Lynnise Smith is a Supplier Diversity professional with extensive experience and she’s ready to use

Lynnise Smith is a Supplier Diversity professional with extensive experience and she’s ready to use what she’s learned throughout her career to helping diverse suppliers on a larger scale. She recently joined the Women’s Business Enterprise Council (WBEC ORV) in October of 2022 as the new Executive Director, fully assuming her role on January 1, 2023, and she has big plans for the organization for 2023 and beyond.

Lynnise describes her path to WBEC ORV as a result of being at a crossroads in her career. While she enjoyed working in the supplier diversity field, she felt that there was a bigger opportunity for her to make a difference. 

“I was told that I needed to pivot my career goals if I wanted to advance past my current level,” Lynnise said. 

While faced with this dilemma, she reflected and realized that her true passion is making a positive influence on Supplier Diversity by creating more opportunities for diverse suppliers. Once she came to this realization, she was led to the Executive Director position at WBEC ORV, and it was a natural fit because she was able to make the impact she wanted to make while still working within Supplier Diversity. 

Since joining the organization in October, new changes have gone into effect that she will operationalize. 

One of those changes being the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between WBEC ORV and the State of Ohio that the previous Executive Director, Sheila Mixon implemented at the end of 2022. The MOU states that the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification, processed by WBEC ORV, will be accepted as a valid certification for the State of Ohio’s Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) Program. 

The goal of this partnership is to increase the number of certified women-owned business enterprises and to expedite the certifications of eligible and qualified applicants. 

The benefits of the partnership to Ohio based WBENC certified women-owned businesses include the ability to participate in the WBE Loan Program at the 1.5% rate and the ability to participate with the Ohio Micro-Loan at 0%, once businesses are cross-certified into the State’s WBE program. 

One of the many challenges that minority businesses and small businesses face is funding, especially when they are just starting out. With the partnership lowering rates for this group of businesses, it opens doors for them to receive more opportunities and takes some of the financial strain off of their overhead. 

WBEC ORV is excited to be part of this partnership and looks forward to the positive impact it will have on its members.

Lynnise has a deep understanding of what is needed in supplier diversity and sourcing from her diverse background across sectors, including Healthcare, Research 

& Development, Government, Design & Construction, and Higher Education. This variety of experience has provided her with the working knowledge of sourcing direct and indirect commodities in Private and Public Sectors.  

Despite her extensive experience, she notes that the greatest value that she brings to her role is empathy. “I empathize with the Supplier Diversity Program Leaders who are trying to do the best with the cards that they are dealt, the Sourcing Teams who believe in Supplier Diversity but are weighed down by competing internal priorities, and the Diverse Business Owners who just want an opportunity to earn the business,” Lynnise said.   

While she only recently assumed full duties on January 1, she has had an opportunity to learn about the organization and observe the WBEC ORV staff since October. This time has allowed her to get to know her team and develop and implement new strategies for this year. 

Moving forward, she aspires for WBEC ORV to be a best-in-class organization, for it to achieve its vision of being the premier resource for women-owned business development, and for WBEC ORV to amplify the Return on Investment (ROI) of certification for all stakeholders.

Lynnise notes the organization’s top three strengths as having a hard-working staff, 

a dynamic pool of WBEs, and a strong network of corporate members. 

In 2023, she will be implementing new programs that benefit all members of the organization, adding to the network on both the WBE and Corporate member side, increasing visibility across the region, and leading her first Catch the Wave Regional Conference this August in Columbus, Ohio.

Lynnise is hard at work and is energized about the direction that WBEC ORV is headed. While she is busy making decisions that will revamp the organization, her main goal, of making a greater impact, is always at the core of her business moves.