before I started 3rd grade at the former Phillips Elementary School on Montview and Monaco. I went on to Smiley Jr High before graduating from East High School and attending Boston University on the Martin Luther King Academic Scholarship. When I was five months pregnant, I left my studies at Boston University and moved back home to Denver. The only person willing to hire a single, pregnant, college drop-out was a local Realtor named Alice Marsh. At a time when diversity wasn’t talked about, Alice lived it. Our team was made up of people from every walk of life; differently abled, Black, gay, white, veterans, Latino, Jewish, men and women. Her only expectation was that we get along and get our work done, and we did through highs and lows. That experience, as well as the myriad of experiences that I have had as a Black female executive over the last 35 years, has influenced my desire to always find ways to lead across, lift-up and empower everyone regardless of who they are, how they identify or where they are from.
Kelly West is the Founder and CEO if the MilesWest Group, LLC a certified Black and Woman owned Company. The MilesWest Group is a profes- sional services consultancy primar- ily focused on Business Strategy, Human Capital Management, and Inclusive Supply Chain Ecosystem Design.
51 The Acumen
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