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Get to Know One of the Supplier Diversity Institute Presenters!

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Veronica Cook-Euell is the Supplier Diversity Program Manager at Kent State University. She will be presenting the Tier II Supplier Diversity Session, "Supplier Diversity Demand Control Schema in Strategic Decision Making" on Monday, April 8th from 1:15 - 2:15 pm in Kansas City. 

Read on to learn a bit more about Veronica and plan to attend her session at the Supplier Diversity Institute.

 

How did you get started in supplier diversity?
Previously, I was the director of the Partnership for the Minority Business Accelerator located in the Akron Urban League that focused on accelerating minority-owned businesses. After growing that program for three years, the opportunity presented itself here at Kent State University in 2011 which would allow me to make an even greater impact in the lives of minority and women-owned business owners and I leaped at the chance.  March 2019 will be my 8th year here at Kent State University and I’m still going strong. I have a passion for inclusion of any kind and for advocating for our diverse suppliers.

What person or activity/event has been most influential in your supplier diversity career?
I look to the persons on whose shoulders I stand to have the drive, passion, conviction and courage to stand in the gap and to make a difference in the lives of many others.  Persons like Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman and Nelson Mandela and most notably here recently, Deborah Pickens formerly of Eaton Corporation as the Supplier Diversity Director.  These were, and in some cases are, all ordinary people like me (the only way I can be in the same sentence with them) but who didn’t mind seeing that a gap needed to be filled, a door needed to be opened, or a voice needed to be heard.  We are not fighting for civil rights, however, we are advocating, connecting, cultivating and representing others who are ready, willing, and able to perform along their non-minority counterparts and for the right to compete for opportunities that present themselves and just need access. These people on whose shoulders I stand, no matter how big or small, gave of themselves tirelessly and I can barely hold a candle to them but I would like to think they wouldn’t mind if I tried my hand at their example. Someone made a difference that allowed me to be here and it wasn’t always easy. My journey is a different journey because they lived. My hope is that I make someone else’s journey a bit easier too—what if we all did that.

What inspired you to develop your SDI session?
The desire to establish a form of standards that we can begin to follow in this practicing profession known as “Supplier Diversity” as we are all practitioners of this profession just like others who practice in their fields. We must take this profession to the next level and ensure its standards, both ethical and professional, are adhered to by all who carry the title of supplier diversity in their name. We must be from the cloth of excellence and authenticity in our work and to do so, we must have the ability to set standards of practice into place and be able to rely of these proven techniques while benchmarking with others to ensure we can continue our great work without exhausting all of our bandwidth.

What will SDI attendees receive/walk away with by attending your session?
After attending this session, you will:

  • Understand the concept of Schemas and how they play a role in Supplier Diversity,
  • Describe and identify how we use up our bandwidth and ways to preserve it, and
  • Why we need to develop Schemas and how to share and adopt others

As a reference, see the article by Veronica recently posted on the E&I Cooperative website “Why We Need to Develop Schemas in Supplier Diversity” ahead of this session.

What else do you want the audience to know about supplier diversity?
Supplier Diversity is a beautiful phenomenon because it includes all of us!  Sometimes, others may think the onset of diverse suppliers is the end of majority suppliers but that’s not it at all—instead it’s the inclusion of us all.