• Carmen D. Jones, Founder
• Booker T. Daniels, II, President
• Sean Downing, Web Development
• Bill and Cheryl Duke, Directors of Education and Training
• Daphne Edwards, Brand Management
• Janine Bertram Kemp, Communications Strategy
• Joan Leotta, Articles Editor
• Mary-Louise G. Piner, Editor
• Wil Reed, Creative Director/Designer

Carmen D. Jones, Founder

Carmen Jones knows that people with disabilities are a large, yet overlooked market. She also knows people with disabilities will not be a factor in the diversity equation until corporations embrace them as a viable market segment. Carmen's passion is to create win-win relationships linking companies and people with disabilities. Solutions Marketing Group (SMG) partners with clients to develop, execute and implement disability marketing programs. SMG's programs boost sales, build loyalty, and fortify brands, so its clients become the recognized leader.

Prior to founding the SMG in 1998, Carmen was the Vice President of Marketing at Evan Kemp Associates, Inc., and its three subsidiaries. She oversaw marketing and public relations for the company's national publication, coordinated marketing for corporate clients, and developed marketing for the company's durable medical equipment and van/vehicle conversion division.

SMG's client list includes Darden Restaurants, CESSI, AT&T, Universal Designers and Consultants, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, American Express, Visa, UBS, America Online, ESPN, Questex Media, Global Lead, Fleishman-Hillard and al Punto Advertising. She has also conducted workshops or spoken at events for Major League Baseball, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Multi-Cultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance, Sodexo USA, the U.S. Business Leadership Network, The Hartford, the National Disability and Business Council Annual Conference, and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education Leadership Conference.

Carmen is active in the disability community and has held several leadership positions. She was on the Boards of the National Organization for Diversity in Sales and Marketing, the AT&T Advisory Panel on Access and Aging, Mount Vernon-Lee Enterprises, the Global Universal Design Commission, and Jill's House, a respite care facility for children with disabilities. In 2008, Carmen was inducted into the National Spinal Cord Injury's Hall of Fame for the category of Entrepreneur.

Carmen has been featured on On A Roll Radio, CNNfn, The New York Times, Black Enterprise, Glamour, New Mobility and Essence Magazine. She is a graduate of Hampton University, with a B.S. in Marketing. During her junior year she was injured in an automobile accident, resulting in paraplegia.

Carmen may be reached at

Booker T. Daniels, II, President

Booker Daniels understands that sound marketing strategies can open the door to a wide range of opportunities for businesses and individuals. Booker knows that valuing people as well as markets can create long-term mutually beneficial relationships. As a marketing professional with more than 15 years of experience, Booker has applied his expertise in a range of fields ranging including: consumer goods, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment and public health. Booker brings a particular passion to the disability market.

Booker has designed marketing campaigns most recently for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to build awareness and promote education about issues related to HIV/AIDS. Booker has worked as a rehab technology specialist, which affords him with insight in understanding the fundamental needs of individuals with disabilities. Booker brings and unique blend of insights central to understanding the nuances and opportunities of the disability marketplace, and will continue to build upon SMG's solid performance by taking the company to the next level.

Booker may be reached at

Sean Downing, Web Development

Sean has been working on the web since the "early days"—before Netscape, before Internet Explorer, back when Gopher was the killer app. Recognizing the importance of the web for communication and information exchange, Sean quickly became focused on providing clients with the tools and resources that they need to help them work better.

Sean spent four years teaching and learning at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he earned his MS in physics. He next pursued a two-year fellowship in Washington, DC, where he helped manage elements of the U.S. Global Change Research Program. In his latest venture, he founded of Logan Technical Services, an Internet consulting firm he operates from Seattle, Washington.

In addition to being SMG's Webmaster, Sean also develops online accessibility solutions for the SMG's clients. Contact him at .

Bill and Cheryl Duke, Directors of Education and Training

Since 1990 the Dukes have been encouraging businesses to recognize persons with disabilities as a powerful consumer market. They developed Opening Doors®, an innovative skills-based customer service program on how to serve persons with mobility, hearing, or visual disabilities. They quickly became recognized as the national authority in customer service and employee training in disability etiquette and employing persons with disabilities.

Their Opening Doors® programs are industry specific for the travel, hospitality, gaming, entertainment, and quick service restaurant industries. Corporate clients having customized programs and making commitments to train every employee in Opening Doors® include the following: Advantica Restaurant Group, Inc., Denny's, American Airlines, American Express, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inns, Harrah's Casinos, Holiday Inns, Holiday Inn Express, Homewood Suites, Inter-Continental Hotels, Long John Silver's, Microtel, John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts, Olive Garden, Prime Hospitality, Red Lobster, Stone Mountain Park, GA, and Central FL attractions.

