Carla Walker-Miller is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur, and Detroit booster.[1] She is the founder and CEO of Walker-Miller Energy Services.

Early life and education

Walker-Miller has said she chose engineering as a career due to her concerns about how to afford college, so she chose a profession that had the best earning potential without an advanced degree.[2] She received a full scholarship and completed a BS in civil engineering from Tennessee State University in Nashville.[2]

Career

Walker-Miller founded Walker-Miller Energy Services in 2000.[3] Before the Great Recession, she sold a wide range of energy equipment, similar to the work she had done for an engineering firm before founding her own company.[3][2] She then shifted her business towards offering energy-efficiency evaluations,[3][4] and Walker-Miller Energy Services made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies five times between 2007 and 2016.[5] As CEO, Walker-Miller has also adopted a $15 minimum wage and a policy against the exclusion of people with a criminal history from employment.[5]

In 2014, she was selected to participate in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, and received intensive training.[3][6][7] She has since credited the program with helping the success of her business.[3][8] As of 2018, company contracts include utility companies in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.[2]

In 2020, she was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Trustees at The Henry Ford.[9]

She also is a public speaker.[1][10]

Honors and awards

Personal life

Walker-Miller has twin sons.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 Martin, Raven (21 August 2020). "Carla Walker-Miller". Detroit Regional Chamber. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Damico, Rachelle (May 13, 2018). "How energy entrepreneur Carla Walker-Miller turned her frustration into a business opportunity". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Gallagher, John (March 25, 2018). "The backstory of a black female entrepreneur's rugged path to profit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Sherman, Laura. "Energy efficiency has been hit hard by COVID-19; don't question its merits". Utility Dive. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 Meyer, Anna. "Carla Walker-Miller". Inc.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  6. ↑ "Small business owners take next step". MSNBC. September 18, 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2021. Carla Walker-Miller and Markeith Weldon are both graduates of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, and they join Morning Joe to discuss.
  7. ↑ Abbey-Lambertz, Kate (September 18, 2014). "Michael Bloomberg: Detroit Is Just Like 1970s New York, And That's A Good Thing". HuffPost. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  8. ↑ AlHajal, Khalil (April 3, 2019). "Warren Buffett to Detroit small businesses: 'You're in the right city'". MLive. Retrieved 1 April 2021. Posted Sep 18, 2014
  9. ↑ The Henry Ford (September 30, 2020). "Linda Apsey, President and CEO, ITC Holdings Corp. and Carla Walker-Miller, Founder and CEO, Walker-Miller Energy Services, join The Henry Ford Board of Trustees". Yahoo!Finance. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  10. 1 2 "CARLA WALKER-MILLER". 50 Black Women Over 50. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  11. ↑ Christopherson, Matt (4 March 2021). "Metro Detroit Women, Linda Orlans and Carla Walker-Miller, Honored in Southeastern Michigan Business Hall of Fame". Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  12. ↑ Adams, Susan (December 21, 2017). "How Carla Walker-Miller Survived Corporate Life And A Startup Crash: 'By Crying A Lot And Being Stubborn'". Forbes. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.