certification to any member of a local NGLCC Affiliate Chambers. The NGLCC continues to share its expanding portfolio of benefits and discounts, provided by its national Corporate Partners, with the membership of NGLCC Affiliates.
The NGLCC is exploring options for similar roadshows in other regions of the country. If you are interested in organizing an event, please contact your local Affiliate Chamber.
