Capital Region CATALYZE

This Fresh Take interview featured Ruth Williams-Brinkley, Regional President of Kaiser Permanente (Mid-Atlantic states). Ruth joined Francesca Ioffreda (VP, Inclusive Growth & Talent Initiatives) to discuss supporting inclusive growth initiatives, Kaiser’s role in the community, and the importance of mental health.

Hosted by Francesca Ioffreda.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Ramir Cena, , Nina Sharma, and Christian Rodriguez. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. and Ramir Cena

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Ruth Williams-Brinkley is president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States, Inc. In this role, Williams-Brinkley oversees all of Kaiser Permanente’s care delivery and health plan operations in Washington, D.C., and suburban Maryland, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia. The Mid-Atlantic States Region operates 36 medical office buildings and has 825,288 members.

Williams-Brinkley has more than 40 years of executive experience in health care. She joined Kaiser Permanente in November 2017, serving as president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals of the Northwest. She oversaw all of Kaiser Permanente’s care delivery and health plan operations in Oregon and markets in Vancouver and Longview/Kelso, Washington.

Prior to that, she served as CEO of KentuckyOne Health, Kentucky’s largest integrated health system. KentuckyOne was a division of CommonSpirit Health, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health systems.

Before joining KentuckyOne, Williams-Brinkley served as president and CEO of Carondelet Health Network in Tucson, Arizona, and as president and CEO of Memorial Healthcare System in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Williams-Brinkley serves on the boards of Travere Therapeutics, DePaul University, University of Phoenix, and the Clinical Center Research Hospital Board of the National Institutes of Health. She has been recognized by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential Leaders in Healthcare, one of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare, and one of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare, as well as one of Becker’s most admired CEOs in health care.

She holds a bachelor’s degree and Master of Science degree from De Paul University, and an honorary doctoral degree from Spaulding University in Louisville, Kentucky.

This Fresh Take interview featured Diane Hoskins, Co-CEO of Gensler. JB Holston and Diane discuss the future of talent, Gensler’s goals as an organization, and their commitment towards inclusive growth within the Capital Region.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Ramir Cena, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Diane Hoskins is one of two Gensler co-CEOs whose collaborative leadership is fundamental to setting the company apart as a leading design firm. For her innovative leadership, Diane, along with Co-CEO Andy Cohen, ranks on Business Insider’s elite “Creators” list, a who’s who of the world’s 100 top creative visionaries. As a hands-on leader, Diane oversees Gensler’s global platform and its day-to-day operations, with some 6,000 people networked across 50 offices, serving clients in more than 120 countries. Diane is focused on Gensler’s global talent strategies, performance, and organizational development to ensure that we serve our clients with the world’s top talent. She is the catalyst for Gensler’s Research program, for which Diane is committed to delivering value to clients through strategies and innovations like Gensler’s Workplace Performance Index® (WPI).

A registered architect, she graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and holds an MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA. Diane received an Outstanding Impact Award from the Council of Real Estate Women and is both a Regent of the American Architectural Foundation and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Her insights have appeared in the Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, the Washington Post, and The Economist; and she was a featured speaker at Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s CEO Conference.

In her role, Diane serves as a key contributor to what is acknowledged, by its peers, as the most admired and largest architecture firm in the world, pioneering project types and design innovation strategies for the next century and acknowledged by Fast Company as one of “The World’s Most Innovative Companies.”

This Fresh Take interview features Doyle Mitchell, President and CEO of Industrial Bank. JB Holston and Doyle will discuss Industrial Bank’s long history of providing critical financial services to communities across the Capital Region, the focus on reaching traditionally underserved customers, and excitement around ongoing inclusive growth efforts.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Ramir Cena, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

B. Doyle Mitchell Jr., is President and CEO of Industrial Bank, leading the largest minority-owned commercial bank in the Washington Metropolitan area and the fifth largest African-American owned financial institution in the country.

Mr. Mitchell is the third generation president of Industrial Bank, which was founded by his grandfather Jesse H. Mitchell in 1934. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University in 1984, he began a full-time career at Industrial. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1990 and succeeded his father as president in 1993.  B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr., believes Industrial Bank has remained strong because of its mission to promote the financial and economic empowerment of its diverse communities, and by serving those communities through high quality financial services and employees that really care.  Industrial has seven branches in Washington, DC, and Prince George’s County, Maryland, which provides a full range of quality banking and financial services, including residential, commercial, small business and SBA loans.   

Doyle received the 2015 Small Business Champion Award from the DC Chamber of Commerce, the 2015 Minority Business Leader Award from the Washington Business Journal, the 2015 Torch Award from the National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation, the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable Chairman’s Award, and the 2015 Human Servant Award from the Training Grounds DMV Organization, and the Nationals Banker's Association Chairman's Award. 

