CORPORATE TEAM
Karyne Henry, serves as President of Orion Enterprises & Consulting Services, Inc. She is currently the Chairperson for Orion Community Outreach Alliance the not-for-profit, community-based division of Orion that provides outreach, education, training and enrollment services for the State of Maryland's HealthChoice & MCHIP programs. Ms. Henry is currently senior board member and President of the Board of Suited to Succeed of Maryland and was past Vice-Chair of Lupus Mid Atlantic. Ms. Henry is currently Chair of the membership committee for the Greater Baltimore Black Chamber of Commerce and is a Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) for the State of Maryland. She is an intermediary and advisor to politicians and corporations seeking strategic planning, organizing and partnership acquisition.
Ms. Henry received her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Morgan State University and her Masters in Public Management from the University of Maryland. She is a graduate of the Rutgers University Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution and holds a certification in Crisis Communications and Management from the Institute for Crisis Management. Ms. Henry is a technical Assistant for the University of Maryland's "Resource Mentoring Program" as well as being an Adjunct Professor at the Baltimore City Community College.
She has traveled nationally providing polling, survey and focus group outreach and facilitation. She is an event moderator that brings a unique flair and behavioral change methodology to her participants. She assisted in the design model for the Community Health Information Network utilized by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's, "Closing the Gap on Health Disparities" program.
Ms. Henry is a certified Coach, for individuals and businesses seeking life and business enhancement skills that has lectured and presented to numerous groups nationally. She is a Lobbyist and Notary Public in the State of Maryland. She is a member of the National Association for Female Executives, Public Relations Executives Round Table as well as other well noted business and social organizations. She was also nominated as one of Maryland's "Top 100 Women".
For over 16 years Ms. Henry has been a community advocate, organizer and Public Relations Executive that provides culturally appropriate, effective Media, Marketing, Public Relations, Business and Political Consulting Services for individuals, organizations and corporations.
Sharon L. Dukes - Senior Vice President of Orion Enterprises & Consulting Services, Inc has over 25 years of media, marketing, public relations, and business writing experience. Her primary responsibilities are as Orion's media, public relations and business writing and communications services. She has served as Professional Staff Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, House Banking Committee's Subcommittee on General Oversight Investigations and the Resolution of Failed Financial Institutions. An award-winning scriptwriter, she has extensive experience in the communications industry having been a entertainment publicist, media coordinator and public relations consultant, television producer and on-air talent, newspaper reporter, copy editor, and magazine columnist. Renowned individuals voicing her work include actors Ossie Davis, Malcolm Jamal Warner and Karen Parsons, TV Talk Show Host Maury Povich, Carol Randolph ABC News Anchor, CBS Sports Anchor Bill Macatee, NBC4 News Anchors Jim Vance and Doreen Gentzler and former Congressman Reverend Floyd Flake. Ms. Dukes holds a Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications from Morgan State University. She is a member of the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (AFTRA), and is Administrator for the Board of Trustees for The Foundation For Child and Family Development
Caprece Jackson-Garrett, Vice President of Political and Media Relations, also serves as Orion’s Special Projects Director and Marketing Analyst, as well as being co-founder and senior partner of Power Politics Consulting—a division of Orion Enterprises. Caprece is a high-energy marketing-industry professional with more than 25 years of collective experience in politics, public relations, promotions, professional writing, event planning and fundraising. Her menu of services include event and account management, business development, developing and implementing marketing and promotional strategies, cultivating media- public- political and community relations; and managing the development, production and dissemination of print collateral for public consumption.
Caprece has demonstrated her capacity to apply multiple marketing related skills sets simultaneously while developing infrastructure components of hundreds of successful events including fundraisers for corporate, non-profit, political, high-volume and milestone occasions. Her client roster as a professional writer in the Washington/Baltimore market, New York City and Paris, France includes JCPenneys, Hechts, ELLE and Black Enterprise Magazines, Fairchild Publications, the Allegis Group and The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The effervescent wife and mother of two is a graduate of Ohio University, and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, NY. Caprece has served on dozens of committees and is currently serving on the Suited To Succeed of Maryland Board. She is co-founder and senior partner of EleArte & Co. – a full service event management company servicing the greater Baltimore/Washington corridor. Caprece is a member of New Shiloh Baptist Church located in Baltimore City.
Ms. Jackson-Garrett is acknowledged by clients and colleagues alike as a creative and detailed-oriented team player, who manages projects effectively and provides support for the development of strategic initiatives. She delivers quality outcomes and functions well under pressure.
