Donna Fujimoto Cole founded Cole Chemical in 1980 at the age of 27 as a divorced mother of a four-year-old daughter with $5,000 from savings at the encouragement of the chemical buyers at Exxon, Shell, Monsanto, and Dupont to start a certified minority and women-owned business to help them meet their government purchasing goals.
After 41 years, Ms. Cole has started, sold, invested, and divested many types of businesses; from civil construction to drilling loss circulation materials, chemical manufacturing, real estate, promotional advertising, distribution, warehousing, blending, and packaging, to providing financing alternatives, back-office support and IT integration with supply chain management services.
She has relationships with Fortune 500 global companies on the supply and customer side of the business while receiving quality service awards, recognition for leadership, and mentoring others with awards from the US Small Business Administration and the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency.
Ms. Cole attended the University of Texas-Pan American and graduated from Manpower Business Training Institute in Computer Operations and Programming in1972.
She is Co-founder of the Pantheon of Women, a production company telling great stories about strong women and supportive men in film, television, plays, and musicals to change the way men treat and perceive women and how women see themselves. POW provides an opportunity to mentor millions while inspiring people to improve the quality of life for themselves and others.
Tuyet Duong is currently a consultant providing strategy and project management services. Tuyet has over 17 years of experience making an impact in the government, private, and nonprofit sectors — she has specialized in inequity issues, human rights, civil rights, and immigration law and policy. She currently leads the community liaison team in a government office overseas, after serving as Director of Asia for a private contractor based in Virginia.
During the Obama Administration, Ms. Duong served as a Senior Advisor for the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, leading philanthropic engagement, private sector engagement, small business capacity building, and immigration and civil rights policy work. She also served as Policy Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. There, she received the Officer’s Inaugural Distinguished Award of Merit for her work on the Department’s language access and civil rights response after the BP Oil Spill.
She previously led immigration policy and campaigns at Asians Advancing Justice – Asian American Justice Center and managed legal assistance programs for survivors of violence and trauma at BPSOS-Houston. There, she aided coalition partners on a historic disaster response effort for Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
She holds a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and a B.A. in English from the University of Texas. Ms. Duong lives in Seoul, South Korea with her partner, three sons, and her mother-in-law.
Sandy Hoa Dang, Co-Founder & Principal of CoInnovate Consulting is a social entrepreneur, leadership trainer, and management consultant. Sandy is a social entrepreneur, inspiring speaker, experienced executive, leadership trainer, and management consultant. Her passion is to develop young people to maximize their leadership potential to benefit society.
From 2011 to 2018, Sandy served as a Presidential Appointee on the Board of Directors and Executive Director of the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), an independent U.S. Government agency with a mission to strengthen the bilateral relations between the United States and Vietnam. During her tenure, Sandy initiated a leadership development program that includes Public Narrative and Adaptive Leadership for hundreds of VEF Fellows who are scientists and engineers.
Born in Hanoi, Sandy left Vietnam when she was ten years old. After living in rural China and Hong Kong refugee camps, Sandy resettled in the United States at the age of thirteen. Because of her personal experience, Sandy has devoted her life to helping children and families. For more than a decade, she served as the Founder and Executive Director of Asian American Leadership, Empowerment, and Development (AALEAD), an organization that supports immigrant and refugee families through a broad array of educational and social services.
Tony Waller is Vice President, Constituent Relations and Racial Equity for Walmart in Bentonville, AR. In his position he sets a strategy for driving reputation, augmenting outreach opportunities, and maximizing social investments in diverse and multicultural communities. His portfolio includes the African American, Hispanic, Asian American & Pacific Islander, and Native American communities as well as Women, LGBTQIA+, People with Disabilities, and Emerging Generations. Tony is also tasked with being a critical “integrator” engaging across Corporate Affairs teams, with real depth in helping to shape public policy, communication strategy, federal and state government relations, and community relations through a racial equity lens. Additionally, Tony and his team help lead efforts to expand the company’s racial equity work across all the diverse and multicultural communities of focus. Tony joined Walmart in December 2006.
