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00:00Thank you everyone. We are so encouraged for today's conversation. I want to start by just
00:15welcoming our panel of distinguished guests that we have with us here today. First, I'd
00:21like to call up Shelby Scales, Director of the Office of Small Business and Disadvantaged
00:27Utilization at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Thank you, Shelby. Next, I want to call up Irene
00:34Marion, who is the Director of the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Transportation
00:41as well. And of course, I want to welcome Natalie Madeira Cofield, Assistant Administrator
00:50at the Small Business Administration. And then, we are so fortunate to have two
00:56powerful, dynamic, small business owners with Amy Hall, President of Ebony Construction, and
01:06then Selena Rogers Dickerson, President and CEO of the SACCOR and Selena LLC, also a member
01:14of the National Women's Business Council member. Thank you, ladies.
01:19So, as we prepare to start our conversation, I wanted to ask for those who are in the room,
01:28how many of you all are aware of the infrastructure funding that got passed in November by President
01:34Biden in the U.S. Congress? That is amazing. Well, let me tell you a little bit more. So, one
01:42of the things that happened as a result of the passing of the bipartisan infrastructure law was a
01:471.9 trillion dollar, 1.2 trillion dollar investment in our nation's infrastructure. That is our roads,
01:57our bridges, our water, and that is to ensure that we have a better quality of life in every aspect. And so,
02:05we are deeply encouraged because we know that this is an opportunity to ensure that communities across
02:10this country can thrive. This conversation today is really to also look at how do small businesses,
02:17particularly black and women-owned businesses, unlock these resources to ensure that we may be
02:24able to be part of the legacy of creating generational wealth at every level of government. So, I am so
02:33encouraged by having all of these dynamic women here to talk about the work that the administration
02:39is doing and also how you may be able to take advantage of these participations. So, Shelby, I know
02:47that you are leading the work of wealth creation at the U.S. Department of Transportation. What assistance is
02:55available to small businesses through your office? Absolutely. Thank you. And thank you for joining us today. So,
03:02my office works on two different areas. One with direct procurement with the U.S. DOT. So, all 10
03:08operational modes from our secretary's office to highways to transit to aviation to ports, you name it.
03:16We are doing direct procurement. We also help to do procurement with our grant recipients. So, those are
03:23your state DOTs, your municipalities, your local towns that will be receiving grant funding as well.
03:29So, we have several small business technical resource centers along with my sister here with SVA with the
03:36Women's Business Center and MBDA has several business centers as well. We provide technical assistance for
03:42you through procurement to help you get into the pipeline to help you understand how to do business
03:48with DOT whether it's U.S. DOT or your local municipality or your state DOT. So, I look forward to talking with
03:55many of you in the audience today about your business and how we can put you on a pathway to do that as
04:01well, whether it's bonding, access to capital, or just working through your business in terms of business
04:07management. We can help you with the OSDBU office. So, looking forward to it. Thank you. So, Irene, I know that
04:14you are leading the Department of Transportation's work on equity. President Biden made a bold commitment
04:21to ensure that we were creating a whole-of-government approach to the way that we think about advancing
04:27racial equity more specifically. And the Department of Transportation has taken this initiative very
04:32seriously. So, how is your office working to protect and expand access to the federal opportunities
04:39presented through the infrastructure funding? Thank you so much for having us, Stephanie,
04:43and thank you for the question. I was really drawn to this job because the President made that
04:48commitment and that's a part of why I'm here. So, I'm excited to be leading not only the Civil Rights
04:52team but to be co-leading with our policy team the equity work of DOT. The Secretary has called on us to
04:59activate the whole Department of Transportation. So, every corner of our organization is activated.
05:06All federal agencies are required to develop an equity action plan. So, we have one of 90 that have
05:12been developed across government, which is a very exciting deliverable on that commitment. At DOT,
05:18we have four focus areas. One is wealth creation, the focus of this discussion today. The other is
05:23intervention, expanding access, and power of community. So, we're using those four priority areas
05:28as pillars of our activities. I would encourage you to go to our website, transportation.gov backslash equity,
05:34so that you can learn more. We are facilitating many activities at the federal level. So, we are
05:40making sure that our funding recipients are accountable to their civil rights compliance obligations,
05:45that our disadvantaged business enterprise program, that those goals are met at the local level,
05:50and that we're delivering real commitments to small disadvantaged businesses at the project
05:55delivery stage of our activities. But we're also really trying to rally communities to understand
06:01there are many activities that we are facilitating from the federal level. But the way that the money
06:05is spent, the way that communities are engaged in decision-making processes really is a local issue.
