AMAC Legends & Leapers: August 2023
AMAC Legends & Leapers is a virtual conversation series featuring an aviation industry legend and leaper.
Legend
Tamela Lee
Vice President, Business Diversity & Development, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
Tamela Lee serves as the Vice President of Business Diversity and Development at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, where she promotes minority and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBE) by providing access to contracting opportunities in construction, goods and services, concessions, and commercial development.
In this role, Ms. Lee has implemented the current business diversity programs at the Airport as well as the Small Business Enterprise Concessions Program (SBEC). The SBEC Program Policy seeks to foster participation by small business concessionaires, including ACDBEs, at DFW by increasing the opportunities for such firms to perform as prime concessionaires. The SBEC more effectively targets small business participation and creates opportunities relating to the Airport’s Concessions program. She is also the Title VI coordinator for the Airport, ensuring compliance with non-discrimination in business opportunities, limited English proficiency, and environmental justice.
Ms. Lee has been involved in the financial, small business, and diversity arena for several years.
Ms. Lee is involved with numerous community organizations and various chambers supporting their activities. She has conducted several workshops and seminars on financial management, growth strategies for small businesses, supplier diversity, and leadership.
Leaper
Kemah Washington
President, BRANDilly Creative Group
Whether it was selling fruits and vegetables at a corner stand in Southwest Philly, recruiting friends to sell Swedish Fish and Blowpops in junior high, or registering his first business – Six Degreez Entertainment – as a sophomore in college, Kemah E. P. Washington’s journey from a child entrepreneur to an accomplished academic and business leader is nothing short of remarkable.
As a leading figure in North Carolina’s creative, marketing, and communications industries, Kemah’s skills as a visual storyteller have won him numerous accolades and recognition since launching his agency, the BRANDilly Creative Group, in 2009.
At BRANDilly, a full-service creative agency and print shop located in Raleigh (NC), Kemah leads integrated marketing campaigns that help his clients generate demand, attain sustainable growth, and achieve profitability. With his eye for detail and a big-picture perspective, Kemah has established BRANDilly as the “go-to” agency for campaigns that turn heads and generate ROI by moving audiences from prospects to clients.
Kemah’s journey extends beyond his entrepreneurial ventures. In 2011, he and his wife Brandi and their daughter Kennedi served as missionaries at the Baptist School Complex & Orphanage in Ghana, West Africa. Upon returning to the Triangle, Kemah remains an avid volunteer with various faith and mission-based organizations and a dedicated member of the Raleigh Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Kemah holds a degree in Public Relations from Millersville University (PA) and a Master’s and Doctorate in Higher Education from North Carolina State University.
Moderators
Mori Russell
Southeast Regional Director, AMAC Board of Directors
Vice Chair, AMAC Emerging Leaders Committee
Business Development Director, Concessions International
Mori Russell is an entrepreneur and leads Business Development at Concession International, an airport food and beverage company. Mori is a third-generation leader of her family business, Concessions International, which her grandfather started 40+ years ago. She owns Olle Fit, a wellness company focused on mind, body, & spirit. Mori also owns a consulting firm, MCR Services LLC, where she provides development and community outreach work.
Mori graduated in 2015 with a Master of International Business from Florida International University. While in school, she founded and operated her first company, an accessory boutique, O’Amor, in Miami, Florida and online.
Aside from her daily business-oriented goals and operations, she leads Concessions International’s Corporate Social Responsibility Arm, CI Cares, serves as the Southeast Regional Director for the Airport Minority Advisory Council, and serves on the YMCA Metro Atlanta Ambassador Board. Mori shares her late grandfather, Herman Jerome Russell’s, passion for entrepreneurship and supporting impactful causes to communities.
Ricky D. Smith
Chair, AMAC Board of Directors
CEO, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
RICKY DORELL SMITH was appointed Executive Director/CEO of the Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) on July 10, 2015. Mr. Smith is responsible for the management and operations of Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI Marshall), Martin State Airport, and regional aviation activities throughout the State of Maryland.
photo of Maryland Aviation Administration Executive Director Ricky Smith
Mr. Smith, a 32-year transportation professional, returned to Maryland after serving as Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Airport System, which includes Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Burke Lakefront Airport. In addition, he was responsible for overseeing the development and management of the City’s lakefront properties.
Since returning to BWI Marshall, Mr. Smith has led the airport to five (5) consecutive record-setting years for passengers, including restoring BWI Marshall as the busiest airport in the Washington/Baltimore region and the Best Airport in North America for Customer Service, according to Airport Council International. Establishing a culture of performance, customer service, safety, and innovation, the airports have received several other national and regional awards for customer service, capital development, and marketing, including Emmy Awards in 2018 and 2019. In 2017, the LaunchPad program was started to enable minority-owned micro-businesses the opportunity to participate in BWI Marshall’s thriving food and retail program without barriers to entry. In 2015, he launched the BWI Marshall Youth Initiative to introduce Baltimore City youth to aviation and transportation careers. To date, over 100 youths have participated in this program.
Before his service in Cleveland, Mr. Smith served as the Chief Operating Officer for the MAA, where he helped lead BWI Marshall Airport through a $2 billion expansion program, increased air service throughout the world, and the creation of a new food and retail program. Before returning to the MAA, after a two-year departure, Ricky served as the Deputy Administrator for the Maryland State Highway Administration. In addition, he served in the private sector for several years with International Business Machines, H&R Block Business Services, The May Company, and others.
Ricky holds an Accounting degree from Howard University and an Executive MBA from Loyola University in Maryland. He graduated from several leadership programs, including the Greater Baltimore Committee and Leadership Cleveland. He is active on several national and local boards and industry associations, including the Airport Minority Advisory Council, where he serves as Board Chair, the American Association of Airport Executives, the Washington Board of Trade, the BWI Business Partnership, the World Trade Center Institute, Greater Baltimore Urban League where he serves as Board Chair, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture where he serves as Vice Board Chair, and the Morgan State University School of Communications Board of Advisors.
He has been recognized as the ‘Best State Executive for Minority Business Enterprise’ by the Maryland Washington Minority Companies Association (2022), ‘Leon C. Watkins Guardian Award’ recipient by Airports Council International/North America (2020), ‘Man of the Year’ by Women Transportation Seminar (2019), ‘Leadership in Excellence’ by Leadership Anne Arundel (2019), ‘Power 10 CEO’ by the Baltimore Business Journal (2018), ‘People Who Move America’ by the Boys Scouts of America (2018), ‘Thomas G. Newsome Founder’s Leadership Award’ by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (2018), ‘Influential Marylander’ by The Daily Record (2017), the Maryland Washington Minority Companies Association ‘Black History Hero’ award (2017), ‘Most Influential CEO in Northeast Ohio’ by Crain’s Magazine (2014, 2013), ‘National Executive of the Year’ by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (2010), and ‘Congressional Achievement Award’ from Congressman Elijah Cummings (2006).
