Supplier Diversity Leader, Executive Director, Board & Council Member
Written by Tawana Bain | Photo provided by Pamela Thompson
Lynnise Smith is a leader in the supplier diversity industry, where she uses her vision and leadership to create long-lasting opportunities. With a career spanning over two decades, she has gained extensive experience across industries and has worked in fields such as Education, Banking, and Technology. She has led national supplier diversity initiatives and provided strategic development and management of systemwide supplier diversity programs including becoming the first Supplier Diversity Manager for OhioHealth in 2017.
As the incoming Executive Director of the Women’s Business Enterprise Council Ohio River Valley (WBEC ORV), Lynnise will use her business acumen and advocacy for diverse suppliers to lead the regional partner organization of over 70 corporate members and over 1,000 Women Business Enterprises.
Lynnise has served on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council (OMSDC), as the Vice Chair of the WBEC ORV Steering Committee and as a member of the Vizient Supplier Diversity Advisory Council. She is a 2017 graduate of the African American Leadership Academy (AALA), and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Master of Arts in Psychology with a specialization in Diversity Management from Cleveland State University. She is also a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.
