WASHINGTON, Sep 19, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) proudly announces the winner of the Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award for Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week 2011. The Honorable Robert Menendez, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, will be honored at the Annual Awards Gala at MED Week on September 30, at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. The awards gala wraps up the three-day MED Week conference.

"MBDA is pleased to honor Senator Menendez with this leadership award for his commitment to strengthening the minority business community through initiatives that create economic growth and jobs. He is a man of action, and has a voice that commands action by others," said MBDA National Director David Hinson.

The Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award spotlights individuals who have taken risks in the achievement of change, and those who have demonstrated exceptional leadership through significantly enhancing the development of diversity in the U.S. economy and abroad.

        WHAT:   Gala honoring Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award winner
        WHERE:  Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
                2660 Woodley Road, NW
                Washington D.C. 20008
                Phone: (202) 328-2000
        WHEN:   Friday, September 30, 2011
                7:00 - 10:00 p.m.

About MED Week's 2011 Ronald H. Brown Leadership Award Recipient:

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez was sworn into the U.S. Senate on Jan. 18, 2006, after having been appointed by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. Later that year, the people of New Jersey elected Menendez to serve a full six-year term as U.S. Senator. He currently serves on the Senate Committees on Finance; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and Foreign Relations. Menendez is also the Chairman of the Banking Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development; and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs.

Menendez has helped author and enact legislation to improve credit card contracts and make the products we use every day safer. He is also an author of legislation to help free up small business lending to sustain and add small business jobs. He has also actively supported legislation to sustain the production of clean energy and energy efficiency and has authored a bill to spur solar power manufacturing jobs.

In 2010, Menendez issued an unofficial "diversity survey" of Fortune 500 companies designed to identify the number of minorities, women and disabled people serving in top executive positions or as members of the firms' corporate boards, as well as the demographic makeup of suppliers. This survey helped to gain a better understanding of minority participation on our corporate executive teams, and in board rooms and procurement practices. As Chair of the Senate Democratic Hispanic Task Force and as the only Hispanic serving in the U.S. Senate, Menendez has demonstrated leadership to advance opportunities for small- and minority-owned businesses.

About the Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week Conference:

Recognized as the nation's premier event for minority entrepreneurs and business owners, the MED Week Conference attracts minority businesses of all sizes from all industry sectors across the country. The conference is co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Helping to make the 2011 MED Week Conference possible is a host of corporate sponsors, including top tier sponsors: AT&T, IBM, Raytheon Company, United Technologies Corporation, Wal-Mart, Deltek/INPUT, Northrop-Grumman and Tremco Incorporated. Media partners playing a significant role in promoting the conference include: Asian Fortune, Minority Business News-USA, Minority Business Entrepreneur, LatinaStyle, Minority Enterprise Advocate, The Black EOE Journal, Hispanic Network, Professional Woman's Magazine, MBEConnect and Blackanomics Sirius/XM.