As a result of their efforts, the Dukes received the "Unsung Virginian" award, and they became the first family to receive the Victory Award, which was presented at the White House by Barbara Bush. Articles about their programs have appeared in publications such as the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, the Cornell University Quarterly, Virginia Business, Travel and Leisure, Lodging Hospitality, and Hotel Business.

Daphne Edwards, Brand Management

A strategic partner of SMG, Daphne Edwards contributes to the development of ad copy, design, and brand building for clients. Daphne is founder of Marketing Concepts, a Minneapolis-based consulting firm specializing in growth initiatives for small businesses.

Prior to founding Marketing Concepts, Daphne spent nearly a decade with General Electric in a variety of operations, marketing, and branding roles. She managed late-stage collections, customer service, and operations for the company's private-label credit card and consumer loan businesses. At GE's corporate headquarters, she led a cross-selling initiative that produced incremental sales of $348 million.

Daphne's skill in brand building comes in part from her time spent as GE's first Corporate Identity Manager. In this position, she had global oversight of the use of the General Electric brand by GE businesses, joint ventures, and Wal-Mart—GE's $200 million licensing partner. Most recently, Daphne led the creation of GE's first corporate television and print advertising campaign for Europe. She also led a global brand study that resulted in new corporate positioning for the company, influencing all forms of GE's communications.

Daphne lives in suburban Minneapolis with her husband and son. Contact her at .

Janine Bertram Kemp, Communications Strategy

Janine Bertram Kemp is a strategic partner of SMG and the owner of Cedar Media, a communications consulting firm specializing in diversity involving the inclusion of people with disabilities in the mainstream of society. She designs and conducts training modules in developing the communications skills necessary to conduct public policy campaigns as well as training staff of non-profit organizations in conveying their message through the media. She has written numerous articles for disability publications as well as reports and proposals for federal and state agencies. A sampling of clients includes Pax TV, Maryland Statewide Independent Living Council, and the Federal Transit Administration.

She is the former Communications Director for the American Association of Persons with Disabilities. Prior to that time, she was Chairman of the Board of Evan Kemp Associates, a durable medical equipment and accessible transportation company based in Maryland. From 1988-1992, she served as Assistant to Evan J, Kemp, Jr., Chairman U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, writing speeches and reports and assisting with the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She is Vice President of Communications for the National Spinal Cord Injury Association and served on the Department of Labor's Delphi Panel. Janine divides her time between Washington, D.C. and Mt. Hood, Oregon.

Contact Janine at

Joan Leotta, Articles Editor

Joan Leotta is a professional story performer and writer. She holds a master's degree in economics and international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In addition to writing on disability issues, Joan covers general business topics, writes for travel and history interests, and creates fiction and poetry.

Recognized by the Virginia Commission on Fine Arts as a poet, Joan is the author of several non-fiction books, including Writing Techniques for Hotel Managers, Massachusetts (a children's history book), and most recently, a travel guide, The Complete Guide to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Her storytelling work includes entertaining crowds at the Kennedy Center, many schools, museums, and libraries. She also training teachers and librarians in the use of storytelling in social studies and in teaching English as a second language. In the business world, Joan applies story and theater skills as a teambuilding consultant.

Joan lives in Arlington, Virginia. Contact her at .

Mary-Louise G. Piner, Editor

Mary-Louise Piner, Editor of the Profiles in Excellence online feature, is a writer and editor based in the Los Angeles area. She is the former editor of One Step Ahead, a monthly publication with a circulation of 75,000 that featured news and resources of interest to people with disabilities.

Mary-Louise earned her BA in English and BS in secondary education from The University of Scranton. A graduate of Gallaudet University with an MA in American Sign Language linguistics, Mary-Louise has also worked as an ASL interpreter in educational and other professional settings.

Mary-Louise resides in Whittier, California with her husband and twin daughters. Contact her at .

Wil Reed, Creative Director/Designer

Wil Reed is responsible for developing and coordinating visual communications projects through all stages, including conception, graphic design, photography, production, printing and web design.

Wil specializes in web site design, producing tombstone and display advertisements, firm identity packages, brochures, newsletters, and manuals for law firms and professional service organizations.

Wil has over eleven year of graphic design and desktop publishing experience in both private and public industry. He currently serves as Creative Director for the information design firm tigr blu Design. Contact him at .