Black Domers: Blazing Trails in 21st Century Business & Entrepreneurship

Experience the Event

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Thursday, February 15, 2024 7:00 pm

“Recent events in our nation have led to a national reckoning, to soul-searching and a demand for action with regard to racial and social injustice…There is a widespread sense of urgency to come together, to take meaningful action to achieve a more just and equitable society. Accompanying the urgency is a sense of hope that now is the moment for constructive and lasting change.” – Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Notre Dame: A Strategic Framework, June 2021

As our nation continues to face urgent calls for racial justice, many members of the Notre Dame family are seeking safe spaces for honest dialogue that can advance understanding and become a foundation for action. It is in that spirit that the Black Alumni of Notre Dame and ThinkND invite you to join us for the second season of Black Domers. We’ll explore experiences of Black alumni and students, imagine the future of social justice, convene Black entrepreneurial and business trailblazers, nurture Black well-being, and cultivate Black spirituality. All are welcome!

Join us for a discussion on how Black business leaders and entrepreneurs are blazing trails to success in the 21st century business landscape. Moderated by Dr. Paige S. Jackson, Ph.D., this panel will feature Christina Fisher ’12 EMBA, Dr. Leon Jackson ’19 MBA, Rashod Johnson ’08 MBA, and Jimmy Rayford ’12, vice chair of the Black Alumni of Notre Dame, in a discussion about the trailblazer mindset and their unique and individual journeys to success. Juliana Newbill ’02, IrishCompass program manager, will offer practical advice for activating your Notre Dame network.

Experience the event on Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Moderator:

• Paige S. Jackson, Ph.D., Associate Director, Law & Graduate Business Annual Giving, University of Notre Dame

Speakers:

• Christina Y. Fisher ’12 EMBA, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA)
• Leon Jackson, Ph.D. ’19 EMBA, founder and CEO of The Diversity in Leadership Program
• Rashod R. Johnson, PE ’08 MBA, president and CEO of Ardmore Roderick
• Juliana Newbill ’02, IrishCompass program manager at the Notre Dame Alumni Association
• Jimmy Rayford ’12 MBA, CEO of Dealers Wholesale, vice chair of the Black Alumni of Notre Dame board

To submit a question for the speakers before the event, please use this form.

Meet the Moderator: Paige Jackson, Ph.D.

Dr. Paige Jackson currently serves as the Associate Director for Law and Graduate Business in Annual Giving at Our Lady’s University within University Relations. Dr. Paige is responsible for overseeing two giving societies: The Order of St. Thomas More and the John Cardinal O’Hara Society. A proud Detroit native (Go LIONS!), Dr. Jackson has been dedicated to the institution since 2017, demonstrating a strong passion for strategic planning, organizational leadership, and personal and professional development. With a background in Student Affairs at the start of her career, she eagerly anticipates connecting with alumni who share a commitment to making a positive impact within the realms of Law and Graduate Business, ensuring they remain a Force For Good.

Meet the Speaker: Christina Y. Fisher '12 EMBA

Christina Fisher ’12 EMBA is executive vice president and chief financial officer for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), a national federation of independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies. Today, one in three Americans is covered by the Blue System.

Fisher oversees the Association’s finance, enterprise information technology, information security, enterprise program management and group purchasing organizations. She is also responsible for the National Employee Benefits Administration, which manages over $15 billion in retirement plan assets for participating BCBS entities nationwide, and four venture investment funds totaling $900 million in committed capital from 38 BCBS entities. 

Prior to joining the Association, Fisher was senior vice president and chief financial officer of the American Hospital Association, where she led strategic alignment and operational transformation of finance, information technology, meeting and travel services and facilities management. Previously, she served as vice president of finance for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, overseeing the financial planning and analysis functions for the Chicago Fed and collaborating on projects with leaders across the Federal Reserve System. Earlier in her career, she worked as a management consultant with Deloitte & Touché and Accenture. 

Fisher holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Washington University in Saint Louis and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame. She is active in her church and community activities, and she serves on the Board of Directors for Girls in the Game, a non-profit that empowers girls through sports, health and leadership programs. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Public Service Sorority, Inc.

Meet the Speaker: Leon Jackson, Ph.D. '19 EMBA

Leon A. Jackson, Ph.D. ’19 MBA, is first and foremost, the proud father to Leon Jackson II and Kamran Jackson. 

Jackson is founder and CEO of The Diversity in Leadership Program, an initiative to help close educational attainment gaps, wealth gaps, skills gaps, and opportunity gaps for marginalized groups and veterans with the aim of creating more inclusive ecosystems throughout the globe. The Diversity in Leadership Program succeeds in those aims through strategic partnerships with institutions of higher education and industry from around the country. 

The program seeks to aid its participants advance their careers: Since its founding in 2021, 84 percent of participants have received promotions, with 17 reaching executive-level positions and six moving to CEO roles. The program currently operates in Indiana, and Ohio with partnerships in Chicago, Los Angeles, Michigan, as well as Tennessee, on the horizon. Since its inception, the program has served as a pipeline for Notre Dame’s Business school program, with over 30 graduates of the program now enrolled in the ND’s EMBA, traditional 2-year MBA, 1-year MBA, Executive Master of Nonprofit Administration (EMNA), and Masters in Data Analytics programs.

