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Wednesday, September 29, 2021 , Virtual Event
10:30AM ET
Small Business Works 2021: Level Up & Network Series
A virtual training & in-person Matchmaking Event
Join us to learn about upcoming federal contracting opportunities and doing business with GSA, while expanding your network at the GSA Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization’s National Small Business Training and Matchmaking event.
This FREE virtual training and matchmaking event will provide you with the resources your small business needs to thrive in the federal marketplace!
During this one-day event, you will learn how to:
- Become a GSA Multiple Award Schedule program supplier
- Navigate federal procurement opportunities
- Access capital
- Use data to develop business strategy
- Respond to requests for information, quotes, and proposals
- Meet DOD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification requirements
My Business Matches Successfully serving Governments, Corporates, Chambers Of Commerce around the world.
Our platform is proven. For 10 years, MBM's Engagement Management System has been used to successfully execute over 1000 matchmaking events (both virtual and in person) across the globe (in 120 countries), for chambers, associations, government agencies and corporations. Our database is made up of 2 million diverse vendors from over 120 countries and 2100 cities worldwide. We've connected and helped close business deals worth more than $10 billion.
Speakers
Robin Carnahan
Administrator, GSA
Robin Carnahan currently serves as the Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).
As Administrator, she is working to empower GSA career professionals and build on the agency’s efforts to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and American people.
Prior to joining GSA, Carnahan served in executive and leadership roles in business, academia and government, including as the Secretary of State of Missouri (2005-2013), and founded and led the State and Local Government Practice at 18F, a tech consultancy, inside GSA (2016–2020). She’s a nationally recognized government technology leader and in 2017 was named one of the federal government’s “Top Women in Tech.” Most recently, Caranahan was a Fellow at Georgetown University’s Beeck Center where she co-founded the State Software Collaborative.
As Secretary of State, Carnahan also served as the state’s Chief Election Official and State Securities Regulator and was responsible for providing in-person and online services to hundreds of thousands of customers. An essential part of her job was leading the office’s technology modernization efforts across 7 operating divisions. She frequently speaks, writes and testifies about government innovation through smarter use of technology.
While previously at GSA, Carnahan helped federal, state and local government agencies improve customer facing digital services and cut costs. She focused on training and empowering non-technical executives on ways to reduce risk and deliver better results for the public by more effectively budgeting, procuring, implementing, and overseeing digital modernization projects.
Isabella Casillas Guzman
Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
Isabella Casillas Guzman serves as the 27th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and was sworn in on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. Administrator Guzman represents the more than 30 million U.S. small businesses and is committed to helping small business owners and entrepreneurs start, grow and be resilient.
A lifelong proponent of small businesses, Guzman grew up as the daughter of a small business owner and learned at a young age how important small businesses are to the communities they serve, the people they employ, and the economies they help power.
Administrator Guzman previously served as Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, a position she held after being appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom in April 2019. In that role, she served as the voice of small businesses and innovative startups in the 5th largest economy in the world. She administered and advocated for programs and initiatives to help small businesses access capital, markets, and networks for stronger outcomes. She and her team helped connect entrepreneurs in every community with the resources needed. As the economic recovery support function coordinator for the state, she focused on resilience and most recently worked to help small businesses access relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In California, Administrator Guzman oversaw a network of small business centers focused on expanding assistance to underserved business groups. She launched new public private partnerships and collaborated to deliver cutting edge resources to small businesses, including through initiatives like Get Digital CA to increase technology and e-commerce adoption and Source Diverse Source Local to strengthen supply chain readiness. She advocated fiercely for financial relief for small businesses, leading to the expansion of state supported lending and the largest COVID-19 grant relief program in the nation at over $2.5 billion. Guzman's office launched the Entrepreneurship Task Force to serve as a bridge to small businesses and create content and programs to help strengthen the competitiveness of startup and small firms.
Administrator Guzman has previously served in leadership at the SBA as the agency’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor during the Obama-Biden Administration, where she oversaw policy and new program implementation. She was a small business entrepreneur herself, and an advisor to fellow founders including in accelerating technology commercialization and in helping small business contractors leverage the federal marketplace. Administrator Guzman earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.