Mr. Mitchell has served on the Board of the National Bankers Association (NBA), which represents the nation’s minority banks since 1999. During his tenure, he served two consecutive terms as chairman of the National Bankers Association from 2010-2013. 

This Fresh Take interview featured Kwasi Mitchell, Chief Purpose Officer, Deloitte Consulting LLP. JB and Kwasi discussed the Partnership’s recently released Inclusive Growth Preface Report, the role businesses have to play in powering inclusive growth across the Capital Region, and how to unleash purpose in our day-to-day work.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Kwasi Mitchell serves as the Chief Purpose Officer of Deloitte. He is responsible for driving a firmwide strategy around Deloitte’s commitments to areas including, but not limited to, diversity, equity, and inclusion; sustainability and climate change; and education and workforce development. Kwasi is also responsible for engaging our people to live their purpose daily, supporting our clients on their purpose journey, forming alliances with key partners to cocreate solutions to address systemic societal issues, and driving internal policy and process changes to achieve our purpose aspirations. Kwasi’s leadership will also bring focus to the lasting impact Deloitte works to bring to our communities through corporate citizenship.

Kwasi formerly served as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion leader and the Pro Bono and Social Impact lead for our more-than-50,000-person Consulting practice. He currently advises clients within both the government and commercial sectors and previously served as the Strategy Offering leader for our Government & Public Services practice.

Kwasi has a PhD in inorganic chemistry, sits on the board of several national and global nonprofits, and lives in Washington, D.C., where he spends time with his lovely wife, Kathleen.

This Fresh Take interview featured Calvin Butler, CEO, Exelon Utilities. JB and Calvin discussed Exelon’s investment in workforce development initiatives in the region, the importance of supplier diversity in supporting minority-owned small businesses, and his own role as a community and business leader in Baltimore.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Calvin G. Butler Jr. is a senior executive vice president and chief operating officer at Exelon. Butler oversees Exelon’s six local electric and natural gas companies -- Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco. Together, they form the nation’s largest utility company by customer count, serving approximately 10 million electric and gas customers in New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia, respectively. Butler serves as vice chairman of each utility’s board and is a member of Exelon’s executive committee. In addition to serving as CEO of Exelon Utilities, Butler serves as the interim CEO of ComEd, overseeing management of the electric grid serving more than 4 million customers in Chicago and most of northern Illinois.

Butler previously served as CEO of BGE from 2014 to 2019. Prior to that role, Butler was BGE’s senior vice president, regulatory and external affairs. Butler also served as Exelon’s senior vice president of corporate affairs, Chief Human Resources Officer, and held other leadership positions at Exelon and ComEd (Chicago).

Butler serves on the boards of several prominent Baltimore-based organizations including the Baltimore Community Foundation, University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Board of Visitors, Greater Baltimore Committee, Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, the Center Club and Caves Valley Golf Club. He is immediate past chair of his alma mater, Bradley University. In addition, Butler serves on the boards of M&T Bank Corporation and M&T Bank, its principal banking subsidiary; the Institute of International Education, a not-for-profit organization focused on advancing scholarship, promoting access to education, and building economies; and the Library of Congress’ James Madison Council.

He has been recognized by several organizations for his leadership and community commitment. In 2021, The Daily Record named Butler to their “Power 100” list and has singled him out as one of its top 35 Influential Marylanders, as well as listed him three times as one of Maryland’s “Most Admired CEOs.” In 2020, he was honored with the BEYA Chairman’s Award, recognizing Black leaders for their meaningful contributions to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). That same year, he was named among Black Enterprise Magazine’s “Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America,” and as Zpryme’s “ETS Thought Leader of the Year,” honoring those with the “inventive and brave vision needed to inspire the global energy ecosystem toward sustainable modernization.” In 2019, the Boy Scouts of America honored him with the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award and he has been named by Baltimore Magazine as one of its “Top Ten Baltimoreans.”

Butler earned a bachelor’s degree from Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., and a Juris Doctor degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Mo. He received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Morgan State University in 2014.

This Fresh Take interview featured Neelima Rao, Vice President Human Resources, Global R&D and North America HUB Leader, AstraZeneca. JB Holston and Neelima discussed the business imperative of inclusive growth, her focus on developing a skilled and diverse talent pool to drive innovation, and more.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, Nina Sharma, and Ramir Cena. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Neelima Rao is Vice President of Human Resources for Global Oncology R&D and North America Country Lead at AstraZeneca. In this role, Neelima is responsible for defining and implementing workforce and workplace strategy across multiple geographies globally. Neelima serves as the HR Chair of the AstraZeneca North America Governance Committee.

Neelima brings over 20 years of experience driving successful change, growth, and innovation across complex and global organizations in the Life Sciences industry. She has led large-scale transformational agenda in acquisition, ramp-up, turnaround and integration environment. Neelima is passionate about driving business outcomes through designing fit-for purpose organizations, building high performing teams and shaping desired cultures.

