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Charisse Smith is the Partner Resources Director for Starbucks. In this role, she is responsible for leading a team and setting the HR strategy for the South Central Region. Charisse joined Starbucks after being an HR Director at 7-Eleven, where she provided support to the Chief Merchandising Officer, Fuels, Operations Support, and Total Rewards. Prior to joining 7-Eleven, she spent over 10 years at Pfizer, where she held various roles that included HR support for Latin America, Europe, US Sales, R&D, Payer/Channel Access, and Corporate Finance.

Throughout her career, she has supported several acquisitions and has been able to partner with businesses and various HR support functions to deliver programs and processes that are aligned with overall company goals.

Charisse has worked with organizations, such as, Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center, Crisis Nursery, YMCA Black Achievers, and was a founding member of Communiversity, where they partnered with Colleges and Universities to educate those in the community at locally owned businesses.

Charisse holds a BS in Sociology from Hamline University and a MA in Human Resources and Industrial Relations (HRIR) from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Grace Smith is a Vice President at JPMorgan Chase Bank, where she manages a portfolio of not-for profit and municipal clients in North Texas. For the past 20 plus years, Grace has worked in several areas within the financial services industry including Project Management, Business Development and Sales Administration.

Grace currently serves on the Board of Directors for S.M.I.L.E.S. and as a Board Trustee of Greenhill School, as well as, the Executive Committee of The Links, Inc. in Denton County, Texas. In addition to her current community service, over the years Grace has volunteered with the Dallas Women’s Foundation, Junior League of Dallas and Children’s Medical Center Women’s Auxiliary. Committed as an active volunteer, Grace has also held leadership roles as Treasurer, Financial Secretary, Fundraising Chair, Ethics Chair and member of Nominating Committees.

Grace holds a B.S. in Finance and Master of Public Policy and Administration from Jackson State University. She resides in the Dallas area with her husband and two children.

Debra is the Southwest Region Growth Markets Leader at EY. In this role, she is responsible for setting direction and executing across the Growth Markets service platforms of Entrepreneurship, IPO, PE/VC, and Family Business. Debra also serves as Global Coordinating Partner for innovative and hyper-growth Russell 3000 and private companies. Debra also serves as the America’s Director for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® program. In this role, she oversees the 20+ regional programs in the US and 10 additional country programs in Canada, Mexico, South America and Israel. Debra also spearheads the EY Entrepreneur of the Year® program for an eight-state region in the Southwest geography.

Debra is a graduate of the University of North Texas where she received her BBA in Finance and Accounting in May 1982. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA and Texas Society of CPAs. Debra has completed the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management Executive Program and the Harvard Business School Strategic Leadership Program through EY. Debra is Past-Chair of the Board of Directors for United Ways of Texas, and served 12 years on the Board of Directors of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas (UWMD). She is a member of the UWMD Foundation Board of Directors. Debra has also served the UWMD Campaign Cabinet, Strategic Planning Committee, Tocqueville Society Chair, past chair of Women of Tocqueville, Advocacy Committee, Resource Development Committee, and Volunteer Engagement Cabinet. Debra is the President of the Dallas Chapter of International Women’s Forum and serves on the World Affairs Council Board of Directors. She is Past-President of the Dallas Regional Chamber Executive Women’s Roundtable and serves on the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Corporate Recruitment committee.

Debra and her family enjoy adventure travel and they have fished, hiked and rafted throughout North America, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Peru and Spain. In her leisure time, Debra enjoys outdoor gardening, exercising, cooking and reading. Debra and her son, Kevin, completed cooking schools in Italy, Spain and the California wine country

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