| Shyla Sheppard, Fund Associate
New Mexico Community Capitall
Shyla joined New Mexico Community Capital
in 2005. She was promoted to Fund Associate in 2007. At NMCC, she performs
an array of activities including deal sourcing, community outreach, providing
value-added assistance to portfolio companies, managing portfolio company
and deal flow information, assisting the Managing Director with investor
relations and making investments for the NMCC funds. Shyla assists on
the boards of Aero Mechanical Industries and Armed Response Team.
Ms. Sheppard is also spearheading NMCC’s investment-cultivating efforts with Native American communities and entrepreneurs. The goal of this initiative is to promote and encourage entrepreneurship and business development in Native communities to spur not only economic growth, but also cause broader positive economic development results. Having first-hand experience growing up in an area with only an elementary school and clinic and twenty miles from the nearest gas station or grocery store, she is passionate about using business to find creative solutions to the economic disparities that pervade rural and under-served locales.Â
Shyla graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Economics. She was raised
on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota and is a member of the Three
Affiliated Tribes.
Morning
Workshop A:
THE
MICROLOAN PHENOMENON AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
MODERATOR:
Janie
Barrera, President & CEO
ACCION
Texas
Ms.
Barrera is Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of ACCION Texas.
ACCION Texas began in 1994 and now has the largest microloan portfolio
in the United States. Ms. Barrera began her career as Director of
Telecommunications for the Diocese of Corpus Christi in 1977. There, she
helped form the area's first nonprofit radio stations, KLUX and KHOY, as
well as two television production studios. After completion of her
MBA from the University of the Incarnate Word, the Corpus Christi native
remained in San Antonio. In 1989, Ms. Barrera was hired as the Marketing
Director for the U.S. Air Force Morale, Welfare and Recreation Division
headquartered in San Antonio. Ms. Barrera has received recognition
for her accomplishments including the Small Business Administration Financial
Services Advocate of the Year, the Minority Enterprise Development Consortium's
Corporate Advocate of the Year, and in 2007 was inducted into the San Antonio
Women's Hall of Fame. She was also recently listed by the San Antonio
Business Journal as one of "Twenty Defining Players: People Who Have Helped
Shape the City." Ms. Barrera has served on many national, state and
local boards including the Federal Reserve Board's National Consumer Advisory
Council.
SPEAKERS:
Robin
Barnes, Senior Vice-President of the New Orleans Office
Seedco
Financial
Robin
Barnes is Senior Vice President for Seedco Financial and oversees
the organizations regional activities in the Gulf Coast, Louisiana
and Tennessee. Louisiana programs include a $20 million small business
assistance program for businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina,
a $2.5 million small business loan fund in Baton Rouge, and Fisheries
Assistance Center in Plaquemines Parrish. In Tennessee, she is developing
a comprehensive community development strategy for Memphis. In addition,
Barnes sits on the Seedco Financial Alabama Policy Advisory Board.
Formerly, she was a Senior Vice President for Seedco where she conceived
of and implemented Seedco's capacity building and technical assistance
programs. Barnes oversaw the technical assistance component of Seedco's
$45 million small business recovery program following the terrorist
attack on 9/11. Prior to joining Seedco, Ms. Barnes was the Director
of Development for the Momentum AIDS Project in New York City and
was also the first Director of Development at New York Cares. Ms.
Barnes has a Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania
and a Masters of Public Administration from the Robert F. Wagner
Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. Robin Barnes
lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Patricia
Williams , Executive Director
Georgia
Microenterprise Network
Patricia
Williams, Executive Director of the Georgia Micro Enterprise Network
(GMEN). She is a retired telecommunications executive, with over
20 years experience in finance and business operations. She ahs
made community service a key part of her life, working with over
30 not-for-profit organizations. She has held volunteer leadership
positions in the Chamber of Commerce, YWCA, Women's Foundation,
National Black MBA Association, and Partners in Public Education,
as well as participated in Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Baton
Rouge, and Leadership Memphis. Patricia is an active member of
Cascade United Methodist Church where she served as a chairperson
of the Missions Ministry. She has been a local and national speaker
on several topics, including microenterprise program development,
micro finance, issues management and Christian Stewardship. Patricia
has political science degrees from Spelman College (BA) and Northwestern
University, Evanston, Illinois (MA).
Vaughn
Fauria, Executive Director
NewCorp
Business Assistance Center
Vaughn
Fauria is the Executive Director of NewCorp Business Assistance
Center. At NewCorp Vaughn works with minority, disabled, and women
owned businesses to secure capital for them to grow and prosper.
