Please join the Chamber Leadership Alliance (CLA) for the CLA Solidarity 3A Action Series - Activism on Wednesday, December 15, 2021!
We will be joined by representatives of other diverse chamber and community organizations who are affiliated with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the US Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC), the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC), and the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC). This conversation will focus on how to actively support our diverse communities through various forms of activism, emphasizing on the importance of collective action and solidarity in our communities. This 90-minute live interactive program follows our previous sessions which focused on acceptance and allyship.
Meet Our Panelists
Alejandro Coss | (he/him)
President and CEO | Latin American Chamber Georgia
Alejandro is the President and CEO of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, one of the largest Latino organizations in the state and a dynamic force promoting and uniting the Latino business community in Georgia.
With over 28 years of experience in finance, economic development and international trade, Alejandro has worked both in Mexico and the U.S.
Previous to his current position, he was in charge of the Trade Commission of Mexico - Bancomext office in Atlanta, and was responsible for the promotion of business opportunities with Mexico to seven states in the southeast including Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.
He is also very involved in the Latino community in Atlanta and is part of several non-profits in different roles; he is a Board member of the Catholic Foundation for North Georgia, The Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, Vice-Chair of The Institute of Mexican Culture, a member of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Atlanta Advisory Council and a former member of the Board of Directors of Ser Familia.
In 2015 Alejandro was part of the Mayoral Welcoming Atlanta Working Group, co-chairing the Economic Empowerment subcommittee; the working group made 20 recommendations to the mayor on how to make Atlanta more welcoming to immigrants.
Alejandro has been featured in Hispanic Business Magazine and is frequently interview by media such as CNN, Univision, Telemundo, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Mundo Hispanico among others.
Alejandro holds a degree in Business Management from the University of Chihuahua, Mexico, and post-graduate course in International Trade from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico.
Kevin Terrell Heard | (he/him)
President Board of Directors | Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce
Kevin Terrell Heard is a legacy Detroiter. He is a 2010 graduate of Clark Atlanta University (CAU), where he majored in Mass Media Arts with a concentration in Public Relations. In 2018, Heard received his MBA from Walsh College in Troy, MI. Currently, Heard works for Gannett | USA Today Network as the Diversity & Engagement Program Manager where he oversees Gannett’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity initiatives as it pertains to their Employee Resource Groups and social campaigns.
In 2013, Heard founded the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce. In May 2017, Kevin was honored as Crain’s Detroit Twenty in their 20’s for his work with the Chamber of Commerce and in 2021 named Crain Detroit Most Notable in LGBTQ Business.
Most recently, Heard, planned the largest LGBT Business and Diversity conference in Michigan in May 2021: COLOURS Conference and Pride Awards, which featured Michigan’s Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, trans model and activist Carmen Carrera and, and Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Heard lives by the quote “You are greatest when everything before you is obsolete and everything after bares your mark.”
Saint Hung | (he/him)
Board Member | USPAACC Northeast
A native of New York, Saint Hung is committed to helping to grow the small and medium-sized businesses in his hometown. Before founding Universal Processing, Mr. Hung was with JPMorgan Chase for four years, helping to develop their New York City client base and accumulated a portfolio of over $600 million in assets.
Mr. Hung founded Universal Processing in 2003, aiming to serve minority businesses with the highest level of service and consultation. As Founder and CEO, Saint Hung has defined the culture at Universal Processing to put people before profits and deliver exceptional services to the underserved minority small businesses, based on continuous technological innovation and providing said solutions in a timely and economical manner. Among Saint Hung's recent laurels are the ETA/Transact Inaugural Forty Under 40 – 2018, "Top 10 CEOs in Finance" Award by Finext, and the President's Award of Priority Payment Systems Presidents Club in 2017. Forbes featured Universal Processing on September 29, 2021, for their strategy in combating the COVID pandemic while empowering underserved small businesses. In December 2020, was granted The Excellence Award as a USPAACC Fast 100 Asian American Business.
Under his leadership, Universal Processing has grown to become a FinTech industry leader while striving for escalated service levels for the underserved small business community. An empowering force in the industry and the communities it serves, the company now helps over 20,000 merchant partners process over 3.0 billion dollars in transactions each year. With service across all 50 states and offices in California, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, besides its two New York offices, Universal Processing has grown to meet the demand for a much-needed service.
Charles O’Neal | (he/him)
Board of Director | US Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC)
Charles O’Neal is President of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce and is responsible for executing the mission of the nation’s oldest and largest African American chamber of commerce. The DBCC serves its members and the North Texas region through advocacy, public policy development, convention and tourism development and delivery of technical assistance.
In addition to serving for 14 years as the Chamber’s Vice President for Business & Economic Development, O’Neal has a long history of involvement in the Dallas community. O’Neal served as the DBCC’s Main Street Manager, working with community-based organizations, realtors, utilities, insurance and financial institutions to coordinate plans for revitalizing Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. O’Neal was instrumental in creating the MLK Boulevard Merchants Association.
A 20-plus year, award-winning career in the newspaper business provides the backdrop for O’Neal’s insight into the inner-workings of our city, state and nation and helped shape credible opinions on the entire spectrum of the African American Experience.
O’Neal serves on the Executive Committee of the Texas Association of African American Chambers of Commerce and was recently elected Vice Chairman of the U.S. Black Chamber, Inc.
Meet Our Moderator
ZAKIYA LARRY | (she/her)
Founder & CEO | Quest Media Training & Communications Director | USBC
Zakiya Larry elevates brands, moods and influence through media coaching, keynote speaking, brand polishing and strategic public relations.
Zakiya is a highly sought-after media coach, on-air talent, executive producer and award-winning public relations executive, is also the CEO of Quest Media Training, a strategic communications firm that provides interview preparedness, strategic messaging, crisis communications and public relations. Zakiya also served as the long-time director of media relations for T.D. Jakes Ministries and as the Communications Director at the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.
Zakiya is currently an expert contributor for various media outlets, and her industry insight has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, Black Enterprise, Fox News Radio national junket tour, and more.
As an internationally booked keynote speaker, she has moved hundreds of audiences both domestically and internationally, from The East Room at The White House to Johannesburg, South Africa.