06:10And so, I want to encourage you to get familiar with our platform, our equity commitments, our goals.
06:15But really, we want to hear from you, and we want to see and support you in activating in the local
06:21decision-making spaces that are about where the money is spent, how communities are being redesigned,
06:25how capacity-building programs are being developed at the local level as well.
06:30Thank you, Irene. And Natalie, as the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Women Business
06:35Ownership at the U.S. Small Business Administration, how are you ensuring that the largest expansion
06:42of Women's Business Center's network in the history of the Small Business Administration is helping to
06:49support women in this audience to unlock the resources? Absolutely. I'm happy to be here.
06:55And I actually first want to just give kudos to Shelby and Irene, because the Department of
07:01Transportation, as you all have heard, $1.2 trillion. You have two of the most impactful
07:08and highest-ranking black women at DOT sitting up here right now.
07:12And when it comes to disbursement of funds in our community, when it comes to development of programs
07:22in our community, it's critical that we're a part of the designing and the architecture of that.
07:27I have the honor of being able to do that at SBA on behalf of women, but I'm very proud to be the
07:33first black woman to ever hold this position, to be the highest-ranking black woman at SBA, and also to
07:39do this during a time where black women are the fastest-growing entrepreneurial segment in our
07:42country. And so, to me, it's a given that the work that we're going to do is going to impact
07:51communities across the country. We have, as you just heard from Stephanie, created the largest expansion
07:56of the Women's Business Center network in the history of the U.S. Small Business Administration,
08:01and put a women's business center in every state in the United States of America, because women deserve that.
08:07There should be nowhere the American flag is blown that we don't have a place for women to go
08:11to seek counseling, support, access to all the resources that they need, in addition to all the
08:18resources at DOT and the complementary resources that all of us are providing. You know, we were able
08:24to triple the number of WBC Women's Business Centers on the campuses of HBCUs across the country, which is
08:31incredible and huge as a graduate of Howard University. It was important working in the Biden-Harris
08:37administration, where we have a black woman sitting as the Vice President of the United States of
08:40America, who is an HBCU graduate as well. It's critical for us to take up this charge, right? It's
08:46part of what we were here to do. That's why we were selected for these particular roles, to get the job
08:51done. The other piece of this is that we have been putting women's business centers in rural communities
08:56across the country. And I know for us, when we hear rural, we, you know, some people have different
09:01ideas of what rural means to them. I come from a small town in New York State that is otherwise known
09:07as being rural. And rural is not just one. It's all of us. It's everybody in this room has some
09:12connection to rural communities. And rural communities are very diverse. And so us being able to connect with
09:19this and putting centers in Natchez, Mississippi, and working with Alcorn State, this is important.
09:25And that's what we're doing. So I'm excited to be here and partner with my colleagues.
09:28Awesome. Thank you, Natalie. And so, you know, I wanted, I thought it was important as we had this
09:35conversation to just ground what this means in this moment. One of the things, in addition to Congress
09:41passing the infrastructure law in the fall, was also this last year in the spring, Congress also passed the
09:49stimulus funding, which was at the tune of $1.9 trillion. So I just want to put all these numbers
09:55together because I'm not sure that we fully understand what's happening. But during the 2009
10:01American Recovery Act, the economic recession that faced us during the Obama era, we were talking about
10:08$800 billion that that administration had to spend in six years. And now in this moment, between the
10:16stimulus funding of $1.9 trillion that has gone to states and localities, and now the $1.2 trillion
10:24with a T to the to the states and localities to do infrastructure, and they can use both of those
10:31resources to really support development in your community. In total, we are talking about $3.1 trillion
10:40that is about to be released into your communities across the country. And so that is about four
10:50times the amount of money, and it has to be spent down in four years. And to make matters even more
11:00imperative for you to understand what is happening in this moment, there is a percentage, particularly
11:07within the U.S. Department of Transportation that is set aside for disadvantaged businesses.
11:13So when we talk about $3.1 trillion made available, you all have access that is set aside specifically
11:23for you. And between the Department of Transportation and the training that is offered through the Small
11:28Business Administration, there is really no reason why you should not be part of the solution to ensure
11:35that your community can thrive. And so in this moment, we wanted to make sure that we brought on
11:42women who have figured out a way in being able to unlock these resources. And we wanted to really
11:49bring it home for you. So one of our panelists that I'm going to introduce, Selena, really speaks to the
11:56opportunity that we are in in this moment. As we are slowly coming out of the pandemic, but still feeling
12:02the economic impact. Selena, your entrepreneurship journey is unique as you were laid off in 2009 era
12:12before starting your business. You now currently own several successful businesses, including Sarkor LLC,
12:22which provides engineering, project management, construction management, private, corporate, municipal clients.
