Suzette Bather-TaylorProgram Director, Business Diversity
Aviation Department, Port Authority of NY & NJ
With broad experience in finance, construction management and supplier diversity, Suzette Bather-Taylor, a member of ACE Health Foundation's ACE Global Leaders of Excellence Network, is a change agent in the space of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
As Program Director for Aviation at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, Suzette oversees efforts to meet or exceed participation goals for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses, as well as Small Business Enterprises, Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprises and Local Business Enterprises on all airport projects.
During her four years at the Port Authority, Suzette implemented policies that ensure airport tenants, contractors and terminal developers understand, commit to and comply with diversity participation goals in large-scale programs, like the $18 billion redevelopment at JFK. Airport partners are required to identify diversity-eligible project budgets and meet or exceed goals on requisite categories of work, including finance and other professional services, design, construction, operations and maintenance.
Prior to joining the Port Authority, Suzette served as Deputy Director for Programs in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises. She designed and executed a compliance process to monitor MWBE involvement in a $2.8 billion contract that increased NYC vendor utilization of MWBEs from .5% to 20%. She also organized a banking summit that led several banks to contribute $41 million to a fund that provides critical financing for disadvantaged contractors doing business with the city.
Suzette developed her understanding of compliance and supplier diversity while working in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office of Storm Recovery as Program Manager for Diversity and Civil Rights. Working with FEMA, she managed a $700 million budget and focused on making sure MWBEs were contracted to work on community bridge and road repair projects in the wake of Super Storm Sandy and residual impacts of hurricanes Irene and Lee.
A great deal of Suzette’s business development expertise comes from her time working for the U.S. Department of Commerce. As Program Director, she launched the Minority Business Development Agency’s Manhattan Business Development Center in a one-room office at Pace University. After a successful pitch to Bank of America, she secured 4,500 square foot of in-kind space in midtown Manhattan for the center. MWBEs earning over $1 million were able to access capital, contracts, consulting and marketing services through the center.
She also created incubator space for up to 10 smaller businesses, supporting their growth and building their capacity to work with private and public organizations.
Suzette launched her career and honed critical business skills during her 10-year tenure at JPMorgan Chase. She held a variety of roles at the bank in Global Supplier Diversity, Retail Financial Services, Corporate Strategy and Treasury & Security Services, Liquidity and Investment Products.
Suzette holds an Executive Certificate from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, an MBA in Finance and Strategy from Pace University and a BA in Psychology from Binghamton University.