Michelle Green-Ford chosen as first woman to head Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce

Michelle Green-Ford (Shooting Starr Photography.j

Businesswoman Michelle Green-Ford has been named president and chief executive officer of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce (FWMBCC). She will fill the position left vacant by the death last July of longtime chamber executive Devoyd “Dee” Jennings.

In a news release announcing Green-Ford’s selection by the chamber’s board of directors, board chair Reginald Gates said: “She has executive leadership and business ownership experience that prepares her to produce superior results for the Black Chamber. Her selection is historic in that she is the first female president in the Chamber’s more than 40-year history.”

“I feel honored to serve in the capacity of assisting business owners to achieve their goals,” Green-Ford said in the release. “My overall focus is to partner with others to create a community where everyone can thrive.”

Green-Ford, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration, recently served as vice president and chief diversity officer for JPS Health Network, which has more than 7,000 employees.

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“As a result of Michelle’s leadership, her department at JPS increased spending with small, minority, veteran and women-owned businesses,” Gates said. “She improved access to vendor registration and provided vendor education seminars.”

Glenda Thompson, who chaired the board’s search committee, said Green-Ford did an outstanding job working with the community and supporting the chamber’s PATHS Forward Mentorship Program.

Green-Ford owned a training and consulting company for 18 years, the chamber said, and has worked with clients such as DFW Airport, American Airlines, the city of Fort Worth and Sheppard Air Force Base.

She has served on the board of directors of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Southwest Corporate Advisory Board of the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce. She is an experienced professional speaker who has addressed audiences in Puerto Rico, England, Canada and the Dominican Republic.