Kansas City Power and Light supplier diversity program has become so robust that Valerie Coyazo's biggest challenge is finding diverse suppliers that have the capacity to handle a large job. Luckily Coyazo has responded to the challenge, working with area chambers of commerce and city council to find qualified suppliers. She also takes advantage of prime suppliers to use diverse suppliers where possible to create a second tier program and opportunities for smaller diverse companies. Over the past few years, Coyazo has helped create an internal Web search tool that buyers can use to search for diverse suppliers. She has also helped launch an automated reporting tool for government reporting. Other achievements have included the development of a committee to oversee the energy company's corporate-wide spend. The committee includes the CEO, vice presidents of the business units for the company, the vice-president of strategic sourcing and the supplier diversity director, and it reinforces practices throughout the organization that have enabled increases in diverse spending. Coyazo has also developed an annual awards and recognition luncheon to recognize employees that have been engaged as champions of the company's supplier diversity initiative, helping her to receive the Edison Electric Institute Innovation award. She previously served as supplier diversity manager for Aquila, Inc. During her 27 years at AT&T, she spent eight years as the national fundraiser for the Hispanic Association of AT&T Employees (HISPA).

"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark" - Michelangelo