#LeadTheChange LGBTQ+ Owned Business Roundtable

Join us for one of our Minority-Owned Business Roundtable Series geared towards Meaningful Access & Upward Mobility for All. This is an opportunity to meet with business leaders and community at large in an environment that fosters learning, networking and information exchange related to your business growth and workforce development.

About the Series

In the U.S., minority business enterprises (MBEs) contribute substantially to the economy. Minority firms are growing at a faster rate than non-minority firms and the minority-owned business sector plays a critical role in reducing the unemployment rate nationally. Language and cultural barriers, technology gaps, and the lack of existing credit lines make it challenging for minority entrepreneurs to get the help and funds they need to keep their doors open and staff on payroll– and the situation is only getting worse.

Job creation, innovation, economic parity, and productivity in the country will suffer as a result of the loss of MBEs. As a result, Commonwealth Corporation and our local partners are dedicated to aggressively address the constraints in place to ensure the short-term survival and long-term success of MBEs.

We will be hosting a dynamic speaker followed by an interactive roundtable, where we will be discussing how to create meaningful access for minorities to state funding, what barriers are in place and which programs are available to overcome these barriers and promote impact and success.

This event will also have a component of networking and referrals with local partners that cater to Minority-Owned Businesses. There is no cost to attend this event.

Learn more about this initiative and other local events geared towards Minority-Owned Businesses here →

Meet the Speakers

Grace Moreno

Executive Director, Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Inc.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Experienced senior executive, startup nurturer, and mission-driven entrepreneur, Grace Moreno has over 20 years of experience leading state and national not-for-profit organizations. Within those ten years, Grace has been a change-maker in the fields of politics, health, housing, civic education, and economic development.  She has served in previous roles as Vice President of Community Programs at The Community Builders, Inc. and Vice President for Operations and Finance at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, among others. 

Currently, Grace is the CEO and Executive Director of the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce, a statewide non-profit that cultivates inclusive relationships between LGBT-owned and ally-owned businesses and the corporate sector that drive economic impact throughout the Commonwealth. Since launching the LGBT Chamber, Grace and her team have raised millions of dollars to stand-up an organization that serves the entire state with a plethora of programming and business-strengthening opportunities.

Xiomara Albán DeLobato

Chief of Staff, Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Xiomara currently serves as the Chief of Staff for the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC), where she facilitates the growth and development of a vigorous regional economy by encouraging, influencing, and sustaining capital investment and quality job growth in Western Mass. With over a decade of experience in the public and private sector, she has dedicated her career and community involvement in serving as an active change agent and steadfast advocate for equitable access to economic and academic opportunities in the region and beyond.

She previously served in leadership roles at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Elms College, Springfield College, and the University of New Hampshire – as well as professional experiences with the Office of Mayor Domenic Sarno of Springfield, MA and Office of Congressman Richard Neal. Xiomara also serves as an active board member for Girl’s Inc. of the Valley, the Springfield Public Forum, and trustee for Veritas Prep Charter School in Springfield, MA.

Isa Wang

Founder of Gamut Pins and Co-Founder of The Bower Studio

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Isa Wang is an entrepreneur, artist, and designer. His explorative practice centers around the possibility of transformation and intersecting identities. Autobiographical artifacts are juxtaposed against broad symbolism, while cultural and gendered boundaries are traversed with performative and interactive elements.

As a trans person, Isa experienced first-hand the need for pronoun identifiers. The frustration of being the only person in the workplace to correct misgendering spurred the idea for pronoun pins, and Gamut Pins was born. Isa holds a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts / Tufts in Boston and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he was a recipient of the SVA Alumni Scholarship Award, the Art Practice Thesis Project Grant, and the Art Practice Thesis Award.

Isa Wang & Vincent Frano are co-owners of the plantable stationery business, The Bower Studio in Easthampton. They are proudly queer-owned and operated, and a portion of their profits are donated to ecological and transgender organizations.

Ron Molina-Brantley

VP, Relationship Manager, Team Leader at Berkshire Bank

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Ron Molina-Brantley is the Vice President Relationship Manager, and Team Leader for Berkshire Bank. He has been employed as a community banker at Berkshire Bank for the last year after having spent the last few years working at Valley Venture Mentors, where he helped businesses throughout Springfield and the Pioneer Valley regions with technical assistance and mentorship.

His professional career spans nearly 20 years, having started his career working within the Finance Department for the City of Springfield. He joined Valley Venture Mentors in 2016 as Vice President of Operations before being promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2017. As COO of Valley Venture Mentors, Ron was instrumental in helping reshape the organization and helping Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses reach their fullest potential.

Ron and his partner Kelvin Monlina-Brantley, are co-owners of Our Modern Love Candles Co., a small business creating hand-poured, locally sourced candles made from eco-friendly soy wax and dyes that are free from carcinogens, pollutants, and toxins.

Meet our Partners

Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Inc

The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce is a small, lean non-profit powered by hundreds of brilliant LGBT-owned businesses and the Commonwealth’s largest, most innovative, and profitable corporations. The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce cultivates inclusive relationships between LGBT-owned businesses and the corporate sector to drive economic impact throughout the Commonwealth.

Supplier Diversity Office (SDO)

The SDO’s mission is to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in state contracting for businesses owned by minorities, women, Portuguese, veterans, service-disabled veterans, those with a disability, and LGBT individuals, as well as small Massachusetts businesses. The SDO certifies these businesses and manages several programs that help them enhance their marketability when bidding on public contracts.

MassDevelopment

MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth. Through these collaborations we help create jobs, increase the number of housing units, revitalize urban environments, and address factors limiting economic growth including transportation, energy, and infrastructure deficiencies.

Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council

The Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts (EDC) is a private, not-for-profit corporation that provides resources and information to businesses operating in or entering the region by aiding in expansion, relocation and networking. Their mission is to deliver the services and business resources that will enable companies to thrive in Western Massachusetts while improving the region’s economy and lifestyle through the creation of quality jobs and enhanced public and private investment.

MassHire BizWorks

The mission of MassHire BizWorks is to provide services throughout the business cycle.

MassHire BizWorks simplifies and coordinates efforts among state agencies and federal resources for businesses. Businesses can have a single point of contact to take advantage of these resources. It eases the burden of contacting multiple government agencies.

Over the years, MassHire BizWorks representatives have helped thousands of companies in Massachusetts access these programs and services. Many companies have grown and survived, and thousands of jobs have been saved through the services provided through MassHire BizWorks.

Learn more →

Reevx Labs

Reevx Labs is Berkshire Bank’s newest investment in local communities and the people who live and work in them. Created to support emerging entrepreneurs, artists, and small non-profit organizations by providing them with the resources and connections needed to power them today and far into the 21st century. The Labs operate with a commitment to banking the underbanked with dignity and a guiding belief that by disrupting the traditional barriers to resources, we can build new economies that change our communities and our world.