Martha Lee has been intrinsically involved in leadership development throughout her 35-year career, supporting emerging and seasoned leaders in finding and following their passions. For the past 12 years, Martha has been the founding executive director of the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance (KFLA), a diverse network of 1600 leaders from 53 countries selected by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation over the span of 30 years because they all had a passion to make a difference. Martha founded and held the position of APAWLI President & CEO. She also serves as a program officer and manager for the Denver Community Foundation, program director for the National Hispana Leadership Institute, project manager for the Mile High United Way, and executive director of the Asian American Foundation of Colorado.
Leslie Moe-Kaiser is Principal, Ladies of the Court, and President, Dynasty Pearls. A major theme in her professional life has been developing leadership and self-determination in women of color. A certified tennis professional, Leslie’s current women’s empowerment project provides pro bono private tennis lessons around the country to women players 50 years and better. Retired from a corporate career of developing Asian DEI forums and building State Farm’s coalitions with national Asian American Pacific Islander organizations, today she provides services to individuals and organizations on intercultural competency, funding strategies, and leadership development.
She is the Past National President of OCA and President of OCA Tucson. She serves on the Board, of the Center for Asian Pacific American Women. Leslie is a 2003 Fellow of the latter’s signature program, Asian Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute. She is a Lifetime Member of the US Professional Tennis Association and is a Certified Pearl Specialist. Leslie holds a PhD in Educational Administration and Foundations of Higher Education.
Theresa Royster serves as a Client Relations Director and has spent 34 years with State Farm Insurance in critical leadership and executive roles. Over 29 years was in dynamic markets on the east coast leading field operations. Theresa has extensive experience in profitably growing large, complex markets as well as expertise in talent management, succession planning, and leadership development. She is known for her innovative and strategic approach to business problems. Her ability to influence and inspire people for better business results has allowed her to serve in a number of key roles.
In her downtime, Theresa enjoys the beach, walking, biking, and family time. She also loves to paint and draw. She received her BA in business from Loyola College in Baltimore, MD.
Salvador Mendoza serves as Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion at NBCUniversal. Mendoza is responsible for the development of short and long-term strategies in the areas of workforce, leadership development, community partnerships, and NBCUniversal’s Employee Resource Groups, with a focus on enhancing the company’s diverse and inclusive environment. In addition, he is responsible for building and maintaining partnerships with local, regional, and national diverse organizations. Sal is considered an expert in the field of diversity & inclusion and holds several leadership positions on many Advisory Boards, among them, the American Red Cross, the Center for Asian Pacific
Joanne Tabellija-Murphy joined Walmart in 2013 as the Director of Strategic Outreach and Engagement. As a seasoned change agent with a twenty-year history of transforming large international companies by leveraging institutional knowledge, Joanne is responsible for building partnerships and strategies that advance stakeholder advocacy and transform social change by building trust in the national communities Walmart serves.
As an external affairs professional she leads teams and staff in transforming social systems by spearheading philanthropic and corporate initiatives focusing on diverse groups, including Asian American Pacific Islanders, Women, People with Disabilities, Mature/Senior communities, and Native Americans. She also produces and hosts Walmart’s Spark the Change podcast, which focuses on building a more equitable future across communities.
She is a consultant for the company, lending expertise in growing diverse and emerging customer bases.
In 2021 she was inducted into PRWeek’s Hall of Femme “Women to Watch” class. Inductees have achieved success within their organization, inspired colleagues, and the innovative and transformative work elevating the practice of public relations to new heights. She also was also selected in 2021 by PRNews as an “Industry Innovator.” Industry Innovators are women who have had a marked impact on the industry beyond their own companies.
Joanne is Chair of the OCA National Business Advisory Council, leading its strategy focused on shared value for its members and the organization. She serves on several nonprofit and advisory boards including Women Impacting Public Policy, Enterprising Women Magazine, OCA National, and Gold House. She is known by civic and nonprofit leaders for her strategic thinking and communications prowess, serving as a role model to many Walmart Associates.
Joanne has held corporate positions in Brand Marketing, Supplier Diversity, Finance, and Training. She also has served as a Court Magistrate for the City of Florence, Oregon. Previous employers include MillerCoors, Coors Brewing Company, McKesson, The Bailey Company/Arby’s, and The InnBetween.