12:29Yes. Okay. I want to put this home because I think as we have just come out of this economic crisis, this was her
12:40story almost 10 years ago. And as a diverse business solution company that helps organizations locate minority
12:49contractors because they are looking for black women like you in this audience. How can you help to inspire
13:02those whose businesses want to connect to contract opportunities? Can you talk a little bit more about
13:07your experience as well as the opportunity for those in the audience? Absolutely. Thank you all for having me
13:12here today. So just a little bit. I got my start during the recession and I used the resources offered, the free resources
13:22because I didn't have any money offered by the SBA, the technical assistance programs. And they helped me
13:29get the knowledge base that I need. Because I knew how to be an engineer, I did not know how to run a business.
13:34And so I took the time, instead of taking vacation time, I used the SBA's workshops to actually get the
13:42training that I need to learn how to do the simple things like a capability statement. I was recently
13:49appointed to the National Women's Business Council. This is a brand new appointment. Thank you. And it's
13:59very exciting to be a part of this mission of NWBC. At NWBC we focus on making sure that the President,
14:08Congress and the SBA know what women business owners need. And we're trying to push to make sure
14:14that we are represented. And it's very important in this, in this administration, we have to do it
14:20while we have, while the iron is hot, right? While the, while the clock is ticking, we need to make sure
14:25that we take action while we have that control. So, with that being said, let's look at it from
14:32how do you get to the point to where you're prepared to take advantage of this 3.1 trillion dollars,
14:41right? That's a lot of money. And so I'm from Birmingham. Someone of you know of Dr. A.G Gaston.
14:49Dr. A.G Gaston had this quote. He always says, find a need and fill it. So, how do you
14:55get to that point to connect those dots to where you can position yourself to be in a situation to
15:01take advantage to just dip your toe in a little bit of 3.1 trillion. So, you got to be prepared.
15:06But first, if you want to be a part of this bipartisan infrastructure law, go to the USDOT website,
15:13do the simple things and figure out where you fit your skill sets, your capabilities are best in
15:19alignment with the money that's flowing to the various agencies, okay? Then, if you're not certified
15:25as a woman-owned business or a disadvantaged business enterprise, go get your certification.
15:31You're going to need it in order to be able to participate. You have a head start right now.
15:37It may not be a fast process. So, start yesterday, okay? Start getting certified. If you need help,
15:44the SBA and the PTAC offices and the SBDC offices, go to the HBCUs that Natalie just mentioned,
15:52and go ahead and get your certification and get the help that you need. But the free programs
15:56is offered. There are various women's business enterprise centers in different states and
16:01municipalities to help you get your paperwork in order. That's very important. You need to eliminate
16:07the excuses, right? You need to eliminate the barriers to entry that you can do on your own.
16:14Be proactive in doing these things on your own. And then, a big part of it is join the organizations
16:21and the trades organizations for your particular industry. If you're a DOT road builder, you might
16:28want to join a local road builders association, join the Association of General Contractors. In my field,
16:34it will be ACEC, NASB, Women Contractors. Find these organizations, Comto, for example, if you're in
16:42transit, and go to these meetings so you can get the information and see how it's going to flow through
16:49your area. If there's a metropolitan planning organization in your area, look at the transportation
16:55improvement plan so you can see where the money is coming into those areas. And lastly, teaming is
17:01fundamental. You may feel like you can get all the work and do it all by yourself, but if you find
17:08other companies that have adjacent work types that are compatible to yours to increase your skill set
17:15and your capabilities so that you can come in together to do their work, whether it be other minority
17:21firms or large majority firms, you can start building your alliances now, finding out, looking at the
17:29programs now, figuring out how you can form these teaming agreements so that once the RFPs hit the
17:35street, you're ready. You don't have to try to get ready. You're already ready. You know who your people
17:40are going to be. You know your team is going to be. And you start just making sure you stay in the game,
17:44watch, rinse and repeat. Thank you so much. That was some good lessons in there.
17:50And I want to maybe also draw the connection that what Selena is talking about is if you offer
17:56professional services, that is a way that you're able to unlock some of the resources. There are
18:02various types of different services that the federal government, the state government is looking for.
