Rebecca Losli, president of Illinois American Water, has been appointed chairperson of the board of the Illinois Utilities Business Diversity Council (IUBDC). Losli succeeds chairman and president of Ameren Illinois, Lenny Singh, who led the IUBDC in 2023, and remains an active member of the IUBDC Board of Directors.

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Formed in 2015, IUBDC is a coalition of the state’s leading utilities focused on increasing business for diverse suppliers through collaboration, technical development, and sharing of best practices. Charter members include Ameren Illinois, Commonwealth Edison, Illinois American Water, Nicor Gas, North Shore Gas and Peoples Gas.

“IUBDC provides a unique platform for collaboration among the large utilities in Illinois,” said Losli. “Our greatest strength is our collective ability to provide opportunities to minority-, women-, and veteran-owned suppliers. IUBDC empowers us to share best practices in supply chain procurement and diverse spending practices that benefit diverse suppliers and communities across Illinois.”

As presented in the 2021-2022 IUBDC Economic Impact Report, IUBDC member utilities purchased $1.5 billion dollars in goods and services from diverse businesses, including more than $894 million dollars with Illinois-based diverse suppliers.

At its Annual Meeting, the council recognized recipients of IUBDC-funded scholarships, all diverse suppliers in the utilities industry, to attend the Kellogg Advanced Management Education Program at Northwestern University. The Emmett Vaughn Scholarships are named for the late Emmett Vaughn, who served as director of the Office of Diverse Business Empowerment at Exelon Corporation and was a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management.

IUBDC recognized these Emmet Vaughn Scholarship recipients:

• Abe Adewale from ABNA Engineering
• Alan Jackson from Archview Services
• Ronald Givens from GIVSCO Construction

Additionally, Anjanette Brooks of Ameren was awarded IUBDC’s Jerry Garland Award for Excellence in Supplier Diversity. Brooks is a senior supplier diversity specialist and a member of IUBDC’s Education and Best Practices Committee.

For more information about IUBDC programs and services, visit www.iubdc.com.

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