Joanne Tabellija-Murphy joined Walmart in 2013 as the Director of Strategic Outreach and Engagement. As a seasoned change agent with a twenty-year history of transforming large international companies by leveraging institutional knowledge, Joanne is responsible for building partnerships and strategies that advance stakeholder advocacy and transform social change by building trust in the national communities Walmart serves.
As an external affairs professional she leads teams and staff in transforming social systems by spearheading philanthropic and corporate initiatives focusing on diverse groups, including Asian American Pacific Islanders, Women, People with Disabilities, Mature/Senior communities, and Native Americans. She also produces and hosts Walmart’s Spark the Change podcast, which focuses on building a more equitable future across communities.
She is a consultant for the company, lending expertise in growing diverse and emerging customer bases.
In 2021 she was inducted into PRWeek’s Hall of Femme “Women to Watch” class. Inductees have achieved success within their organization, inspired colleagues, and the innovative and transformative work elevating the practice of public relations to new heights. She also was also selected in 2021 by PRNews as an “Industry Innovator.” Industry Innovators are women who have had a marked impact on the industry beyond their own companies.
Joanne is Chair of the OCA National Business Advisory Council, leading its strategy focused on shared value for its members and the organization. She serves on several nonprofit and advisory boards including Women Impacting Public Policy, Enterprising Women Magazine, OCA National, and Gold House. She is known by civic and nonprofit leaders for her strategic thinking and communications prowess, serving as a role model to many Walmart Associates.
Joanne has held corporate positions in Brand Marketing, Supplier Diversity, Finance, and Training. She also has served as a Court Magistrate for the City of Florence, Oregon. Previous employers include MillerCoors, Coors Brewing Company, McKesson, The Bailey Company/Arby’s, and The InnBetween.
Saba is a dreamer, scientist, activist, entrepreneur, and lifelong student. Born in Pakistan, she moved to Fort Worth, TX, when she was 11. Her immigration journey has been documented in an award-winning PBS documentary, Dream With Me. She is most proud of her work with Immigrants Rising when she served as an Entrepreneurship Fellow and helped build resources that empower undocumented entrepreneurs to become financially independent. She’s passionate about movement building, finding tangible ways to help undocumented youth, and about the representation of women and students from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM.
She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mathematics and a Ph.D. in Mathematical Biology from Texas Tech University. She is a data scientist at Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, working at the intersection of infectious disease and computational biology. Saba lives with her partner in San Francisco where she actively volunteers in the community. She is proud to serve as a mentor to young STEMpreneurs at organizations like STEMcx and WETATi, as a community leader fighting for immigration reform at NAKASEC, and as a board member for The Center for Asian Pacific American Women. Find out more about her here.
Harsha is a Senior Finance Executive with over 20+ years of financial & business management experience.
Her success has been defined by effective business partnership, and strategic finance leadership and guidance, driving improved operational performance, through streamlined systems & processes, instilling financial discipline and diligence around business decision making, resulting in year-over-year profitable revenue growth, improved margins and better overall financial management.
For the past 10+ years with Sodexo she has served in multiple national and global roles, starting of as the Northeast America Region CFO for the Healthcare Segment, moving on to a Global role based in London, as CFO for our Global Supply Management team, and then returning to the US in 2018, as CFO of Sodexo’s North America Service Operations Team, that provides support services across all our Segments, in the areas of Procurement, IS&T, Safety, Food & FM Service Platforms.
In 2021, she was appointed CFO of Sodexo’s North America Corporate Services Segment, a $1B+ Segment, that services our busienss clients, including many Fortune 100 companies, across US & Canada, offering them high-quality, sustainable, solutions & services in the Food & Integrated Facility Management areas.
June Jimenez is a first-generation Filipina-American who grew up in New York City where her mother emphasized core values of: community, women’s empowerment, and equity. June’s career across the non-profit, government and private sectors has given her the experiences to become a change management executive where she has used her passion for listening, understanding and mobilizing people to both create and, more importantly, implement changes for organizations that result in increased mission alignment, impact, investment and efficiency. June earned her Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and earned her Executive MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. June lives with her partner and daughter in the Washington, D.C. area. June is proud to regularly volunteer with local community organizations that combat food insecurity and to serve as a board member for The Center for Asian Pacific American Women.
