Kym Adams

CEO and Solution Developer of The Business Team

As the creator of The Business Team, multi-tasking and managing multiple events simultaneously has always come second nature to Kym Adams.
Raised in New Orleans’ fast paced and highly demanding hospitality industry, by a chef turned F&B Director Dad and a Mathematician Science Teacher Mom, taught Kym strategic and contemplative resolve.
Operations Management expertise was garnered in industries of Hotels, Medicine, the Non- Profit, Private Sector and numerous political, and human rights advocacy roles, in matters of Administration, Event Coordination, Process Auditing, Education Speaker/Trainer, and Technology Training.

After relocating to Houston in 2005, transitioning into the Engineering Industry up to and including Dept Mgr refined her expertise in project planning, training, and execution related to Records Retention, and Project Start-Up, Execution and Close-Out.

To support more community born businesses and projects around the Houston area, Kym is also a Mediator certified in General Mediation and Family Court Mediation, on the Small Business Advisory for Texas Woman’s University, Social Justice Committee Coordinator, and involved in numerous other community organizations.

She is also Wife, Mom, and Mommy to an extraordinarily supportive family.

Moises Brito

Vice PresidentSr. Business Banking ConsultantMinority Entrepreneurs Division at Chase

Moises Brito is an accomplished finance professional with a solid and progressive background in all facets of commercial banking, relationship management, and
revenue growth within the financial services industry. He has over 15 years of combined experience in commercial lending and community development financing and specializes in SBA 504 loans.

Prior to his current role at JP Morgan Chase, for nearly 11 years, as a Senior Loan Officer, Mr. Brito was responsible for spearheading the small business lending programs and activities for Houston Business
Development, Inc. (HBDi), a 501c3 non-profit, Community Development
Financial Institution. Established in 1986, HBDi is engaged in promoting the
growth and expansion of small and minority businesses by providing access to
capital and managements & technical assistance services that may not be
available from conventional lending institutions.

As native of the Dominican Republic, Moises is proficient in Spanish,
and is an astute business strategist with proven success in leading financial
organizations through critical transitions, driving portfolio growth, and
establishing enduring relationships with clients. He has called Houston his home
since relocating from Louisiana in 2001.
Mr. Brito obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of
Louisiana in 2001, and an MBA degree specializing in accounting in 2005. He
began his career as a commercial credit analyst with Banco Popular North
America and used his skills and knowledge to learn the industry before
transitioning to MidSouth Bank to become a commercial lender, and ultimately
HBDi.

Danielle Davis

Vice President, Houston Middle Market Banking & SpecializedIndustries- Diverse, Women and Veteran-Owned Businesses, SouthwestSegment Lead at Chase

Danielle A. Davis is the Southwest Segment Lead with J.P. Morgan Chase’s
Middle Market & Specialized Industries group. She is primarily focused on
strategy execution, business development and growth of mid-size diverse,
women and veteran-owned businesses throughout the eleven states of the
Southwest Segment. Danielle has been with J.P. Morgan Chase for over 20
years. She started as an intern with INROADS and has never looked back. Prior
to her joining the Commercial Bank in the business development group five
years ago, she’s held various leadership roles in sales coaching and management
throughout Consumer & Community Banking. Over the years, she has been
involved with JPMC’s business resource groups, such as Houston’s Women on
the Move chapter as a Marketing Chair and the Black Organization for
Leadership Development’s Global Board as the Marketing and Advertising Chair.
Currently, she is the co-chair of the community service committee, supporting
volunteerism for over 5,000 employees through the Houston Location
Leadership Program and a member of the Global Women on the Move
Operating Committee.
Danielle earned her Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing and
Advertising and Masters of Business Administration from Eastern Michigan
University. She is actively involved in the community through Alpha Kappa Alpha
Sorority, Incorporated as a board member of the Ethel Hedgeman Lyle
Foundation of Texas, as the Vice President of Young Alumni with INROADS and
as a board member with The Edison Arts Foundation, Inc. Recently, she was
honored as a 2023 Outstanding Diversity Champion by the Houston Business
Journal’s Diversity in Business Awards. In her spare time she is a foodie, loves to
shop until she drops, attend live concerts and travel the world, visiting 16
countries and counting.

