Rona is the director of supplier diversity for Walgreens, member of Walgreens Boots Alliance. In this capacity, she leads a team to impact the diverse owned business inclusion rate in contracting for merchandise, goods not for resale and professional services. She and her team serve as the primary liaison and subject matter experts for identifying, developing and introducing diverse suppliers for opportunities at Walgreens. Rona has also supported HR Transformation for Walgreens and is an integral leader within the Global Office of Diversity & Inclusion recently completing a Walgreens hosted development track for its future leaders. Rona has also successfully launched two job readiness programs at Walgreens for youth aging out of foster care to gain entry level store positions.
Prior to joining Walgreens, Rona led supplier diversity initiatives in both the private and public sectors and held senior management roles in finance and accounting. Rona directed the Chicago Minority Business Opportunity Center, a $1.2M US Department of Commerce, MBDA funded project, and was acknowledged by the National Director for successfully executing financial transactions for minority owned businesses in excess of $105M. Rona has led information technology system design projects for organizational transformations as an employee and as a consultant. Rona has been cited in diversity publications, received recognitions for advocacy, commitment, and most importantly for delivering results that have contributed to the development and economic growth of the diverse owned businesses.
Rona is an active member of the community and serves for several organizations throughout the U.S. including affiliates of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, US Business Leaders Network, Conference Board, Holy Family Scholars (HFS), and the boards of Providence Englewood Charter School and Tuskegee Next Academy. Rona was recently recognized by Mass Market Retail as 1 of 6 who made a difference in 2017.
Rona has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration & Accounting from DePaul University, a Masters of Arts in Divinity, is a Certified Fraud Examiner and an ordained minister.