2014 BEEP Alumni Open House Program Booklet-REVISED

February 25, 2014 | Delaware State University
Alumni
Open House&BlackExecutiveExchangeProgram
Individual value proposition: What’s yours?

2 Delaware State University | College of Business
Message from the Dean
As acting dean of the College of Business, it is a distinct honor and privilege to welcome you to
Delaware State University’s 2014 Alumni Open House and Black Executive Exchange Program
conference.
Consistent with BEEP’s mission to share learning experience across generations, cultivate new
leaders, and inspire achievements beyond the possible, the COB is committed to engaging students
through professional development and networking opportunities. A top priority of the COB is to
support the ability of our students to obtain jobs leading to successful careers in their chosen field
of study.
Your role is important to the success of our students. We appreciate your unparalleled dedication
to the COB. Your enthusiasm to motivate our students to a new level of excellence is evidenced
through your continuous participation each year.
Please accept my sincerest wishes for an energizing and rewarding conference!
Best Regards,
Amir Mohammadi
Acting Dean, College of Business
Delaware State University

College of Business |Delaware State University 3
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Program Agenda | All events will be held in the Bank of America Building
8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Breakfast
Room 308
Greetings Dr. Bradley Skelcher
Associate Provost
Introductions & Tamekca Faria
Schedule of Events Interim Director, College of Business
Advisement Center
9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Classroom Visits
Mock Interviews
Room 204
Resume Reviews
Room 204
11 a.m. — 11:50 a.m. Visiting Management
Professionals Forum
Longwood Auditorium, Room 113
Introduction of the Speaker Dr. Akwasi Osei
Associate Dean, College of Arts,
Humanities and Social Sciences; Chair,
Department of History, Political Science
and Philosophy
Speaker Adisa Bakari, Partner and Chair,
Sports Entertainment Group, Kelley Drye
& Warren LLP
12 p.m. — 1 p.m. Luncheon
Room 309
1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Speed Networking
Room 309
Facilitator: Yusuf Wilson
President, Wilson Consulting and Training
Systems, LLC
Classroom Visits
Mock Interviews
Room 204
Resume Reviews
Room 204
3 p.m. — 4:15 p.m. Concurrent Workshops
Delivering in a Telephone Interview.
Room 205
Facilitators: Valerie James, Assistant Vice
President, Quality, Cigna Healthcare;
Lisa Moody, Director, DSU Career Services;
and Yusuf Wilson, President, Wilson
Consulting and Training Systems, LLC
Navigating the Background Check.
Room 206
Facilitators: Jonas Acquah, Senior Finance
Associate, JPMorgan Chase; and
Ronald Pinkett, Chief Financial Officer,
Brandywine Counseling & Community Services
3:30 p.m. Closing Reception
Room 308

Speaker Profile
Adisa Bakari
Partner and Chair,
Sports Entertainment Group, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Adisa Bakari ’95 is a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP. He is
also the chair of the firm’s Sports Entertainment Group (SEG).
The SEG represents 34 NFL players, including Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars,
Antoine Bethea of the Indianapolis Colts, Matte Forte of the Chicago Bears and Le’Veon Bell of the
Pittsburgh Steelers – as well as six professional boxers and one NBA player.
Bakari has established a reputation as a sports agent who is not only there to represent his clients
in salary negotiations and product endorsements, but also in getting his athletes to take a long term
view of their futures. He works hard to drive home the point to his athletes that they are more than
entertainers, and to help put them in a position in which they can provide for their families in their
post-professional sports years.
A political science major at Delaware State University, Bakari made his dream of becoming a sports
attorney a reality. He credits his time at DSU and his experiences with his professors as being
instrumental to the development of his analytical ability and to his view on life.
After graduating cum laude from Delaware State University, Bakari went on to earn a law degree
from the University of Wisconsin in 1998. He began his law career at Dow Lohnes 15 years ago, and
embarked in a new direction with Kelley Drye & Warren after Dow Lohnes merged with another
firm.
Bakari met his future wife, Josephine Carter, while at DSU. They married after graduation and
have four children.

