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Minyshu Tafesse, Executive Director at Abyssinia Hair and Beauty Clinic, is Ethiopian – American and a business woman since 2000. She runs her beauty salons, both in Renton – Washington and Nairobi-Kenya!’
Connect with Miny on LinkedIn and follow Abyssinia on Twitter and Instagram.
Founded in 1994 by Mr. Carlton A. Brown, Occasional Occasions by Carlton has been repeatedly praised for its culinary displays, dynamic flavors, and unique table presentations. Chef Carlton is the owner of Occasional Occasions by Carlton LLC, a boutique style, custom catering company, specializing in Contemporary Southern cuisine and providing off-premise catering for the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. He obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Culinary Arts Management from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Occasional Occasions is also a Minority, Veteran and LGBT certified owned establishment.
Chef Carlton is an accomplished culinary professional who has tickled the palates of celebrities Who’s Who such as Supermodel Beverly Johnson, Former Mayor Andrew Young, Reverend Jesse Jackson, Bishop T.D. Jakes, the late Mr. E. Lynn Harris (national bestselling author), Nikki Giovanni (Grammy-nominated American poet), Ian Smith, M.D. (award winning medical correspondent for NBC News) and the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King, just to name a few.
He has also provided services to such corporate giants as; Super Bowl LIII Business Connect, NBA Team Washington Wizards, American Express, Morgan Stanley & Co., Hewlett Packard, Office of the Mayor, Wells Fargo, 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Georgia Pacific, Georgia Power, Delta Airlines and Fed-Ex.
Chef Carlton was voted the #3 Cater in Atlanta for 2009 and again in 2017 in “The Best of Atlanta” featured in The Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine. He received the award for (Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce) AGLCC Member of the Year 2016, and AGLCC Business Man of the Year 2017. He has appeared on WAGA Fox 5 “Breakfast with Buck” highlighting his former breakfast restaurant “Hilda’s…A Breakfast to Write Home About!”, WXIA Channel 11 “Atlanta and Company” demonstrating several live cooking segments. He is an active member of the International Catering Association, American Culinary Federation, National Association of Catering and Events, as well as the AGLCC just to name a few. His cuisines, talents and presentations can be viewed via his website at www.occasionaloccasions.net.
Follow Occasional Occasions on LinkedIn, and connect with Carlton on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Jan Hill is the owner and principal planner of J Hill Events, a full-service event planning company based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jan started her business, formerly known as “La Fete Weddings and Events, in 2006 while working in corporate America. She was able to turn the business into a full-time career in 2011. Since the business began, she has planned everything from intimate private dinners and parties to a fabulous ballroom weddings, galas and celebrations for 1000+ guests.
Her work has been featured in various publications including essence.com, VoyageAtl, Munaluchi Bride Magazine, The B Collective Magazine, Southern Weddings, The Knot, Borrowed and Blue and Modern Luxury Atlanta and most recently Grace Ormond Wedding Style.
A native of Greenville, South Carolina, Jan is also a graduate of South Carolina State University, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and currently sits on the board of the DDD Foundation, Inc. (Dentistry for the Developmentally Disabled)
When she’s not planning events, Jan enjoys reading, writing, listening to music…especially live music, traveling, tennis and spending time with family and friends.
Connect with Jan on LinkedIn and Twitter, and follow J Hill Events on Facebook and Instagram.
Telisha Farrow Jackson brings her engaging personality, as well as, over 15 years of experience in managing all levels of large scale projects to the SBDC. She has an extensive and varied career in multiple industries, including lending and underwriting; business development; project management; compliance and controls.
She has initiated negotiations, partnership initiatives and cost analysis for businesses majority of her career. Her expertise lies in analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of program operations to ensure that strategies can be effectively and efficiently executed.
One of her most rewarding professional experiences was developing young minds as an elementary school teacher. In addition to her classroom responsibilities, she developed curriculum and led multiple school-wide process improvement and best practice initiatives.
Telisha has used her people skills to build community involvement and awareness by participating in various community outreach events and professionally moderating conferences. She is an inspiring talent and we look forward to the innovative outlook she’s going to add to the UGA SBDC at Georgia State University team.
Follow SBDC on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook and Instagram.
Paul Wilson, Area Director with SBDC, has extensive industry experience that spans leadership roles in supply chain management, procurement, marketing, supplier diversity, and small business development. His expertise includes strategic analysis, operational planning, leadership development, contract writing, video marketing, video production, training and curriculum development.
Having worked with Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and educational institutions, Paul brings a diverse wealth of knowledge, perspective, and skills to the small business community.
Connect with Paul on LinkedIn.