Neelima has a Master’s degree in human resources from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Neelima currently serves on the board of AWIS (Association for Women in Science), passionately promoting women around the world to pursue their STEM education and professional goals. Neelima has been serving as an Inclusive Growth Committee Advisor for Greater Washington Partnership, a civic alliance focused on catalyzing equitable solutions that make the region the best place to live, work, and thrive.

This Fresh Take interview featured Patricia McGuire, President of Trinity Washington University. JB and Patricia discussed Trinity’s long history of providing a high-quality liberal arts educational experience for students and prioritizing opportunities for women and underserved communities, pressing challenges facing higher ed, and our shared vision for a robust and diverse digital tech ecosystem in the Capital Region.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Patricia McGuire has been President of Trinity since 1989. Before coming to Trinity, Ms. McGuire was the Assistant Dean for Development and External Affairs for Georgetown University Law Center, where she was also an adjunct professor of law. Earlier, she was project director for Georgetown ‘s D.C. Street Law Project. She was also a legal affairs commentator for the award-winning CBS children’s newsmagazine “30 Minutes” and the Fox Television program “Panorama” in Washington.

She served previously on the boards of the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region, Goodwill of Greater Washington, the Eugene and Agnes Meyer Foundation, the Washington Hospital Center, the American Council on Education, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the National Defense Intelligence College, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

In 2014, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appointed President McGuire to the U.S. Department of Education Advisory Committee on Student Financial Aid, a position she held in 2014-2015. In 2000, President McGuire was appointed by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the D.C. Financial Control Board to a special term on the Education Advisory Committee overseeing the D.C. Public Schools. In June 1998, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin appointed President McGuire to serve as a member of the first-ever citizens’ advisory panel on coinage, the 8-member Dollar Coin Design Advisory Committee, which recommended the image of Sacagawea for the new dollar coin.

President McGuire has received honorary degrees from Georgetown University, Howard University, Chatham University, Emmanuel College, Saint Michael’s College, College of New Rochelle, Liverpool Hope University, Mt. Aloysius College and College of St. Elizabeth.

President McGuire earned her bachelor of arts degree cum laude from Trinity College and her law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. She is currently a member of the boards of directors of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Washington Metropolitan Consortium of Universities, the D.C. College Success Foundation, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Catholic Charities of D.C., United Educators, and the Ameritas Mutual Holding Company.

This episode features a discussion about Access to Capital across the region. Host JB Holston is joined by Robby Moser (CEO, Clark Construction Group), in conversation with Cheo Hurley (Founder, President and CEO, THG Companies, LLC.).

Hosted by JB Holston. Produced by Maribeth Romslo and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. Engineered by Micah Johnson. With support from Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, and Christian Rodriguez.

SPEAKER BIOS

ROBBY MOSER

Robby Moser is responsible for setting the strategic priorities for Clark Construction Group and its subsidiary and affiliate companies, which includes Guy F. Atkinson Construction, Shirley Contracting Company, S2N Technology Group, C3M Power Systems, Edgemoor Infrastructure and Real Estate, Clark Civil, Clark Concrete, and Coda. 

As chief executive officer, Robby provides executive direction for the company's national operations, which total $5 billion in revenue per year.

Throughout his tenure in the industry, Robby has led efforts to secure and build all manner of projects from professional sports venues to hospitals to transit infrastructure.

Under Robby’s leadership, Clark has partnered with clients to create monumental and critical assets – including the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Fort Bliss Replacement Hospital, SR-91 Corridor Improvement, Salesforce Tower, CSX Virginia Avenue Tunnel, and Chase Center.

Robby is passionate about providing a superior client experience where customers feel engaged, keeping the safety of craftworkers at the forefront of every project, ensuring that the quality of Clark products is unparalleled, creating opportunities for Clark team members to grow, and ensuring the Clark team has the resources necessary to execute brilliantly in all that they do.

Robby earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

CHEO HURLEY

Cheo D. Hurley currently serves as Founder, President, and CEO of THG Companies LLC. In this role, Mr. Hurley has grown a startup idea into a full-service construction subcontractor and building and real estate advisory/planning company completing over $10 million in projects in the Baltimore Metro Region.

Mr. Hurley has extensive expertise in urban planning, development, and construction that he gained through positions as Executive Director for Park Heights Renaissance Inc. (PHR); Real Estate Development and Leasing Manager for the Forest City-New East Baltimore Partnership LLC (FC-NEBP); and as a Senior Associate with Deloitte Tax LP. In addition, Mr. Hurley served five years as member of the Baltimore Planning Commission.

 Mr. Hurley graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A) in Finance from Howard University. He subsequently earned a Master of Public Administration degree from American University and a Master of Science in Real Estate from the Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business.

