Meet the Speakers

Renee Watson responsibilities include coordinating, facilitating, implementing and monitoring the County’s Small, Minority & Women Owned Business Enterprise (SMWBE) Program, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Liaison and Title VI Coordinator. She acts as a liaison with offices and departments to ensure that SMWBEs have access to County procurement, contracting and professional services opportunities. She reviews current practices to assess and recommend improvements to increase participation. Renee works in cooperation with the Purchasing Agent, offices and departments to explore these concepts and analyze the advantages and disadvantages to modifying current practices. In addition, she works directly with community organizations, other public entities and vendors to promote participation and access in local, state and federal and private sector procurement opportunities. She is a member of the County Manager’s Executive Leadership Team. 

Latifah Jackson is a procurement professional specializing in Texas government procurement and a small business advocate. Latifah is currently the Supplier Diversity Manager at University Health in San Antonio, Texas. Her mission is to educate business owners on how to do business with government entities and help them further develop their companies. She has developed and lead efforts locally and nationally.  Latifah prides herself with being a learner, having an innovative thought process and excellent customer service, which she credits for her quick acceleration in her career. Latifah is a Certified Texas Procurement Manager, Certified Texas Contract Manager and a Certified Contracts Administrator. Latifah currently serves on the Board for the South Central Texas Regional Certification Agency, Board of Directors as Member at Large for the San Antonio Public Purchasing Association and participates in other Professional Organizations. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Texas A&M Corpus Christi and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Business Administration from University of Incarnate Word.

Mark Winchester is the Deputy District Director for the Houston District Office of the U.S Small Business Administration and has been with the agency for 10 years.

As Deputy District Director, duties include supervising district staff and assisting the District Director in overseeing the delivery of SBA programs and services in the 32 counties served by the district. Last year, this included over $1Billion in loan guarantees and surety for small businesses in the district.

Winchester is also 2015 Ike Award Recipient. Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957 the President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service was created to allow the President to recognize civilian officers or employees of the federal government who have made contributions "so outstanding that the officer or employee is deserving of greater public recognition than that which can be accorded by the head of the department or agency in which he is employed."

Before joining SBA, Mr. Winchester worked for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) for nearly eight years. During that time period Mr. Winchester worked for the Women’s Business Center (WBC), Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the Veteran’s Business Outreach Center (VBOC) and the Rio South Texas Regional Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC). 

Mr. Winchester is also a three-time recipient of the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) District Office Counselor of the Year Award and a two-time recipient of both the SBDC State Star Award and Congressional Letters of Recognition. 

While at UTRGV, Mr. Winchester held various positions including SBDC Certified Business Advisor (CBA) Level IV Counselor, Special Projects Coordinator and Assistant SBDC Director. In addition, Mr. Winchester served as VBOC Director and Director of the Rio South Texas Regional PTAC.

Prior to UTRGV, Mr. Winchester was an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer for a non-profit in the area of housing and economic development. Mr. Winchester has also worked for several insurance companies and was exposed to complex litigation, risk management, and underwriting. Mr. Winchester has also worked for the State of Connecticut Attorney General’s Office as well as U.S. Navy Submarine Force.

Mr. Winchester holds an AS, BBS, and MBA from the University of Connecticut at Storrs. His expertise is in Finance and Information Technology.

The United States Supreme Court was not the picture that Clifton Taulbert saw each morning growing up on the Mississippi Delta. He saw cotton fields—a world he thought would never change. But change it did, and the podium at the Library of Congress, where he was once invited as the special guest speaker of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, is just one of the many places where his journey has taken him. The former migrant cotton field worker is now an award-winning author, an entrepreneur, an educator, an inspiration, and a CEO of two different companies: Taulbert is the founder of the Freemount Corporation –an  international human capital consultancy and the President & CEO of ROOTS JAVA COFFEE an African American owned  national coffee supply company.

Taulbert, the writer, is recognized and embraced around the world, from South Africa to Australia. His first book, Once Upon A Time When We Were Colored, became an international bestseller and a major motion picture. The United States government selected the book as a gift for Nelson Mandela upon his release from prison in 1990.

His most recent book, The Invitation, was chosen by the Architect of the United States Capitol as part of the 50^thanniversary celebration of the signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Legislation. Taulbert has written fourteen books in total, produced a major motion picture, and served as a consultant on several documentaries: Jews in the Delta and the Emmy-award winning Boomtown: An American Journey, which details the birth of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

In 2018, Taulbert was asked by the University of Utah to open their 2018 Fulbright Scholars Innovation Conference, where he spoke to one hundred and twenty scholars from around the world. Taulbert’s address, The Revival of the Inquisitive Mind, was widely enjoyed at the U.S. State Department-sponsored conference.

Taulbert, a member of Phi Beta Kappa, graduated valedictorian of his high school class. He now serves as a Trustee for the University of Tulsa and is on the Board of Reference at Oral Roberts University. In 2017, Ambassador Barbara Stephenson, President of the American Foreign Service Association, presented Taulbert with the 2017 Citizen Diplomat Award, the highest honor given by Global Ties U.S.



Taulbert has been inducted into the Enlisted Airman Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of the 27^th NAACP Image Award for Literature. He is a Trustee for the Tulsa Library Trust, the Oklahoma Foundation for Academic Excellence, and the Tulsa Historical Society, and he serves on the Eudora Welty Advisory Board, the Anne Kathryn Sickle Cell Fund, and the Indian Nation Council of Boy Scouts.

Taulbert lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma and shares his life with his wife, Barbara. They have one son, Marshall Danzy Taulbert, a film and athleisure wear fashion entrepreneur in Los 

Angeles, California.

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