saraeknudsen, Author at Boulder Small Business Development Center

HCC – Diversity Leader

Founded in 1990, Hispanic Contractors of Colorado (HCC) is a professional trade association 501(c)(6), representing more than 210 member companies with inclusive membership from all backgrounds. Focused on commercial and public projects, our membership includes general contractors, subcontractors, specialty contractors, A/E firms, public entities, suppliers, and service providers. We collaborate with other trade associations such as ABC, ACEC, AGC, BCG, CCA, COMTO, IECRM and SMACNA.

Our objective is to influence the industry as it relates to opportunities for the advancement and well-being of diverse construction companies of all types. We create the forum for expression of a unified voice for our industry and “essential” workforce. That information sharing happens when our members, Primes, Agencies and Trades use their expertise in training and advocacy, which strengthens our entire industry. Our members are committed to the needs of all large and small members and the overall sustainable success of the construction industry.

Participating In:

Representatives:

Rosy Aburto McDonough, Executive Director

Rosy Aburto McDonough is the Executive Director of Hispanic Contractors of Colorado. She has been a business consultant and mentor throughout her professional career.

She served as the Director of the Minority Business Office of Colorado at the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). McDonough is credited for developing the statewide vision for OEDIT focused on supporting small minority- women- and veteran-owned businesses. Under her leadership, staff implements the strategic plan, continuously meeting and exceeding established annual performance measures and impact goals.

McDonough has extensive experience as an independent consultant for the Colorado Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC), where she advises on disaster recovery, the Connect2DOT program, and financial assistance. She is the former associate director of the Denver Metro SBDC and lead finance consultant and trainer in the areas of strategic management and operations, financial analysis and funding sources, personal and business credit and business development. She has facilitated LEADING EDGE business planning programs, financial literacy, QuickBooks and accounting courses for SBDCs throughout the state. McDonough was also an affiliate faculty member at Regis University, where she taught strategic management, business sustainability and accounting for its dual language program.

McDonough achieved her bachelor’s degree in actuarial science (applied mathematics) at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City. Her graduating dissertation was risk management. Rosy
completed an MBA with an emphasis in finance and international business at the University of Colorado at Denver. She has entrepreneurial spirit and, as a result, has owned several businesses. Her latest venture was a credit-reporting agency serving the mortgage lending and property management industries in both the United States and various Latin American markets. Her banking experience includes community development, minority markets, corporate relations, and credit analysis and lending under business banking.

McDonough was born and raised in Mexico, providing her with a deep sense of biculturalism. She spends most of her free time with her husband and three daughters. Her family is trilingual and culturally diverse, observing both Chinese and Latin cultures and traditions.

Diana Bustillos, Marketing Specialist

Diana Bustillos is the marketing specialist for HCC Contractor Academy. Diana has worked with several community organizations, including the Colorado Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Rocky Mountain Partnership and currently hosts a podcast called Sexto Sentido. Diana holds a BA in education from the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez in Chihuahua. She’s a graduate of the Colorado Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Aspiring Leaders Program and Harvard Business School Online’s Leadership Principles.

NASA – Headquarters

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is America’s civil space program and the global leader in space exploration. The agency has a diverse workforce of just under 18,000 civil servants, and works with many more U.S. contractors, academia, and international and commercial partners to explore, discover, and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity. With an annual budget of $23.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2021, which is less than 0.5% of the overall U.S. federal budget, NASA supports more than 312,000 jobs across the United States, generating more than $64.3 billion in total economic output (Fiscal Year 2019).

At its 20 centers and facilities across the country – and the only National Laboratory in space – NASA studies Earth, including its climate, our Sun, and our solar system and beyond. We conduct research, testing, and development to advance aeronautics, including electric propulsion and supersonic flight. We develop and fund space technologies that will enable future exploration and benefit life on Earth.

Participating In:

Representatives:

Dr. Kurt Vogel, Director of Space Architectures

Dr. Kurt “Spuds” Vogel is the director of space architectures within the office of the Administrator at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was appointed to the position and sworn in by Deputy NASA Administrator Pam Melroy on July 19, 2021.

Dr. Vogel comes to NASA with over 32 years of U.S. government service, primarily in the Defense Department, as a technical leader, senior program manager, and chief technologist.

Prior to his NASA appointment, Dr. Vogel served 6 years at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) leading innovative research in stealth technology, electronic warfare, air-space integration, and space control systems. He managed a portfolio of classified, state-of-the-art, high-risk programs that spanned multiple DARPA offices, including both the Tactical Technology Office (TTO) and the Strategic Technology Office (STO).

Before joining DARPA, Dr. Vogel led research & development efforts at the Air Force Research Lab’s Systems Technology Office (AFRL STO) where he directed the Defense Department’s only science & technology portfolio, and the corresponding national tech base, for a highly-classified mission area. He oversaw 35 emerging technology areas with the goal of protecting the DOD’s most valuable weapon systems. He also served as the acting Chief Technologist for the National Reconnaissance Office’s Survivability Assurance Office (NRO SAO).