TJ Cochran had a guitar in his hand from the age of 4, playing on a fireplace in his living room, surrounded by family. He was born in Marietta, Georgia, but was raised in the top left corner of Georgia in a little town called Rome. His country roots originated from driving tractors, plowing fields on his grandpa’s farm, and ending the days writing songs about all of his life experiences of love, fun, and the struggles of life.
He married his wife, Stephanie, in 2015 and they have 2 beautiful daughters, Makenzie and Bryleigh. TJ took his music career to the next step in the summer of 2018 by booking his first show and playing to his first real crowd. His social media fame hit over night with the overwhelming success of his original song about his hometown “Rome, GA”. The LIVE video stream got over 500 shares in 48 hours, and 15,000 views.
He then recorded the song into full production and filmed a music video sponsored by Mudd Sauce, which received over 4,000 shares in one week, and over 50,000 streams on Spotify in one month. At this moment a STAR was born. TJ has since released other new music and has toured all over the country including as far north as Minot, North Dakota, and as far south as Key West, Florida. He has also opened for country music star Josh Phillips who has recently been on tour with Brantley Gilbert. TJ was a nominee for male country artist of the year in Georgia and was voted “Best of Rome” 2019 as local musician.
His latest single “Simple Kinda Life” was played on 94.9 the Bull’s backyard country. TJ plans to release a new single, “Stuck in the middle” in the fall of 2019. For more information about upcoming tour dates and music releases, you can follow him on social media @tjcochranmusic.
Steven Bennett is an attorney specializing in the practice of personal injury law, but also handles divorces and juvenile court cases. He was recently a 2 time winner in the Best of Rome awards, winning the categories of Best Overall Attorney, and Best Personal Injury Attorney. A lifelong resident of Floyd County, he is a graduate of Shorter College and John Marshall Law School. For more information about Steven, his practice, and how to contact him, click here.
Khalid Al-Maskari is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Health Information Management Systems (HiMS), a company of Electronic Health Records (EHR) software experts that are harnessing the power of technology to create value-based care tools for integrated health care providers. HiMS’ purpose is to transform the integrated health care experience – one user at a time. The company creates innovative solutions that lead to better outcomes, lower costs and higher-quality care. It does this through its user-friendly and mobile-optimized Axiom software platform that helps clinics navigate key patient information without having to sift through clutter.
With more than 15 years of experience in integrated health care, Khalid Al-Maskari is considered a thought leader in the field of health care informatics. Khalid rapidly grew HiMS from a single Tucson-based customer to a multi-state presence. His vision for a fully scalable integrated electronic health record software was realized by bringing together stakeholders of every level in technology, health care services, emerging technology and skilled personnel to empower integrated health care providers to improve the quality of patient care, reduce clinical and administrative burden and lower the cost of providing services.
HiMS sets itself apart from its competition through its unique focus on the integrated health care market with an emphasis on behavioral health, early adoption of the EHR subscription model and Axiom’s easily customizable interface. By using a subscription model, Axiom customers don’t get charged for each feature. Instead, Axiom users enjoy new features, upgrades and improvements every two weeks with no additional cost. This pricing model eliminates the “nickel and dime” approach of other providers. Additionally, Axiom is fully customizable to meet the needs of each clinic without the need for coding, and HiMS regularly consults with clinicians to optimize its software for health care practitioners. HiMS prides itself in being a health care company first, and an EHR provider second.
HiMS is also the only known EHR software company that includes a custom, hassle-free, drag and drop dynamic form-builder feature that’s core to the product to help organizations build a fully automated software that is designed to respond to each organization’s needs and help eliminate paper records. HiMS is also in the forefront of utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to improve outcomes and increase patient engagement. HiMS understands that a customizable and innovative EHR software is critical for higher patient engagement, operational excellence and compliance, and HiMS is determined to continue leading the market in this area.
Connect with Khalid Al-Maskari on LinkedIn, and follow Health Information Management Systems (HiMS) on LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Dr. Roland Segal received his medical degree from the University of Arizona, College of Medicine before completing his psychiatry residency at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center and his forensic psychiatry fellowship at the University of Southern California. Dr. Segal is board-certified in general adult and forensic psychiatry. With more than 10 years of clinical, administrative, executive and forensic experience, he has served as president of the Arizona Psychiatric Society and is the chair of the legislative committee. Dr. Segal is a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, where he regularly teaches medical students and residents.