Charlisa R. Watson, - Director of Health Care Initiatives has over seventeen years of diversified experience in integrated delivery systems, management and supervision of staff, program development, reorganization and implementation. Expertise includes Medicaid managed care, administration, project management, strategic planning, network development, marketing, medical sales, provider contracting, credentialing and clinical care coordination. Mrs. Watson is a Management consultant that implements new standards into protocols policies and procedures and oversees the development, maintenance and dissemination of policies and procedures. She monitors and coordinates orientation, on-going training plans and the setting of standards of performance for executives and staff. She assists in recruitment, orientation and contracting of clients; and provides development of relationships with the business community in order to assure a positive reputation for the organization and smooth working relationships with associated agencies and linkages in the Baltimore Washington metropolitan region. Mrs. Watson also develops and designs programs and materials to educate and train client participates. In 1995 she was appointed to serve as Chairperson for the Cultural Diversity Awareness Program Committee to design and implement a training program for the staff and community workers. She brings a level of expertise and excellence to Orion that is rarely surpasses in the industry.
Steve Raabe, Opinion Research Director - is the founder and president of OpinionWorks, a full service market and opinion research firm based in the Mid-Atlantic. OpinionWorks provides clients with critical insights based on scientifically-sound survey research, at an affordable cost.
Dating back to 1985, Steve has designed and overseen literally hundreds of opinion research projects in many fields. Steve and our team research behaviors and attitudes for non-profit organizations, associations, corporations, government agencies, and the media.
Steve offers public hearing testimony as an expert witness on survey findings, is called upon to comment for the news media on public issues, advises nonprofit executives on how to strengthen member loyalty and maximize the return from their donors, and briefs corporate leaders on the best methods of improving their standing with the public or their customers.
He is a sampling expert, known for developing stringent methodologies that will achieve the truest possible representation of the population surveyed. His questionnaire design is well-regarded within the community of research professionals.
Steve attended American University in Washington, D.C., earning a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and graduating cum laude in 1986. He also served on Capitol Hill as Director of Public Policy for Lutheran Services in America, the largest private human services network in the nation. For ten years, Steve served as Director of Research and Executive Vice President of Potomac Incorporated, a public affairs firm based in the Washington, D.C. area. He was field coordinator for the Maryland State Teachers association, and has been an active volunteer and staffer for a number of political campaigns, including two stints as field staff for Presidential candidates. Steve is an active volunteer in his local community.
Marva Goldsmith - Senior Project Consultant - is a Public speaker, trainer and facilitator with over 25 years of leadership and business experience. She is a certified image consultant with training in voice, diction, etiquette and media training. She has developed a track record of contributions through effective leadership, public relations and project management. Ms. Goldsmith provides image management and etiquette services for welfare-to-work clients, public officials, corporate executives and students of all ages. She works with clients on self-image, life goals, and the development of self-mastery in personal and professional demeanor so that all components of personal presentation operate in harmony and unison. Marva uses her diverse experiences and her unique skill set to create an environment in which her clients participate in personal transformation.
Marva models what she teaches--reinvention, personal brand and image management. She returned to school at the age of 41 to receive a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University with a concentration in Leadership. Marva studied image management with the London Image Institute, Dominique Isbecque International, and the Image Resource Group and attended the Peter Montoya Personal Brand University. She has earned the designation of Certified Image Professional (which is held by less than 100 image consultants in the United States) from the Association of Image Consultants International. She obtained additional leadership training through the Center for Creative Leadership and Georgetown University’s Leadership Coaching Program.
Marva has also authored four workbooks including; “Branding YOU, Incorporated; A Guide to Creating & Maintaining Your Personal Brand”; “The Civility Playbook”, “Marketing Yourself for the Future: A Visual Workbook for Career Development” and “I Don’t Need NO Manners ‘Cause I Live in the Hood! The Hood is a State of Mind.”
Alvin A. Jones serves as Chief Financial Officer for Orion. A few of the services Mr. Jones provides are financial planning, forecasting, systems analysis, business planning and analysis and organizational structuring. He has over 45 years of financial planning experience as well as a financial client base of over 450 active clients. Mr. Jones is a former Regional Director for H & R Block in Baltimore, Washington, Northern Va. and New York. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration. Mr. Jones was a member of Mayor Martin O'Malley's transition team and is the former Chairman for the Board of Directors of P.E.P., Maryland's Largest Mental Health Association. He was a supervising member at Wolpoff & Company, CPA Firm and a member of the American Institute of Banking. Mr. Jones has held several esteemed Board positions including Treasurer, Board of Directors Millennium Medical & Health Alliance, Treasurer, Board of Directors Committee for Economic Development in Urban Communities, Member, Board of Directors Morgan State University Foundation and Member, Board of Directors Centennial Real Estate Group.
Ronald Lester - Director of Market Research & Analysis is an international survey and market expert with over 19 years in the research business. He has the unique expertise in designing customized research studies that lead to the development of cutting edge messages. Mr. Lester has been featured in prominent national magazines and newspapers like the New Yorker, Emerge, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and the Washington Post for his work and he is a frequent guest analyst on the Fox TV network. Mr. Lester currently advises fifteen Members of Congress, two Mayors, and a U.S. Senator.
Over the years Mr. Lester has advised the following winning clients: former United States President Bill Clinton, United States Senator John Kerry, former United States Senator Carol Moseley-Braun; Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee; Congressman William Jefferson; former Congressman Cleo Fields; Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.; Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Congressman Elijah Cummings.
