Greater Women’s Business Council Announces 2021 TOP Corporations Awards Honorees

Wednesday, September 29th, 2021

The Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC) announced its 2021 TOP Corporations of the Year Awards honorees at a virtual ceremony yesterday. GWBC celebrates leading corporations that represent the “best in class” innovators in supplier diversity, inclusion and procurement in its annual GWBC TOP Corporations of the Year Awards. 

Accepting on behalf of the 2021 GWBC TOP Corporations Honorees for Women’s Business Enterprises were: 
  • Accenture, Nedra Dickson, Managing Director, Global Supplier Inclusion & Sustainability Lead & Europe Market Lead

  • AT&T, Jalayna Bolden, Director Supplier Diversity

  • Bank of America, Vonshe M. Jenkins, Senior Vice President, Global Supplier Diversity & Responsible Sourcing Executive

  • Grady Health System, Crystal King, Director Supplier Diversity and Equity

  • Truist Financial Corporation, Lissa J. Miller, Senior Vice President, Chief Supplier Diversity Officer

  • UPS, Larik Dais, Manager, Supplier Diversity

GWBC's TOP Corporations of the Year Awards are selected by a panel of women business enterprises (WBEs) based on a set of criteria, including their membership within GWBC, a dedicated supplier diversity program serving Georgia and the Carolinas, meeting or exceeding spend goals with certified WBEs and active participation in education and development activities for WBEs in the three-state region.

“As a regional partner organization of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), GWBC is one of the largest certification and development resource providers for women business enterprises in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. It is the WBENC certification gold standard that corporations require when selecting and working with WBEs. Our TOP Corporations of the Year Awards recognize our corporate partners who go above and beyond in supporting WBEs through their supplier diversity and procurement departments,” said Roz Lewis, President and CEO - GWBC. “What makes this event so unique is that each corporate honoree's award is presented through a real-world testimony of a WBE partner whose business has been directly impacted by their support,” added Lewis.

Karyn Greer, a news anchor with WGCL CBS 46, served as the mistress of ceremonies, while GWBC Board Chair and Truist Senior Vice President and Chief Supplier Diversity Officer Lissa J. Miller welcomed attendees. Global communications consultant Dr. Shawne Duperon delivered the keynote address.

The WBEs who presented the awards to each 2021 GWBC TOP Corporations honoree included Nancy Williams, CEO/Chief Impact Officer with WeFresh/ASAP Solutions Group for Accenture; Latoya Long, President of Reliable Security Staffing for AT&T; Karen Lawrence, President of It's My Affair LLC for Bank of America; Wendy Neubauer, President of The Corporate Shop for Grady Health System; Elaine Bellock, President of Prosys Information Systems for Truist; and Veena Kalale, Co-Founder of Primus Software Corporation for UPS. 

The event was also supported by more than 30 corporate sponsors and women business sponsors who understand the value of supporting the growth and development of GWBC’s certified women business enterprises in its region.   

The next event is the GWBC LACE (Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellence) Awards being held virtually on Friday, November 5, 2021, recognizes outstanding corporate partners and women WBEs for their commitment and contributions to the mission of the GWBC. More information can be found on the website.