D.E.I. Speakers Info

Jada Monica Drew is the CEO of Social Designs, a leadership and diversity firm. Jada connects, challenges, and supports individuals to realize their full potential for impact as trainer and consultant. Social Designs is the host company and program developer for the cross-industry annual Bloom Inclusion Conference. Jada has a master’s degree in Global and International Education with a Peace Education focus from Drexel University and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and minors in African-American studies and Education from Guilford College. Jada is a True Colors International and Intercultural Development Inventory certified trainer.

She is also the author of three books, Revolutionize Now: Creative Leadership & Action for Social Change, a resource equipping educators, activists, business leaders, and youth with tools for self-discovery, creative thinking, community building, and social change. Her second book More Than Enough: Step into the Next Level of You pushes individuals to highlight their strengths and to be realistic about their areas of growth.

Sharpen Your Inclusion Edge: The 8-Step Approach lays the foundation to advance diversity and inclusion strategy for organizations.

Jada is active in the community as a board member of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and the United Way Impact Team. She was recognized as a United Nations DPINGO speaker in 2015 and featured in Made in Greensboro in 2017. Jada has also been selected as Small Business Minority Person of the Year in 2019.

She delivers keynotes and training about leadership and diversity for leaders in banking, education, non-profit, construction, philanthropic, arts, law, and governmental industries; and finds joy in designing custom experiences for each client.

Dr. Linda R Jordon is a leadership consultant & personal development coach, author and international speaker focusing on leadership, diversity and inclusion and organizational change management.  Dr. Jordon is also a Real Estate Investor who has been investing in North Carolina for 25 years and hold over 30 properties in her rental portfolio.  Dr. Jordon is a course facilitator with Cornell University where she teaches their DEI certification program, Women’s Entrepreneurial Certification program and leadership courses.

With over 30 years of experience in corporate leadership, Dr. Jordon has business knowledge in operations management, leadership development & training, leadership coaching, business process improvement, diversity and inclusion, contact center development & management, organizational development and training within the U.S. and abroad.

As a leadership consultant & trainer, Dr. Jordon works with business owners and professional leaders, helping them identify and close gaps in the workplace by setting goals and creating a strategy to increase productivity and growth in the workplace. Dr. Jordon has assisted with leadership assessments and performance management such as MBTI, DISC and Emotional Intelligence.

Dr. Jordon enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, photography and fixing up old properties.  

Iris Jordan is a Pastoral Counselor and Professional Chaplain employed by Corporate Chaplains of America International of Wake Forest and of First Health of the Carolinas in Pinehurst.  She serves as the workplace Chaplain for Mountaire Farms, INC. of Lumber Bridge and Siler City all in North Carolina. Jordan is also an inspiring leadership facilitator, independent training consultant, and prolific Bible teacher.  She is a  member of the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy-Pinehurst Chapter.

Bonita H. Porter, MSW, LCSW is the ​Chief Compliance Officer with Sandhills Center LME-MCO. She has thirty years of administrative and behavioral health experience in the public and private sector. Bonita is also an adjunct faculty with NC A&T State University and UNC at Greensboro.  Her areas of training specialty are Cultural Sensitivity in behavioral health treatment, Clinical Supervision and enhancing Cultural Competency and Diversity in the workplace. Bonita has facilitated workshops with Behavioral Healthcare agencies, Law Enforcement Officers, School Nurses, Substance Use Counselors, Clinical Social Workers, and Hospice treatment providers.

Marissa Fux earned her undergraduate degree in Special Education with a concentration in reading from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Marissa has worked as a special education teacher in Cumberland County Schools (Douglas Byrd Middle & South View Middle).  She then served as an Exceptional Children’s Case Manager for two elementary schools and one high school in Cumberland County Schools. Marissa was named the 2019-2020 Teacher of the Year for South View Middle School. She has been involved in community outreach partnered with Balm in Gilead for a Fall community event for families in need, event coordinator for celebrating the arts with the community at SVMS). Her event coordination throughout her educational career has been targeted at youth that need safe places to learn socialize and bind with family and other community members and has served as a School Improvement Team member, broadcasting advisor, pep squad coach, mentor for beginning teachers, PBIS team member, yearbook advisor, and picture day coordinator.  Marissa was selected by NC STATE for their prestigious principal preparation program.  NC State University’s Educational Leadership Academy (NELA) seeks to increase student achievement by preparing and retaining principals in high-poverty, hard-to-staff, and historically low-performing schools. NELA creates a comprehensive leadership development and succession plan for NC high-need school districts. Each component is anchored in research-based best practices in leadership preparation and is designed to meet the specific contextualized needs of schools in North Carolina

She completed her Principal Residency at Margaret Willis Elementary School during the 2021-2022 school year. While there she focused on creating a school culture that all stakeholders felt empowered. She helped coordinate a reading incentive program school-wide. She also was able to secure relationships and donations for staff students and instructional needs with many businesses around Fayetteville. She was also able to organize a cultural event that allowed students and community members to perform and connect with the MWES school family.

