PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 Released: August 5, 2015 FCC TO HOST A SUPPLIER DIVERSITY CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP FOR SMALL, MINORITY- AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES Thursday, August 20, 2015, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm The FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO) will host a Supplier Diversity Conference and Workshop focusing on private sector business opportunities for small- minority and women-owned businesses. This important event will be held at FCC Headquarters, 445 12th Street, Washington, D.C. on Thursday, August 20, 2015, from 9:00 am until 4:30 pm in the Commission Meeting Room. OCBO has invited representatives from private industry, specifically telecommunications and technology firms from across the country, to discuss their organizations’ contracting procedures and to provide insight on how small businesses should navigate the procurement process generally. The panel discussions will take place from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm, and will consist of supplier diversity executives from some of the nations’ leading companies, including, Ed Roach, Cox Communications; L. Jay Burks, Senior Manager, Supplier Diversity, Comcast NBC Universal; Eugene Agee, Vice President, Supplier Diversity, Sprint; Alithia Bruinton, Supplier Diversity Manager, AT&T; Fernando Hernandez, Director of Supplier Diversity, Microsoft; Sharon Pinder, President and CEO, Capital Region Minority Supplier Diversity Council; Excell Lafayette, Executive Director, Supplier Development, Walmart (Ret.); Linal Harris, Vice President, Diversity, US Cellular. The panel will also have several suppliers who have worked directly with some of these telecommunications and technology companies, including Charles Harrell, President, The IT Architect Corporation; Tonee Bell, President, A Unity System; and others. Thomas Reed, Director, OCBO, and Dr. Ronald Johnson, President Solutions4Change will co-moderate. In the afternoon, from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm, OCBO will coordinate one-on-one sessions between our panelists and any small business owner who wishes to participate. In these confidential meetings, small business owners will get individualized advice on supplier strategies and information on current contracting opportunities. If you would like to register for the afternoon meetings, please submit a 1-2 page company profile no later than Friday, August 14, 2015 via email at Karen.Beverly@fcc.gov or submit a hardcopy, to OCBO at 445 12th Street SW, room 4-A635, Washington D.C. 20554. 2All persons interested in attending this informative event in person are asked to register by contacting OCBO at (202) 418-0990 or via e-mail at OCBOinfo@fcc.gov. Persons interested in participating via the Internet may do so by logging on to www.fcc.gov/ocbo. This event will be streamed live. Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. The request should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed and contact information. Please provide as much advance notice as possible; last minute requests will be accepted, but may be impossible to fill. Send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the FCC’s Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). You can also follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/FCC and on Facebook at http://facebook.com/FCC.