Airport_Business_November_2020 - 26

UNDER

Michele Torres

Hometown: Staten Island NY
Alma Mater: Montclair State
University
Fun fact about yourself: I
have amazing memory.
Someone I look up to in
the industry: Leila Lahbabi
My favorite thing about
aviation is: There are no
dull moments and every day is
different.

Michele Torres views the airport as a place where minority and
women owned companies can see success in their business
practices. Making those goals become reality drives her in her
daily tasks.
" It's really amazing talking with firms and being able to get
feedback from them and how working at the airport has been
successful for them and what they've been able to do with
that success, " she said. " It makes it very worthwhile because
it's a very tangible success. "
In her role at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT),
Torres is responsible for the management, compliance,
implementation and strategy for both its local and federal
diversity programs (CBI, DBE & ACDBE), expansion of its civil
rights programs to include Title VI initiatives and acting as
a voice for small and minority business partners within the
airport, at the city level and at an industry level.
During her time as manager of CLT's Regulatory group she
grew the team from one full-time employee to four and
expanded it to include Davis Bacon compliance and the Title
VI civil rights programs. Included in this growth is innovative
new programs, like a small/ACDBE food truck program
and entering into an agreement with the North Carolina
Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to allow her team
to certify ACDBEs directly and expanding airport training to
included additional languages.
Torres led the citywide initiative to use a new diversity

reporting tool to ensure the airport and the city was better
able to understand and address diversity participation in city
and airport-led projects. Her innovative use of reporting to
support diversity and civil rights programs has also impacted
the broader aviation industry.
" We know what the barriers are for minority and women
owned firms, but sometimes it's not easy to break them down
or get around them, " Torres said. " Working with what we have,
we've been able to address these concerns.
Torres worked with ACRP to develop ACRP's diversity
reporting tool that identify various initiates, their impacts and
associated costs so that airports across the industry can review
best practices in this arena. She also is an ACRP Champion
helping to educate the broader aviation industry about the
tools and support ARCP offers and acting as a subject matter
expert for CLT.
She initiates and participates in outreach events around
North Carolina to help open doors and remove barriers for
work at the CLT. She even partnered with the local community
college to present to their small business group.
Torres organized various key personnel, so that the businesses
would understand every step of the process in order to
do work at CLT, including registration as a small and/or
minority business, drafting proposals and understanding the
contractual requirements.

www.AviationPros.com/21149631

Led by Michele Torres,
the Business Diversity
Programs team at CLT
ensures that minority,
women and small
business enterprises have
opportunities on Airport
projects and in the
concessions program.

Congratulations,
Michele!

26 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / NOVEMBER 2020
http://www.AviationPros.com/21149631
Airport_Business_November_2020

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