A Baltimore native, Mr. Hurley has served on numerous gubernatorial and mayoral transition teams for the state of Maryland and the City of Baltimore. A graduate of the Gilman School, Mr. Hurley is the past President of the school’s Alumni Board of Governors as well as a current member of the Gilman Board of Trustees. Mr. Hurley also serves on the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust (B.E.S.T) board of trustees, and the board of WYPR Radio. In 2012 Mr. Hurley was honored by the Maryland Daily Record as a top 40 VIP under 40 and by the Baltimore Business Journal as a Rising Star under 40 years old a member in addition he was a member of the Greater Baltimore Committees (GBC) LEADership 2012 class.

This Fresh Take interview featured Evelyn Lee, President, Greater Washington Region at Truist Financial Corp. JB Holston and Evelyn discussed Truist’s inclusive growth efforts in the Capital Region, the imperative for cross-sector collaboration to power meaningful change, and the intersection of diversity and innovation.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Evelyn Lee is  regional president for Greater Washington Region at Truist Financial Corporation. She assumed her current position in December 2019, upon the closing of the merger of equals between BB&T Corporation and SunTrust Banks, Inc.  

In this role, Lee is the company’s senior leader in the market responsible for delivering the full complement of the company’s services to clients in the area and directing the commercial business.   

Prior to her current role, Lee had been with SunTrust for 20 years and was senior vice president and head of senior living for the wholesale banking practice where she led a team of bankers, who covered national clients in the senior living and skilled nursing sectors. Previous roles included senior risk officer for Greater Washington, commercial team leader for the Not for Profit Division and senior portfolio manager for Corporate Banking for SunTrust Robinson Humphries.  

Lee is a founding board member of the DC International Charter School (DCI), one of the district’s largest charter schools. Lee sits on the executive committee of the Board of Trade as well as the boards of Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, United Way of the National Capitol Area, Goodwill of Greater Washington, the Metropolitan Police Department Foundation and the Washington Airports Task Force.  She will complete the Leadership Greater Washington program in June of 2021.    

Lee was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and is fluent in French. She resides in the District with her husband and two daughters.  

This Fresh Take interview featured Jamie McDonald, CEO of UpSurge Baltimore. JB and Jamie discuss Upsurge’s ‘Equitech’ framework, which anchors its work in a belief that diversity of teams, leadership, and perspectives are a force multiplier for tech company growth. They will also discuss the broader need for equity and inclusivity to power innovation ecosystems across the Capital Region.

Hosted by JB Holston.  Produced by Jenna Klym, Justin Matheson-Turner, Christian Rodriguez, and Nina Sharma. Edited by Christian Rodriguez. 

Learn from leaders doing the work across the Capital Region and beyond. These conversations will showcase innovation, as well as history and culture across our region, to bridge the gap between how we got here and where we are going.

About our guest:

Jamie Mcdonald is the CEO of UpSurge Baltimore. She is an experienced entrepreneur, movement builder, and speaker. Prior to joining UpSurge, she was an advisor to global entrepreneurs, social innovators, and impact-focused executives. She’s been deeply involved in work on behalf of Baltimore throughout her career.

Jamie has been featured in publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the White House Social Innovation Blog, NTEN, The Baltimore Sun and many others. She is featured in the recently released book, Women Make Great Leaders, by bestselling author, Jill Griffin.

Jamie places a high priority on civic engagement.  She has been a longtime Board member of the Center for Urban Families.  She was the founding Chair of Light City, an international festival of innovation and light, that attracted more than 470,000 people in 2017.  She continues as Chair of the Labs@LightCity, one of the country's largest and most unique urban innovation conferences. She also serves on the boards of Open Society Institute, Impact Hub Baltimore, Venture for America, Johns Hopkins Social Innovation Lab, and #MarylandGivesMore. She has previously served on the boards of The Leadership, the Family Tree, Live! Baltimore, The Fund for Educational Excellence, and the Police Athletic League (PAL), among others.  She is a past co-chair of the Tocqueville Campaign ($10,000 gifts) for the United Way of Central Maryland and sat on the national board of the Keewaydin Foundation. 

Jamie was named Maryland Innovator of the Year in 2012.  She is a graduate of the 1997 class of the Greater Baltimore Committee’s Leadership program.  She was named one of Baltimore Business Journal’s “40 under 40.” She received the SiloBreaker award from Betamore in 2016. She received the Downtown Partnership's award for impact on Baltimore in 2016. She received the William Donald Schaefer award for the City of Baltimore in 2017. She was recognized as an Activist to Watch in 2017.

Jamie McDonald attended Cornell University for graduate school, focusing on International Development in a joint program between the College of Human Ecology and the Johnson Graduate School of Management.  She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Philadelphia University.