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Regional Hispanic Business Summit & Expo 2023-01-15T12:53:48-05:00
The State of the State of Hispanic Business
Digital Booklet
Sponsorship Opportunities
Expo Registration

Join us for the Regional Business Conference and Expo where we will be offering panels, workshops, and keynotes centered on building and laying a foundation for tomorrow, today.

America is investing in laying a foundation for the future with infrastructure at its core focus. Billions of dollars are being poured in to create a transformational shift in our roads, bridges, and expansion efforts for broadband and rural access to ensure a solid foundation for what America is building next. The GHCC Regional Conference will focus on the theme of FUTURE NOW: Laying a Foundation for Tomorrow, Today byexploring the economic hurdles and opportunities ahead and how this can translate into economic empowerment opportunities for businesses to participate in. The conference will provide keynotes, workshops, panels and exhibition opportunities to meet with procurement, supplier diversity professionals, cities, counties, and small business vendors to build the pipeline for economic opportunity in Georgia.

  • Learn the latest economic trends & forecast for what’s next
  • Workforce & workplace trends and how higher education can provide strategic solutions
  • Mayoral Fireside Chat
  • Learn more about infrastructure areas of focus including energy, electric vehicles, broadband, and expansion projects
  • Learn some of the largest developments are reshaping the landscape of Metro Atlanta and how businesses can participate
  • HCCA 4th Annual ERG Competition in partnership with GHCC and ALFA featuring Georgia’s best and brightest corporate Hispanic inclusion groups on retention, culture, belonging, community and commerce engagement strategies
  • And more!

If you have a small business you would like to promote or offer your services to the Hispanic business community, register for an Exhibition table! During this event, you will have the opportunity to showcase your company to attendees and connect with business-minded individuals. Purchase your Exhibition Table today!

Agenda

8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Registration/ Breakfast

9:00 AM – 9:04 AM Opening Remarks

Veronica Maldonado-Torres, President & CEO, GHCC

9:05 AM – 9:10 AM Welcome

Julieta McCurry,Vice President, In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity Strategy, Delta Air Lines

9:10 AM – 9:30 AM Owning Your Future – Morning Keynote

Anna Roach, Executive Director, Atlanta Regional Commission

9:30 AM – 9:45 AM Economic Forecast

Andrew VanWazer, VP, Regional Portfolio Specialist, Head of 

USWM, JPMC US Wealth Management 

9:45 AM – 10:30 AM State of the Industry

Moderated By: Antonio Molina, Chairman, GHCC Board of Directors

Karen Bremer, President & CEO, Georgia Restaurant Association

Sean Flaherty, VP of Advanced Analytics & Market Insight, UPS

Kathy Kuzava, President, Georgia Food Industry Association

Brian Steed, Vice President, Gilbane

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM Networking Break & Exhibits 

10:45 AM – 11:30 AM Breakouts I

ESCALAR: Scale Business Growth Resources 

Moderated By: Adam Moore, Chief People Officer, Stellar Consulting Solutions, LLC

Julian Bailey, Small Business and Supplier Diversity Manager, DOAS

Aundraya Boone, Sr. Supplier Diversity Program Manager, Microsoft

Lisa Cupid, Cobb County Chairwoman, Cobb County Commissioner

Rosemarie Drake, Deputy District Director, Georgia District Office, SBA

HCCA Competition

Delta Adelante

Georgia Power Amigos

UPS Crecer

HYPE Presents NextGen Attraction & Retention

Moderated By: Nathaly Loaiza, Co-Founder/ Director of Operations, CAL Industries

Liney Arciniegas, UX Designer, Home Depot

Alex Raul Rivera, Director of Business and Community Development, Rudhil Companies

Jennifer Silva, Public Relations Associate, York Public Relations

Alex Villanueva, Sr Cybersecurity Consultant, EY, President, HYPE

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM Networking Break & Exhibit Visits

11:45 AM – 12:30 PM Lunch Buffet

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM Mayoral Fireside Chat

Moderated By: Veronica Maldonado-Torres, President & CEO, GHCC

Mayor Hardie Davis, Mayor of Augusta

Mayor Skip Henderson, Mayor of Columbus

Mayor Craig Newton, Mayor of Norcross

1:00 PM – 1:45 PM Breakouts II

Unlocking Access: Energy, Infrastructure and Broadband

Moderated By: Rosa Marroquín, Corporate Relations, Georgia Power

Rich Johnson, Assistant Vice President of External Affairs, AT&T

Mark Smith, Senior Planning Policy Coordinator, Georgia Department of Transportation 