18:07Sometimes it doesn't have to be as technical. It can also be, are you an accountant? Whatever your trade
18:12is, the federal government needs you. So figure out what your skill set is and how you may be able to help,
18:18if not the federal government, your state and local municipality as well. Now, you know,
18:24it's hard to have this conversation if you're not a transportation person because you'll say,
18:29well, I have no idea how to even start in this field in many ways. So I really wanted to ensure
18:35that Amy could be participating in this panel to really help to ground the fact that you really can
18:41do this. So call for such a time as this. Amy, your journey to becoming president of Ebony Construction
18:48is a powerful testimony in many ways of resilience. You are a former flight attendant,
18:53right? Newly married with two children, with one on the way. You were living in Atlanta when you
19:01received a call on a Sunday that your father had passed away. And by the following Monday,
19:09so you didn't have time. You had no time, right? You became president of Ebony Construction and you had
19:18limited knowledge of construction businesses at the time, but you have now since successfully led
19:26Ebony for over 20 years.
19:29And served as a chair of the Board of Ohio Contractors, the State Highways Division within
19:41the Associated General Contractors of America. You are the first black woman to hold this position.
19:50What would you tell those doubting their ability to get involved in the transportation industry?
19:56Well, thank you for that very humble introduction because you don't realize how much you've gone
20:03through until you take a moment and like look back, which is when you say, oh my goodness, how did I get
20:09here? But what I will say is that where I started and where I am today are in complete, complete like
20:17diametrically opposite positions. And what the first thing I would want to say to everybody is don't be
20:24afraid to take a risk. With nothing risked is nothing gained. And also put yourself in an uncomfortable
20:34position. Because if you're going into something new, like for me it was highway construction. So as I
20:40walk into meetings, and even today I walk into the meetings, there are some women. There are a few more
20:46women than there were like 20 years ago. But there are only generally me as a woman of color, right?
20:54And so you walk into a room of like 400 people and your peer group is really limited. And so you have to
21:00be willing to take a risk. You have to be willing to put yourself in uncomfortable positions. And so for
21:08myself, I am associated with the AGC, which is the Associated General Contractors of America. And I've
21:16had the privilege for the last two years, up until March of this year, to be one of their board chairs,
21:24not the board chair, I'm sorry, a board trustee. So I've been a trustee on the board for AGC for the
21:28last two years. And I will be back on the board in 23 as vice chair of the highway division. And I will be
21:35sitting for chairmanship because there's different divisions and you go around the divisions. And so
21:40they have their chair in for the next five years. But I am slotted to be chairman of the national board
21:46of directors for AGC in 10 years. But it's all due to taking a risk. And so sometimes you have to take
21:54a risk and be uncomfortable and put yourself in organizations where no one looks like you. But
22:00like the AGC, they are the decision makers, right? So they have influence with the DOT. They have
22:06influence with the SBA. They have influence with the policymakers, which are senators, your presidents,
22:12your congressmen. They also have influence because the people there who you will be working with
22:21are seated at the table. And so by becoming integrated into these kind of organizations,
22:29you therefore become not only the conversation, but you become part of the conversation. And in order
22:36to get anything done and in order to represent yourself and to represent people who look like you,
22:42you have to be part of the conversation. You have to be willing to take a risk. You have to be willing to
22:48go somewhere where maybe no one has gone before, but you just kind of know in here that it's like
22:54the right thing to do. You just kind of know. And even though people are telling you, you shouldn't do
23:00this, you just have to go out on faith and just know that what you're doing, it has the ability and
23:06the possibility to impact somebody and your life. And like for for ourselves, for myself, I have 55 core
23:14employees. When I first started, we had 15. So now we have 55 core employees and up to about 75 during
23:21the season. And I came in knowing zero about highway construction. Okay. But what I did understand is
23:27that life had prepared me every step of the way to get here. So when I was a flight attendant, it taught me
23:34customer service. When I was in medical sales, it taught me how to run a business. When I went into marketing,
23:40it taught me how to read bottom lines. It taught me how to do things. And then when I was in Atlanta,
23:46I opened up a medical facility. So it taught me how to go get it. It taught me how to be an effective
23:52leader. It taught me how to target. It taught me how to forecast. It taught me how to do all these things.
23:58Not knowing that the day I got that phone call on that Sunday, and then I buried my father on that
24:05Thursday. And I have no brothers, no sisters. I have no brothers, no sisters. I have no family in Toledo.
24:10And then that Monday, I was named president. My life changed for forever. And so I knew going the day
24:18we were going to my dad's funeral, I looked out the window and I said, Oh, I have so much to do.
