A sought after subject matter expert, Kathey is a frequent keynote speaker, panelist and workshop facilitator at conferences and events focusing on supplier diversity, small business development/entrepreneurship, women’s entrepreneurship and empowerment and diversity and inclusion and has addressed audiences at CHIEF, Fast Company, Inc Magazine’s Inc 5000, ESSENCE Festival, NCUA and The Conference Board, to name a few.

An adjunct business instructor with nearly 20 years’ teaching experience, Kathey has lectured at several universities and colleges including the University of Florida, Virginia Tech, Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), Savannah State University, etc. where she’s taught various undergraduate and graduate courses.

A nationally recognized business coach and small business strategist, Kathey has been a featured small business expert in ESSENCE and INC magazines and a business advisor for several national accelerators including Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women Program, Brookfield Properties Partner to Empower Program, U.S. Black Chambers, Small Business Administration (SBA) Emerging Leaders Program, Babson College’s Black Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (BWEL) Program and Inc Magazine’s Inc 5000. She’s also a learning instructor for Linked In. 

Kathey is the author of 50 Billion Dollar Boss: African American Women Sharing Stories of Success in Entrepreneurship and Leadership, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Non-fiction, Implementing Supplier Diversity: A Driver of Entrepreneurship, and Supplier Diversity for Dummies (Wiley). She’s a contributor to several local and national platforms including OPEN Forum (American Express) and Brookfield Properties and has been featured in numerous media outlets including Ebony, Black Enterprise, The Huffington Post, Sirius XM, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Fox 5-DC. 

Kathey is a small business strategist and supplier diversity expert with experience spanning nearly two decades in marketing, small business development, supplier diversity and entrepreneurship. She draws on her years of experience in procurement and supplier business inclusion, small business development, program management and consulting across a variety of industries including local/state government, higher education, K-12, corporations and the federal government, helping small and diverse businesses win millions of dollars in contract opportunities.

Kathey was previously a marketing executive in the multicultural beauty industry working for organizations such as Revlon Professional/Colomer USA and Carson Products Company (acquired by L’Oréal) where she was responsible for new product development, in-market activation (advertising, promotions, sales) and financial management.

Kathey has facilitated workshops and trainings (live and virtual) for thousands of small businesses, industry practitioners and stakeholders for and/or in partnership with U.S. Black Chamber (USBC), HMSDC, FSMSDC, Jax Chamber, Greater Des Moines Partnership, University of Central Florida, NYU-Stern, Atlanta Black Chamber, Greenwood Women Business Center, African American Chamber of Commerce Central Florida (AACCCF) and Mid American Energy, to name a few.

A proud HBCU alum, Kathey received her BBA from Savannah State University, MBA from Georgia Southern University and Master of Science (MSE) in Entrepreneurship from the University of Florida.