Mary Steiger, Co-Owner / Chef
5845 N Oracle Rd, Tucson, AZ 85704
(520) 408-9000
gourmet.girls@live.com
Mary attended the prestigious Scottsdale Culinary Institute, graduating valedictorian of her class. She worked as a pastry chef in a variety of high-end venues, managed several large retail bakeries, and owned and operated a bed and breakfast. With her business partner Susan, Mary began developing gluten-free recipes to make delicious, allergy-friendly food available to more Tucsonans. They began selling their products at local farmer’s markets and developed a loyal following. They successfully launched their restaurant, Gourmet Girls Gluten Free Bakery/Bistro, in 2011. Mary can frequently be found doing local fundraising events to give back to the community.
Rebecca Wicker, Co-Owner / Chef
4500 E Speedway Blvd #41, Tucson, AZ 85712
(520) 209-2872
rebecca@dedicatedgf.com
https://www.dedicatedgf.com
Rebecca believes that being gluten-free shouldn’t mean that your food tastes bad or is super expensive. She and her husband created Dedicated Gluten-Free Bakery & Coffee Shop to serve the community, and they are proud to share their delicious baked treats with their fellow GF’ers! Dedicated has a line of retail products available, and they supply restaurants and special events with a wide assortment of items. They continually strive for innovation, yet they’re still making their creations the way grandma made them.
Sigret Thompson, Co-Owner / Chef
722 N Stone Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705
(520) 250-9600
thetastefulkitchen@gmail.com
Sigret has been passionate about cooking since she was a child. But it didn’t become more than a hobby until her early 20s, after she began working in the food and hospitality industry. She moved around the globe, spending time in New York, London, and Sydney, and expanded her reach as a personal trainer. In 2011, Thompson and her sister, Keanne, jumped at an opportunity to enter the catering business. Less than a year later, they opened a full restaurant offering an exclusively vegetarian menu.
The Panel Roundtable
A business coach and author, Stephanie Rising has helped over 100 small business owners achieve greater proficiency, profitability, and sanity. She specializes in navigating the complexities of family-owned companies and partnerships with 5 to 25 employees. An expert small business advocate, she provides objective problem solving and accountability that has led many of her clients to award-winning achievement. Her clients have represented a total of over $60M in annual revenues and 1,000 employees.
Stephanie specializes in DISC behavioral analysis and her book, DISC: Leverage Your Nature, Increase Your Sales, is available on Amazon. She outlines step-by-step tactics for building a marketing plan that is sustainable for each reader’s personality and speaks to their specific target market. Stephanie has led numerous well-received workshops on DISC-based marketing and applying behavioral analysis in business.
As an extension of her belief in promoting an educated and healthy community, Stephanie is a monthly sponsor of Youth On Their Own, which provides stipends, supplies, and mentorship to Tucson teens who are homeless through no fault of their own. She also supports Temwani Children’s Foundation, which provides education, food, and hope to orphaned children impoverished by the effects of HIV/AIDS in Lusaka, Zambia in Africa.
Stephanie’s podcast, Small Biz, Big Voices, is broadcast monthly on Tucson Business Radio X. Show notes, interview questions and additional coaching tips can be found on her Small Biz, Big Voices Facebook page.
Stephanie is available for executive team coaching, strategic planning retreats, and public speaking.
Too Busy Gals
(520) 990-2107
Jessica Badowski is the owner and founder of Tucson based Too Busy Gals. Too Busy Gals was established in 2008 in Ohio and moved to Arizona in 2011. It was established as a business to the business service provider after multiple requests for assistance with social media, branding, and marketing from peer business owners. After 20+ years in non-profit management and anti-poverty social work, Jessica decided to break out and start her own business. In 2008, it became quickly apparent the need for high-quality education and coaching social media services were exploding. After 3 years working with national partners in marketing and social media, Too Busy Gals began developing its own roster of clients. Current clientele ranges from a local manufacturing company, land developer, Moroccan artisan e-commerce business, to NYT Bestselling author, and non-profit serving breast cancer survivors.
Too Busy Gals is very active in the local Tucson business community. Currently, Legacy Partners of Local First Arizona, strategic partners with Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Marana Chamber of Commerce, and Vail Chamber of Commerce. Charity and volunteer work has been a passion of Jessica’s and is a central part of the Too Busy Gals business model. Currently, Too Busy Gals is part of 100+Women Who Care Tucson, eWomen Network Foundation sponsor, and partner with Big Hearts, Helping Hands Arizona Secret Santa program.
The Arizona 100 is a twice-monthly digital publication that provides quick and concise, yet thorough, news of the people, events, activities and news shaping Arizona. Each of the 100-word stories or 100-second videos focus on the arts, entertainment, history and restaurants to business news, management, healthcare and real estate.
The Arizona 100 has international and national “100” partner markets, which publish any article/ video upon request providing a combined reach of more than 300,000 readers across 15 markets.
The Arizona 100 is a project of HMA Public Relations, a full-service public relations and marketing communications firm in Phoenix, AZ.