Mr. Lester conducted all of the quantitative and qualitative research leading to the development of the 1996 Clinton-Gore print, television and radio campaign targeting African-Americans. He also advised former Baltimore Mayor, Kirk Schmoke in his successful 1995 mayoral campaign, a race he won by 20 points. Between l990 and l996, Lester has also been the strategist and pollster for 15 winning congressional campaigns. Orion is honored and proud to have this legendary man as part of its organization.
Debra Keller-Green - Director of Corporate Training, provides human resource management and workforce development consulting services. She specializes in solving complex business problems and offer expert management services tailored to meet business needs. A panel of distinguished judges chose Debra Keller-Greene as an entrepreneur who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in four key areas: business development, client satisfaction, professional affiliations and community outreach.
The Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs (GOMA) and the Daily Record announced that Debra Keller-Greene, was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Minority Business Enterprises for 2006.
Debra's professional training centers around Career Development/Planning, Soft Skills Training, Organizational Development, Office Administrative Support Training, and Professional Development Workshops for Supervisors.
Amanda Clark, Esq., Orion's Director of Legal Services & Mediation is an experienced conflict management professional who has practiced ADR in Maryland since 1998 in the areas of divorce, child custody/visitation, workers compensation, personal injury, contracts, cross-cultural matters and business and real estate disputes. Amanda has completed the mediation certificate program prescribed by the Maryland Rules of Procedure and has mediated, facilitated and negotiated over 300 cases as a neutral facilitator and as a negotiator on many legal cases. Amanda's style of mediation is facilitative and transformative and she keeps confidentiality and neutrality always in the forefront of any mediation, respecting the parties and facilitating a collaborative solution to the conflict. She is an experienced project manager/director. She has also planned and implemented logistic strategy for projects and programs and maintained budgetary development, implementation and tracking. Amanda holds a Bachelors Degree in Public Administration and is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law (J.D. 1993).
Bonita Bolden Director of Marketing - serves in a multi-role capacity in promoting various clients throughout the tri-state area. She has extensive experience in fundraising, major events planning, large and small-scale health screenings, staff and volunteer coordination, and media and community relations. Ms. Bolden markets a variety of community-based multi-site programs and events serving the Baltimore - Washington metropolitan areas. She oversees special events, including health fairs, conferences, fundraisers and health campaign promotions. She handles print and broadcast media publicity and promotions including budgeting and co-production of television spots, arranging radio interviews and promotions and managing newsletter production of local and national publications.
Regina Hodges - Orion's Community Development Director has over 12 years of professional experience as a Community Development Specialist. She has been instrumental in the creation, implementation and management of homeownership programs for public housing units in Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia. These programs serve as models to promote homeownership among families with low to moderate income. As a community activist for over 18 years she has provided services to individuals in need of housing, food and clothing. Her areas of expertise include cultural competence, collaborative community planning, community development, resource mobilization and innovative housing development. Her masters level studies include community development and public administration. She has the experience, insight and know-how that provides our clients with unequaled community development services.
Pamela Patterson has served as Orion's Director of the Call Center and Customer Services for over 11 years. She provides the customer services training and phone support services necessary for optimum client satisfaction. Ms. Patterson also ensures accuracy and continuity of service for all outreach and education programs. She acts as the corporate liaison for community initiatives on local as well as our national community initiatives. As a seasoned community advocate Ms. Patterson is able to penetrate and communicate with community members and organizations that are ordinarily inaccessible.
Joyce Siler serves as Orion's Director of Community Outreach Services. She has provided customer service and field services for Orion's Community Outreach component for over 14 years. Ms. Siler directs the daily operations of the community based outreach and education division. She manages the HealthChoice program and all other community based initiatives including the Welfare to Work component that provides training and mentoring services for up to 5 - 10 young women at a time.
Evoia White, Director of Orion’s Corporate Event Facilitation Division, began her career in the event field like many others coordinating events for family and friends who admired her sense of style and ability to organize. After a few years of planning events “on the side”, she refined her expertise with a large government agency where she served for years on a special team planning various events for the agency. Evoia has played an integral part in planning for global managerial conferences and several charitable events.
Since transitioning her “hobby” into a profession, Ms. White has created partnerships with event planning leaders with strong administrative, marketing, logistic and public relations backgrounds. These cohesive individual and corporate partnerships have given Evoia the steadfast reputation of being able to get the job done, regardless of a variety obstacles or budgetary limitations.
To enhance her knowledge of the industry, Ms. White has taken the Event/Wedding Certification course through the U.S. Career Institute and continues to receive further cutting edge training in event planning, design, facilitation and management. She has strong communication and administrative skills which affords her the opportunity to interact with clients of many cultures, and technical industries. In addition, Ms. White has held formal event planning classes providing hands on skill sets to various individuals and groups. Evoia takes great pride in her ability to teach and demonstrate to others, the successful way of dealing in the event industry.
Additional company bios and the completion of existing bios will occur on or before 06/30/10. Thank you