In addition to microloans, NewCorp facilitates relationships between
institutions choosing to obtain goods and services with minority
and women owned businesses. Prior to joining New Corp, Ms. Fauria
was President and Owner of Vaughn R. Fauria and Associates, a consultancy
firm concentrating on fundraising and marketing for business and
universities. She has also worked in various capacities at the
State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook, including the
Director of Scholarship Development, Executive to the President
of the Stony Brook Foundation, and Assistant Secretary to the Stony
Brook Foundation Board of Directors. Ms. Fauria serves on various
boards in the New Orleans community including the Covenant House
New Orleans, Louisiana Minority Supplier Development Council, and
the New Orleans Workforce Investment Board. She holds a Master
of Social Welfare from SUNY at Stony Brook and a Bachelor of Arts
from the University of New Orleans.
Morning
Workshop B:
FREE
TRADE, GLOBAL MARKETPLACE & THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
MODERATOR:
Erin Butler-Mueller
Commercial Officer, New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center
Ms. Butler-Mueller is a Commercial Officer at the New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center, located in the World Trade Center. Her focus is on helping international companies invest in Hurricane Katrina and Rita-affected areas. From 2005-2007, she served as the Commercial Attaché at the American Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic. In this role, she advised U.S. exporters and investors on doing business in the Czech Republic, oversaw a staff of Czech nationals, and spearheaded the Ambassador’s corporate social responsibility initiative.
Ms. Butler-Mueller joined the Commerce Department’s U.S. Commercial Service in 2000, first working on marketing and public relations in the Office of the Director General. She focused on press outreach and by 2002, had increased the number of Commercial Service media hits to 300 annually, up from fewer than 50 in 2000.
In 2002, Ms. Butler-Mueller served overseas as a commercial officer in two temporary duty assignments. In Amman, Jordan, she initiated a new World Trade Week program and authored the first “U.S. Exporter’s Guide to the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement.” In Accra, Ghana, she supported the start-up of a new international office and conducted advance work for a trade mission led by Secretary of Commerce Don Evans.
In September 2003, Ms. Butler-Mueller joined the agency’s new Customer Relationship Management Unit, where she served as an in-house trainer, conducting more than 20 two-day training sessions on communication skills and customer service for U.S. embassy and other Commerce Department staff in U.S. and international locations. She also designed and conducted focus groups with business clients around the U.S. to gather data on products, pricing, and service.
Ms. Butler-Mueller has written articles on international trade for a variety of publications, including Enterprising Women and World Trade Magazine; she has also published unbylined articles in dozens of U.S. daily and weekly newspapers, business magazines, and Web sites.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Russian from the University of Florida and a Masters of Arts in International Affairs from the George Washington University.
William
"Bill" Cummins, Senior Vice-President of Global Trade Services
JP
Morgan Chase
Bill
Cummins is a twenty-year veteran of international banking and joined
Bank One in 1998 as the Market Manager -- Trade Finance for Louisiana.
In 2000, he was promoted to first vice president for Global Treasury & Trade
(Southeastern Market Manager). In 2004, Bank One merged with JP Morgan
Chase and Bill is currently vice president for Global Trade Services
for JPMorgan Chase Bank in New Orleans. From 1996-1998, Bill was
Senior Vice President and Director of the AmTrade International Bank
in Atlanta (a specialty trade finance bank founded by Lord Michael
Sanburg, former Chairman of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation).
From 1982 to 1995, he was group vice president for trade finance
with South Trust Bank in Birmingham.
Bill
is a former member of the Bankers' Association on Foreign Trade
and co-founded its Small Business Export Finance Committee. He
has served as an expert witness regarding trade finance before
several congressional committees and is a frequent lecturer for
trade groups, financial institutions and universities. Bill is
a published author on trade finance with articles appearing is
such periodicals as The Exporter, RMA Guide to Commercial
Lending, Export Today. He is a member of the Louisiana District
Export Council (and former Chairman of the Alabama District Export
Council, 1994-96) and currently serves as LADEC Treasurer. Bill
has served on the faculty of the LSU Graduate School of Banking;
he is a former adjunct professor with Birmingham-Southern University.
Bill served on the Board of Visitors for the College of Business
at Loyola University and was the 2001-2002 Chair of the International
Trade & Tourism Council of the Louisiana Association of Business
and Industry (LABI); in January of 2005, Bill was elected to the
Board of Directors of LABI. In 2000, he was elected to the Board
of the World Trade Center of New Orleans.
In
1994, Bill was voted in the top ten International Bankers in the
USA by International Business magazine and in 1993 was named
Alabama's SBA Lender of the Year.
A
New Orleans native, Bill is a graduate of Tulane University and of
the Masters of International Business Studies (MIBS) program of the
University of South Carolina. He is a graduate of St. Martin's Episcopal
High School; he is married with two daughters and resides in Covington,
Louisiana.