Therese Meers
Deputy Associate Administrator, SBA
Therese’s career in government focuses on the intersection of small business and the law with a specialty in federal contracting. She recently received a political appointment in the Biden Administration and serves as Deputy Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access at the U.S. Small Business Administration. She previously served as Senior Counsel for the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee for Chair Ben Cardin of Maryland. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she facilitated a trillion dollars to our nation’s small businesses in forgivable loans, low-interest loans, grants, debt-relief, and technical assistance.
Before her work in government, Therese launched and sold Viking Yogurt across the United States using SBA’s tools. She was a certified women owned and Hispanic-owned WBE / MBE.
Therese pursued a liberal arts education. She holds a BA in Art History from Duke University (2002), MLitt in Art History from the University of St. Andrews (2004), and a JD from Harvard Law School (2008).
Exodie C. Roe, III
Associate Administrator OSDBU, GSA
Exodie C. Roe, III serves as Associate Administrator for the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) at the U.S. General Services Administration.
As head of OSDBU, Exodie has nationwide responsibility for GSA’s small business programs and is the chief advocate for small and disadvantaged businesses. OSDBU promotes increased access to GSA’s nationwide procurement opportunities and engages in activities that make it possible for the small business community to meet key contracting experts and receive counseling on the federal procurement process.
Prior joining GSA, Exodie was the Director of Policy and External Affairs for the Congressional Black Caucus. For the past 14 years, he dedicated his career to public service in various staff positions in the U.S. Congress. In 2007, he started his government service with Congressman Jerry McNerney of California, rising to become his senior policy advisor. From 2019 to 2021, he served as the Director of Policy and External Affairs for the Congressional Black Caucus under Chairwoman Karen Bass in the 116th Congress.
During his congressional service, Exodie worked with congressional leadership and congressional members on political strategy, strategic communications, regulatory issues, advocacy, and a broad range of public policy initiatives, including small business legislation to strengthen minority and disadvantaged businesses. In 2019, Roe was honored by his alma mater as a “40 under 40” inductee for his public service achievements. A native of Stockton, California, Exodie Roe is graduated of Dillard University with honors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.
Wallace D. Sermons II
Deputy Director, Area & Field Program Execution, SBA
Wallace Sermons currently serves as the Deputy Director, Area & Field Program Execution for the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Government Contracting. Under the authority of the Small Business Act, Wallace is responsible for the direction, management, and execution of the national level Prime Contracting and Subcontracting Procurement Assistance Programs, overseeing Headquarters Program Management Staff and Area Directorates servicing both Civilian and Department of Defense customers with a workforce of 90+ Acquisition and Small Business Professionals.
Wallace previously served as an enlisted Security Forces member of the U.S. Air force, enlisting weeks after September 11, serving first as Active Duty and continuing service as U.S. Air force Guard after finishing his enlistment. Wallace also served on the civilian side of the Federal Government as a Contracting Officer at both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy.
Most recently, Wallace served as the Supervisory Small Business Specialist and Subcontracting Program Manager at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Acting Deputy Director at EPA’s Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization.
Wallace currently holds a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Level III, a Master of Business Administration, and a Juris Doctor.
Stephanie Shutt
Director of the MAS Program, GSA
Stephanie Shutt is the Director of GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program Management Office (PMO) for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), and has been supporting GSA’s MAS program for over 15 years. Ms. Shutt is responsible for overseeing the agency's $36 billion MAS program offering almost every commercial product and service available to agencies government-wide. As PMO Director, Ms. Shutt ensures GSA’s Schedule program continually addresses current market forces and provides the federal government with a streamlined, value-based contracting solution that continues to save time and money well into the future. She is also responsible for the MAS single Schedule, which consolidated 24 separate schedules.
Ms. Shutt most recently served as a Project Manager within the MAS PMO leading GSAs Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) initiative, which requires participating contractors to electronically report transactional data for products or services purchased through the MAS program. TDR supports the government-wide category management initiatives by producing market intelligence used by GSA and its partner agencies to make smarter acquisition decisions and save taxpayer dollars.
Ms. Shutt has a Bachelors of Science Degree in both mathematics and statistics from Utah State University.
Calvin Mitchell Jr.