College of Business | Delaware State University 5
Facilitator Profiles
Jonas Acquah
Senior Finance Associate, JPMorgan Chase
Although initially intent on a career in science,
an interest in business resulted in Jonas
Acquah’s pursuit of the United Kingdom-based
Association of Chartered Certified Accountancy
qualification, similar to the Certified Public
Accountant designation in the United States. At
the same time, Acquah studied for a degree in
Natural Resources Management at Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and
Technology in his home country of Ghana. Acquah is a Chartered Certified
Accountant and is awaiting a fellow status by the end of 2014 from the UK
accountancy body (ACCA). In 2008, he completed a second degree in
Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, UK, and obtained a
full scholarship to study Master of Business Administration – Finance at
Delaware State University, graduating in the top 1 percent in 2010.
Currently, Acquah’s role has evolved and expanded into a senior finance
associate and manager at JPMorgan Chase & Co. within the CIB Finance
and Business Management (CIB F&BM) Group, responsible for change
management and strategic initiatives across the Global Emerging Markets
(NA, LATAM and EMEA) and Global Special Opportunities Group. Acquah
has about five years of extensive background in financial reporting and
control, having worked as an audit associate in KPMG coupled with his
background as a financial controller at JPMorgan. He was responsible for
the substantiation of more than 8,000 balance sheet accounts with a total
balance sheet of about $7 billion. Acquah is also involved in ensuring that
balances are tested and meet the requirements of the Sarbanes Oxley Act.
Acquah is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion. He was nominated
to the National Association of Black Accountants Philadelphia Board as the
director in 2012 and in 2011, and assistant director of the Accounting
Career Awareness Program, a weeklong event geared at creating accounting
awareness among high school students from underrepresented ethnic
groups and minorities within Philadelphia and its surrounding locations. At
JPMorgan, he has been selected as one of five persons of color to lead a
diversity recruiting effort (CIB Delaware Diversity and Non-Core
Recruiting) as part of the CIB F&BM overall people agenda.
Valerie James
Assistant Vice President, Quality,
Cigna Healthcare
Valerie James is the assistant vice president of
quality for Cigna Healthcare, a global health
service company dedicated to helping people
improve their health, well-being and sense of
security. Cigna employs more than 30,000
people and is licensed to operate in 30
countries and jurisdictions. Cigna’s operating
subsidiaries in the United States provide an
integrated suite of health services, such as medical, dental, behavioral
health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident
and disability insurance.
James is responsible for measuring, managing and improving the quality of
care received by Cigna's medical customers. She manages a team of more
than 50 health care professionals and an $8 million budget in the execution
of a national quality program.
Previously, James served as quality management director, Prudential
Health Care, and managed a regional quality program that covered five
states and received the highest level of accreditation by the National
Committee for Quality Assurance. Before joining Prudential, James was
the quality management director for United Healthcare.
James received a Master of Health Administration from Washington
University in St. Louis, MO, and a Bachelor of Science in Business
Management from Oakwood College in Huntsville, AL. She is a Six Sigma
Black Belt and has served as a visiting professor for the National Urban
League Black Executive Exchange Program (BEEP) since 2008.

Lisa Moody, MBA
Director of Career Services,
Lisa Moody currently serves as the director of
Career Services at Delaware State University,
specializing in providing career coaching and
other professional development services for
students, alumni, faculty and members of the
community. Her other areas of responsibility
include serving as the department’s employer
liaison, content manager and event coordinator.
Moody also partners with community organizations such as Jobs for
Delaware Graduates to provide seminars to high school students on what
they can do now to be successful later in college or their careers.
Prior to coming to Delaware State University, Moody spent 17 years in
management in Corporate America in operations and a brief period in the
nonprofit sector. Most of her employment tenure has been in banking and
finance in credit cards and consumer deposits in a variety of fields ranging
from collections, imaging, new accounts, fraud, individual retirement
accounts and corporate facilitating. She also has a background in
residential real estate.
Moody earned a Bachelor of Science in Christian Ministry from Chesapeake
Bible College and Seminary and earned her Master of Business
Administration from Delaware State University. She enjoys utilizing her
past and current experience to help others develop to reach their
professional and personal potential.
Ronald Pinkett
Chief Financial Officer, Brandywine
Counseling & Community Services Inc.
Ronald Pinkett is a results-focused finance
executive who specializes in public and private
sector fiscal management, policy/procedure
development, strategic analysis and business
relations. He has managed budgets of $150
million and staff up to 125 employees. He has
produced strong and sustainable profit gains,
while implementing financial controls,
investigating internal operations and returning insolvent businesses to
solvency while restoring a positive public image.
Pinkett possesses strong and decisive leadership qualifications combined
with excellent analytical, organizational and cross-cultural communication
skills. He has a proven track record of strengthening internal controls,
improving cash management, budget analysis and forecasting, creating
corrective action plans and maintaining strong fiscal management while
allowing businesses the opportunity to grow and prosper. A challenge he
recently encountered was to assess the profitability of a recently acquired
subsidiary; the task entailed evaluating senior management, product
pricing and viability within the market space. After several visits to the site,
he was able to evaluate management and determine their roles going
forward as well as establish a pricing model which ensured all products
offered would yield a reasonable ROI. Within one year of the plan being
implemented, the business which was previously not profitable was
restored to profitability.