To subscribe to The Arizona 100, visit thearizona100.com. Submit story ideas to: editor@thearizona100.com
Ellie Pérez is Political Director with the Arizona Education Association, the largest professional association for public school employees in Arizona. She was four years old when her parents brought her to Arizona from Veracruz, Mexico, although she didn’t learn she was undocumented until the age of 16.
Ellie’s political activism began in 2010 during protests against Arizona SB 1070, the controversial anti-illegal immigration bill. She obtained her DACA permit in 2012 and was the first “dreamer” to be employed by the city of Phoenix. In 2017 she earned a bachelor’s degree in justice studies from ASU’s School of Social Transformation and a minor in political science.
Ellie has worked as a labor organizer for the United Food and Commercial Workers union, as a field director for the Hillary Clinton campaign, and as an aide to then-council member Kate Gallego, now the mayor of Phoenix. Ellie is the first DACA recipient to be elected superdelegate to the Democratic National Committee. She attended the 2019 State of the Union address in Washington, DC, as the guest of Arizona Congressman and former Phoenix mayor Greg Stanton. Ellie has been honored as ASU Justice Studies Alumna of the Year and 40 Hispanic Leaders under 40.
Connect with Ellie Pérez on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Dr. Ann Hart is a Professional Education Consultant. She was the former Deputy Associate Superintendent for the Arizona Department of Education, appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2004 to oversee school Discipline and Classroom Management. She was very successful in providing professional development to over 3,000 teachers, administrators and support staff in the effective maintenance of healthy and orderly learning environments, which contribute to the academic success of students. Dr. Hart was the first to fill such a position in Arizona. Dr. Hart’s passion ignites her thirst in helping to engage parents’ students and the community, which foster environments of education, learning and training.
Dr. Hart has been involved in the field of Education since she graduated from Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Her education has also been enhanced with 13 years of Federal Government experience, where she led Region III in investigations for the Office for Civil Rights, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A visionary and active community leader, inspirational speaker, and writer, Dr. Hart continues to be a woman who inspires through her leadership and leads by the principal of “Having Faith for the Journey.” Her purpose-driven passion for educating the community on various school/community issues has kept her busy in the twenty plus years that she has spent in education sectors; igniting a thirst which continues to embrace her commitment to raising educational and community awareness in the areas of civil rights and racial equality, human relations, diversity, Zero Tolerance, School Discipline, Parent Involvement, Family, Social and Civic issues; and especially the empowerment of women to combat verbal and physical abuse in the workplace. She has been featured in The Arizona Woman Magazine and the AZ Republic for her education, civic and community involvement and contributions.
Dr. Hart has been the recipient of numerous city, and state acknowledgements and awards. As founder of the Phoenix Black Women’s Task Force, she created a platform for Emerging Women. She was the first African American Woman to chair the Phoenix Women’s Commission for the City of Phoenix, which provided dynamic forums for prominent speakers to address audiences of over 1,000 women for International Women’s Day. She has been the recipient of the YWCA Women’s Leadership, East Valley and the Maricopa Branches of the NAACP as a Humanitarian and Outstanding Educator of the Year. Most recently, she was awarded the 2016 Strategic Alliance Legion by the Phoenix Metropolitan Chapter of National Coalition of the 100 Black Women. Additional honors and awards for her outstanding work in education sectors and community involvement have highlighted her unselfish endeavors for the past 30 years.
Dr. Hart holds a doctorate degree from Arizona State University in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies. She is an active member of the Phoenix Metropolitan Graduate Chapter of Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., The Links, Inc., and the former President of Maricopa County Branch NAACP.
Connect with Dr. Ann Hart on LinkedIn.
Steven Zylstra is the president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, Arizona’s premier trade association for science and technology companies. Since 2007, he has raised AZTC’s role in public policy and has positioned the organization as one of the state’s leaders in driving a pro-growth, business-focused state and federal technology agenda. He continually informs and educates policymakers on issues that are important to Arizona’s economy and technology community, and testifies before the Legislature on a regular basis.
As a spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona, Steve was named “Leader of the Year, Technology,” by the Arizona Capitol Times, a “Most Admired Leader” by the Phoenix Business Journal, and “Executive of the Year” by the Arizona Society of Association Executives. He is an articulate and passionate spokesperson for the value that technology can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona, and is a leading advocate for improving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
Prior to serving as President of the Arizona Technology Council, Steve served as president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, Catalyst Connection, and the Pittsburgh Biomedical Development Corporation, an affiliated organization of the Pittsburgh Technology Council that invested in start-up biomedical and biotechnology companies.
Connect with Steven Zylstra on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and follow the Arizona Technology Council on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
