The Melrose District and Melrose Street Fair


Teeming with culture and bursting with flavors, the Melrose District – along 7th Avenue approximately from Camelback to Indian School Road in Phoenix – is home to some of Arizona’s top art galleries, restaurants, bars, clubs and independent small businesses. It’s a can’t-miss region of the Valley. It’s also can’t-miss – quite literally – thanks to the massive, iconic “Melrose Arch” that hangs across the road on 7th Avenue just north of Indian School Road. Today’s bustling Melrose District is actually a result of a group of merchants in the area who joined together more than 20 years ago: the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association (SAMA). Two members of the board are here today to talk about the District, their businesses and their upcoming signature (and free) event: The 17th Annual Melrose Street Fair on March 2, 2019.
Gregg Edelman, Exposed Studio & Gallery
Gregg Edelman is the owner of Exposed Studio & Gallery. Learn more at www.exposedgallery.com.
Connect with Gregg Edelman on LinkedIn.
Brad Moore, Short Leash Hotdogs + Rollover Donuts
Brad Moore is the owner of Short Leash Hotdogs + Rollover Donuts. Learn more at shortleashhotdogs.com.
Connect with Brad Moore on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.



Dr. Bob Monteverdi
Aneesh Chopra
Dan Michelson
Rasu Shrestha, MD MBA
John Halamka, MD & Paul Cerrato
Dr. Jennifer Reneker
Edwin Miller
Deven McGraw
Think Tank Panel Discussion with Farhad Chowdhury, Andy Nieto & Andy Bartley
Kamal Jethwani, MD
Elise Sweeney Anthony, JD
Chris Fowler
Howard Burde, Esq
Punit Soni
Jeff Coughlin
Dr. Jamie Skipper & Evelyn Gallego
Ed Marx
Lygeia Ricciardi


Jim Becker is the CEO of Becker Logistics, LLC. Jim Becker entered the logistic world in 1991 and in 1997 from his kitchen table, Jim started what we fondly know today as Becker Logistics. He built the company on the founding core values of: Integrity, Quality, Innovation, Safety, Competitiveness, Openness, Respect, and Equal Work Life Balance. These foundational values combined with his leadership and industry expertise, have allowed Jim to author a great story of mind blowing growth in Becker Logistics; growing the company 10 times (1000%) since 2013. Along the way, he has learned to focus on the journey of life rather than solely on whatever goal or endpoint may serve as a destination. He has realized his passion to help the people he encounters to become a better version of themselves—to help them live life without regrets, to feel empowered, and to act with confidence. Jim is very involved within the logistics community. He sits on the Executive Advisory Council for McLeod Software and has spoken at McLeod’s Users conference on growing a company with sales and looking at how to scale operations along with the importance of customer service within our industry. Jim is on the Board along with being on the Education Committee, and past chairman of the hazmat committee of Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA). He is also currently on the Mentor/Mentee committee. Connect with Jim Becker on
Paul Noble is Founder and CEO of Verusen, a technology firm that uses AI to predict inventory and harmonize data organizations in a variety of industries. Verusen automatically integrates to your ERP and disparate data sources — single or multiple systems, one or many locations. Then, the platform’s Artificial Intelligence learns from your own inventory experts and encodes their knowledge to provide seamless inventory harmonization. With Verusen, you get automatic naming and categorization with 99% reliability at scale — a true material master. Paul’s passion for entrepreneurship has always shaped his approach for go-to-market strategies and tools, which was the driving force behind pursuing his dream of launching Verusen to improve the availability of easy-to-use technology for optimizing the supply chain for materials and MRO. Connect with Paul Noble on
Chris Barnes is a professional education
Scott W. Luton is the founder of 



Suzanne Dickerson joined the SC Council on Competitiveness in 2016 after serving for 8 years as the Director for International Business Development at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). Suzanne’s experience includes 20 years in the automotive industry: 12 years within BMW working in the fields of corporate sustainability, innovation management and long-term strategic and structural planning. She began her career with BMW in Munich Germany at corporate headquarters upon completion of the Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program. Suzanne speaks fluent German and is also a Fellow of the BMW Foundation Leaders Forum. Suzanne serves as Vice President of the multi-state Southern Automotive Women’s Forum and is a Board Member of the South Carolina Automotive Council. Locally, Suzanne is a Board member on the Roper Mountain Science Center and a Fellow of the Riley Institute Diversity Leadership Program. The South Carolina Research Authority awarded Suzanne the Knowledge Economist Award in 2013 and in 2015, Suzanne was the recipient of the Clemson Women in Leadership Award. In 2018 Suzanne joined the South Carolina Manufacturers Extension Partnership Executive Board. Connect with Suzanne Dickerson on
Chuck Baker graduated from the US Military Academy in 1975. He served as an officer for six years, achieving the rank of Captain. He entered the civilian workforce and worked with Johnson & Johnson in NJ for four years, PepsiCo in Texas for two years and has now worked for Michelin North America for 31 years. Chuck has had many different roles within Michelin. He has been in Engineering, in Logistics as a warehouse manager and a distribution center manager in Pennsylvania, manager of the distribution centers for the US, in multiple Supply Chain roles at different facilities and was assigned to the Information Technologies group for three years. Since 2010, he has been back in logistics and supply chain, where he’s currently responsible for a Michelin program for continual improvement (Michelin Way) for all the distribution centers in North America. Chuck is the author of a book entitled 


















