COMEBACK SEASON:
Get Your Money, Message, & Tech Right
Thurs. MAY 7TH
- BIOS -
Sponsored By
SHARON MANKER
AMERICAN WATER
Thursday, May 7th - Panel Discussion @ 1:00PM - 2:00PM EST
Sharon Manker is currently the national supplier diversity coordinator at American Water, the
nation’s largest investor-owned water and wastewater services company. In this role, Mrs. Manker lead the focus on requirements gathering, building, implementing and supporting the company's supplier diversity activities. As a result, she has been featured in the Minority Business News (MBN) USA Magazine Volume IV 2019 All-Stars of Supplier Diversity; nominated in for the inaugural Philadelphia Inquirer Diversity & Inclusion Award and garnished the prestigious Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprises (WBEs) award. Additionally, Mrs. Manker is an active member of the ISM-Philadelphia’s Supplier Diversity Outreach events committee and the NMSDC Utility Industry Group’s prime supplier committee.
Marcia Perry Dix
Perry Media Group
Thursday, May 7th - Panel Discussion @ 1:00PM - 2:00PM EST
Marcia Perry Dix is CEO & Founder of Perry Media Group and has over 26 years of successful marketing, media, multicultural and publicity experience - all of which have been anchored by Marcia’s desire to positively impact the community using innovative and cutting-edge strategies. Her professional portfolio is decorated with the success of more than 250 outreach and media campaigns that serve local and national brands. Throughout her career Marcia has maximized exposure for hundreds of initiatives – thus garnering hundreds of millions of media impressions on any given campaign with her hands-on approach and leveraging decades long media relationships. Conversely, Marcia has also minimized countless number of stories that never made the headlines while providing her clients with peace of mind and community transparency.
In 2014, Marcia founded Perry Media Group (PMG), a full-service marketing, public relations, and advertising firm. PMG has expanded into offices in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Hershey, and Philadelphia. Marcia is deeply committed to integrating diversity and inclusion into every aspect of every project she works on. She is strongly devoted to giving back to friends and the community by supporting minority and women-owned businesses and does so by intentionally selecting these businesses to be a part of many, if not all, client projects and campaigns with PMG. Marcia is a dedicated entrepreneur, mother, wife and friend with a unique skill for uplifting those around her.
Rafael Martinez
MBE Capital Partners
Thursday, May 7th - Panel Discussion @ 1:00PM - 2:00PM EST
Rafael Martinez has over 30 years of experience working with middle market companies in
developing financial solutions that allow clients to leverage the use of internal assets to increase
cash flow. He has overseen over $9.4 billion in financing over the last five years, which helped
clients increase revenues exponentially. Rafael uses his strong interpersonal skills to help
seasoned CEOs/CFOs develop an understanding of their most pressing needs and develop
financial solutions that address them. He has built a solid reputation with capital markets
professionals for providing viable financing opportunities that have performed at or above
projected levels.
Rafael is recognized for his ability to build, guide and sustain successful financial services
organizations in marketing products and managing the ongoing delivery of those services. He is
adept at negotiating major financial contracts, as well as fostering effective business
relationships at the highest levels. A creative deal maker with a solid track record of developing
companies and customer productivity, Rafael combines his excellent presentation, negotiation,
closing and follow-through skills with his strong ability to build an industry presence.
He is the CEO of MBE Capital Partners, LLC (MBECP), which was established with the
strategic objective of developing straight-forward financing products for small to midsize
MWBEs as a division of Rafael’s 21-year-old Republic Companies. MBECP offers alternative
financing through its accounts receivable, purchase order and supply chain financing (using its
dynamic ASP- Accelerated Supplier Pay Program).
Jumoke Dada
Signature RED
Thursday, May 7th - Panel Discussion @ 1:00PM - 2:00PM EST
Jumoke K. Dada is best described as a visionary and techie whose sweet spot lies at the
intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, goodwill, and girl power.
As an experienced technologist and the principal of Signature RED, she provides technology
consulting services to companies and creates tools for women with careers in technology. The
Tech Women Network, an online platform for women with technical skills, and the HUE Tech
Summit for women of color are two of her creations.
As an international speaker, Dada is passionate about empowering women and girls. Over the
years, she has been recognized in the media for her innovative ideas, leadership skills, and
community involvement. Additionally, she is a contributing writer for ForbesWomen where she
covers diversity in tech.
Dada holds a B.S. in Computer & Information Sciences, along with real estate and scrum master certifications.
To learn more about her work, visit her portfolio site dadaverse.org or follow her on Twitter
@jumokedada.