César A. Zapata, Director, Land, Chemicals and Redevelopment Division

Region 4, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

See What Matters: A Focused Approach to Strategy & Execution 

Jess Villegas, Principal, Acuity 

1:45 PM – 2:15 PM Breakouts III

1:45 PM – 1:50 PM Opening + Welcome

Veronica Maldonado-Torres, President & CEO, GHCC

1:50 PM – 2:20 PM Latin American Trade: The Next Frontier

Moderated By: Javier Diaz de Leon, Consul General of Mexico

Adriana Arias Castiblanco, Consul General of Columbia

Monica Altagracia Marin Cruz, Consul General of El Salvador

Juan Manuel Navarro, Consul General of Argentina

2:20 PM – 2:50 PM Workforce Development Panel

Moderated By: Rosan Petrillo, Manager of Equity, Inclusion & Diversity, Kaiser Permanente

Commissioner Dozier, Technical College System of Georgia

Steven Jahng, Director Of External Affairs, SK Battery America

Representative Marvin Lim, District 99 (Gwinnett County)

Commissioner Bruce Thompson, Labor Commissioner-Elect

2:50 PM – 2:55 PM Closing Keynote

Juan Diego Ramirez, Director & Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management

2:55 PM – 3:00 PM Closing Remarks

Veronica Maldonado-Torres, President & CEO, GHCC

Speakers

Owning Your Future – Morning Keynote

Anna Roach, Executive Director, Atlanta Regional Commission

Read Bio

Mayoral Fireside Chat

Mayor Skip Henderson, Mayor of Columbus

Read Bio

Mayoral Fireside Chat

Mayor Hardie Davis, Mayor of Augusta

Read Bio

Closing Keynote

Juan Diego Ramirez, Director & Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management

Read Bio

Over 500 Attendees

Small Business Owners

Young Professionals

Corporations

Business Leaders

Date:

November 29th, 2022

Location:

The Delta Flight Museum

Time:

8:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.

Parking Pass

Presenting Sponsor $10,000

  • Two ( 2) booth or equivalent to 20X10 space.

  • Your company will receive special acknowledgement by GHCC President & CEO during expo opening.
  • Twenty (20) (2 tables) to event luncheon
  • Your company name and logo will appear at the entrance of The Conference & Expo
  • Your company will receive recognition in pre and post event publicity.
  • Your company will receive a full page color ad in business Expo directory.
  • Your company name and logo will appear on all Expo material.
  • Your company will be listed has the presenting sponsor

Gold Sponsor $5,000

  • Your company will receive special acknowledgement by GHCC President & CEO during Conference & Expo opening
  • Ten (10) (1 table) to event luncheon
  • Your company name and logo will appear on the easel at the entrance of The Conference & Expo
  • Your company will receive recognition in pre and post event publicity.
  • Your company will receive a half page color ad in business Expo directory.
  • Your company name and logo will appear on all Expo material.

Silver Sponsor $3,000

  • One (1) booth or equivalent to 10X10 space.
  • Ten (10) (1 table) to event luncheon
  • Your company name and logo will appear at the entrance of The Conference & Expo
  • Your company name and logo will be listed in all Conference & Expo material

Booths
Members $500
Non-members $600

  • One (1) booth or equivalent to 10X10 space.
  • Two (2) luncheon Tickets.
  • 6×8 Table.
  • Two Chairs.
  • Electricity and Wi-Fi might incur additional charges.

​Luncheon Tables
Members $600
Non-members $700

  • ​Table for 10 representatives.
  • Company name on table sign.
  • Company logo displayed on screen during lunch.

​Individual Tickets
Members $50​
non-members $75

  • *3.5% Convenience fee
  • ​*Limited Capacity 200 tickets.
  • Please contact Santiago Marquez at 404 929 9998 x 224 smarquez@ghcc.org or Juanita Rivera  404 929 9998 x 228 jrivera@ghhc.org
Gallery 2018

Sponsors

Presenting

Gold

Silver

AssurantCox

Bronze

OLE Mexican Food

Trusted by Wimgo

Anna Roach

Executive Director | Atlanta Regional Commission

Bio: Anna Roach is executive director of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), which facilitates community and development strategies to enhance the Atlanta region’s growth and quality of life.

Prior to joining ARC in 2022, Roach served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of Fulton County, where she oversaw 4,500 employees in 38 departments with a budget of $1.2 billion. Roach also served as Fulton County’s Chief Strategy Officer and Assistant County Manager. A lawyer by training, Roach has held several key legal leadership positions during her career, including Assistant Deputy General Counsel for the government of the District of Columbia and administrative law judge in the City of New York.

Roach is a current member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and the American Bar Association, serves as an advisory board member at Tyler Technologies and Avenu Insights and Analytics, and was past board chair of the March of Dimes, Atlanta market. She holds a Juris Doctor from St. John’s University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the State University of New York, College at Cortland.

Mayor Skip Henderson

Mayor of Columbus

Bio: I am Skip Henderson, the 70th Mayor of Columbus Ga. On behalf of our City Council and over 3,000 City Employees, welcome to Columbus, Georgia, a great place to live, do business, work, and play.