Dr. April Day

President, Women's Business Enterprise Alliance at WBENC Women’s Business Center

For more than 20 years, Dr. April Day has brought her unique passion and “sheer willingness” to her personal mission to develop communities and improve lives through education and economic sustainability. Her body of work demonstrates that she has always been on the front end of active service, challenging the status quo in order to create, deliver and preserve programs that achieve her personal goal to change the world one person, one community, one business at a time.

 

Today, Dr. Day serves as president of the Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance (WBEA). The WBEA is a leading third-party certifying and business development organization. Dr. Day’s primary role is to facilitate procurement connections, enhance organizational performance, and increase capacity and opportunities for women-owned businesses through coaching, funding, procurement, education, and executive networking. Dr. Day recently launched WellDays a wellness company providing comprehensive burnout reduction and leadership services to elevate, enhance, and engage life fully through wellness, self-care, and self-discovery. WellDays is intentional about redefining success and optimizing our best lives in service without sacrificing health.

 

Dr. Day gives back to the community by her service in volunteering, shopping, and dining. You can catch her on multiple boards within the non-profit and business community, serving as an adjunct faculty in the College of Business for Texas Women’s University, corporate business trainer for Houston Community College, a recipient of many awards, sought after presenter on transformational leadership, organizational performance, self-care, and burnout reduction.

 

Dr. Day earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Houston, an MBA from Our Lady of the Lake University and her doctorate at Our Lady of the Lake. Her area of research is transformational leadership and burnout in the small businesses sector. Dr. Day is a proud mother of five, Certified Non-profit Professional, Leadership Houston Alum, American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow and member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Amanda Dietz

Sr. Business Banking Consultant, Minority Entrepreneurs at Chase for Business

As a Sr. Business Banking Consultant, Amanda’s focus and responsibility is to be trusted advisor to minority entrepreneurs within the underserved communities in
Houston, Texas.

Her main objective is to provide mentorship to small businesses which includes educating entrepreneurs who are looking to start, run and grow their own business. In doing so,
she utilizes her connectivity to community development financial institutions (CDFI’s) and other networking avenues to
illustrate the importance of strategic business planning, cash management and potential lending.

Her main goal is to make an impact in local communities by equipping minority-owned small businesses, offering resources, and making access to working capital attainable.
Amanda has over 13 years of business banking experience, which encompasses being a Branch Manager, SBA Loan Coordinator, Business Underwriter, and a Business Relationship Manager.

Due to previous roles, her comprehensive knowledge in finance and credit has improved the lives of clients and the well-being of their businesses through financial solutions, education, and advice.

Amanda graduated Cum Laude with her Bachelors in Business Administration from St. Edward’s
University.

Cheri A. Green

Community Manager at Chase

Cheri Green is thriving in the corporate and entrepreneurial space as a Vice President in
Community and Business Development for JP Morgan Chase. She is also the Co-Founder
of Passport Journeys, LLC and Vice President of a newly formed nonprofit - Mom + Me
Journey, created for mother-daughter pairs to engage in intentional bonding activities.
Cheri has severed several roles in her 12-year tenure at Chase. Cheri joined the
Community and Business Development team in July 2021 and is committed to bridging
the racial wealth gap and strategically improving the current state of Houston’s most underserved communities.

With Passport Journeys, Cheri is working hard on the first teletherapy app ever created
for mother-daughter relationships. The app matches mothers and daughters with
licensed clinicians to guide a monthly journey to a closer bond.

