The Minority Empowerment Program (MEP) is an initiative of the Chamber designed to bring Black and Hispanic owned and led businesses and nonprofits into the community conversation through Chamber membership, resulting in a more inclusive environment and approach toward business growth throughout the region. As a program under the Tampa Bay Chamber’s “Inclusive Organization” pillar, MEP strives to create an environment where all feel welcome.
Along with the benefits of a Tier 3 Chamber Membership, participants also receive quarterly specialized programming, invitations to special sessions, and networking events with the Chamber’s Minority Business Accelerator participants.
Sponsors
Purpose
AT&T, a member of the Tampa Bay Chamber, approached the Chamber about creating a program that would increase the participation and relationships of Black and Hispanic owned and led businesses and non-profits.
AT&T, Amgen, Moffitt Cancer Center, Corey Thomas, Julian Waites Sr., Bush Ross, Regions Bank, Florida Natural Gas, Bank of America and Tampa Bay Food Trucks all funded the third year of the MEP program.
The goal of the Minority Empowerment Program is to welcome more Black and Hispanic businesses and nonprofits into chamber membership, making the Chamber organization better positioned to listen to the input, and to represent the perspectives, of Black and Hispanic owned organizations that are vital to the economic and social health of the Tampa Bay area. Resulting in a more inclusive and equitable approach toward business growth and community engagement throughout the region, while also connecting more businesses with Chamber resources for growth and development.
Impact Successes
- The sponsors of the 2023 Minority Empowerment Program provided 19 one-year FIT3 (top tier) Chamber memberships to Black and Hispanic owned businesses and non-profits that were not already chamber members.
- Participants attended an Orientation to learn about programs, events and initiatives that are available to them to engage with the Chamber while expanding their professional relationships and connections.
- 19 companies were identified as excellent candidates for this year long program that is designed to scale business development and growth.
- Participants are encouraged to attend premier networking events.
- Personal connections are facilitated at Business Around the Bay, a small group of business leader’s roundtable discussion to cover a variety of topics.
- Direct business connections led to new business opportunities including MEP to MEP partnerships and MEP to member partnerships.
Sessions
Jan. 18
MBA Orientation “Welcome to the Tampa Bay Chamber”
Feb. 15 – Quarter 1
Financial Literacy
May 16 – Quarter 2
Business Planning and Marketing
Aug. 16 – Quarter 3
Employee Law
Nov. 1 – Quarter 4
Certifications (City/County) - End of Year Session
Session 1 Q1 Highlights
Presenter Team Information
Roger A. Silvera, CLTC, LUTCF, FSCP
Million Dollar Round Table, Qualifying Member: 2021, 2022, 2023 Financial Services Professional | New York Life Insurance Company
Radina Bubova
Financial Services Professional | New York Life Insurance Company
Tameka McDonald
Agent, New York Life Insurance Company
Book Recommendation
The Power of One More: The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success – Ed Mylett
Social Media Post
Events
- Tampa Bay at Sunset
- Competitive Edge
- Networking 101 and Return on Relationships
- Women of Influence
- After Five
- Priority Invitation to Benchmarking
- Public Policy Roundtable
- Circle of Influence
Participants & Highlights
2023 Chair
Lennise Jackson-Germany
CEO
LivyO’s Catering
100 Black Men of Tampa Bay, Inc.
Phalen Brown, Secretary
Creamy Crack Body Cream
Camille Cook, Nurse Practitioner, CEO and Founder
Creamy Crack sold out of our handmade Creamy Crack and have finalized everything with my manufacturer and the first jars of Creamy Crack should be on their way from coming fresh off the production line belt. I was also featured on a podcast to share the benefits of our product! CEO and Founder was also featured on iHeart radio podcast The Celeste Stein Show sharing the benefits on how this product heals all types of skin irritations.
Creative Growth Services
Maria Ivana Ramirez, Founder and CEO
“I feel very supported and plugged into the Tampa Bay Business culture eco-system and have made great new contacts for my business in the past couple of months since starting the MEP Program.
“I am very grateful for the incredible culture and for being selected to be a part of this program and for how extremely supportive everyone at the Tampa Bay Chamber is. You can genuinely tell they really love what they do and genuinely love watching businesses succeed.”
Edward Jones Advisor
Natalie Freeman, Financial Advisor
Invited to participate on the inaugural board of the Hillsborough County Black Chamber of Commerce for 2023-2025.
Appointed as the Edward Jones Investments Region 318 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Secondary Leader and Growth Team Representative.
Was interviewed this past weekend for my contributions to the Veterans communities at the Valspar Championship: bit.ly/40tMM0N
Halo Solutions, LLC
Meloni Waller, Partner
Halo has had several positive business successes in Q1, our most recent development success has been partnering with Ashley Butler of Ice-Cold Air and providing her and her franchisees new desktops. The Chamber was instrumental in facilitating this through the MBA and MEP networking events.
Imperial Cabinets & Millwork
Leroy Goodman
Kidney Care Coaches
Tifro Cook, Founder and CEO
M & R Catering
Maria Rumlin
MB Strategies
Maya Brown, Founder/CEO
Rolanda McDuffie CPA
Rolanda McDuffie, Founder and CEO
Rolanda McDuffie, CPA has celebrated the first quarter of the year with significant achievements such as hired as an Outsourced CFO for a nonprofit organization, accepted the role of Treasurer for the Board of Directors for the Jackson House, accepted the role of Treasurer for a newly created Black Chamber of Commerce and recruited to join a collective of professionals providing services to nonprofit organizations across the USA.