Columbus Consolidated Government is Georgia’s first consolidated government and is proud to serve as a model for other local governments across the nation. The City of Columbus merged with Muscogee County in 1971, creating a streamlined system that provides a very high level of citizen services at a very low per capita cost. Columbus is visitor and business friendly.

The U.S. Army’s Fort Benning, just south of the city and a very important part of metro Columbus, is home to the Maneuver Center of Excellence where the world’s best Infantryman, Tankers, and Cavalry Scouts are trained. Phenix City, Alabama, is just across the Chattahoochee River. Our tri-community, with its wonderful people and great climate, is simply one of the best places on earth… cosmopolitan but always neighborly.

Mayor Hardie Davis

Mayor of Augusta

Bio: Dr. Hardie Davis Jr. is the 84th Mayor of Augusta. An electrical engineer by trade and a former State Representative and State Senator, Mayor Davis has 16 years of experience transforming local and state government, economic and workforce development, and building smart, equitable, and sustainable 21st-century cities.

Managing an operating budget of $1.09B, Mayor Davis received global recognition for his signature projects, including helping Solvay Manufacturing secure $178M in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for their work in electric vehicle batteries and electric grids. Significant accomplishments to date include reducing the city’s unemployment rate to under 4%, establishing the $126 million Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (1 of 7 cities vying to become the cybersecurity capital of the world), installing the largest municipal solar project in the state, achieving the highest bond rating in city history of Aa2, implementing One Augusta (a financial transparency database that provides stakeholders direct access to government spending), and overseeing the prestigious Masters Tournament.

In 2021, Mayor Davis launched Green Augusta, a comprehensive climate action plan to reduce Augusta’s carbon footprint, increase operational efficiency, and ensure a resilient and sustainable Augusta for future generations. Green Augusta will transition approximately 20% of Augusta’s non-emergency fleet to alternative fuel vehicles and expand previous clean investments in 89 Augusta facilities.

Nationally, Mayor Davis serves on the Executive Committee of the United States Conference of Mayors and as Co-Chair of the Technology & Innovation Task Force. He sits on the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities, is a Founding Member, Member of the Board of Trustees, and Past President of the African American Mayors Association. He is the Chair of Smart City Expo USA, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Conservancy, and Director At-Large for the Georgia Municipal Association. Mayor Davis previously served in the Georgia Legislature as Chairman of the Interstate Cooperation Committee and as an active member of the Economic Development, Ethics, Finance, and Higher Education State Senate Committees.

Mayor Davis has consistently been featured in Georgia Trend magazine’s annual list of 100 Most Influential Georgians and recognized for his leadership by Georgia Bio, The Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education. He has been a featured speaker at Smart Cities New York, Smart City Expo Atlanta, Smart City Expo Doha, Summit of the Americas, and National League of Cities. He is a sought-after speaker regarding cybersecurity for cities.

Mayor Davis received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, participated in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative at Harvard University, and received a Certificate in Health Policy from the Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. He has worked at national corporations with expertise in systems, automation, and control engineering.

Mayor Davis additionally earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree from the Christian Life School of Theology and, through his stewardship, founded Abundant Life Worship Center in Augusta, where he serves as senior pastor.

Juan Diego Ramirez

Director & Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management

Bio: Juan Diego Ramirez is one of most influential and formidable Economist and financial advisors in Atlanta Georgia. Juan Diego brings a wealth of understanding and passion to working with the Hispanic community. As a driven entrepreneur, Juan Diego is dedicated to growing a business to reflect the market he serves by expanding his Firm’s presence and deepening the relationships in the Hispanic and Latino communities, as well as supporting diversity among the National Latino advisors.

It is well documented that a career as a Financial Advisor, is one of the most challenging professions. Juan Diego has achieved record-setting success and is among the very limited number of Nation-wide Hispanic Financial Advisors across the country who have achieved Million Dollar Roundtable from the first years of his career, and be a FORUM recipient (the 1% club) base on his dedication to his clients which is not only unmatched in the industry, it is unlikely anything achieve by any advisor at any other firm. Additionally, Juan Diego has been recognized as one of the Top 40 under 40 advisors in the Atlanta Business Chronicle consecutive over several years. He also has been recognized as a “Rising Star” at the Annual Gala for the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce early in
his career.

Juan Diego’s passion is to support a great percent of foreigners who want to achieve success. He supports these clients through holistic financial planning focusing both on their personal and business aspirations. Through this approach, JD creates a tremendous impact on the lives of his Hispanic clients, as well as the lives of his client’s biggest asset, their families.

Because of JD’s ability to relate and forge meaningful relationships, members of the Hispanic community with whom he works are better equipped to persevere through tumultuous times. JD understands the importance of planning for the future and is dedicated to helping his clients and their families.

JD plans to continue the success of growing and developing his business and creating a value proposition for all of the clients he serves both in the Latino and traditional market for years to come.