Herman L. Taylor Jr., Maryland State Delegate, MJEM Chairman
Maryland State Delegate Herman L. Taylor, Jr., is a young man who has quickly established a reputation as an enthusiastic, friendly, dynamic, exciting, personable legislator who works tirelessly to make life better for families and all citizens in Maryland. Delegate Taylor was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2002 from Maryland’s 14th Legislative District, which covers eastern and northern Montgomery County.
In 2007 Herman Taylor successful handled the "Living Wage Bill" to help working families. Maryland is the first state to adopt this legislation, which more than 100 local jurisdictions in the country, including Montgomery and Prince George’s County and Baltimore City, have also adopted. It requires companies with large government contracts to pay their employees a "living wage," more than the minimum wage. Delegate Taylor said, "As a businessman, I understand the importance of making a profit, but I also recognize that companies who do business with the state should meet certain obligations."
Herman Taylor’s prescription drug cost control legislation saves consumers, especially the elderly, from paying co-payment fees that exceed the retail price of prescription drugs. Delegate Taylor is also proud of the passage of his bill requiring the State of Maryland to establish a program to distribute folic acid supplements to low-income women between 15 and 45, thus helping insure healthy childbirths. Herman Taylor’s commercial anti-discrimination legislation requires the staff of the Maryland Commission on Human Relations to adopt policies and procedures that ensures all businesses, small and large, can be free of discrimination.
Delegate Taylor was named Legislator of the Month by the Center for Policy Alternatives, received the Maryland State Department of Education Ward of Excellence in Education, was named one of 50 Leaders of Tomorrow in the golden anniversary of Ebony magazine, and received the Washington Metropolitan Top Forty Under Forty Award. He is the Vice Chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and Chairman of the Unemployment Insurance Subcommittee of the Maryland House of Delegates.
Herman Taylor was born, raised, and educated in Silver Spring, Maryland, together with his two brothers and two sisters. He is a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Community Church and he lives in Ashton, Maryland. He is the President and CEO of Deskmate Office Products Company, one of the largest minority-owned office products distributors in the Washington metropolitan area.
Rodney Dixon, MJEM Project Manager
Rodney R. Dixon is an executive with proven success in P&L/general management, operations, turnarounds, startups, business development, M&As and strategic planning. He has over twenty-five years of experience in the communications, internet and services industries. He has established a track record of driving efficiencies, expanding distribution and strengthening customer service/retention to ignite dynamic revenue/profit gains.
Mr. Dixon has an extensive reputation for results oriented management and exceeding objectives. A well-respected executive who can garner the support from the most diverse of teams, located domestically or internationally. He is an exceptional leader with the demonstrated capacity to build, train, motivate and mentor highly productive cross-functional teams. Mr. Dixon is currently employed at Arbor Education & Training in Largo, MD. He is working in collaboration with employers throughout the Washington metropolitan area to create job opportunities for Arbor clients within Prince George's County.
Mr. Dixon resides in Brookeville, Maryland with his wife Janine and two daughters; Sydney and Erynne.
Ms. Gloria Brooks, Public Relations
Entrepreneur and community advocate, Gloria A. Brooks is the Founder and CEO of People’s Choice Global, LLC a couture event planning firm headquartered in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Since its founding, People’s Choice Global has planned and managed several successful events in the Washington, D.C. area to include North Brentwood Day 2008 and the “Rejuvenate the Dream” Inaugural Toast to President-Elect Barack Obama (January 2009). People’s Choice has been nominated for the 2009 Top 100 MBE Award and has been recognized by the Town of North Brentwood for its leadership in Community Service.
People’s Choice have been featured guests on talk radio shows including “Let’s Talk Money” on WHURWorld with Taylor Thomas, and on XM Radio with radio host Joe Madison known as the Black Eagle. The People’s Choice will be featured in the April 2009 edition of The Prince George’s Suite Magazine and is a corporate member of the International Special Events Society.
In 2000, Gloria received a Citation from United States Senator (Maryland), The Honorable Barbara Mikulski, for her kidney donation to her sibling. She is a member of the National Kidney Foundation and affiliated with the Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP).
In 2009, Gloria founded People’s Choice Charities, Inc. the not-for-profit division of People’s Choice Global, LLC. People’s Choice Charities is dedicated to fund-raising and gift-giving to not-for-profit organizations that provide research and education to organizations that represent those living with life-threatening diseases and illnesses. In 2009, People’s Choice Charities hosted its 1st Annual Tri-County Golf Classic to benefit the National Kidney Foundation serving the National Capital Area.
Gloria has served on the Board of Directors for the University of Maryland University College Alumni Association and has been a panelist at a University of Maryland University College Women’s Conference.
In her spare time, Gloria enjoys traveling both domestic and abroad. She's traveled across the United States, to the Caribbean, Europe, and South America.
Mr. Carl E. Brown, Advisor
Carl Brown recently appointed as the executive director, Center for Minority Business Development. Carl comes to the college with a wealth of experience. Prior to this appointment , he was the manager of Business Development and the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Certification program at the Washington Area Transit Authority. While at WMATA he worked with the regional transportation agencies to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for regional certification reciprocity. The MOU reduces the certification processing time from 90 days to several weeks. Additionally, Carl worked with area legislators to have the first ever Minority Business Enterprise night in Annapolis, Maryland. This event attracted over 800 businesses from around the region. The keynote speaker was Governor Martin O’Malley.
Carl stated the mission of the Center for Minority Business Development is to design a business accelerator program that will assist in the development and capacity building of Prince George’s County based businesses. We will work with county based businesses providing training, professional development and get them the additional tools necessary to become efficient, effective and competitive locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Small Business Initiative awarded Carl the Public Sector Advocate of the Year award in March 2009. Last year, the Maryland Legislative Caucus recognized Carl for outstanding leadership to Black Businesses.