Director, OSDBU, Department of Education
In 2020, Calvin J. Mitchell, Jr. joined the U.S. Department of Education (ED) leadership team as the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU). As Director, Mr. Mitchell is responsible for implementing policies and initiatives throughout the Department to ensure that all socioeconomic categories of small business are afforded opportunities to compete for contracts. Prior to working in OSDBU, Mr. Mitchell was the Deputy Director of ED’s Contracts and Acquisitions Management (CAM). As CAM Deputy Director, in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, he was responsible for overseeing the work of four contracting divisions that provide operational procurement services to the Department of Education. Prior to joining the Department, Mitchell served as the Branch Chief of the Accounts Management Division at the General Services Administration. Mitchell led the organization toward meeting Government-wide strategic goals to support all 24 CFO Act agency vision, mission, and strategic goals. Separately, Mr. Mitchell served as a Congressional Fellow for the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee. In this position, he served as the Principal Procurement Advisor to Committee leadership and provided guidance and oversight to Members and Committee staff on procurement, small business programs, and related acquisition issues within the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Mitchell has also held leadership positions at the U.S Army Corps of Engineers.
Dwight D. Deneal
Director Office of Small Business Programs, DLA
Mr. Dwight D. Deneal is the Director for the DLA Office of Small
Business Programs (OSBP), Headquarters, located at Fort Belvoir,
Virginia. In this capacity, Mr. Deneal provides executive
leadership for all aspects of the DLA’s small business mission,
including small business program functional operations for DLA's
six Major Subordinate Commands (MSCs). Under Mr. Deneal’s
leadership he supervises and directs advocacy and outreach for all of
DLA’s small business programs, development and dissemination of
policies and procedures for execution of small business functions,
and oversight for the execution of the small business program at the
DLA’s contracting activities--equating to more than $35 billion
dollars of annual contract spending.
Under Mr. Deneal’s direction, he provides the vision for the DLA Small Business program and oversight of the agencies’ fiduciary responsibility to maximize small business federal procurement dollars. Mr. Deneal maintains, and grows strategic partnerships that attract traditional and non-traditional businesses into the DLA supply chain; while striving to build dynamic ecosystems that help grow the national defense industrial base. This includes representing the program to state policy, industry and federal acquisition leaders; while working collaboratively towards a common goal and vision. Additionally, Mr. Deneal is responsible for the execution and management of policies, plans and sub-programs of the congressionally mandated U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Procurement Technical Assistance (PTA) Cooperative Agreement Program, for which DLA is the agent; which establishes a nation-wide network of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs).
Previously, Mr. Deneal served as Director, Small Business and Industry Liaison Programs for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), an operational component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In this capacity, Mr. Deneal served as USCG’s authority on all small business and socio-economic related guidelines, policies, regulations and was delegated the authority for planning and carrying out acquisition activities in support of the small business programs. In recognition of his professional efforts and mission impact, Mr. Deneal was awarded the 2018 U.S. DHS Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) Excellence in Industry Engagement Award and 2018 Federal Small Business Champion by Homeland Security Today, a media outlet.
Mr. Deneal is an active thought leader in the Federal Acquisition space and a staunch advocate for the small business community. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Mr. Dwight D. Deneal graduated from Hampton University, Hampton, VA where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. He is married to a loving and supportive wife, Adrienne N. Deneal.
Jessica Pate
Contract Specialist, GSA
Jessica Pate is a Contract Specialist for General Services Administration’s Direct Client Support Division. In this role she provides embedded support to the Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal (ACC-RSA) in Huntsville, AL where she provides a breadth of expertise on highly complex acquisitions.
Mrs. Pate has over fifteen years of experience in procurement and contracting. Prior to her role at GSA, Mrs. Pate was a Contract Specialist at the Defense Logistics Agency where she supported the Blackhawk and Chinook programs. She also worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs where she supported enterprise-wide program offices.
Mrs. Pate served four years on active duty as an enlisted Airman in the United States Air Force. She has an MBA from Hood College in Frederick. MD. In her free time, Mrs. Pate enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs; reading; and travelling.