Marissa is currently the Assistant Principal at Lee County High School as of June 2022. This school is a low-performing school with over 1500 students, 16 buildings, and 200+ staff. At LCHS she is over event coordination, math, exceptional children, career technical education, school cultural team, CPR coordination, social media, and more.

She has already collaborated and implemented a summer bridge academy to help students transition into high school. She has the amazing opportunity to plan all events on campus. From special Olympics, Campbell university STEM event, winter formal, homecoming, and much more. She has also partnered with Lee County’s El Refugio: nonprofit to allow opportunities for her English as second language students to represent LCHS and build community relations with cultural diversity.

Marissa is also devoted to volunteer work involving food pantries, animal shelters, and other events around the community. She loves to spend time in Fayetteville with her little family interacting with the beauty of her hometown city. From Live after Five’s, New Year’s event, Zombie walks, and more.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Long Island, Miles McPherson grew up excelling in football. He attended the University of New Haven and was the university’s first player to be drafted into the NFL.

Miles played four years in the NFL and retired shortly after giving up a years-long drug addiction. In 2000, he started the Rock Church in San Diego.

Miles’ latest book “The Third Option” looks at the pervasive racial divisions in today’s culture. In the book, Miles offers tools that help us learn to see people through the lens of our equally valuable humanity. In addition, Miles created The Third Option Similarity Training. The course is designed to help individuals and organizations focus their attention on our similarities rather than our perceived differences.

Angela Matta has been married to Jose Matta for 35 years.  Angela has three grown daughters who all live in Sanford, NC, and seven grandchildren that attend Lee County schools.

Angela Matta was born in the city of Sanford, North Carolina.  Her father served in the military, and she moved around a lot with her parents.  In 1993, after her parents retired to Fayetteville, N.C., she decided to make Sanford her home once again.

During her time here, Angela has volunteered extensively working with many non-profit organizations to better her city.  

Angela Matta is a human resource professional with over 15 years of human resource experience specializing in Organizational Development, Training and Development, Safety, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Greg Singleton is a native of New York City, New York. As a youth, his family relocated to Aulander, NC. Greg holds a bachelor degree in psychology from Fayetteville State University, a Project Management Professional Certification from IT University. Greg completed his Paralegal studies in Corporate Law and Civil Litigation at the Professional Career Development Institute in Atlanta, GA. May 09, 1992 Greg was commissioned as a U.S. Army 2^nd Lieutenant. Following his service, Greg worked in Corporate America for over 21 years in Telecommunication. His telecommunication areas of expertise are in Technical Support, Operation and Project Management. Upon relocated to Craven County in November 2015, Greg Singleton became the Chairman of the Craven Pamlico Re-Entry Council (CPRC) June of 2016. Greg has served on the NC Statewide Re-Entry Council Collaborative Legislative Implementation team and the Craven County local transportation advisory board. February 2017, Greg became the Director of Community Workforce Readiness at Craven Community College. March 2021, Greg role increased with being appointed as Director of Reentry Operations for the Craven Pamlico Reentry Council. With the desire to ensure that all received fair and accessible education to complete for employment opportunities, Greg has provided diversity and implicit bias training for the New Bern Fire Dept staff, New Bern Chamber of Commerce members, Craven Co Sheriff Dept, NC Prison Wardens, Methodist Home for Children staff, Pamlico Middle School staff, NC Choice Neighborhood Initiative and during the 2022 NC Reentry Conference. May 02, 2022 Greg became the Dean of Programs, Workforce and Continuing Education at Central Carolina Community College. 

Kenneth Mayes is the Employer Relationship Manager at Syracuse University’s, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, one of the premiere veteran service organizations in the country.  Kenneth serves as the Military Liaison for the North Carolina Society for Human Resource Management Council where he engages with employers to create meaningful pathways to employment for the veteran and military spouse community.  He is a certified HR professional, certified Diversity Recruiter, and Certified Diversity Executive.   

He is a veteran of the United States Army, serving over 26 years of honorable service, and is the CEO of The Mayes Consulting Group, LLC, A Disabled Veteran Owned, Human Resource and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consulting agency.

Mary Stauffer, and I am the Business Relations Representative at the Vocational Rehabilitation office in Pinehurst, NC, and I serve five counties: Montgomery, Moore, Hoke, Richmond, and Anson.

I began working at Vocational Rehabilitation in May of 2019 as an intern at the Chapel Hill office, and then I switched to the Pinehurst office while finishing up my Master of Arts in Human Service degree from Wake Forest University. I was hired the next spring, in April 2020, as a Business Relations Representative.

I truly feel blessed to work with individuals with disabilities because they are the most dedicated and loyal people I know. Outside of work, I enjoy golfing, hiking, and relaxing at the beach.