Bridging the Gap - Cascade Engineering

community
leadership
diversity
Bridging the Gap:
Understanding Yourself, Your Company and Your
Community
inclusion
passion
career
Special thanks to our...
Platinum Sponsor
Amway
We believe in people, and we exist to help them realize their potential.
Amway was founded in 1959 with the idea that all people should have a
chance to reach their greatest potential. We are an $11.8 billion leader
in the direct-selling industry, helping more than 3 million people in more
than 100 countries and territories go into business for themselves, but
not by themselves. At Amway we employ more than 21,000 people
worldwide, offering employees an opportunity to achieve their highest
professional goals while being part of an exceptional team. By believing
in their potential, we help inspire achievement in everyone.
Young Professionals Partner
BL²END
BL²END is an acronym for Business Leaders Linked to Encourage New
Directions. Founded in August 2006, BL²END is a 100% volunteer managed,
grassroots, nonprofit organization focused on engaging young professionals
of color in Grand Rapids through monthly event opportunities to connect
socially, develop professionally and contribute to the local community.
Speaker Sponsor
Varnum
Varnum is committed to being a leader in workplace diversity and inclusion.
To achieve that goal we have a clear plan of action that includes educational
opportunities and scholarships developing a talent pipeline and community
support. We are pleased to partner with Cascade Engineering for Young
Professionals of Color Conference.
Gold Sponsors
Herman Miller, Inc.
At Herman Miller, we design and develop furniture and related services and
technologies that improve your environment, whether it’s an office, hospital,
school, home, an entire building, or the world at large. In business over 100
years, we continue working hard to design and build a better world around
you.
Spectrum Health
Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system, based in West Michigan,
offering a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group,
which is comprised of 11 hospitals including Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital;
170 ambulatory and service sites; 1,080 employed physicians and advanced
practice providers including members of the Spectrum Health Medical Group;
and Priority Health, a 575,000-member health plan. Spectrum Health is
West Michigan’s largest employer with 22,500 employees. The organization
provided $250 million in community benefit during its 2013 fiscal year.
In 2014, Spectrum Health was named one of the nation’s 15 Top Health
Systems® by Truven Health Analytics.
Mercantile Bank of Michigan
Mercantile Bank of Michigan offers a full range of financial services including
personal and business banking products, mortgage services, as well as
treasury management and payroll services. We also offer innovative online
services such as mobile banking, mobile check deposit, personal budgeting
tools, and person to person payments. Our commitment to the community,
consultative approach, and knowledge of Michigan enables us to deliver our
services in a professional and personalized manner. We believe that mutually
beneficial relationships are the key to supporting and strengthening the
diverse communities that we serve.
Miller Johnson
Miller Johnson is a respected law firm with more than 95 attorneys in Grand
Rapids and Kalamazoo. We dedicate our skills and energies to promoting
a climate where diversity of thought, background and culture thrives in our
workplace and in our community, ensuring the success of our clients and
enriching our lives. The Young Professionals of Color Conference fits with our
efforts to recruit, develop, retain and promote diverse attorneys and staff. We
applaud Cascade Engineering, Amway and BL2END for partnering on this
opportunity and are proud to be a sponsor. www.millerjohnson.com
Silver Sponsors
Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids
Goodwill Industries of Greater Grand Rapids serves the community as an
inclusive employer dedicated to providing job placement services and an
environmentally responsible donation management program. Our mission is
“Changing lives and communities through the power of work!”
TekSystems
Our people make IT possible. Whether we provide one specialized IT
consultant through a staffing solution, offer advice on optimal IT workforce
strategies or manage a fully outsourced solution, our ability to provide the
absolute best IT professionals for the job enables us to get IT done.
Bronze Sponsor
Scholarship Sponsors
In an effort to ensure young professionals of color have the opportunity to engage and learn from
experts in the community, individuals and organizations who are passionate about creating a positive
impact in Grand Rapids donated in the form of scholarships so that future leaders could attend the
conference. We would like to thank the following organizations and individuals for their contributions:
BL²END (Business Leaders Linked to Encourage New Directions)
TekSystems
Grand Rapids Community Foundation
Mindy Ysasi Castañon
Rockford Construction
Program
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Welcome and Opening Comments
9:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Bridging the Gap
9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Maggie Anderson
Founder and CEO, New Higher
Break and Book Signing
11:30 a.m. - 11:45 p.m.
Lunch
11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Break - Out Sessions
1:15 pm to 3:35 pm
Select to attend two out of the three break-out sessions! Each session is 1-hour long
with a 10 minute break in between sessions.
You Are the Catalyst for Change!