24:22Not knowing what the so much to do actually really meant. I thought I just had to get my dad's stuff in
24:28order, you know, in order and figure out where my life is going to go. But what I did know is I trust
24:34the whisper of the universe. I trust that internal guidance that I have, regardless of what anybody
24:40else says. Everybody told me to stay at home in Atlanta. Stay at home in Atlanta. The only reason
24:47our company made money that year was my dad's life insurance policy. That's how our company stayed afloat.
24:52So my father, who was an amazing man, he didn't sacrifice his life, but through his transition,
25:00gave us the opportunity to keep going. And my attorney told me to stay home. The people I was
25:07advised by told me to stay home. My husband at the time, now my ex-husband, he wanted to stay in
25:14Atlanta as well. And so, but I knew, I knew that there was something bigger than me. And so I moved
25:20home nine months pregnant, had a baby 30 days later. I had two other children. I was back at the office
25:26two weeks later. And so there's something about stepping out on faith that you can't learn at
25:32school. That's right. Right? But there's something so powerful in that. And it's scary. And it's
25:39unfamiliar. And we sometimes get stuck in the comfort of familiarity, even though it might not be what's
25:45good for us. It's we get stuck there. But all I would, what I would say is never be afraid to take a
25:53risk. Never be afraid to move towards the uncomfortable because your life is going to be
26:00impacted in such a way that you will never have any idea the way it's going to look. And most likely,
26:07you will be able to impact other people's lives as well. And you'll be able to reach behind and take
26:12them with you. That's right. And so as we go up, we need to reach behind and take everybody with us as well.
26:18So I am, I'm seeing the sign that we are getting ready to wrap up. And so I just want to make sure
26:26that in a quick, in a quick second, you can just, as you all know, the theme of this year's Essence Fest
26:33is focused on the power of joy. And so I'm hoping that you can take just 20 seconds to highlight
26:40the aspect of your work that's bringing you joy in this season that you hope that the audience members
26:45may take away from this discussion. Shelby? I really enjoy making millionaires.
26:51That's right. That's right. I would say to the audience, please make sure that you connect with
26:59myself and my sister Irene Marion at USDOT. We can help you navigate the process. We can help you get
27:06with our sister agencies to make sure that you get the resources that you need. The money is there.
27:12You need to step out as my other sister said, but please make sure that you are leaning into us
27:18so that we know that you are there and we know what types of companies are there so that we can set
27:22the goals, but also make sure we accomplish our goals. So thank you. Thank you. Irene?
27:28So I really find joy in being able to be in the federal government at a time when I can revitalize
27:34civil rights compliance activities for federal agencies. To be a part of an extension of civil
27:41rights and freedom fighting that our people have done for hundreds of years now and to be able to
27:46sit in the seat in this moment and have that responsibility just brings me joy. And to be able
27:50to do it in partnership with the sisterhood and the sisterhood of black women who are leading in so many
27:55ways in community and in government and in the private sector and in academic institutions,
28:01it's just an honor to be able to do it in collaboration. Natalie? I think the thing about
28:06my job that brings me the most joy is to be able to have the authority over about 70 million dollars
28:13and to direct where it goes and to have real conscious in doing that. So if the president goes
28:19to Tulsa and is commemorating the 100 year anniversary of the race massacre there, we can put a women's
28:25business center which is exactly what we did in Greenwood on the historic Black Wall Street in partnership
28:31with the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce. So you know things like that like really long-term
28:39changes that will happen in our community just being able to have this moment in time
28:44where our voice is so instrumental in how the disbursement of these programs and initiatives
28:49will happen for future generations to come. I know that this journey is not just about Selena,
28:57it's not about me, but I love being able to add value to someone else's life whether it be an
29:03employee or someone else within my within my network that I connect to be able to put meaningful
29:10connections to people with people to get whatever it is that they want. If we have enough people get
29:14what they want, we'll get what we want. All right, and finally Amy. What brings me joy is being able to
29:21represent what's possible, right, is to be able to take a risk and be on the cutting edge and maybe a little
29:29pioneerish maybe, but to be able to represent to women, especially women of color, and no offense men of
29:38color too, but what's possible. Here's what we can do and here's where you start, here's where you are,
29:48but that doesn't mean we have, I have no idea where I'm going, so I'm just trying to figure that out, but
29:53I know what's possible and I'm on my way to get there. That's right, so thank you all for this dynamic
29:59conversation and what's bringing me joy is what the what this work looks like in communities, so hopefully
30:05you'll continue to follow us. Please join USDOT, SBA, and our panelists for an amazing session by clapping
30:12your hands. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Thank you, Essence.
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