2025 SPEAKERS

Women of Excellence Trusted Voice Award

Jeanette Diaz joined San Gabriel Valley Water Company (San Gabriel) in July 2016 as an engineering administrative assistant. She was promoted to supplier diversity program coordinator in 2018 and then supplier diversity and procurement manager in 2021. During her time in supplier diversity, Diaz collaborated with small and diverse-owned businesses, creating programs to help them secure contracts in the water utility industry. She led the development, budgeting, implementation, and reporting of San Gabriel’s Utility Supplier Diversity Program while managing procurement processes for the Los Angeles and Fontana divisions. Under her leadership, the company’s diverse business spend increased by more than 10% in her first year and has consistently exceeded the California Public Utilities Commission’s 23% goal, maintaining a minimum of 30% since 2018. In March 2024, she was promoted to Director of Communications, becoming San Gabriel’s first female and minority woman director.

Women of Excellence Business Award

Dana C. Arnett believes in the power of human connection to bridge cultural divides. After 30 years in the entertainment industry producing more than 6,000 television shows, she chose a new path that aligned with her values of equity, inclusion, and heart-led leadership. As chief executive officer of a small-, woman-, and LGBTQ+-owned marketing and advertising agency, she leads a culturally and generationally diverse team that has spent the last decade helping millions of people access life-enhancing products and services through meaningful, strategic campaigns across the public and private sectors. Arnett serves on boards like WBENC and WBEC-West that support women entrepreneurs and 45-year-old nonprofit Fulfillment Fund, supporting under-resourced students. She holds executive certifications from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and Cornell University’s Diversity and Inclusion program.

Women of Excellence Advocate Award

Samona Caldwell’s primary role is to continue to grow and develop LASEC’s signature supplier procurement initiative, Business Connect — Building LA’s future through the strength of local businesses. She manages relationships with external and internal stakeholders, major event partners, suppliers, community members, and city and county leadership. Caldwell serves as an advisory board member for the 50-year-old grassroots organization Brotherhood Crusade and board member for Ascencia homeless services, the Signal Hill Police Foundation, Executive Services Corps of Southern CA, and serves as Educate California’s Board Chair. She holds a citywide position with the Diversity Coalition Committee in Signal Hill, California; is a member of the Public Relations Society of America; and an alum of Leadership CA 2020 and the University of CA, Davis. She enjoys working out, reading, and enjoying time with her family.

Women of Excellence Champion Award

Lily Otieno is responsible for supply chain strategy, contracting and procurement of services, material management, and supplier diversity in her current role. In this capacity, she has oversight of more than $2.4 billion in contract spend for SoCalGas, manages more than 70 material distribution locations, and continues to spearhead transformational projects while advancing the company’s mission. In 2022, her team was able to increase supplier diversity spend to over $1 billion of the procurement spend. Prior to this role, Otieno served as the project management office manager in the pipeline safety enhancement project organization, the largest pipeline enhancement project in SoCalGas’s history. She is a recipient of the prestigious Proclamation (National Mentoring Month) signed by former President Barack Obama and several proclamations from the Senate and Congress for her work in diverse business.

Women of Excellence Leadership Award

Lauren James plays a vital role in engaging with customers, employees, and community stakeholders while also leading key initiatives like supplier diversity and conservation. Her efforts have propelled Suburban Water Systems to the forefront of diversity in the utility sector, with notable achievements such as being recognized for the highest California utility spend with diverse small businesses for three consecutive years. She has also led fresh and frozen food distributions throughout Los Angeles County for communities in need. Beyond her professional accomplishments, James is deeply committed to social change. She co-founded the grassroots movement Mama Bears for Change, which focuses on advocating for systemic reforms. Through this and her involvement in the Regional Chamber of Commerce as Board President Elect and other platforms, she tackles issues such as discrimination, women’s rights, and education reform.

Women of Excellence Inspiration Award

California native and chief executive officer, Dr. Theresa Price created NCRF, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational enhancement organization in 1999 in direct response to the passing of California’s proposition 209 that banned affirmative action programs in California colleges. Since its inception, the organization has secured and distributed more than $5 billion in scholarships and grants and has made college a reality for more than 700,000 students (including more than 450,000 first generation students), by hosting and producing over 200 college expos. Dr. Price graduated from California State University Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast/journalism and a minor in speech communications, and in 2016 was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Virginia University of Lynchburg. Dr. Price’s passion and concern for the future of youth transcends color, religion, socioeconomic status, and gender.