Commissioner Senita Lenear
City of Grand Rapids
Connections Conference Room
Know Your Role: Gender and Race in the Workplace
Kenyatta and Tracey Brame
Executive Vice President, Cascade Engineering
Dean of Students, Cooley Law School
World Headquarters Auditorium
Corporate Culture: The Rules You Aren’t Told In Orientation
Dr. Andre Perry
Founding Dean of Urban Education, Davenport University
Europa Side Room
Wrap-Up and Prize Drawing
3:35 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Social Networking BL²ENDer
Louis Benton
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Maggie Anderson
Maggie Anderson and her family made history and dominated headlines as national
media covered their real-life case study in self-help economics in the black community.
The Anderson family lived exclusively off black business and talent and bought only
black-made products for an entire year. It was called The Empowerment Experiment
(EE) and resulted in a landmark study conducted by Northwestern University’s
Kellogg School of Business. Since the completion of their experiment, Anderson has
become the voice of American consumers of all backgrounds who want to make
sure their buying power positively impacts struggling minority communities. A soughtafter speaker, Anderson has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, C-SPAN, PBS
Newshour, and CBS Morning News, among many other national television and radio shows. She is the author
of the critically acclaimed book about EE, Our Black Year, presented by William Morris Entertainment and Public
Affairs Books. Publishers Weekly called Anderson’s experiment and book “a dynamite subject” and “an effective
probe into how African Americans spend so much money that overwhelmingly leaves their communities.”
Library Journal also endorsed the validity and importance of the experiment, book, and message, saying,
“Anderson’s book successfully illuminates the roadblocks faced by black business owners and the racial divide
that continues to persist in the US economy... [T]his book will appeal to students of sociology and economics
as well as those looking for inspiration to effect positive change in their communities.”
Maggie Anderson has a BA in political science from Emory University and earned both her Juris Doctor
and MBA from the University of Chicago. She is an accomplished business strategy professional with 17
years of legal, research, communications, and business strategy experience and is a respected leader in the
Chicago business community. Previously, at McDonald’s corporate headquarters, she developed, presented,
and implemented influential growth strategies and venture plans in the areas of diversity, emergent industries
and global markets, market segmentation, communications, business intelligence, and corporate responsibility.
As a strategy consultant, she has conducted due diligence, business intelligence, and competitive and market/
industry research for corporate and private equity clients, as she helped them explore and execute mergers,
acquisitions, product/market development, and new ventures. Anderson also has a strong track record within
various political and government environments, including serving as the mayor of Atlanta’s speechwriter while
that city hosted the Olympic Games.
Commissioner Senita Lenear
Senita Lenear is an alumnus of GR Creston High. She is also a summa cum laude
graduate of Cornerstone University with a Bachelors in Business Management and
minor in Ministry Leadership. She is a mother, community volunteer and a member
of New Hope Baptist Church where her husband Dallas Lenear serves as Executive
Pastor. Senita Lenear has over 20 years of business experience, which includes
working in corporate America and owning her own consulting firm. She is the founder
of the My Body is a Temple program, which helps teens and young adults to discover
the benefits of sexual abstinence before marriage.
Senita is a trailblazer. She was appointed to the GRPS Board of Education in October 2007 and the District
made history of being a majority minority board of education. In 2009, she was elected to the Board of
Education by the citizens of Grand Rapids to serve a four year term, which she’s currently completing. During
her tenure on the board of education, she was elected, unanimously by her colleagues, to serve as the VicePresident for one year and President of the board for over 2 years.
Senita has passion for serving the community and is always putting the 18,000 students first in her work on
the school board. Her service on the board has opened her eyes to more needs in the broader community.
Senita has expanded her service beyond the 18,000 students of GRPS to serving as President of the Kent
Intermediate Association of School Boards, where the goal of providing educational experience for Board
Members in the Kent Intermediate School District is their focus.
Senita has been honored with a number of community awards, including her most recent YWCA Tribute!
Community Service, Zeta Phi Beta Woman of the Year, NAACP Presidential and Legacy awards.
Kenyatta Brame
Kenyatta Brame is the Executive Vice President at Cascade Engineering. Cascade is a
manufacturer and marketer of products and services supporting a variety of industries
including the automotive, industrial and solid waste industries – a leading proponent
of sustainable business practices, and a widely recognized employer of choice.
Brame is responsible for directing Cascade’s cross-organizational services, which
include the Company’s engineering, legal/risk management, human resources,
benefits, marketing, talent management, IT, corporate quality and ESS (environmental,
safety and sustainability) functions. In addition to ensuring the alignment of those
services with Cascade’s business objectives and sustainability focus, Brame also has oversight for the
Company’s IWS (Invisible Waste Services) Cascade Consulting, and Triple Quest business units.