Prior to Cheri’s career launch with Chase, she graduated from Sam Houston State
University with a Bachelors of Arts in Family and Consumer Sciences. During her time at
Sam Houston State, Cheri was the President of Women United, where she organized
and started the annual women’s conference. She joined the Theta Epsilon Chapter of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., in Spring 2008 where she served as the chapter Web
Master and Secretary. She was also a board member of Adopt A Heart organization and
a dedicated volunteer at the SAAFE House.
Following graduation in 2008, Cheri moved to Virginia where she started her career in
banking as a Personal Banker for PNC Bank. After only seven months, Cheri was quickly
promoted to Branch Manager. The experience she gained allowed her to move back to
Houston where she started her career at Chase as a Personal Banker. She was later
promoted to Branch Manager where she served in several Low to Moderate Income
neighborhoods. As a Houston native, she has over 15 years of experience with
community engagement and leadership. In her most recent role as Branch Manager,
Cheri opened the University of Houston Branch in 2019. She also serves as a member of the national Culture Council Employee Development team and a member of several
Business Resource Groups.
Working in Houston’s most underserved communities gave Cheri a different perspective of the needs of minorities in relation to lack of access to financial literacy and resources.

From this exposure, Cheri began hosting small events at her branch to introduce
business bankers, home lending advisors and financial advisors to the community.

Outside of Chase, Cheri is actively engaged in the Houston community. She serves on
the Board of Directors for the Urban Enrichment Institute. She was recently the
recipient of the 2023 Top 50 Black Professionals & Entrepreneurs of Texas.
When Cheri isn’t working diligently in the community, she spends quality time with her
daughter Jaylah.

Meredith Hopson Beaupre

Managing Director / Region ManagerSouth Texas & New Mexico Commercial Banking at JPMorgan Chase

Meredith Hopson Beaupre has over 20 years of client management and capital markets experience, all with JPMorgan Chase (JPMC). She currently serves as Region Manager for the firm’s Middle Market Banking & Specialized Industries business in South Texas and New Mexico, focusing on bringing the firm’s global capabilities to local businesses to serve their banking and finance needs throughout their lifecycles.
In addition to her daily responsibilities, Meredith is a member of the Houston Market Leadership team which includes taking a lead role in localizing the firm’s $30 billion racial equity commitment within Houston. She also serves as Executive Sponsor for the Texas chapter of JPMC’s Women on the Move
business resource group.

Prior to joining the Commercial Bank in 2017, Meredith spent most of her career as part of J.P. Morgan’s Debt Capital Markets team in the Corporate & Investment Bank (first in Chicago, then in Houston). In this
role, she was responsible for structuring and executing debt transactions in the investment grade and leveraged loan markets as well as in the high yield bond market. Meredith has covered clients nationwide spanning a broad range of industries including healthcare, consumer & retail, manufacturing, and
diversified industrial.

Outside of the bank, Meredith is part of the Commercial Banking Advisory Board for the C.T Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. She is also a member of the Economic Development & Trade
Steering Committee within the Greater Houston Partnership, as well as being a member of the GHP’s Executive Women’s Partnership. Within the community, Meredith serves on the Board of Directors for
Target Hunger, which is one of Houston’s largest food relief organizations.

Meredith earned a BA from Georgetown University, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University; she is also an active alumna of The Kinkaid School in Houston. Meredith and
her husband, Andy, reside in Houston with their two young daughters, Lauren and Brooke.

Cate Luzio

Founder and CEO of Luminary

Cate Luzio is the Founder and CEO of Luminary, a global membership-based professional education and networking platform created to uplift, upskill, and propel women forward through all phases of their professional journey.  

Cate launched Luminary in 2018 with the mission to create an ecosystem of high-touch engagement to address and impact the systemic challenges faced by women across all industries and sectors. Members are comprised of a multigenerational and intersectional community of individuals, intrapreneurs, entrepreneurs, corporations, and organizations including American Express, Verizon, Paramount, UBS, Spotify JPMorgan Chase, Unilever, Indeed, Mastercard, CAPCO, LVMH, ADP, and many more.