Yusuf Wilson
President, Wilson Consulting and
Training Systems, LLC
Yusuf Wilson is president and senior consultant of
Wilson Consulting and Training Systems, LLC,
and author of the national hot-selling books, Time
to Get Hired! and The Art of Networking.
He has been interviewed on ABC, CBS, Fox and
more than 300 radio stations across the country.
He’s been a corporate executive for more than 20
years and has been laid off three times in his career. After every job
disruption, he’s gotten a higher paying job with greater managerial
responsibility.
He has solved problems and provided leadership for organizations such as
Philip Morris USA, American Express, JPMorgan Chase Bank, TD Bank
and MBNA.
Wilson holds degrees in Marketing and Management and a master’s degree
in Human Resource Management. He’s a member of the Sustainable
Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, Society of Human Resource
Managers (SHRM) and the International Coaching Federation (ICF). In
addition, he’s a highly sought-after speaker, seminar facilitator and one-on-
one career coach.
Visiting Professor Profiles
Ernest Ackah
Owner, Boss Barbershop
Ernest Ackah is the owner of Boss Barbershop
located in Dover, DE. Previously he worked as
an investment accountant, including nine years
at BNY Mellon – which was previously PFPC
(PNC GIS) – in Wilmington. There he held
supervisory positions. He has also worked at T.
Rowe Price in the Baltimore, MD, area, where
he held a team coordinator position.
Ackah received a Bachelor of Science degree in
Accounting from Delaware State University in 1999. He was a member of
the Accounting Club and tutored within the Student Supplemental
Instruction Program in Economics. He was also president of the
International Students Association. Ackah received a Master of Business
Administration from Goldey-Beacom College in 2006. Already being an
accomplished barber, Ackah pursued his passion and opened his
barbershop in 2011.
Patricia Adams
Financial Control, JPMorgan Chase
Patricia Adams is an associate at JPMorgan
Chase in Newark, DE, where she manages a
team within the Corporate and Investment
Banking Fixed Income Financial Control
department. In addition to her current role,
she is heavily involved in the firm’s diversity
recruiting initiatives, which includes
participating at both the NABA and ALPFA
national conventions. Patricia holds a degree in Finance from the
University of Maryland, College Park. She also has a passion for mentoring
both youth and young professionals.

