As CEO and founder of one of the nation’s top diversity and leadership development companies, Pegine Echevarria is exactly the type of motivator and trainer that President Obama had in mind when he established Executive Order 13583 in August of 2011.  It was that Executive Order, geared to initiating a coordinated government-wide promotion of diversity and inclusion in the Federal workplace, that brought Team Pegine, Inc. to the Pentagon on December 9 for a presentation to the Department of Defense.

“We are honored to be one of only two diversity organizations in the country who were invited to present at the first meeting of the Department of Defense (DOD) Diversity and Inclusion Working Group,” said Echevarria, whose lively and inspiring twenty-minute December 9^th presentation educated representatives of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Commissary Agency, Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy and Coast Guard on the services and philosophy of Team Pegine Inc and their approach to diversity and inclusion, leadership and strategy.

Pegine Echevarria presenting at the Pentagon

Since 1996, Team Pegine, Inc. has provided management consulting, training and development to the U.S. Army, Navy, Coast Guard, National Guard Bureau, and other federal agencies.  With the overall goal of motivating leaders in a diverse world, Team Pegine Inc. has become a powerful, positive change-agent in both military and corporate arenas.  An 8(a) certified business (small disadvantaged, woman and Hispanic owned), Team Pegine Inc. is headquartered at Beaver Street Enterprise Center, a HUBZONE Certified, award-winning Core-City Business Incubator where diversity and inclusion are deemed primary elements of success.

During the past eight years, Team Pegine, Inc.’s CEO has received recognition locally, statewide, and nationally including being one of fewer than seven-hundred speakers worldwide to earn the coveted National Speakers Association CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) designation; recognized as the State of Florida’s SBA (Small Business Administration) Women in Business Champion, One of 100 Global Thought Leaders on Diversity and Inclusion by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), a recipient of the American GI Forum National Community Service Award, and being inducted into the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute Speakers Hall of Fame.

With more than 60 training, education, e-learning, design, development and motivational programs, including “White Guys Are Diverse Too! ^TM” and “G.E.M.S. ROCK! (Great Employees Manifest Success) ^TM” provided by a growing number of consultants nationwide, Team Pegine, Inc. has become the “Go To” Diversity Team for Defense contractors in all branches of the Federal government.  “Team Pegine, Inc. has become the top national motivator for organizations  in the ‘STEM” (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) field” said Rumbellis Robinson, Program Manager at Beaver Street Enterprise Center.  “The team’s energy and expertise has infused our atmosphere with a sense of expectation for a brighter, more prosperous future through recognition, partnership and collaboration.  We’re excited to have this dynamic diversity team on board at Beaver Street to motivate and train the business leaders of tomorrow.”

Pegine Echevarria, MSW, CSP & Captain Barrett is currently serving as the Under Secretary of Defense's Deputy Director, Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity

Navy Captain Ken Barrett, acting deputy director of DOD’s Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity recommended Team Pegine Inc., touting their broad approach to inclusion.  “It’s not just about race and ethnicity,” said Barrett.  “You can look at language skills, regional expertise, and cultural expertise – everything that puts us at a readiness standpoint to accomplish our missions.”  As revealed in Pegine’s Pentagon briefing on December 9, Team Pegine stands at readiness to impact the world.  To learn of upcoming professional and management development opportunities with the leading diversity team in the nation, please visit www.teampegine.com or 904-280-8806.

THE   BEAVER   STREET   ENTERPRISE CENTER is a 25,000 square foot professional office facility offering modern workplace amenities for startup and existing small businesses as well as business technical assistance, counseling, mentoring and assistance in marketing and obtaining business financing.  The center is geographically positioned to stimulate economic growth in Jacksonville’s northwest neighborhood and is run by nonprofit Core City Business Incubators, Inc. as an initiative of FreshMinistries.