Prior to joining Cascade, Brame served as Senior Vice President of Operations and Merchandising, Employee
Relations & Legal Services at SYSCO Food Services of Grand Rapids, a Midwest-based unit of the largest
distributor of food service products in North America. In this position, Brame had responsibility for an array of
operational areas including warehousing and transportation, merchandising and marketing, and all employee
relations functions. He also served as legal counsel for the company.
Brame’s extensive community affiliations include serving as a board member of Frederik Meijer Gardens and
Sculpture Park; the Floyd Skinner Bar Association; Wabash College; and Alternative Directions, a probation
residence service that offers an alternative direction to non-violent felony offenders. He is also a past chair of
the City of Grand Rapids Civil Rights Commission. Brame holds a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan
Law School, an MBA from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree from Wabash College.
Tracey Brame
Professor Brame is an alumna of the University of Michigan and came to the Thomas
Cooley Law School in February 2006 from Legal Aid of Western Michigan. At the
Legal Aid of Western Michigan she was a staff attorney and advised and represented
low-income clients on family law, housing, and consumer law issues. She collaborated
with other programs to address legal issues faced by ex-offenders re-entering the
community. She also translated for Spanish-speaking clients. As Assistant Dean of
Cooley Law School’s Grand Rapids campus, Tracey handles student conduct issues,
runs the public defender clinic and teaches Constitutional Law elective courses.
Previously, Professor Brame served as staff attorney for Public Defender Services for the District of Columbia,
a research and writing specialist with the Federal Defender Office, and an assistant defender with the State
Appellate Defender Office in Detroit. She has argued in front of the Michigan Supreme Court, 6th Circuit Court,
and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Professor Brame is passionate about service to her community. She was honored as a 2010 Giants Award
winner and currently serves on the board of directors of the Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM), Goodwill
Industries of Greater Grand Rapids, Child Discovery Center, Varnum- Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council,
Jack and Jill of America, and is a Cub Scout Den Mother. She is the proud mother of two wonderful children,
Kimau and Kimani, and the wife of Kenyatta Brame.
Dr. Andre Perry
Dr. Andre Perry is the Founding Dean of Urban Education at Davenport University in
Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Perry is responsible for planning and launching Davenport’s
new College of Urban Education. Dr. Perry serves as the chief architect and advocate
for the College, building relationships within the University and collaborations with
external constituencies in order to build a program that will be a pioneer in urban
education. As the strategic leader of the College, he develops and implements a
vision and a plan for the College of Urban Education as an innovative and dynamic
new force in preparing teachers and leaders for success in urban schools.
Prior to, he was the Associate Director for Educational Initiatives for the Loyola Institute for Quality and Equity in
Education. Dr. Perry created academic and enrichment opportunities for Loyola University as well as for primary
and secondary students in the metro area. Before Loyola, he served as the CEO of the Capital One-University
of New Orleans Charter Network, which was comprised of four charter schools in New Orleans. In 2010, Perry
served on Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu’s Transition Team as the co-chair of the Education Taskforce.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Perry earned his Ph.D. in education policy and leadership from the University of
Maryland College Park. His research and teaching interests are college access and retention, charter schools
and immigrant educational rights. In 2011, UNO Press released his book, The Garden Path: The Miseducation
of the City. He also co-authored the chapter Between Public and Private: Politics, Governance, and the New
Portfolio Models for Urban School Reform published on Harvard University Press. In addition, Dr. Perry is a
columnist for the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news organization focused on producing in-depth education
journalism.
In 2008 he was selected as an Effective Leaders Fellow by Duke University’s Center for Leadership and Public
Values. Fully immersed in the city’s recovery efforts, Perry served on the boards of the Urban League of Greater
New Orleans, WYES Public Television, WWNO-FM, and Young Audiences-Arts for Learning. His communitybased efforts earned him accolades and acclaim. Andre Perry received the Kappa Alpha Psi Distinguished
Citizen Award in 2011. He also received St. Charles Avenue Magazine’s 2008 Unsung Hero of the Year
Award. New Orleans Magazine selected Dr. Perry as a “Person to Watch.” In 2009, Gambit Weekly named
Perry to its “40 under 40”. In October of 2011, NBC Affiliate, WDSU Channel 6 aired the award winning
documentary, “Close Ties: Tying on a New Tradition,” which features Dr. Perry and Wilbert “Chill” Wilson’s efforts
to prevent criminal activity among at-risk youth. In 2012, Dr. Perry was named team lead for Orleans PLACE
MATTERS, a national project of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.