Carl received his bachelors of arts degree in Communications Management from Howard University and a masters degree in State and Local Government from University of Maryland University College.
Mr. Brown lives in the county with his wife and children and serves as a Commissioner for Prince George’s County Human Relations Commission.
Mark Johnson, Employer Relations
Mark Anthony Johnson, Sr. - exemplifies quality service. He demonstrates his dedication to quality customer service by consistently delivering courteous, prompt, and solution-oriented service. Most importantly, Mark works proactively. He is always looking for ways to improve operations and help others be more productive. He demonstrates his leadership skills by making things happen.
Ms. Jillian McKoy, Media Relations
Jillian McKoy is the Media Relations Manager for KSG Strategic Consulting. A professional writer and editor, Jillian is responsible for all media efforts related to KSG, including crafting press releases, media advisories and articles, maintaining relationships with members of the press and assisting the CEO with special projects.
A graduate of The University of Pennsylvania, Jillian has worked in the journalism field for more than seven years, as a reporter and a copy editor for major daily newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Daily News and The Miami Herald. In Philadelphia, she covered a variety of subjects such as government, education, crime, poverty and religion, with a particular passion for human-interest stories – ones that shed light and concern on the struggles of others. More recently, in Miami, Jillian served on The Herald’s Metro Copy Desk, editing breaking news, local, national and features stories’ content for clarity, accuracy and fairness.
Jillian is devoted to public service and volunteerism, and is a member of several civic organizations, including Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, Order of the Eastern Star, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She has mentored aspiring journalists at the high-school level, as well as tutored elementary students in English and Math. Jillian previously served on the board of the South Florida Black Journalists Association, before relocating to New Jersey and the Washington, D.C area..
Charles H. Motte, Jr., Technical Support
Mr. Charles Motte has over 25 years of experience spanning across several industries. He is founder and principal consultant of Heuristic Enterprises LLC where he works with clients who are interested in building stronger business relationships and increasing organizational profitability. Heuristic Enterprises solutions include organizational development & training; business and technical writing; internet marketing strategies; and, organizational image and branding.
Mr. Motte was Vice President and co-owner of Aura Management Consulting, LLC, providing transit, information technology and organizational change consulting services to the municipal, federal and private business sectors. He was the Eastern Region Manager for Cornerstone Transportation Consulting where he led East Coast marketing and business development efforts for the transit and information technology practices. Prior to his experience in the transit industry, Charles worked at Loral Corporation (now Lockheed Martin) as a senior human factors and safety engineer on a variety of defense-related projects and programs.
Charles has also provided volunteer support to several non-profit organizations including: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc; First Fridays, San Francisco Bay Area; The DuBois Group, a non-profit organization that raised money for other local non-profit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area; and, the National Society of Black Engineers-Alumni Extension, San Francisco Bay Area Chapter through which he was a chapter founder and two-term chapter president. He is currently a board member of the Literacy Institute for Financial Enrichment (LIFE) and Vice President of Communications for the Conference Of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) Metropolitan Washington DC Chapter.
Charles has a M.B.A. from Cal State University, Hayward (now Cal State East Bay), in New Ventures & Small Business Management; a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; and, a Certificate in Project Management from University of California, Berkeley.
Ms. Kesi Stribling, Public Relations & Sponsorship
CEO & Chief Strategist of KSG Strategic Consulting, Kesi Stribling is a noted consultant, freelance writer, and frequent guest speaker on business strategies, strategic alliance building, marketing, and training and development. She is also the founder of 100 Days In, a movement designed to connect stakeholders to the change we need.
For more than a decade, Kesi has served as a business practitioner and advisor on issues impacting corporations and nonprofit institutions. Most notably, Kesi Stribling served as Senior Staff to the President of the American Red Cross, a nonprofit organization grossing $1 billion in support of global relief efforts. Kesi advised the president in the areas of communications and marketing; strategic planning; diversity; human resources; volunteers, youth and nursing; and, health, safety and community services. As a consultant, Kesi has worked with businesses and organizations including Howard University, Divi Holding Group, The aRi Group, LLC, Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children.
In 2006, Kesi was the youngest person recognized as one of The Philadelphia Tribune’s Most Influential African Americans, 10 to Watch Under 40. The same year she was honored during Women’s History Month by the Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. In 2007, Kesi received the Alumni Volunteer Leader of the year award from the Howard University Alumni Association.
Kesi’s professional memberships include the American Marketing Association, Society for Human Resource Management, and Washington Women in Public Relations. An avid community servant, Kesi serves on the board of directors for the March of Dimes, Greater Washington, DC and the Greater Washington Power to End Stroke Task Force (American Heart Association/American Stroke Association). She has previously served on the Maryland Compensation Task Force, Montgomery County, MD and the Mayor’s Neighborhood Action Committee under former Mayor Anthony Williams in Washington, DC.
Kesi’s civic memberships include Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated; The Links, Incorporated, and The Junior League. She is a proud graduate of Howard University.
Mr. Jonathan Sutton
Jonathan Sutton is currently the Legislative Aide for Delegate Herman Taylor of the Maryland General Assembly. While serving in the Maryland House of Delegates, he focused on managing legislation and facilitating community affairs. In the past he has also assisted Radius Technology Group, a small information technology firm with procurement outreach. Mr. Sutton is a graduate from the University of Virginia with a B.A in Political Science. While at the university he served as the Assistant Head Manager of Men’s Basketball for the Virginia Athletics Department. He is a Brooklyn, New York native and currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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