Spanish Consultants Inc.
Lorena Rincon, Assistant Operations Director
The Color of Wellness Media
Michelle Rhodes, CEO
Launched our “Allyship in Healthcare Coalition” and our latest magazine issue announced our initiative!
Our Healthcare Leaders are excited to confidently lift vulnerable voices for health equity, in the C-suite!
The Mainframe
James Faison, Founder and CEO
The Management Suite
Monique McLeod
The Spa by Folashade
Folashade Oyegunle
Vikings Junk Removal
Luis Serrano, Co-Founder
We Think Marketing Group, Inc.
Carlos Aguirre, Owner
Wing Boys Deli
Angelica Torres, Owner
zSofTech Solutions
Leticia Alexander, CEO
“We won a Cloud Opportunity per a teaming agreement with a large Integrator via our GSA schedule. It is for the Treasury. Estimated value for the year is 700K.
Also, we won an IT support contract with a partner company that we are trying to staff for NSA. The total value should be 400K for the year.”
Community Partner Engagement Opportunities
Gasparilla Festival Volunteer Opportunities
Opportunity to volunteer with the Gasparilla festival of the arts.
USF Supplier Diversity
Opportunity for bid in new construction for upcoming Sarasota-Manatee Student Center and Residence Hall – Local and Disadvantaged Business Outreach.
SBDC Patent Workshop
Join experts from the United States Patent and Trademark Office to learn about the different types of IP (patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights) and review the patent process from invention, to application, to issue.
American Express and Mainstreet
Supporting economically vulnerable business owners with a grant program that support small business. American Express and Mainstreet will open 350 small business grants of $5,000 to eligible businesses.
Synapse Summit
You’re invited to join fellow Tampa Bay Chamber members at Florida’s premier innovation event, returning to Amalie Arena. Meet thousands of fellow business leaders, prospective clients, partners, and new hires during a day packed with networking, workshops, panels, and experiences. Synapse Summit showcases Florida’s most innovative companies, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers.
Moffitt Cancer Center
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Inc. opens RFP/BID for ERP Vendor Software Selection Project
Saint Leo University & Moffitt Cancer Ctr.
Saint Leo University and Moffitt Cancer Center have come together to showcase the educational opportunities and many career paths that exist at both institutions. At Moffitt, we come face-to- face with courage every day, and that inspires us to do things differently, to offer personal and professional growth in a diverse and patient centric environment. Come meet us and learn more about Moffitt and Saint Leo University and the educational, career opportunities and benefits that come from both establishments.
Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council
Invitation to a candid event with Troy Taylor, Chairman & CEO Coca-Cola Florida, LLC on the success of business opportunities with Coke Florida. In-person networking with KEY buyers and representatives. How does FSMSDC fit into your success plan. Hear FSMSDC 2022 accomplishments and 2023 goals.
Pinellas County’s Office of Small Business & Supplier Diversity
Calling all contractors and consultants, please join the discussion as we share opportunities for doing business with Pinellas County Government, Horus Construction, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), and Whiting-Turner. Scopes of work include concrete, carpentry framing, steel, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, masonry and more. We are additionally seeking solicitations for a “Turn-Key”, design build project for our electric bus infrastructure. “Turnkey” installation includes all phases of the project from pre-construction, design and engineering, coordination of construction crews, project timeline management and accountability, ongoing construction oversight, post construction follow-up, post installation support.
USF Office of Supplier Diversity Partner Outreach
Join the Minority Business Development Corporations for a Minority Business 2 Business Networking Event! B2B Mixer will be event to connect with professionals, share ideas, and grow your network.
WOW Course Info
The “Working Your WOW” master class is scheduled for 12 p.m. eastern time on March 7 (Tuesday). I’ll be sharing pro tips and introducing the WOW program to people who may be interested in enrolling in the 8-module course. As a certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator practitioner, Kathy Y Times will offer customized training to small groups and begin each program with an MBTI one- on-one assessment.
USF Supplier Diversity
Are you an entrepreneur? Do you have a product that can be sold in retail stores? Seeing a product on store shelves is something most entrepreneurs dream of. But what’s the process of getting a product into stores? What steps can entrepreneurs take to realize their dream of walking the aisles and seeing a reflection of their hard work? To answer these questions, we turned to Sherrel Sampson, “who has been there and done that.” Sherrel owns Canviiy, a hair product sold in CVS, Walmart & Target. Please join us for a two-part session to learn tips and tricks to convince retailers that your product is worth stocking on their retail shelves.
USF Supplier Diversity
We’re hosting a new event, and we’d love to see you there. Join us for Breaking Barriers in Access to Capital for Black Business Owners
USF Supplier Diversity
Join us for USF Continuing Service Provider Contract-General Contractor, Virtual Informational Session
Community Business Highlights
Rapid7 and USF create a joint cyber threat research lab: bit.ly/3Nbe1tM
Rapid7 Officially Launches 40K sq ft Office in Sparkman Wharf with over 100 employees hired within the first 12 months: bit.ly/3NbeFaG
MEP and MEP Alumni Tony Selvaggio, Ashley Butler, James Faison and Meloni Waller working together strengthening our business community!
