City of Philadelphia Welcomes National Black MBA Association® and Prospanica® for the 2017 Annual Conference and Exposition
The National Black MBA Association® (NBMBAA®) and Prospanica® were joined by the Mayor of Philadelphia Jim Kenney, Philadelphia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau CEO & President Julie Coker Graham, and other distinguished elected officials, and corporate leaders to welcome the 2017 Annual Conference & Exposition to the City. The joint conference will take place in Philadelphia, PA, September 26 – 30, 2017 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Mayor Kenney offered a warm welcome from the City while sharing his excitement about the thousands of attendees from NBMBAA® and Prospanica® who will convene for the largest diversity career expo in the country. Julie Coker Graham, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitor’s Bureau stated the city’s hospitality industry is ready to welcome attendees with a projected $10.3 million economic impact of the conference to the region.
Guests in attendance at the press conference included Greg DeShields, Executive Director at PHL Diversity Multicultural Affairs; Harold Epps, Director of Commerce; Dominique Casimir, Philadelphia Department of Public Property; JoAnne Epps, Temple University Provost and 2017 Conference Honorary Co-Chair; Anh Trieu, Comcast; Yocasta Lora, AARP; Leslie Wood, Campbell Soup Company; Louis Rodriguez, Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Monica Burch, Citizens Bank.
The press conference was emceed by Philadelphia veteran radio personality and host of Soulful Sunday on 100.3 WRNB-FM, Dyana Williams, who highlighted new and featured conference programs, events and speakers which include:
- A Career Expo that will feature over 300 corporations searching for qualified diverse talent for a broad range of opportunities for all career levels
- The inaugural Higher Education Expo for high school students that will connect them to various collegiate and resource partners to assist with college preparation
- The Scale-Up Pitch Challenge sponsored by FedEx which is a business pitch competition with a top prize of $50,000
- Various fundraisers like the Leaders of Tomorrow®5K Charity Walk in partnership with Black Girls Run®, Leaders of Tomorrow®Charity Poker Tournament, the Impact Awards hosted by award-winning broadcast journalist, Tamron Hall, and the Prospanica®Annual Brillante Gala.
This year’s Conference theme “The Power of Performance: Leadership at The Next Level,” will offer a myriad of opportunities designed to increase access to careers in management, educate and build entrepreneurs, sharpen and enhance leadership skills, and help attendees secure career opportunities. Confirmed speakers include author, world-renowned speaker Dr. Eric Thomas; Dan Pallotta, popular TED Speaker and author of Uncharitable, Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International, Inc., and many others.
For a full list of sessions, speakers, events and registration information visit: www.nbmbaa.org/conference or www.prospanicaconference.org.