UF Director for Small Business and Vendor Diversity Relations appointed to state small business advisory board

The University of Florida Director for Small Business and Vendor Diversity Relations Kathey Porter, MBA, CPSD, has been appointed to the Florida Advisory Council on Small and Minority Business Development by the secretary for the Department of Management Services, Erin Rock.

This group consists of small businesses, supplier diversity professionals and stakeholders from across the state of Florida to provide insight and expertise to the state regarding small and minority business development and provide recommendations on how to improve engagement of and support for Florida’s small and minority business community.

Porter is a nationally recognized expert on supplier diversity, small business development and entrepreneurship, and has led supplier diversity programs and acted as business consultant for higher education, municipalities the federal government for more than 10 years. She is a frequent speaker/panelist at conferences and events focusing on supplier diversity, small business development/entrepreneurship, women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment and diversity and inclusion and has been an adjunct business instructor for over 10 years at several colleges and universities.

Porter is the author of 50 Billion Dollar Boss: African American Women Sharing Stories of Success in Entrepreneurship and Leadership (Palgrave Macmillan) and a business contributor to several local and national publications and platforms including, OPEN Forum (American Express), ESSENCE Magazine and more. In 2017, she was recognized as a 2017 Fierce Woman by Business in Greater Gainesville magazine and a Florida Woman on The Move by ONYX Magazine. Porter’s second book, on supplier diversity, is scheduled to be released in fall, 2018.

Porter received her CPSD (Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity) through the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) in 2015.

“I am excited to have the work that we are doing with small businesses here at UF get recognized. I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate and create opportunities for small and minority businesses throughout the state of Florida,” says Porter.

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