MFHA Appoints Michelle Miller As Managing Director

Miller's Experience Vital to Boston's Tenth Anniversary Leadership Conference

The Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA), a non-profit organization promoting the economic and social benefits of diversity in the industry, has appointed Michelle Monique Miller to the newly created role of managing director. Promoted to the position in January, Miller now oversees all marketing and operational functions of the organization.

"I am honored to have been promoted by our founder and president, Gerry Fernandez, and by the MFHA Board of Directors," says Miller. "MFHA is in an important growth stage and it is rewarding to shape strategy and talent together with the MFHA management."

A native of Boston, Mass., Miller holds a Bachelor's degree in Chinese and Asian studies from Harvard University and a Master's degree in higher education administration from Boston College. Her interest in marketing emerged upon moving to Shanghai to teach English in 1991, when multinational companies were just beginning to make a return to the China market after "Tiananmen Square." She worked with McCann-Erickson as a consultant on market entry strategies for global brands and ran focus groups in Chinese. She eventually served as group account director for Pepsi-Co's Asia Pacific division and as international marketing director for Reebok/Rockport International.

While running her own marketing company in Providence, Miller was introduced to the work of MFHA. After having spent so many years abroad, she became intrigued by the opportunity to learn more about multiculturalism within her own country. She joined MFHA as marketing director in 2004, and quickly earned her stripes with her successful organization of MFHA's leadership conference that year. Miller's fluency in French, Mandarin and Spanish is an invaluable tool in promoting MFHA's mission of multicultural inclusion.

With this year marking MFHA's tenth anniversary, Miller's experience will guide the organization as it plans its celebratory Gala Dinner and 2006 Leadership Conference, entitled "Decade of Diversity." From August 6-8, 2006, multicultural community leaders and industry members from around the nation will gather at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, Mass., to celebrate MFHA's accomplishments of the past decade and to strategize for even greater success in the next. Workshop topics will include "Hispanic/Latinos rising: The new majority-minority," "Outcomes of the NAACP Hotel Report Card and beyond" and "Letters of Hurricane Katrina from a Hospitality Perspective."

"Michelle plays a vital role in making our conference a 'can't miss' event for industry executives who are serious about diversity and inclusion," says Fernandez.

To register for MFHA's Tenth Anniversary Gala Dinner and 2006 Leadership Conference, visit www.mfha.net or call 847.325.5850 by July 15, 2006. Media are invited. Please contact Jo Lipstadt at jo@civettacom.com with inquiries.

About the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance
Headquartered in Providence, R.I., the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA) is a non-profit organization that promotes the economic and social benefits of diversity and inclusion in the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry. Founded by Gerry Fernandez in 1996, MFHA's business model centers around the image of a Dinner Table of Opportunity with four seats, each representing an industry component: workforce, customers, community and suppliers. MFHA's goal is to create programs and develop strategies for the needs and challenges of each "seat," allowing the diversity of cultures, ideas and perspectives from each component to provide the industry with the richest resources to advance, remain co