Friday Night Keynote Address

Colleen J. Payne-Nabors is the founder of MCI Diagnostic Center.

Colleen J. Payne-Nabors has set the bar for excellence as the CEO and founder of MCI Diagnostic Center. Her story of humble beginnings is one of success, inspiration and empowerment. MCI Diagnostic Center was established in 1998 and has become one of Oklahoma’s largest privately and locally owned Diagnostic Centers. Armed with a vision, intuition and wit, Colleen built MCI Diagnostic Center into a multimillion dollar business. Her company started out providing Mobile Nuclear Cardiology services to rural and metropolitan areas in the state of Oklahoma. Known for providing state-of-the-art equipment, a thriving mobile division, and several off site imaging facilities in collaboration with several hospitals in the State of Oklahoma, MCI Diagnostic Center is one of the most successful and economically positioned companies in Oklahoma working exclusively in the medical arena of Diagnostic Imaging.

MCI Diagnostic Center is an organization providing a valuable service to the community by accommodating up to 130 patients per day by offering a wide range of modalities in areas of CT, MRI, Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound. MCI’s capital investment exceeds over $5 million, with an average account receivables totaling over $1 million per month in gross revenue. Colleen has continued to diversify her business model by including commercial real-estate holdings.

Colleen’s passion to expose the trade secrets to becoming a successful entrepreneur combined with her wit and power of authenticity she delivers a rags to riches story that has inspired many and made her a much sought after speaker. A few of her most notable awards range from 2003 Black Enterprises’ “Business Innovator of the Year”, Fifth Fastest growing company by Tulsa People Magazine, and Innovator of the Year 2004, Pinnacle Award for outstanding women in Business.

Colleen has been featured in the Black Enterprise Report and has made many media appearances; she has been featured in several magazines and news publications and has received numerous media releases in the Tulsa World, Oklahoma Eagle, Tulsa People, Oklahoma Herald, Oklahoma Magazine, Tulsa Beacon and The Ebony Tribune.

Colleen’s vision is to build an organization redefining diagnostic imaging, combining the best people, services and technology.

Saturday Morning Keynote Address

Joseph B. Washington is the President and CEO of The Joseph Washington Group Inc.

Known across America for his passionate style of speaking Joseph Washington is a dynamic motivator, whose gift is to empower individuals through challenges and to help them embrace their future.

Joseph’s passion for speaking is a result of his own personal struggle with stuttering while growing up in San Diego, California. Joseph worked hard to overcome his disability due to the embarrassment and teasing he received from others.

It was around the age of fifteen when he noticed his speech began to change. Soon after he began to develop self confidence; he was no longer afraid to speak publicly. He soon realized that speaking was something that was becoming as natural to him as breathing. His life would take a new direction after he found himself motivating and inspiring others through words to become all that they were destined to become.

For the past 20 years, Joseph has worked in corporate America in various management capacities. He was a Corporate Manager at Delta Airlines, an Account Manger and Corporate Trainer at a large CPA firm and the Director of Sales for an Air Filter Company in the Midwest, where he was awarded the Eli Lilly award for the top sales person.

He’s been very successful and sets high standards for himself and his work. He’s received praise and awards for meritorious service, particularly for his ability to lead and manage individuals who some labeled as unmanageable. Joseph’s ability to merge corporate America’s vision with that of their employees has made him corporate America’s dream come true.

As President and CEO of The Joseph Washington Group Inc, located in Atlanta, Georgia, Joseph has created a company specializing in helping corporate America, non-profit organizations, colleges, network marketing groups and many others to deal with changing environments while maintaining a high level of performance.

He is a featured writer in the book Walking with the Wise along with such authors as Tom Hopkins, Mark Victor Hansen, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Harvey Mackay, Cynthia Kersey just to name a few.

Joseph Washington has a style that moves his audience to laugh at times or shed a few tears. One thing is for certain, people are moved to take action. With his unique, passionate delivery, which is mixed with solid content and practical principles, you are sure to see life as you have never seen it before.

Sunday Keynote Address

Dr. Cornel West is a Professor at Princeton University

One of America’s most provocative public intellectuals, Cornel West has been a champion for racial justice since childhood. His writing, speaking, and teaching weave together the traditions of the black Baptist Church, progressive politics, and jazz. The New York Times has praised his “ferocious moral vision.”

Currently the Class of 1943 Professor at Princeton University, West burst onto the national scene in 1993 with his bestselling book, Race Matters, a searing analysis of racism in American democracy. Race Matters has become a contemporary classic, selling more than a half a million copies to date. In addition, West has published 18 other books and has edited 13 texts.

West earned two bachelor’s degrees from Harvard in three years, magna cum laude. Martin Kilson, one of his professors there, describes West as “the most intellectually aggressive and highly cerebral student I have taught.” After earning his Ph.D. at Princeton, he became a professor of religion and director of the Afro-American Studies program there. West has also taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris.

In his last book Democracy Matters, West analyzes the arrested development of democracy both in America and in the crisis-ridden Middle East. He argues that if America is to become a better steward of democratization around the world, it must first recognize its own long history of imperialist corruption. His latest CD, Never Forget: A Journey of Revelations is a collection of socially conscience music featuring collaborations with Prince, Outkast, Jill Scott, Talib Kweli. West also offers commentary weekly on The Tavis Smiley Show from PRI.

West was an influential force in developing the storyline for the popular Matrix movie trilogy and has served as its official spokesperson, as well as playing a recurring role in the final two films.