From 2021 – 2023 Dr. Jackson served as the Chancellor of Marian University’s St. Joseph’s College, where Jackson increased total enrollment more than 1,200% percent and raised more than $4.5 million in student scholarships and support. Under his leadership the college was able to forge strong partnerships with local business, government, and nonprofit leaders that led to over 150 apprenticeship opportunities for students. 

Jackson earned his Ph.D. in workforce development and organizational leadership from The University of Nevada–Las Vegas. He received a master’s degree in workplace learning and performance, also from the University of Nevada–Las Vegas, as well as an Executive MBA from the University of Notre Dame, and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Indiana State University.

Meet the Speaker: Rashod R. Johnson, PE '08 MBA

Rashod R. Johnson, PE ’08 MBA is President and CEO of Ardmore Roderick, which he transformed into one of the largest Black-owned infrastructure engineering and construction firms in the US. For four consecutive years, the firm ranked in the top 20 on Crain’s Chicago Business list of the 50 fastest-growing companies in Chicagoland.

Rashod founded The Roderick Group, Inc. in 2005 and acquired Ardmore Associates, LLC in 2017, forming Ardmore Roderick, a full-service infrastructure firm with 300+ employees. Under Rashod’s leadership, Ardmore Roderick has evolved from a local leader to a multi-state, multimillion-dollar powerhouse with offices in several states and Puerto Rico.

Demonstrating Rashod’s commitment to creating diverse and inclusive workplaces, almost 60% of Ardmore Roderick’s workforce and leadership is diverse—35+ points above the industry average.

Ardmore Roderick is actively involved in large-scale public and private contracts, with Rashod serving as Project Executive for prominent projects for VIP clients, including the Chicago Department of Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Chicago Transit Authority, and the Obama Foundation, currently overseeing over $20 billion in construction.

In pursuit of continued success, Rashod has established an external Advisory Committee and an internal Strategic Planning Committee to develop aggressive plans for Ardmore Roderick’s national expansion through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. In 2008, as President and CEO of The Roderick Group (now Ardmore Roderick), he acquired Material Service Testing Laboratories, a union construction material testing, engineering, and research firm. Within three years, he grew it from a one-million-dollar business to a six-million-dollar business and sold the company in 2018 for ten times the purchasing price.

Devoted to serving African American communities, Rashod is currently a member of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida; the Illinois State Black Chamber of Commerce; a member of the Board of Trustees for St. Ignatius College Prep; and a member of the Board of Trustee for the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Additionally, Rashod serves as a Board Member of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association – Planning and Design Division and Government Affairs Committee; he is a graduate of Leadership Orlando Class 100; an active member of the Commercial Club of Chicago; and the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Chicago. Rashod’s past community and association involvement includes Year-Up Chicago, YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, South Side YMCA of Chicago, National Society of Black Engineers, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Rashod earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, an MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In his free time, Rashod enjoys being a #GirlDad to his teenage daughter, Leila, and teaching her to share in his passions of faith, live music, travel, cars, and sports.

Meet the Speaker: Juliana Newbill '02

Juliana Newbill is the IrishCompass Program Manager for the Notre Dame Alumni Association at the University of Notre Dame. In this role, she manages the strategy and execution of Notre Dame’s official digital platform for career and professional development. Previously, Juliana served as the D&I Project Manager at Whirlpool. At Crowe, Juliana was part of the leadership team that managed the design, development, and implementation of programs and initiatives related to women’s leadership and Diversity and Inclusion, impacting over 25,000 personnel. 

Juliana holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Indiana Wesleyan University. She lives in South Bend with her husband, 3 daughters, and son.

Meet the Speaker: Jimmy Rayford '12 MBA

With over a decade of executive experience, Jimmy Rayford ’12 has distinguished himself as a culture architect, commercial value creator and manufacturing expert. Since 2020, Jimmy has served as CEO of Dealers Wholesale, a leading Indianapolis-based provider of doors, fireplaces, and other building product solutions. 

After spending his career with several different companies, Jimmy has found his home with Dealers Wholesale. He believes in the possibility of a people-first, high-performance culture. That is why he decided to join Dealers Wholesale – to help lead the amazing team at Dealers to amazing results for each other and their customers. During his time with Dealers, Jimmy has spearheaded the best financial performance in the sixty-year history of the company, completed a strategic acquisition, significantly improved team engagement and customer experience. 

Prior to joining Dealers Wholesale, he was Chief Commercial Officer and SVP of Strategy and Business Development for Strategic Materials, North America’s largest glass recycler. Earlier in his career, Jimmy had leadership roles with Belden, Danaher, Sanmina-SCI, and IBM. 

Jimmy serves on five Boards, including More than A Phone, The Center for the Performing Arts of Carmel, Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Indiana, Black Alumni of Notre Dame and KIPP Indy. He holds a BS in industrial engineering from Clemson University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Jimmy and his wife Bailey have been married for 22 years and they have two children:  daughter Reese who is 15 years old and son Logan who is 8 years old. Their family core values are family over everything, experiences over things, dream big, health is wealth and building upon their ancestors’ legacy.