Before starting Luminary, Cate spent two decades in financial services leading global multibillion-dollar businesses. Previously, she was Global Head of Multinational Corporate Banking for HSBC, managing more than 2,000 employees worldwide and prior to that, she served as Head of Multinational Corporate Banking at J.P. Morgan EMEA based in London. She spent her early years in Latin America with Bank of America across both consumer and wholesale banking. She started her career working in tech in China.

Cate is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where she was named its Entrepreneur of the Year in 2021 and joined its Board of Governors that same year. She also has a master’s degree in International Relations from Georgetown University.

A long-time advocate for empowering women and girls, she served on the National Board for Girls Inc. from 2016-2022, is a mentor for WE.NYC and The NORTH, and sits on the Boards of Girls Inc. New York City and Pomp & Whimsy. Cate is an active investor in several women-founded companies. She is a member of DealmakeHERS, Women’s Forum of NY, Careforce, and the TIME’s UP Care Economy Business Council.

Cate was recognized as one of Forbes’ Next 1000 Entrepreneurs in 2021 and a Top 100 Female Founder by Inc. in 2019 and 2021. She has been featured as an expert in top-tier financial, business, and lifestyle media. She is a sought-after keynote speaker for organizations such as Verizon, Hudson Bay Corporation, JPMorgan Chase, Fidelity, BlackRock, ADP, and UBS, as well as high-profile events including several Conferences for Women, ADP Women’s Summit, Verizon 100 Women Leaders, Fidelity Women Talk Money, Yelp Women in Business and Black in Business Summits.

Aliah Minor

Business Finance & Tax Specialist

Aliah Minor is an entrepreneur with a passion for entrepreneurship and community.  She has a passion for teaching individuals and small business professionals how to plan, implement and execute their financial plan. With thirteen years of financial experience and eleven years owning her business, she has learned the ups and downs of the industry first hand. 

Originally from Kalamazoo, MI and a graduate of THEE illustrious Jackson State University, where Aliah was a Division-I basketball player, she learned the importance of strategic planning, hard work, and overcoming adversity. Aliah has a diverse array of professional experience where she has served clients as a tax expert as well as showing them the path to financial freedom. She specializes in various practice areas of tax, including individual, small business, partnerships and nonprofit. Not to mention a financial bootcamp to guide her clients to becoming financial free. 

Aliah offers personalized, in-depth, and sound advice to best position her clients while considering their goals, industry trends, and business capabilities. Aliah’s commitment to building wealth and teaching financial freedom extends beyond her small business clients, as she is equally committed to assisting individuals with safeguards and positioning their estate and personal affairs. 

Silvana Montenegro

Global Head of Advancing Hispanics & LatinosDiversity, Equity & Inclusion at JPMorgan Chase

Silvana Montenegro is the Global Head of Advancing Hispanics & Latinos (DEI)
at JPMorgan Chase & Co., where she leads a unified vision and strategy to
advance the unique priorities of the Hispanic and Latino communities, both
within the firm and externally.
Silvana brings a wealth of experience from her leadership roles in the U.S. and
Latin America, including a proven reputation for empowering leadership teams
and individuals to reach their full potential. She is passionate about developing
talent, driving inclusion for employees and communities and excels at delivering
optimal business results.

Prior to her current role, Silvana was the head of Commercial Banking Talent,
Diversity & Inclusion at JPMorgan Chase, where she led and elevated strategic
efforts around developing and retaining top talent, as well as promoting an
inclusive culture across the organization.
Previously, she played a key role in building and developing Leadership Edge,
JPMorgan Chase’s Leadership Center of Excellence. During her three years on the
team, Silvana was responsible for designing and facilitating several management
and executive programs for senior managers, including leading programs for
JPMorgan Chase’s Top 1,000 Executives.
Of her 25 years with the firm, she spent 17 supporting the Latin America business
in various capacities, including as the head of Latin America Talent, Diversity &
Inclusion, leading the function from the ground up and laying a strong and
sustainable foundation for the region. During her time supporting Latin America,
she played a critical role in advising Senior Management on talent and inclusion
matters and was responsible for establishing the JPMorgan Chase Colombia
Human Resources practice when the office was set-up.

