AONMeetings Minority Small Business Roundtable
Welcome to the 2026 Edition of the AON Meetings Minority Business Roundtable! In response to the ideas and suggestions of our attendees during 2025, we have revamped this program so that it will be more valuable and beneficial to all attendees, both minority businesses and the resources that are available to them to take their businesses to the next level.
For 2026, the roundtable will be held quarterly. Three of the roundtables will be held virtually via the AON Meetings videoconferencing platform, from 8 am to 9 am with the July roundtable being held IN PERSON at AON Studios LLC, 1725 East University Avenue in Des Moines from 8 am to 10 am.
Please update your calendars now with the following dates –
Tuesday, January 13th 8 to 9 am VIRTUAL Guest Speaker – Jason M. Holton, President/CEO – North Central Minority Supplier Development Council
Tuesday, April 14th 8 to 9 am VIRTUAL Guest Speaker – Marquas Ashworth, Founder and Owner Ziyad Rye, President – Center at 6th
Tuesday, July 14th 8 to 10 am IN PERSON Guest Speaker – Jeremiah Wright, Owner/Operator, Get It Wright Fitness
Tuesday, October 13th 8 to 9 am VIRTUAL Guest Speaker – Kathy McKown, Government Contracting Specialist, APEX Accelerator, Iowa State University
Please register online – https://aonmeetings.com/roundtable in order to receive the access code to the virtual event. The invitation will be sent to you via email on the day before the event. Once registered, you will be registered for all four roundtables. You will not need to register again for each separately.
Our guest speaker for the January 13th roundtable is Jason M. Holton, President/CEO – North Central Minority Supplier Development Council. If you are serious about creating black wealth and a legacy for you and your business, you need to join us for this very important meeting.
Jason M. Holton is a nonprofit leader and social entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in organizational growth, strategic leadership, and community impact. He brings a proven track record of transforming organizations and driving exceptional results in the nonprofit sector.
Holton’s most notable achievements came during his 15-year career with City Year, where he served in progressively senior leadership roles. As Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition, he directed a team of 130 staff, managed a $8 million budget, and championed diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that became organizational models. As Founding Executive Director and Vice President of City Year Milwaukee, the site achieved “Best of City Year” recognition for seven consecutive years while growing impact, revenue, and partnerships.
Holton holds a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies from Lake Forest College and has completed executive education programs at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and is a graduate of the American Express Leadership Academy.
In addition to leading the NCMSDC, Holton currently serves as Board Chair of Village MKE, Inc. Holton also serves on the board of City Year Milwaukee and has previously held board positions with Teens Grow Greens and the University School of Milwaukee. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Should you have any questions, please call AON Studios at 515-630-5813.