Andrea M. O'Neal
Senior Advisor to the GSA Administrator on Equity
Andrea M. O'Neal is a presidential appointee of the Biden-Harris Administration serving as the Senior Advisor to the Administrator for Equity at the U.S. General Services Administration. In this historic first-ever position for the agency, O'Neal brings 20 years of experience championing the advancement of historically and socially marginalized communities with
expertise in institutional equity, racial and economic justice, organizational behavior, and cultural change management. Andrea is a recognized thought leader in the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) field with a career spanning global Wall Street, social impact, and advisory services for C-Suite executive teams. As a former capital markets investment banker,
including four years abroad structuring cross-border IPOs in Europe and Asia, Andrea developed a multicultural business acumen that she leverages to achieve exceptional stakeholder management and metrics-driven results. As a senior nonprofit professional, Andrea has been on the front lines of mission-critical conversations related to breaking down systemic barriers, closing racial wealth gaps, fostering equitable workplaces, and operationalizing high-performing culturally competent leadership practices. She has served as a research advisory committee
member for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Equitable Futures Project, Brown University President’s Leadership Council, and Ambassadors Program for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC). Her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Business Insider, and in several industry conferences. She
hails from Atlanta, GA and resides in Washington, DC.
Paul Baumgartner
Business Development Executive General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)
Paul has been supporting the Federal civilian contracting space for 14 years, 12 of which was at a small business. Currently, he leads the development of GDIT's business at CMS. Paul loves the energy and synergy that working with small businesses brings to both GDIT and our customers.
Nicole Cober, Esq
Nic Cober, Esquire is a councilmember of the National Women’s Business Council, a bipartisan counsel that advises the White House, Congress, & the SBA on matters concerning women in business. Nic serves on the Access to Capital subcommittee and chairs the Communications subcommittee. She is also the Principal Managing Partner of Cober Johnson & Romney, an award-winning legal & business consulting firm and CJR Development, a real estate development and advisory firm. For nearly two decades, has been an entrepreneur and advocate for the small business community. She is an executive coach & business strategist who specializes in developing management, legal, & branding strategies for leaders in the business world. Her podcast, CEOs & Soul Talk, is produced at the National Press Club. Nic’s book, CEO of My Soul, was published in 2016 & blends valuable business advice with true accounts of relationships struggles, family triumphs, & self-refection. No matter the platform, Cober is regarded as an expert on business matters & personal success strategy.
Jennifer Hanks
Jennifer Hanks, CFCM, NCMA Fellow, is Chief Executive Officer of MMC Consulting, LLC, a management consulting firm that delivers results in the areas of acquisition lifecycle management, workforce development and training solutions. As a former warranted contracting officer with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), she obtained domestic and international contracting experience in Afghanistan, Guatemala, and Germany. She also gained experience supporting several large federal contractors that gave her a thorough understanding of the buyer/seller experience and how to provide thoughtful and creative solutions for clients.
Mrs. Hanks is a recent past president of the NCMA Tysons Chapter and serves on their Board of Advisors. She is an alum and Honor Graduate of the Contract Management Leadership Development Program (CMLDP), has been published in the Contract Management Magazine and is a frequent presenter on federal contracting topics. Jennifer also serves on the Northern Virginia Community College Contract Management Curriculum Advisory Board. She remains a dedicated champion of the profession and the development of others.
Mrs. Hanks has a Master of Science in Management from The Catholic University of America, a Master’s Certificate in Government Contracting from The George Washington University, and a Bachelor of Music from The University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL).
Tamara E. Murray
Tamara E. Murray is the Underwriting & Marketing Specialist for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program. Tamara began her career in the surety industry in 1990 as the bond manager for a small bonding agency in Fort Worth, Texas before moving to Denver, Colorado to become a contract bond underwriter for a small regional surety company. Tamara joined SBA in 2007 and is responsible for marketing and outreach to the surety industry and small business community across the United States, working closely with bond agents and surety companies who provide over $7 billion a year in bond guarantees to small businesses.
Ms. Murray received her Bachelor’s in Marketing from Colorado State University in 2018. Her marketing efforts on behalf of SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program resulted in the publication of a professional article in the December 2014 issue of The Risk Management Association Journal entitled “Minimizing Contractor Defaults: SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Can Open Door to Bonding”.
Kevin Valdes
Kevin Valdes is the Program Analyst for SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program. He has a background in finance with over 7 years as a surety bond professional in the private and public sectors.
