This presentation is facilitated by Kenechi Onyeagusi, executive director of Professional Business Development Group, with keynote presentation by Dr. Denise G. Fairchild of Emerald Cities Collaborative. It will address the dollar impact of diversity and inclusion in the construction industry and how investment in diversity and inclusion can lead to winning more jobs. At a minimum, participants can expect to learn the following: 

• Positive impact on a company’s bottom line as a direct result of supporting the work of diversity and inclusion  
• Tools on how to make diversity principles work for your unique business  
• Strategies for increasing utilization of minority, women-owned, service-disabled veteran (MWSDV) firms  
• Identify and address the major institutions that have signed the diversity pledge 

Kenechi Onyeagusi has been the executive director of PBDG since February 2020. She is an established business and finance professional with 12 years of experience working with all types of businesses including minority, women owned, and small business in a variety of industries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kenechi was invited by the Governor’s office to participate in a panel to provide guidance and training to other trade associations on how to help their members access financial resources. 

Kenechi is a member of several boards and committees including Business Diversity Institute (BDI), Micro-Enterprise Services of Oregon (MESO), City of Portland Construction Equity and Inclusion Program (CEIP), ODOT’s Community Opportunity Advisory Committee, Governor’s Office Business Equity Community Advisory Group, City of Portland Fair Contracting Forum, Governor’s Office Reopening of Oregon Economic & Equity Stakeholders Committee, and Respectful Workplace Review Committee. Most recently, she was appointed to Governor Brown’s Minority Contractors Task Force.

Dr. Denise G. Fairchild is the inaugural president and CEO of Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC), a national non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., with affiliates in major urban centers across the United States. She is charged with advancing ECC’s “high road” mission to green our cities, build resilient local economies, and ensure equity inclusion in both the process and the outcomes of a new green and healthy economy. Dr. Fairchild focuses on building community-led partnerships with labor, environmental, and business organizations to increase energy efficiency, clean energy, sustainable foods, and clean water, with a focus on low-income and communities of color. Her 40-year track record includes numerous awards for innovative programs in sustainable and community economic development, domestically and internationally. Her educational background includes progressively higher degrees in urban planning from Fisk University and University of Pennsylvania, and her doctorate from University of California, Los Angeles. Her recent publication is entitled Energy Democracy: Equity Solutions to the Clean Economy by Island Press. She lives in and raised her family in South Los Angeles.

RECORDING