Throughout the month of February, we will be featuring Lane Tech Black Alumni who have contributed to the current Lane student body OR our greater community in a significant way! To kick off Black Heritage month, today we honor Ms. Sherlanda Brooks, CEO, Lane Tech Class of 1987 and proud Founder of the Lane Tech Black Alumni Association. In addition to her private success as a CEO, she proudly raises money and contributes personally to provide monetary support for the cost of our yearly Historical Black Colleges and University Tour and scholarships for students. Furthermore, she works tirelessly to connect with businesses across the nation which has resulted in internship opportunities and long-lasting relationships for our students. Ms. Sherlanda Brooks, we honor you today!
Sherlanda Brooks is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Diversity Sourcing Solutions. Sherlanda has extensive experience in Supplier Diversity with major global organizations. In addition, she also has experience as a successful business leader and entrepreneur in the consumer product industry.
Prior to forming Diversity Sourcing Solutions, Sherlanda has had the privilege of working in Supplier Diversity for global procurement leaders such as Kraft Foods, Mondelez International and PepsiCo.
Some of Sherlanda’ s highlights in Supplier Diversity include starting a program from the ground up, commissioning and implementing a new user-friendly supplier registration tool that buyers could access, setting KPI’s in categories, Supplier Diversity training for procurement leads, implementing sustainable processes, working on Annual Operating plans and onboarding prime suppliers that report Tier 2 spend.
Some of her clients include KS Energy, Abbott, Sterling Engineering, Aqua America and Greater Chicago Food Depository.
In addition, she was actively involved with National Minority Supplier Development Council industry groups including The Food and Beverage Industry group where she served as Treasurer, and an active member of The Working Group a benchmarking group where, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Mondelez, P&G, Monsanto, American Airlines, Kellogg, Shell Oil, UPS all shared best practices in Supplier Diversity.
Currently Sherlanda serves as the Board President of Hello Baby Chicago, a free drop-in indoor place space area for caregivers and their toddlers in Woodlawn as well as on Women’s Business Development Center Advisory Board. She is also the founder of the Lane Tech Black Alumni Association that provides scholarships for existing students of Lane Tech High School. In the past Sherlanda served as the chair for Diversity and Social Responsibility for the Institute of Supply Management (Chicago) and treasurer for the Firehouse Community Arts Center (NFP) in North Lawndale and the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation. She also plays an active role in working with and empowering youth in underserved communities as well as supporting women’s shelters.