Description

Last year was the first time we held this summit and brought together over 50 business leaders and entrepreneurs to focus on how to succeed as a diverse-owned business and in the diverse workforce as an employee  We brought together small businesses, large area corporations, nonprofits and public sector groups to share lessons learned about how to navigate the NC business world effectively. We hosted a keynote speaker - Wendy Gates Corbett, panels from The Diversity Movement/Workplace Options, state and national government speakers (SBA and NC Dept of Administration), and corporate partners (Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, SAS, First Citizens Bank). In each session, attendees were equipped with tools and resources to help their organizations thrive in 2024.

2025 has already started out with challenges of its own with the incoming Presidential administration, local and state officials as well as newly enacted policies aimed at limiting support for the business community - especially the portion tied to diverse-owned and LGBTQ+ owned businesses. That's why we created a theme "WE ARE HERE" to issue a statement to our local community that there are actual companies, nonprofits and elected officials ready and able to be advocates.