Women of Excellence Business Award

Anita Ron is President of BriteWorks, Inc., a minority-, women-owned corporation, established in 1996. Two decades later, the firm employs 200 associates who provide comprehensive commercial and industrial janitorial services throughout California. Ron credits her company’s success to a commitment to be customer service driven by consistently providing a clean, healthy environment for her clients. Her positive can-do attitude has positioned her company as a place where clients can obtain tailormade cleaning solutions, such as general cleaning, floor care, graffiti removal, pressure washing, and transit/bus cleaning. She is a graduate of the University of La Verne, participated in University of Stanford Latino Business Action Network Program, University of Southern California Multicultural Leadership Program, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Alumni, and University of California at Los Angeles Management Development Entrepreneur program.

Women of Excellence Distinguished Service Award

Erika Johnson, a long-time resident of San Bernardino County, has been serving her community since the inception of her mortgage lending career in 1986. She spent the first 20 years of her career developing strong relationships with lenders, underwriters, realtors, and other loan originators. As the mortgage industry evolved and regulatory changes became a fact of life, Johnson began positioning herself to open her own real estate and mortgage lending office and to eventually leave the corporate world behind. She spent the first year of business ownership studying and taking the necessary state exams to bring her dream to fruition. In December 2012, she became a broker and in July 2013, GG Real Estate Services’ doors were officially opened. As of April 2024, Johnson has grown her team to seven full-time agents. GG Real Estate Services continues to serve the Inland Empire and Southern California area while recently branching out to the states of Nevada, Georgia, and Florida.

Women of Excellence Entrepreneur Award

Julia Leach is president and owner of cold brew coffee pioneer Toddy, LLC. She and the Toddy team work with cafes and roasters worldwide to help develop cold brew programs that highlight the nuances of the brewing method and inspire customers to fall in love with cold brew. Leach is passionate about the art and science of cold brewing and loves helping others learn how to brew an amazing cup. She is a frequent presenter at coffee conferences around the world. Prior to owning Toddy, Leach founded a boutique marketing agency called Clay Pot Creative. She started the company with a mission to help small businesses access agency-quality branding and marketing that they could afford. She had the privilege of helping small business owners from a broad range of industries and discovered a passion for business coaching and mentoring. Leach serves on the Board of Directors for the Specialty Coffee Association and volunteers as a business advisor and mentor for a handful of small businesses and organizations.

Women of Excellence Impact Award

Kim Carson is currently CEO and founder of Parallax Futures, a nonprofit fellowship program that aims to inspire positive futures through a new kind of innovator called Conceptual Technologists. She founded Parallax Futures because she believes in the importance of multi-dimensional diversity in technology and is passionate about changing what leadership in AI looks like and how we can use emergent technology to build a better future and improve our humanity. Prior to Parallax Futures, Carson enjoyed a wide variety of leadership positions in both academia and the technology sector and is passionate about enabling teams of creatives, technology leaders, and innovators with the skills, mindset, and network to tackle the complex and evolving challenges of tomorrow. She was named Success Magazine’s 2023 Women of Influence Finalist and finalist for Black Tech Achievement Awards for Entrepreneur of the Year.

Women of Excellence Inspiration Award

Charmain Lewis has been passionate about bringing out the best in others her entire life. She began her career as an educator in the Baltimore City Public School System in 1999 and spent 15 years empowering and preparing students for academic success. In 2013, Lewis decided to utilize her communications background by starting a blog called Sisters in the Cities. This eventually paved the path to writing for Minority Business Enterprise Magazine and Diversity Professional. She is also associate director of digital engagement at Queens University of Charlotte. During her journey as an educator, communications specialist, wife, and mother of three sons, Lewis discovered the power of self-care and healing through yoga. Currently, she is an RYT-200 certified yoga instructor and has worked with Major League Baseball, Northwestern University, and the Blueprint Collective Nonprofit Organization in Memphis, Tennessee.

Women of Excellence Advocate Award

Jaymee Lomax is Vice President of WBEC-West, a regional partner of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)—a coalition of corporations, Women Business Enterprises, and regionally focused women’s business organizations. WBEC-West serves Arizona, Colorado, Southern California, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Hawaii, and Guam. Lomax is committed to supplier diversity and immensely proud to be a part of the WBEC-West team. She is responsible for impacting women-owned businesses in the community through education, networking, and community development, enhancing corporation and WBE relationships, outreach programs and creating business opportunities for WBEs. Lomax has shared her expertise and knowledge with the community by serving on executive boards and committees for diverse organizations. She is an award-winning diversity professional.