French
DeutschCarla Walker-Miller
Carla Walker-Miller is an American businesswoman and entrepreneur, and Detroit booster.[1] She is the founder and CEO of Walker-Miller Energy Services.
Early life and education
[edit]Walker-Miller has said she chose engineering as a career due to her concerns about how to afford college, so she chose a profession that had the best earning potential without an advanced degree.[2] She received a full scholarship and completed a BS in civil engineering from Tennessee State University in Nashville.[2]
Career
[edit]Walker-Miller founded Walker-Miller Energy Services in 2000.[3] Before the Great Recession, she sold a wide range of energy equipment, similar to the work she had done for an engineering firm before founding her own company.[3][2] She then shifted her business towards offering energy-efficiency evaluations,[3][4] and Walker-Miller Energy Services made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies five times between 2007 and 2016.[5] As CEO, Walker-Miller has also adopted a $15 minimum wage and a policy against the exclusion of people with a criminal history from employment.[5]
In 2014, she was selected to participate in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, and received intensive training.[3][6][7] She has since credited the program with helping the success of her business.[3][8] As of 2018, company contracts include utility companies in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.[2]
In 2020, she was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Trustees at The Henry Ford.[9]
She also is a public speaker.[1][10]
Honors and awards
[edit]- 2021 Southeastern Michigan Business Hall of Fame[11]
- 2020 Inc. Female Founders 100[5]
- "50 Black Women Over 50" Honoree[10]
Personal life
[edit]Walker-Miller has twin sons.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Martin, Raven (21 August 2020). "Carla Walker-Miller". Detroit Regional Chamber. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d Damico, Rachelle (May 13, 2018). "How energy entrepreneur Carla Walker-Miller turned her frustration into a business opportunity". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Gallagher, John (March 25, 2018). "The backstory of a black female entrepreneur's rugged path to profit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ Sherman, Laura. "Energy efficiency has been hit hard by COVID-19; don't question its merits". Utility Dive. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ a b c Meyer, Anna. "Carla Walker-Miller". Inc.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ "Small business owners take next step". MSNBC. September 18, 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
Carla Walker-Miller and Markeith Weldon are both graduates of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, and they join Morning Joe to discuss.
- ^ Abbey-Lambertz, Kate (September 18, 2014). "Michael Bloomberg: Detroit Is Just Like 1970s New York, And That's A Good Thing". HuffPost. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ AlHajal, Khalil (April 3, 2019). "Warren Buffett to Detroit small businesses: 'You're in the right city'". MLive. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
Posted Sep 18, 2014
- ^ The Henry Ford (September 30, 2020). "Linda Apsey, President and CEO, ITC Holdings Corp. and Carla Walker-Miller, Founder and CEO, Walker-Miller Energy Services, join The Henry Ford Board of Trustees". Yahoo!Finance. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
- ^ a b "CARLA WALKER-MILLER". 50 Black Women Over 50. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ Christopherson, Matt (4 March 2021). "Metro Detroit Women, Linda Orlans and Carla Walker-Miller, Honored in Southeastern Michigan Business Hall of Fame". Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Adams, Susan (December 21, 2017). "How Carla Walker-Miller Survived Corporate Life And A Startup Crash: 'By Crying A Lot And Being Stubborn'". Forbes. Retrieved 1 April 2021.