Enterprising Women

2006 Enterprising Women of the Year Winners — Over $10 Million and Up to $25 Million in Revenues

Issue: Vol. 7, No. 3

CASSANDRA SANFORD has achieved a remarkable record of business growth. Since founding Kelly-Mitchell just eight years ago, she has grown her information technology consulting company from $3 million in revenues to 2005 sales of over $20 million. Based in St. Louis, she expanded last year, adding offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Ramon, CA.

Serving the technology needs of Fortune 1000 companies, Cassandra has lead her company through tough economic times, particularly in the technology segment. Her five year goal is to reach $50 million in revenues and she is well on her way to reaching that goal. WBENC-certified and a WPO member, Cassandra makes a practice of mentoring other women and giving back to her community.

Cassandra Sanford
Kelly-Mitchell
St. Louis, MO

TERRI McNALLY has benefited from some top-notch mentoring from Hedy Ratner and Carol Dougal of the Women’s Business Development Center in Chicago. (Hedy and Carol were inducted into our Hall of Fame in 2003.) In turn, Terri has given back in countless ways through leadership positions on the WBENC Board of Directors, the WPO, and WIPP. She represented the WPO and WBENC as a guest speaker at the Global Summit of Women in Mexico City last June. Her company, Global Capital, Ltd., is engaged in equipment leasing and financing, sales of used computer equipment, and asset management and tracking. With 2005 revenues of $23 million, she has set a five-year goal of reaching $100 million.

Giving back to the community extends globally for Terri. She coordinated the collection of over 500 computers and laptops for the women and children of Afghanistan.

Terri E. McNally
Global Capital, Ltd.
Grayslake, IL

TANA GREENE has built her company, Strataforce, into a thriving company that specializes in helping its clients engage a diverse workforce, increase retention and productivity, and grow their businesses. Her hard work has paid off: In three short years, the company has reached more than $21 million in annual revenues and has clients across the Carolinas. Doubling its business in the past year alone, the company now has five Strataforce branches and gives back to the community in a variety of ways.

Tana serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Diversity Council of the Carolinas and is a charter member of the Charlotte, NC WPO Chapter.

Tana Greene
Strataforce
Cornelius, NC

CLARICE KENNEDY faced the economic downturn of 2002 head on and worked hard to turn her 16-year-old information technology company around. Her hard work paid off when she won contracts with IBM and Quest Diagnostics. Reaching $12 million in 2005 revenues, her New York City-based company is on firm ground and growing rapidly. She is now serving as a mentor and coach for another woman entrepreneur in Count Me In’s Make Mine a Million Program.

Actively involved in NAWBO, Common Ground, and Dress for Success (a not-for-profit that trains low-income women transitioning back into the workforce), Clarice has earned a reputation as an outstanding community leader. She has held leadership positions for WBENC and is a WPO Member at Large.

Clarice Kennedy
Chamrock Computer Network, Inc.
New York, NY

JUNE COLDREN has made her mark in the historically male-dominated field of oil and gas with her nine-year-old company, New Orleans-based Cenergy Corporation. Doubling her company’s sales to $18 million in the past three years, June has given back through leadership positions in WIPP, the WPO, WBENC, and a number of other organizations. She is the founder of All the Way Home, a non-profit organization designed to house victims of abuse, and actively participates in fundraising for the United Way, the American Red Cross, and a Secret Santa Program in her community.

Her mentors in business are Terry Neese, the co-founder of WIPP, Susan Bari, president of WBENC, and Marsha Firestone, president of the WPO.

June Coldren
Cenergy Corporation
New Orleans, LA

(This article is reprinted from the 2006 Enterprising Women of the Year edition (Vol. 7, No. 3) of Enterprising Women magazine. Copyright 2006, Enterprising Women Inc. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited, except by express permission of the publisher.)

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