Ann Sullivan
Ann Sullivan is the President and Founder of Madison Services Group, a woman-owned company that provides government relations and federal business development services.
She brings many years of government relations experience in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, serving in key advisory roles. Ms. Sullivan works with the United States Congress and the Administration to garner national attention for the small business community. Her expertise includes government procurement, business development programs healthcare and tax issues affecting small businesses.
She currently leads the policy teams for the largest national association of women business owners and women in business, Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), the California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO), Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, GovEvolve and the HUBZone Contractors National Council. She also recently launched the Women Veterans Business Coalition to add an advocacy voice for women veteran-owned businesses in Congress and federal agencies.
MSGI specializes in outreach to the small business community with an emphasis on women-owned and minority businesses. She is recognized as the driving force behind implementation of the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contracting Program and has been a featured keynote speaker and moderator on many procurement panels nationwide.
Ms. Sullivan is part of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and also serves on their GovConNet Council. Ann is the recipient of three prestigious Stevie® Awards for Women in Business, receiving the top honor in the categories of Lifetime Achievement—Business, Woman of the Year—Business Services, and Communications or PR Campaign of the Year—Public Affairs. She received the Enterprising Women of the Year Award from Enterprising Women Magazine and was honored by Professional Women in Advocacy for Excellence in a Federal Issue Campaign. Ann was chosen by Small Business Trends as a Top 100 Small Business Influencer, and the Sunlight Foundation named her as one of Washington’s four “perfectly bipartisan lobbyists.”
Melinda K. Woods
Director of Industry, Eccalon
Melinda K. Woods is currently the Director of Industry, Innovation & Analysis for Eccalon. She directly oversees several programs in support of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), including the Mentor- Protégé Program (MPP), the Project Spectrum cybersecurity outreach initiative, and the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN). Ms. Woods provides strategic leadership for several teams of communications, cybersecurity, and program-support professionals. She utilizes her extensive experience with national security technology and policy strategy to direct cybersecurity compliance, supply chain analysis, Government grants and contracts, technology development and integration, and program support.
Agenda
Event Agenda Agenda Session Times are Eastern Time (ET)
Below agenda elements time zone is: America/New York
Plenary Session
Sep-29-2021
11:00AM - 11:45AM ET
Welcoming Address: Exodie C. Roe III, Associate Administrator, GSA (Equity in Procurement). View more
Opening Remarks: The Honorable Robin Carnahan, Administrator, GSA. View more
Keynote Address: The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman, Administrator, SBA (awaiting confirmation). View more
Building Your Small Business: Access Capital through SBA’s Loan Programs: Patrick Kelley, Associate Administrator/Office of Capital Access, SBA. View more
Concurrent Educational Session 1
Concurrent Educational Session 2
Concurrent Educational Session 3
Concurrent Educational Session 4
Concurrent Educational Session 5
Lunch Break
Sep-29-2021
2:45PM - 3:15PM ET
Concurrent Matchmaking Sessions
View more Sep-29-2021
3:15PM - 4:45PM ET
How Do Virtual Meetings Work?
Step 2.
'Click' on 'My Meeting Maker' and browse through your matches, view company profiles, and save your favorite suppliers for later. You can even download your results for later Market Research.
Step 3.
Send Invitations to request meetings with as many companies as you like.
Step 4.
Accept invitations. You MUST accept an invitation in order for the meeting to take place.
Step 5.
Test your hardware and browser to ensure that you are ready to meet!
Step 6.
Meet via our non-intrusive video technology without ever leaving our system and no “MESSY” APPS to download. You will only be prompted to use your camera and microphone. Simple as that!
Easy Access to the Platform
With the use of non-intrusive technology, participants will not be required to download a third-party APP or software in order to meet virtually. The technology can be used on any smart device. We are not going to share your email address or phone number unless you choose to do so. You can continue communicating through the system, which generates email messages to both parties. The only virtual requirement to participate in a virtual meeting is access to a web browser.
Through our Magic Link technology, meetings can be accessed from a login-free SMS or email notification message. Drastically increasing a better user experience to a point anyone can use it.
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No installation needed, supports major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, IE Edge + & Safari). Does not support IE11 and older browsers.
