For Immediate Release
September 19, 2011
Contact Information

Minority Business Development Agency
Raini Brunson
Phone: 202-482-0760
Fax: 202-219-8809
Email: rbrunson@mbda.gov
Website: www.mbda.gov

(BPRW) MBDA Recognizes James H. Lowry of the Boston Consulting Group with the Abe Venable Award for Lifetime Achievement

(BLACK PR WIRE) – WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) today announced that it will honor James H. Lowry, senior advisor and global diversity director for the Boston Consulting Group, with the Abe Venable Award for Lifetime Achievement at the annual MED Week Awards Gala Sept. 30, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. The awards gala closes out the three-day national MED Week conference.

“Throughout his life, James Lowry has championed causes that promote the growth and development of minority business enterprises,” said MBDA National Director David Hinson. “His lifelong service and commitment to the minority business community is exceptional and we are proud to recognize his achievements.” 

The Abe Venable Award for Lifetime Achievement is given to an individual who has played an integral role in the creative, technical or professional progress of the minority business community over the course of his or her life. It is named in honor of Abraham S. Venable, who joined the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1963 and later was appointed by President Richard Nixon to serve as MBDA’s first African American Director (1970-1971).

WHAT: Gala to honor winner of the Abe Venable Award for Lifetime Achievement

WHERE: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
2660 Woodley Road, NW
Washington D.C. 20008
Phone: (202) 328-2000

WHEN: Friday, September 30, 2011
7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

About the winner of MED Week’s 2011 Abe Venable Award for Lifetime Achievement:

James H. Lowry is a nationally recognized workforce and supplier diversity expert and currently senior advisor and global diversity director for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In that capacity, he leads the firm’s workforce diversity, ethnic marketing and minority business development consulting practice.

Prior to joining BCG, he owned James H. Lowry & Associates (JHLA), which was established in 1975. In 1978, JHLA prepared the first major study on minority business enterprise development for the U.S. Department of Commerce titled New Strategy for Minority Business. In 2005, Lowry authored a new study titled Realizing the New Agenda for Minority Business Development sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation in conjunction with the Billion Dollar Roundtable. Most recently, in partnership with Leonard Greenhalgh, Lowry released Minority Business Success: Refocusing on the American Dream.

MEDIA COVERAGE: MED Week and the awards gala are open to the press. Interviews with award winners can be scheduled by contacting Raini Brunson at 202.482.0760 or rbrunson@mbda.gov.

To learn more about MED Week or to register, please visit www.medweek.gov.  

About the Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week Conference:

Recognized as the nation’s premier event for minority entrepreneurs and business owners, the MED Week Conference attracts minority businesses of all sizes from all industry sectors across the country. The conference is co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Helping to make the 2011 MED Week Conference possible is a host of corporate sponsors, including top tier sponsors: AT&T, IBM, Raytheon Company, United Technologies Corporation, Wal-Mart, Deltek/INPUT, Northrop-Grumman and Tremco Incorporated. Media partners playing a significant role in promoting the conference include: Asian Fortune, Minority Business News-USA, Minority Business Entrepreneur, LatinaStyle, Minority Enterprise Advocate, The Black EOE Journal, Hispanic Network, Professional Woman’s Magazine, MBEConnect and Blackanomics Sirius/XM.