DyNAMC "New Beginnings" February 2014 Issue 3 | Page 12

New
Beginnings

by Yolanda Lewis

National Association of Minority
Companies Inc. New Executive Director
Takes A Positive Aim At Making
Corporate Supplier Diversity A
Realization, Not Just a Feel Good Phrase

“2014 represents a new beginning and efforts to
encourage more inclusive supplier diversity policies.
It is also the time to highlight positive outcomes of
organizations that have had great successes in
improving opportunities for diverse suppliers.”
Yolandia Lewis is the New Executive Director of the National Association of Minority Companies
Inc., Dedicated to Improving Opportunities for Diverse Suppliers
“I am excited about carrying
out the vision and mission of
NAMC and 2014 marks the start
of a dynamic new beginning for
change”.
“As the former President of the
Black Economic Council and
Chair of the Agency Alliance
Committee for the National Association of Minority Companies,
I’ve historically committed to
promoting greater transparency
and reporting of supplier diversity outcomes within corporate
America,” Ms. Lewis relates.

2014 represents a new beginning
and efforts to encourage more
inclusive supplier diversity policies. It is also the time to highlight
positive outcomes of organizations that have had great successes in improving opportunities
for diverse suppliers. In addition,
we will work with organizations
to build strategic partnerships
that include working with each of
them to ensure that their actions,
policies and decisions lead to
non-discriminatory and unbiased
outcomes for diverse firms.
New Beginnings include the
forming of a National Diversity
Coalition to promote and ensure
greater transparency and reporting the spending and contracting
outcomes of corporations and
organizations in the area of supplier diversity.

DyNAMC • ISSUE 3

Historically, there have been
many corporations, agencies
and organizations that ‘talk a
good game’ and perform well at
‘dog and pony shows’ to demonstrate good faith efforts, while
failing to make supplier diversity
and inclusion a reality.

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However, there are some (but
not nearly enough) that have
made significant efforts to eliminate ‘lip service’ and implement
meaningful measurable policy
changes to drive increased

inclusion .
DyNAMC Leaders for a Changing World Magazine, as a strong
national media platform, will
recognize and honor those corporations, agencies and individuals
that ‘walk the walk’ in effectively
promoting and advocating diversity and inclusion. This includes
the 2014 Diversity Walk the Walk
Awards event in Las Vegas, NV in
November.

This event will include strategic
panel discussions and presents
a New Beginning and effort to
eliminate bias and discriminatory
policies. It will also serve to highlight outcomes of corporations
and organizations that have had
great success in improving opportunities for diverse suppliers.
The majority of small business
firms that participate in competitive RFP’s are unsuccessful.
But our desire is to increase the
number of successful diverse
bidders. The small disadvantaged
business community frequently
receives information on RFP’s by
organizations seeking justification
of demonstrated good faith effort
to be inclusive of firms other than
just their legacy suppliers.