John
A. Adams, Jr., President and CEO
Enterprise
Florida
John
Adams serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of
Enterprise Florida (EFI) – the public-private partnership responsible
for leading Florida's statewide economic development efforts. EFI's
mission is to diversify Florida's economy and create better-paying
jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to
create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries. EFI focuses
on high-value sectors such as: life sciences, information technology,
aviation/aerospace, homeland security/defense and financial/professional
services. EFI works with a statewide network of regional and local
economic development organizations ("Partners") to continually
improve Florida's business climate and ensure its global competitiveness.
Since
joining EFI in November 2005, Adams has outlined bold objectives
for advancing EFI's mission, including aggressively pursuing "The
Roadmap to Florida's Future," the statewide strategic plan for
further diversifying Florida's economy. Adams also will seek to
enhance the organization's private-sector investment and partnerships
with business and economic development organizations throughout
Florida.
During
his career in business, international banking and economic development,
Adams served as executive director and CEO of the Laredo Development
Foundation in Texas. With a focus on strategic planning and marketing
the region, Adams made strides toward fostering crossborder partnerships
among local, regional and state economic development organizations,
as well as pursuing workforce training, legislative advocacy and
site selection inventory initiatives.
He
provided leadership and expertise in economic development and international
trade for several commercial banking and financial institutions.
Adams has also directed a broad cross section of endeavors to enhance
market entry strategies, financing, and trade facilitation.
Adams'
background includes broad civic involvement and service to higher
education and government, including an appointment to the U.S.
Department of Commerce's Industry Trade Advisory Council for trade
policy review, which he currently chairs. His leadership resulted
in a range of honors and awards, including the U.S. Small Business
Administration's National Exporter of the Year, for which he was
recognized by President Ronald Reagan at a White House Rose Garden
ceremony in May 1988. He also has served in leadership roles on
the Board Trade Alliance, South Texas Workforce Board and a variety
of trade and professional organizations. Adams has authored seven
books, including his second of three books, Bordering the Future:
The Impact of Mexico on the United States Economy, articles
and reports regarding international trade, economic development,
and history. Adams earned PhD, MA and BA degrees from Texas A&M
University, completed the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking
at SMU with honors and holds Certified Economic Developer (CED)
credentials. He was a Captain in the United States Air Force.
Barry
Lawrence, Director
Supply
Chain Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M University
Dr.
Barry Lawrence is the Program Director of the Industrial Distribution
Program, the Director of the Thomas and Joan Read Center for Distribution
Research and Education, the Director of the Supply Chain Systems
Laboratory, and an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University.
He holds the prestigious Harvey Hubbell Professorship in Industrial
Distribution. As a faculty member of the Industrial Distribution
Program, he is involved in graduate, undergraduate, and professional
continuing education teaching activities, funded research projects,
journal publications, academic society meetings and publications,
and industry presentations. His teaching activities surround classes
in Lean Distribution, Supply Chain Management, and Optimizing Profitability.
He is a frequent speaker for distribution associations and private
firms on a wide range of topics: inventory asset management, best
practices, pricing, and optimizing distributor profitability.
Dr. Lawrence's research interests include Quantifying Value, Inventory Asset
Optimization, Network Optimization, Best Practices in Distribution Operations,
Logistics and Transportation Redesign, Profitability, and Pricing. He has worked
on many large industry projects, generating millions in funding for the University
and its students. He has more than 15 years of industry experience in distribution
sales and retail business. Dr. Lawrence has conducted over 70 industry-funded
research projects valued at more than $4 million.
Dr.
Lawrence has a P.h.D. in Operations Management from Texas A&M
University, a M.B.A. in Finance from Southwest Texas State University,
and a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.
Morning
Workshop C:
AMERICA'S
PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
Moderator:
Matt Chase, Executive Director
National Association of Development Organizations
Matthew Chase has served as the Executive Director of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) and the NADO Research Foundation since October 2003. From March 1997 to August 2000, he served as the association's Director of Legislative Affairs until he was promoted to Deputy Executive Director. Prior to joining NADO, he was the Chief Operating Officer and Membership Services Director of the Professional Managers Association in Washington, DC. Chase has extensive advocacy experience with federal community, economic and rural development programs, including successful campaigns to reauthorize the Economic Development Administration (EDA) in 1998 and 2004, establish the Delta Regional Authority in the early 2000s and preserve annual funding for core rural development programs under USDA. He remains at the forefront in advancing federal policies to enhance rural transportation planning and services. In addition, he is a regular presenter on the impact of federal budget and appropriations trends on small metropolitan and rural America.