Silvana has been featured in several publications and was recently recognized by
Latino Leaders magazine as one of the top 100 Most Influential Latinas in the U.S.,
and Crain’s NY Notable Hispanic Leaders, among others; she also serves on the
board of HACE (Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement). A Brazilian native,
Silvana is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English and holds a Bachelor’s degree
in Psychology from Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil. She currently resides in
Westchester, New York, with her husband and two children.

Branden Morris

Sr. Business Consultant at Chase for Business

Sr. Business Consultant for Chase in Houston, Texas. I have over 7 years of experience at Chase and 8 years of
experience in financial services. I serve on several boards and committees that all have an entrepreneurial focus, which gives me access to a wide range of external resources to help our clients and mentees. I am also a
proud alum of Leadership Houston Class 30. I have a BS in Business Administration and a MS in Marketing. My goal is to understand your business in a way that allows Chase to bring unique insights and value to every
interaction with your business. I can provide you access to the broader team of experts in areas such as cash management, credit solutions, and other business
services. Additionally, our advanced online capabilities and mobile tools give you access to your Chase business accounts from most digital devices. And you’ll have access to telephone banking options that can make your banking more convenient.

Roshawnda Reed

Business Consultant

Roshawnda Reed is a business consultant who specializes in helping small to midsize businesses  put the pieces together. Her starting point is “What is your definition of success? Do you have a plan? How will you obtain your level of success? 

Roshawnda Reed will analyze your business goals and help you develop a secure foundation for your business. Roshawnda’s passion to help business professionals succeed comes from her personal passion of excellence and integrity. She understands how it feels to know there is greatness within but you just are not sure how to bring it out.  Roshawnda believes a solid business foundation makes all the difference in accomplishing success. 

The key factor in her coaching is developing a plan that is tailored to your business specifically. It is not a cookie cutter, one fits all style of coaching. She takes in account who you are as a person, your personal strengths and weaknesses and what you want to personally achieve and she develops your strategy from there. Roshawnda’s business services include individual hourly consulting, a real estate 3 month business boot camp and 6 month coaching program that takes you from the starting in your business to thriving in your business. Roshawnda is a mother of two awesome kiddos. She has a son and daughter who keep her busy after consulting with clients. Roshawnda finds enjoyment in amateur photography, reading and water activities.

Maggie Segrich

Co-Founder and CFO of Sesh Coworking

Maggie Segrich is one of the Co-Founders behind Houston’s first female-centered coworking space. At Sesh, we provide creative women, people of color and LGBTQ+ folks with a workspace that nurtures personal and professional growth, supports their natural lifestyle and working habits, and fosters community through collaboration, learning, and advocacy. Now more than ever, our communities in Texas need safe &  inspiring spaces to work, gather and grow.

Prior to Sesh, Maggie resided in New York as a jewelry designer and founder & president to The Rivertowns Chamber Commerce. Maggie enjoys early morning runs along the bayou, walking her Ridgebacks around Memorial Park and cooking & entertaining friends at her home with her
husband and daughter.

Leslie Wingo

President and CEO of Sanders\Wingo

As the CEO, Leslie Wingo leads the Sanders\Wingo team, a Texas-based consultancy, delivering solutions for companies and their brands. Sanders\Wingo is focused on cultivating human connections through brand storytelling, strategy, and content development by partnering with brands like Pivotal Ventures, Q2 Banking, US Census, AT&T, and findhelp.

As a speaker, she confronts stereotypes, challenges labels, exposes bias, and has tough conversations around race and gender.  Leslie works with companies to discover and strengthen their current practices around diversity and equity.  Her goal is that every employee and culture is valued, their contribution is maximized and the company's organizational culture is inclusive. 

Leslie also believes in philanthropy, and gives her time to organizations whose values align with her own, like the Texas Book Festival, the Mueller Foundation and the Dell Children's Medical Foundation. 

Her most important role is raising her little coworkers (ages 6 and 10). They are her biggest gift (and sometimes the biggest challenge!).