Washington, DC, March 15, 2019 – The U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce® (https://www.uswcc.org) proudly announces our 2019 Women Contractor Award Winners to firms who have achieved outstanding success as suppliers in the federal contracting arena. Awards will be presented in Washington, DC on March 28, 2019 at the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce | National Small Business Federal Contracting Spring Summit (DC).
“Women-owned firms are very active and competitive in federal supplier marketplace," says Margot Dorfman, CEO. "The U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce recognizes firms who stand out for the achievements they have made in this challenging marketplace," adds Dorfman. The U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce recognizes firms with the following awards: Innovation & Performance, Growth Master, Emerging Star and Stellar.
The 2019 USWCC Women Contractor Awards celebrates the contributions and growth of America’s proud women-owned small business contractors during Women’s History Month! The U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce™ is proud to honor the growth and achievements of women-owned contractors and lay the foundation for greater success and opportunity for the future by recognizing women-owned firms for their outstanding success as suppliers in the federal contracting arena.
Award categories are as follows:
EMERGING STAR – awarded to contractors who received their first government contract award within the last two years and are on their way for future opportunities.
INNOVATION & PERFORMANCE – awarded to contractors who exhibit outstanding innovation and/or performance on a key contract that will significantly bolster their ability to secure future opportunities.
GROWTH MASTER – awarded to contractors who have achieved significant growth in the government sector over the last three years.
STELLAR – awarded to exceptional contractors who have shown exemplary growth, quality, and are positioned as leaders within the contracting community.
We extend our congratulations to the following exceptional women for the success in their firms.
Emerging Star: Sydney Cody, Vanguard Pacific LLC
Sydney Cody owns and manages Vanguard Pacific, LLC, a Construction company based out of Foley, AL. Mrs. Cody graduated with a degree in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University and was commissioned as a Naval Officer in the Civil Engineers Corps (CEC), in 2001. For nearly six years she served in the corps, working in the contracting office and leading a Seabee detachment in Djibouti, Africa. While on active duty, Mrs. Cody earned her MBA at the University of Hawaii. After being honorably discharged, she was hired as the Capital Construction and Engineering Manager for two Fortune 500 firms and worked in that capacity for the next decade. Looking for an opportunity that allowed more control over her personal life and unlimited potential for growth, she made the decision start her own company. In April 2016, Mrs. Cody stood up Vanguard Pacific, LLC in Alabama. The company currently has DOD and DOI work in eight states, spanning from coast to coast. Mrs. Cody has grown the company exponentially - from revenues of less than $60K in 2016 to nearly $5M in 2018. In 2018, Vanguard Pacific, LLC was named the “On The Rise Government Contractor of The Year” by American Express.
Innovation & Performance: Alba M. Aleman, Citizant, Inc.
As CEO of Citizant, Alba M. Alemán provides leadership and strategic direction related to growth, business development, customer satisfaction, corporate culture, and employee engagement. Alba has had an active, instrumental role in the company’s success and growth. Since its founding in 1999, Citizant has been recognized by government customers and industry organizations for its effective and innovative IT and business transformation solutions. Alba has redefined the company’s mission, vision, and values and has refocused the leadership team on customer satisfaction and employee engagement. As a result, Citizant now consistently receives superlative performance ratings and has seen dramatic increases in employee retention, referrals, and overall engagement.
Alba has had an active, instrumental role in the company’s success and growth. Alba firmly believes that companies must invest in mature business practices to ensure customer success. She has helped her team achieve mature software development and program management qualifications such as ISO certifications and several process quality appraisals under the Software Engineering Institute’s CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) standards.
Alba’s career encompasses more than 25 years of experience in talent acquisition and retention with the delivery of high-quality information solutions to the government.
Stellar: Cynthia Miracle, MIRACORP, Inc.
When Army veteran Cynthia Miracle started a family in 1998, she created MIRACORP, Inc. out of the necessity to support a work-life balance. In 2008, she certified her service-disabled veteran status with the Department of Veterans Affairs and obtained SBA 8(a) certification. This year MIRACORP celebrates 20 years of business supporting federal customers. MIRACORP has achieved substantial growth over the past 20 years and that success is attributed to Cynthia’s ability to cultivate and maintain a company culture of integrity and hard work. MIRACORP’s employees support customer sites across 17 states, representing 10 federal agencies. Supporting extraordinary employees, who in turn provide excellent customer service, has been the key to MIRACORP’s sustainability.
As a graduated 8(a), MIRACORP has experience teaming with larger companies and learned valuable lessons about establishing a relationship based on like-values, trust, and mutual benefit. Through these experiences, Cynthia is sharing her best practices, experiences, and creating teams with likeminded veteran woman business owners.
Stellar: Rebecca Andino, Highlight Technologies, LLC
Rebecca Andino is the founder and CEO of Highlight, a woman-owned small business that she founded in 2008. Rebecca’s vision was to create an employee-focused company that helps critical government missions succeed. She has led the company’s growth from $8 million in revenue in 2014 to $35 million in 2018, representing an annual growth of 45%; winning new prime contracts each year in agencies such as NIH, USAID, U.S. Army, Navy, SBA, and FCC. The company is committed to quality and customer satisfaction, delivering services using ISO 9001, 20000, 27000, 44000, and CMMI-DEV/SVC Level 3 quality standards using a proprietary delivery framework. Rebecca is a leader in the government contractor community, mentoring other small businesses, volunteering, and engaging through USWCC, AFCEA, SECAF, WIT, USGIF, and other organizations.
She has an MBA from The George Washington University, a master’s degree from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Stellar: Sarbari Gupta, Electrosoft Services, Inc.
Dr. Sarbari Gupta founded Electrosoft, an IT professional services government contracting firm specializing in cybersecurity, in 2001. Under her capable leadership, Electrosoft has evidenced exemplary growth and consistently delivered services and products of extraordinary quality. Individually, Sarbari has evolved from a talented engineer with a dream of owning her own company into a leader within the contracting community.
When Sarbari Gupta founded Electrosoft, it was a one-person company operating out of her home. A few months later she secured the firm’s first contract worth about $35,000. In 2018, Electrosoft closed the year with revenue exceeding $12.5 million, employed a staff of 76, held 20+ contracts/contract vehicles and maintained offices in Reston, Virginia and Greenbelt, Maryland. Between 2015 and 2018, the percentage increase in revenue was 151% and staff growth was 208%.
The U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce has invited these exemplary women business owners to share their stories during our upcoming GrowthMasters series. Meeting dates and times can be found at: www.uswcc.org/meetings.
The U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce unifies the collective strength of women in the U.S. economy. Using a platform of influence, innovation, and opportunity, the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce works with and for its members to grow successful businesses and careers. For additional information, go to https://www.uswcc.org or call (202) 607-2488.