As the chief administrative officer of the NADO Research Foundation, he oversees a diverse set of projects and programs. These programs include the Economic Development Finance Service (EDFS), a subscription-based service providing information, training and networking opportunities for small business development finance professionals; the Rural Brownfields Awareness Project (EPA funded); the Rural Transportation Capacity Building Project (FHWA funded); a new initiative with EPA to promote regional approaches to environmental stewardship and economic development; and a new national center for regional transportation and economic development.
Chase is the author of the NADO publication, All Politics is Local: A Guide to Grassroots Action. He is the co-author of numerous publications and research reports, including: Regional Approaches to Homeland Security Planning and Preparedness (2005); State Associations of Regional Councils of Government: Insights into Organizational Structures, Governance Models and Strategic Initiatives (2005); eForum Results: The Pulse of Small Town and Rural America (2004); GIS Technology: Enhancing Regional Planning and Development (2004); Federal-State Regional Commissions: Regional Approaches to Local Economic Development (2003); and Connecting to Today's Rural America (1999). In addition, he is a contributor to NADO's highly regarded analysis of the President's annual budget proposal.
He holds a bachelor's degree from Hartwick College in Upstate New York and a master's degree in political management from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. He is a native of the Glens Falls/Lake George region in the foothills of the Adirondacks in Upstate New York. He is a founding member of the National Rural Network, a coalition of more than 50 national associations interested in rural policy, and serves as NADO's liaison to the Congressional Rural Caucus. He has been a member of the American Society of Association Executives and the American League of Lobbyists. He has also served on the Alumni Steering Committee for the Graduate School of Political Management. He currently serves on advisory boards for Purdue University's Center for Regional Development, the New England Transportation Institute and Museum and the Alliance for Public Technology.
Bill
Marcuson, Former President
American
Society of Civil Engineers
William
F. Marcuson III was President of the American Society of Civil Engineers
(ASCE) in 2007 and is one of the nation's leading civil engineers.
He holds degrees in civil engineering from The Citadel, Michigan
State University and North Carolina State University. He has received
five national awards from ASCE, including the Norman Medal, civil
engineering's oldest honor. In 1995 he was honored by the National
Society of Professional Engineers as their Federal Engineer of the
Year. His career included research and administrative positions at
the U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, where he served
as Director of the Geotechnical Laboratory for nearly 20 years, prior
to his retirement in 2000. He is the only engineer to be named the
Corps of Engineer's Engineer of the Year twice (1981 and 1995), and
he was honored by the Corps as their Civilian of the Year in 1997.
He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1996 for
his contributions to the design and analysis of embankment dams.
Paul
Latture II, Executive Director
The
Port of Little Rock
Paul
Latture is the Executive Director at the Port of Little Rock. He
has held this position for the past 8 years. Prior to joining the
Port he worked as the Executive Vice-President for Economic Development
at the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce for 6 years and President
of the Jackson, Mississippi Chamber of Commerce for 10 years. Latture
has worked with Chambers of Commerce throughout the nation including
Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Colorado.
Latture
is involved in leadership positions in numerous professional organizations.
He is President of the Arkansas Oklahoma Port Operators Association,
a Commissioner of the Arkansas Waterways Commission, Chairman for
the Arkansas River Basin Interstate Committee and Secretary-Treasurer
for the Arkansas Waterways Association. He is also a Board Member
of the National Waterways Council. In addition, he has served as
President to the Southern Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives,
the Arkansas, Mississippi and Missouri Associations Chamber of
Commerce Executives and Arkansas Economic Developers.
He
has been awarded the designation of Certified Chamber Executive
(CCE) and the Certified Economic Developer (CED). In both 2007
and 2008 he was named by Arkansas Business as one of the
"176 Most Powerful in Arkansas." Latture holds a MBA from the University
of Louisiana-Monroe and is a graduate of the University of Arkansas
at Fayetteville.
Pat
Forbes, Infrastructure Policy Director
State
of Louisiana Office of Community Development
Pat
Forbes is currently the Infrastructure Manager for the Disaster Recovery
Unit of the Louisiana Office of Community Development, where he is
responsible for implementation of the State's $1.3 billion CDBG infrastructure
rebuilding program. Prior to taking the position as DRU Infrastructure
Manager, Pat was the Director of Coastal and Infrastructure Policy
at the Louisiana Recovery Authority, where he was responsible for
developing the policy considerations for these same programs. Pat's
first work in government was in the Governor's Office of Coastal
Activities, where he worked in policy and science and technology,
until Hurricanes Katrina and Rita turned things upside down.
Pat
is a lifelong resident of Louisiana, is a registered Professional
Engineer, and has a degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA from
LSU. Prior to working for the State, Pat worked in the paper industry
for 11 years, started and owned his own business, and worked in environmental
consulting.
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