Jeff Cantor has spent his life fighting for the underdog. He has started multiple businesses and

worked in industries that have had an impact on the lives of others. His areas of focus are

economic development, healthcare, mental health & resilience, public & private contracting, and

helping to solve complex problems.

Jeff is the founder & Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey State Veterans Chamber of

Commerce which launched in November 2018. His goal is to improve the economic environment

for veterans in the state and to build the infrastructure to create greater competitiveness and

success for veteran business entities. Prior to that, Jeff served as the Lead for Veterans Economic

Development for the State of New Jersey. In that role, he was tasked with looking at ways to

support veterans either through meaningful employment or veteran business support &

entrepreneurship, as well as look at ways to support formerly incarcerated veterans.

Jeff enlisted in the Army in 1985 as a Private First Class and through determination became

commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry. He holds four military occupational

specialties in Infantry, All-Source Intelligence, Imagery Intelligence, and Civil Affairs. He served

in various units both on active duty and in the Army Reserves. Jeff has served in dozens of

countries around the world on six continents including Kosovo, Bosnia, Germany, and so many

more. He retired from the military in 2017 at the rank of Colonel (0-6) in the Army Reserve. He is

a veteran of the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan and has been awarded a Legion of Merit, Bronze Star

Medal, The Combat Infantryman Badge, The Combat Action Badge, Basic Parachutist wings and

many other awards over a 32-year career.

Jeff is currently the Director of Product Development & Partnerships for Braven Health and is

working hard to provide greater access to healthcare for veterans in the state of New Jersey. In this

role he conducts outreach and works with strategic partners to improve both the quality of care as

well as the collaboration of care between private medical networks, the Veterans Administration,

and Tricare.

Jeff also is the CEO of the Veterans Foundation of America. This charitable organization helps

veterans cope with the aftermath of war through a myriad of programs that help ease the burden

of PTSD, anxiety, and depression. He is a certified Mental Health Resilience First Aid Instructor

and conducts seminars to help veterans and first responders become more resilient and help others become more resilient. He has raised over $1 Million on various programs including outdoor

therapy programs like fishing and equine therapy, several veterans music festivals, motorcycle

rides, resilience first aid training, and so much more.

Jeff also sits on the Board of Directors of the Supplier Diversity Development Council for the New

Jersey Board of Public Utilities. In that role he advocates for minority, women, LGBTQ+, veteran,

disabled veteran, and military spouse owned businesses. He also started the NJ Diverse Business

Advisory Council which helps small & diverse businesses with contracting opportunities in both

the public & private sectors.

Anu Rao leads global marketing at the Indotronix Avani Group, overseeing corporate branding, digital marketing, and strategic communications to drive impactful engagement across diverse industries. With over a decade of experience in business development and marketing within the staffing industry, she has played a significant role in strengthening the company’s market presence.

Beyond her corporate role, Anu is actively involved in industry organizations, including the Institute for Supply Management – New Jersey (ISM-NJ), where she currently serves as Chair of the Supplier Diversity Committee. She has also contributed to several other committees at ISM-NJ, including Women & Leadership, reflecting her dedication to fostering inclusion, supplier diversity, and business growth.

Laurinda Thomas is a Sr. Director of Sourcing within Global Procurement at ADP. Laurinda manages spend in the non-IT commodity space and the Supplier Diversity program with responsibility for the development, implementation, and strategy as it relates to diverse business. With over 20 years’ experience in supply chain management, Laurinda is known for assisting top performing diverse suppliers in securing business opportunities with ADP. In her position she champions supplier diversity by educating ADP stakeholders about the benefits of utilizing qualified diverse suppliers to help drive innovation. Growth strategies also include mentorship of diverse suppliers and expansion of the second-tier supplier diversity program.

Laurinda works closely with the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Disability:In, the National Veteran's Business Development Council, US Black Chambers, and their regional councils just to name a few to help achieve ADP’s goals related to supplier diversity. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for the New York New Jersey Supplier Development Council. Laurinda’s leadership has led ADP to make the Fair360, formerly DiversityInc., Supplier Diversity Specialty List. Other awards under her leadership include the National Business Inclusion Consortium Best of the Best Award, Ominkal’s Top 50 Corporations for Inclusion Award, and the Military Friendly Supplier Diversity Top Ten. She was also named in Diversity Plus Magazines Top 25 Women in Power Impacting Diversity.

Laurinda is located out of ADP’s Norfolk Virginia office where she is a member of the Senior Leadership Team with focus on driving associate engagement and Laurinda is also the Executive Sponsor of Cultivate Norfolk, the ADP African American Business Resource Group. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and engaging with her Sorority on community service projects.