William Charlton “CJ”
Pilot/President, United Airlines/CCASTT
Foundation
Upon graduation from Delaware State
University, William “CJ” Charlton was the
first African-American without prior military
experience to be sponsored by the North
Carolina Air National Guard to become an
officer and attend Undergraduate Pilot
Training (UPT) for the U.S. Air Force.
Currently he serves as a C-130 Aircraft
Commander in the Air Force Reserves.
From 2000-2005, as a pilot for Atlantic Coast Airlines, Charlton served as a
liaison for the Organization of Black Airline Pilots (OBAP) to facilitate the
hiring of aspiring African-American pilots. His position and duties
continued as he transitioned from ACA to United Airlines in 2005. The
desire to introduce his daughters to aviation led Charlton and his wife to
begin organizing and running summer camps to teach children how to fly
airplanes. In 2010, that passion evolved into a nonprofit organization
known as the Charlton Camps for Aviation, Science & Technology Training
(CCASTT) Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to introduce
children from traditionally underserved and underrepresented
backgrounds to individuals and careers that will change the economic
outlook of their families for generations to follow.
Larry Chamberlain
Operations Division Manager, UPS
Larry Chamberlain received a Bachelor of Science
degree in Business Administration from Clarion
University of Pennsylvania in 1979. During his senior
year, he did an accredited co-op study with the
Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency
and became a Lifetime Brother of Omega Psi Phi
Fraternity in the spring of 1977. After graduating, he
managed several Rite Aid Pharmacies from 1979 to
1986 in metro Philadelphia. He started at
United Parcel Service in 1986 as a package car driver in Southwest
Philadelphia, was promoted to a full-time on-road supervisor in 1990 and
then a business manager in UPS’s Package, Safety and Human Resource
Departments. Chamberlain was promoted in 2002 to a Staff Level Package
Operation Division manager and is currently a Transportation Operation
Division manager, responsible for the metro Philly and Lawnside, N.J.,
facilities and employees.
Sonceré Clemmons
Associate, Financial Control, JPMorgan Chase
Sonceré Clemmons graduated from Delaware
State University in 2010 with a bachelor’s
degree in Accounting. She is currently pursuing
her Master of Business Administration with a
Finance concentration from Wilmington
University. Clemmons works at JPMorgan
Chase in the Corporate & Investment Bank as a
financial control associate. She has been with
the company as a full-time employee since July 2010.
Dr. Ralph Crawford
Assistant Director for Forest Health and Economics, USDA FS
Dr. Ralph Crawford is an expert in federal research and management for
range, long-term research sites and forestry programs. He has a Bachelor of
Science in Biology from Voorhees College (Denmark, SC), a Master of
Science in Biology/Plant Pathology from Atlanta University (Atlanta, GA),
and a Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Science from Alabama A&M University
(Normal, AL). Additionally, Crawford has extensive executive training
through the Federal Executive Institute, Leadership for a Democratic
Society and through Harvard University. He has published research papers
in major national and international peer-reviewed scientific journals and is
highly skilled at leading and developing collaborative partnerships and
producing diverse scientific products through consensus with diverse
groups.

Reginald Harris
Financial Professional, New York Life Insurance
Reginald D. Harris is 29 years old and resides in
Wilmington, DE. He has a bachelor’s degree in
Sports Management and a master’s degree in
Sports Administration, both from Delaware State
University. He is a member of the Dover Alumni
Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and is
a passionate young man who loves to serve and
educate the Delaware and Philadelphia African-
American communities through his volunteering
with the youth and education in financial literacy. Harris is on a mission to
help as many families as possible.
Marcus Irvin
Senior Underwriting Specialist,
Cigna Corporation
Marcus Irvin is currently a senior underwriter
for Cigna Corporation. He provides pricing and
plan design consultation for life, disability and
accident coverages to employer/employee
groups ranging from 50 to 5,000 employees
in size.
He began working for Cigna in 1999 after
graduating from Temple University with a
concentration in Actuarial Science and Risk Management/
Insurance. Irvin is from Philadelphia, PA, and recently moved to the
Maryland area in June 2011. Interesting fact: Irvin was a mailman for the
U.S Postal Service for three years before going back to college to complete
his BBA degree in the fall of 1998.
Mona Long
Director of Sales, UPS
Mona Long is a director of sales with
demonstrated success in developing strong client
relationships and solutions, lucrative business
development strategies and garnering profitable
market share for UPS.
Long’s 21-year career with UPS has provided her
an opportunity to work on many assignments
directly impacting global sales, global marketing
and international sales training. She has studied and traveled to many
domestic and international markets and effectively partnered with global
alliances and government agencies, providing her organization with a
favorable competitive landscape and profitable return on investment. Long
attended Business School at DePaul University and has a master’s degree in
Business Administration.
Long has been a sponsor and supporter of the National Organization of
Women Business Owners (NAWBO) in Chicago and Atlanta. She currently
supports the NAWBO at a national level and local level in Indianapolis. In
addition, she is a member of the DePaul University MBA Association,
International Business Development Leaders and National Society of
Collegiate Scholars Alumni, and she mentors young women.

