For more than 16 years, April Day has brought her unique passion, intellect and sheer willingness to her mission to develop communities and improve lives through education and economic sustainability. Her body of work demonstrates that she has always been on the front end of active service, challenging the status quo in order to create, deliver and preserve programs that achieve her personal goal to change the world.
Armed with postgraduate nonprofit training and valuable internships, April started her results-driven career as a program director for a 15-branch youth mentorship program involving 800 youth and 200 volunteers. She raised $25,000 in grant money. Since then, April has strengthened the administrative and fiscal operations of several organizations; helped to prepare thousands of young people for college and life responsibilities; launched a women’s business center in 30 days to eventually support 500 plus small business owners and entrepreneurs; managed a total of eight million in annual budget dollars; and raised in excess of $3.5 million in grant funding.
Today, April applies her seasoned communications, collaboration, teambuilding and strategic thinking abilities to her role as President of the Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance (WBEA). The WBEA is a leading third-party certifying organization that serves 750 women-owned business enterprises representing nine billion dollars in revenue and more than 40,000 jobs in 94 Texas counties. April’s primary role is to increase opportunities for women-owned businesses and corporate members through education programs and professional networking.
Under April’s leadership, the WBEA has enjoyed increased membership, efficiency and revenues; received more than half a million media impressions; and will soon participate in its first global trade mission to China. Additionally, she developed a Giving Tree scholarship and mentoring program for start-ups; a nonprofit management and business ownership college internship program; and partnered with the City of Houston to launch the Kauffman New Venture and Growth Venture business development initiatives.
April gives back to the community by serving on several boards, including the WBEA’s Business Enterprise National Council’s Leadership Council, the Government Procurement Connection, the Port of Houston Authority, Will’s Kids, the Parris Foundation and the University of Houston Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. She is a business trainer for the Houston Community College’s Center for Entrepreneurship, a guest lecturer for the University of Houston’s School of Social Work and a mentor for the Me to We Foundation.
A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, April earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Houston and an MBA from Our Lady of the Lake University. She hopes to achieve a Doctor of Philosophy-Leadership from Our Lady of the Lake University in 2016 and her first karate belt in the near future. She is married with four children and two Maltese dogs.
April Day
President
Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance
9800 Northwest Fwy., Suite 120, Houston, Texas 77092
(713) 681-9232
www.wbea-texas.org
aday@wbea-texas.org
