Dewaynna Horn, Ph.D.
Dewaynna Horn, PhD, teaches graduate management courses and has an active research agenda in organizational behavior. She examines individual characteristics such as attitude, personality, values and leadership traits; individual processes such as perceptions, job engagement and career decision making; and the influence these factors on teams, individuals and organizational outcomes. Horn also brings real world experiences to her classes by collaborating with the Women's Business Enterprise Alliance. Her students work with existing local businesses to provide strategic recommendations and her students' business plans are critiqued by industry executives. She participates in a variety of service activities in the School, the University, and the profession. Of particular note is her participation in the PhD Project which promotes diversity in business academia.
Cynthya Campbell Palmer, Ph.D.
Dr. Campbell Palmer is a licensed clinical psychologist in Illinois and Texas. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago with her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. She completed her internship and postdoctoral fellowship at La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago, IL. Dr. Campbell Palmer has a passion for helping individuals achieve emotional wellness so that they may live a full and whole life. Dr. Campbell Palmer provides therapy to children, adolescents and adults and is able to see clients both in Illinois and Texas.
Phillip Yates
Phillip is a licensed attorney in the State of Texas and the Southern District of the United States. He has extensive experience in criminal law, commercial litigation and bankruptcy related matters. Phillip currently represents twenty-five (25) corporations as outside general counsel, and sits on the board for several non-profit organizations.
Phillip Yates is a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Diversity Fund Houston, a micro venture fund created to invest in black and brown tech founders during the “friends and family” round. In 2019, Phillip launched EQUILIBERTY INC. Equiliberty is a technology company designed to build diversity in property ownership, support minority businesses and neighborhoods, and link people to information, capital, and markets. In February 2021, City of Houston Mayor, Sylvester Turner, appointed Phillip to serve on the City of Houston Firefighters’ & Police Officers’ Civil Service Commission. He now serves as the Chairman of the Commission.
Lee Rubin
Lee Rubin is an emerging voice. His unique ability to understand and articulate winning principles with tremendous clarity and practical application makes him a highly sought after speaker and teacher. Lee is a frequent speaker and panelist at corporations and professional association conferences throughout the country.
Professionally, Lee has been a Human Resources professional with Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries for nearly 15 years.
He holds a Bachelors Degree in Speech Communications, with a minor in Business from Penn State University. Rubin received a full athletic scholarship to play football for the Nittany Lions under the leadership of legendary coach, Joe Paterno.
Lee not only emerged as a three-year starting free safety, he also became a captain of the team. His academic and athletic success has provided a tremendous opportunity to understand and communicate winning strategies and principles.
Lee was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and raised in Central New Jersey. Lee and his lovely wife, Carmen, have been blessed with two beautiful daughters.
Julie Hartman, CF APMP
Julie Irvin Hartman, CF APMP, is a certified proposal manager, entrepreneur, and Co-Founder of B2G Victory. Ms. Hartman has two decades of government procurement experience and a win rate of 87%, resulting in $5.5 Billion in contracts for her clients. She has led proposals and presentations for multimillion-dollar companies across diverse industries. She has a proven ability to execute and manage projects with multiple stakeholders on schedule and within budget.
Julie is a frequent speaker at local, state, and national conferences. In 2017, Julie sold her marketing agency, got married, and moved to Tomball. She spends time with her husband, three bonus sons, and their trampoline jumping Old English Sheepdog.
Ms. Hartman has a BS and a BFA from Sam Houston State University and is pursuing her EMBA at Texas A&M.
Lindsay Fisher, SHRM-SCP
Lindsay Fisher specializes in employee benefits and is the South Texas Team Lead for Higginbotham & Associates, the largest private insurance brokerage firm in Texas. She has numerous years of experience in Human Resources and Operations and holds the SHRM Senior Certified Professional certification.
Lindsay is currently a facilitator for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, she is honored to be a small part in the building journey of a business. She is also a co-creator of the Acceler8 soft skills program and very active with her alma mater, University of St. Thomas, where she served on the Alumni Board of Directors for five years and received the Rising Star Alumnus award from the Cameron School of Business in 2017.
Candayce Odom
Candayce is a Hair Stylist and Certified Life Coach,
She is known primarily for her wisdom gifts and her service to healing hearts and transmuting negative emotions. She has 20 years of experience guiding and impacting the thoughts and emotions of women under the title of hairstylist. Candayce hair philosophy is simply to bring inspiration and confidence to every person she meets. As a Certified IPEC Coach Candayce loves giving of her gifts for the sake of others because she has a servants heart.. She is highly intuitive and divine inspiration flows from her effortlessly to bring forth the Divine truth in all matters of life . She takes pride in having the ability get anyone she coaches perspectives back on the right track . At the end of the day she wants every person that experiences her gifts to live peacefully from the inside out .
Will Norwood III, MBA
Will Norwood leads the Supplier Diversity Division for City of Houston Public Works department, the largest public works department in the country. He is responsible for advocating, promoting, and creating access to contracts and procurement opportunities for Small/Minority/Women – Owned Business Enterprises. Previously, Will served as Business Development Manager for the City of Houston Office of Business Opportunity where he assisted small, minority, and women owned businesses in navigating through the City’s procurement process. He is responsible for the success of local, small businesses working with national events taking place in Houston like the NFL Super Bowl LI and NCAA Final Four 2016. As a Will received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and Minor in Economics from Morehouse College and an Executive MBA in Global Leadership at the University of Houston. He serves as the south-central regional vice president for the Morehouse Nation Alumni Association, Chairman of Bethel’s Family Christian Academy in southwest Houston and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. When he’s not advocating for small business or volunteering with organizations, Will loves to spend time with his wife LaToshia and two daughters, Lily and Laila.