Leland Nelson
President, Dirty Dog Hauling
Leland J. Nelson is the president and co-founder of
Dirty Dog Hauling, a professional junk removal
company. Nelson began his career as an auditor at
KPMG LLP in Harrisburg, PA, and has more than
10 years of accounting and auditing experience. He
is the president of the African-American Chamber
of Commerce of Central PA, a charter member of
the Greater Harrisburg Chapter of the National
Black MBA and a graduate of the inaugural class of
the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Development Institute in Harrisburg.
Nelson received his undergraduate degree from Delaware State University
and is a certified franchise sales consultant. In 2009, he was awarded with
the Entrepreneur of the Year awards from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.,
the National Black MBA and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. In 2008, Nelson
was the recipient of Central Penn Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 award.
In 2007, he received the Delaware State University Outstanding Alumni
Award and the African-American Chamber of Commerce of Central PA
Minority Development Award.
Doris Smith
Area HR Manager, UPS
Doris Smith is a results-oriented leader with a proven track record of solving
operational problems and maximizing performance. She is talented in
turnaround operations through strategic planning, process design and quality
improvements. Smith has 24 years of experience with UPS, serving in a
number of operations and technical support management positions. She
earned a Bachelor of Arts in Management Information Systems from Temple
University (Philadelphia, PA), and a master’s in Science Management from
Rosemont College (Rosemont, PA). She has many community and
professional affiliations, including: United Way of Westmoreland County;
National Coalition of 100 Black Women; University of Phoenix Online
facilitator; Business Management classes facilitator; Wakisha Charter School
and UPS Entrepreneurial Program; Fight for Literacy Program co-founder
and site coordinator; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Pittsburgh Alumni
Chapter; and Northside Institutional Church finance team.
Damond Thorington
Division Safety/Food Safety and
Sustainability Leader, SUPERVALU
Damond Thorington has excelled in various
leadership capacities within the private and public
sector over the past 14 years. As an area safety/food
safety manager in the retail industry, Thorington
has utilized his tremendous leadership qualities
such as courage, accountability, effective
communication and maximizing relationships to
drive winning results. Thorington also works part-time for the University of
Phoenix as an adjunct faculty member. Prior to joining SUPERVALU, he
worked with Sears Holding Corporation as a general manager, where he was
responsible for overseeing profitability, loss prevention, merchandising and
operation of a $13 million retail store; and for the Target Corporation, where
he excelled as an executive team leader of Assets Protection. Thorington has
also worked for the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services and for the
Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. He also
served eight years in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Enid Wallace-Simms
Senior Public Affairs Manager,
Delmarva Power, a Pepco Holdings Company
Enid Wallace-Simms is part of a proud heritage of
five generations of women who graduated from
Delaware State University. A native Delawarean,
she is a direct descendant of American abolitionist,
author and orator Frederick Douglass. After
graduating from DSU with a bachelor’s degree in
Distributive Education, Wallace-Simms taught
public school for 10 years. She is actively involved in the Metropolitan
Wilmington Urban League and is a founding member of the Delaware Chapter
of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, a nonprofit advocacy group
focused on gender equity and sociopolitical advancement for women of color.
Wallace-Simms has been an active part of the Girl Scouts of the USA since her
early childhood. In her role as public affairs manager, Wallace-Simms
manages customer, government and community relations within the city of
Wilmington. Since joining the company in 1980, her career has spanned
various departments such as Accounting, Insurance and Public Relations.

Additional Visiting Professor
Michael Sorden
Manager, UPS
About the National Urban League’s
Black Executive Exchange Program (BEEP)
BEEP’s mission is to share learning experience across generations, cultivate
new leaders, and inspire achievements “beyond the possible” through
committed involvement and operational excellence.
BEEP is a part of the National Urban League Movement (NUL), which is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The Black Executive Exchange Program
(BEEP) is the National Urban League’s oldest signature program.
Established in 1969 through a grant from the Ford Foundation, BEEP was
developed out of the need to expose black college students to role models in
business and government, and enhance the curricula at Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by relating them more closely to the world
of work.
Since its inception, BEEP has reached more than 1,000,000 students with
over 3,000 visiting professors from more than 1,000 corporate, small
business and government entities.

College of Business
1200 North DuPont Highway
Dover, DE
302.857.6900
www.desu.edu/business

2014 BEEP Alumni Open House Program Booklet-REVISED

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