Dr. Vogel retired from active duty in 2010 after serving over 21 years as an Air Force officer in both the air and space domains. He was the 8th officer to lead the USAF Red Team in it’s 40+ year history, and was the first Red Team Chief to incorporate the space domain into the nationally-recognized team’s charter. He is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School, and has flown over 40 types of aircraft as a flight test engineer and civilian pilot. He was also the Chief Technology Officer for the Next Generation Bomber program, and led the production acceptance program for all B-2’s in the U.S. inventory.

Dr. Vogel has served in a variety of other assignments that span work in U.S. foreign policy initiatives, prototype flight test, space test and operations, spacecraft design, advanced orbital dynamics, satellite operations, and other Presidentially-directed research and development programs in the air and space domains.

Dr. Vogel holds a Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science, both in astronautical engineering, from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in astronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy. He is a member of the national honor societies for both engineering and aerospace engineering.

USDA Departmental Administration/Office of Contracting and Procurement/Procurement Operations Division

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The Procurement Operations Division’s (PODs) mission is to be a trusted business partner that provides premier acquisition leadership, support and guidance to the Secretary, Headquarters Staff Offices, and all other USDA Agencies and staff offices on Department-wide acquisitions; to facilitate effective contracting approaches that maximizes efficiency and cost effectiveness and ensures integrity and fairness in the solicitation, selection, negotiation and award of contracts consistent with public policy to meet emerging and ongoing customer needs and mission critical Department-wide procurements.

Participating In:

Purchasing/Contracting Needs

POD is eager to connect with Small Businesses who are open and willing to support our organization, Mission Area and Department across the US. Our primary acquisition needs include:

NAICS 541519 (OTHER COMPUTER RELATED SERVICES)
NAICS 541512 (COMPUTER SYSTEMS DESIGN SERVICES)
541511 (CUSTOM COMPUTER PROGRAMMING SERVICES)
NAICS 541611 (ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT CONSULTING SERVICES)
NAICS 511210 (SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS)
NAICS 561210 (FACILITIES SUPPORT SERVICES)
NAICS 443120 (COMPUTER AND SOFTWARE STORES)
NAICS 236220 (COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION)

Representatives:

Mindy Klask

My name is Mindy Klask. I have worked in contracting for 8 years. I started in contracting in 2015 with the Hawaii Air National Guard. I worked there for about 5 years where I was able to train and learn from the ground up. I have been with USDA as a contract specialist for three years now. It has been a great experience working with another agency and gaining additional knowledge and understanding of this career ﬁeld.

Emil Abraham

Emil Abraham has approximately 18 years of contracting experience working in diﬀerent capacities as a contract specialist for several Federal Government Agencies to include the United States Air Force, Department of Energy, Veterans Administration, Bureau of Reclamation, and Department of Agriculture. He has solicited and administered contracts for commodities, vehicles, construction, architect & engineer, various services, information technology, and foreign acquisitions. In his present position he supports the United States Department of Agriculture – Oﬃce of the Chief Financial Oﬃcer, Food and Nutrition Service, and Foreign Agricultural Service.

Christine Wallace

Christine D. Wallace is a Senior Contracting Oﬃcer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Oﬃce of Contracting and Procurement (OCP), Procurement Operations Division (POD) in Fort Collins, Colorado. In addition to her Contracting Oﬃcer duties, she served as USDA’s Departmental Administration, Purchase Card Program, Agency Program Coordinator for 3 years and POD’s Fort Collins branch small business representative for six years and has over 26 years of professional contracting experience, 22 of those in government contracting. Prior to USDA, Christine served as a Purchasing Agent with the Department of Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey, Senior Buyer / Minority Business Enterprise Coordinator for the Uniﬁed Government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, and Purchasing Manager for Prat Industries, U.S.A. (an international paper manufacturer) in Conyers, Georgia.

Christine holds an FAC-C-DS Level III certiﬁcation and Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Boise State University.

Elliott Dale

Elliot Dale has worked in Procurement and Contracting for over 8 years. His contracting areas of expertise are building and heavy civil construction, facility operations and maintenance, and other professional services. He began his procurement career with the City of Fort Collins in 2015 and moved to the USDA Procurement Operations Division just over 3 years ago where he is currently a Contract Specialist. Elliot holds a BS in Environmental Studies from Emory University and a MS in Construction Management from Colorado State University.

Danielle Knipper

Danielle Knipper is a Procurement Analyst and Small Business Specialist with the United States Department of Agriculture, Oﬃce of Contracting and Procurement (OCP), Procurement Operations Division (POD) based out of Fort Collins CO. She has over 28 years of professional contracting oﬃcer experience within DOD and the USDA. Her responsibilities include ensuring the integrity of the procurement process is maintained and to validate that complex acquisitions POD releases are compliant with internal procedures and Federal Regulations. She is also responsible for engaging with the small business community around the country while providing them with information on how to do business with the USDA and reviewing forecasted eﬀorts with vendors and aligning USDA opportunities with vendor oﬀerings.

Bechtel Corporation

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Bechtel is a global firm providing engineering, construction, and project management services to industry and government. We align our capabilities to our customers’ mission with safety, quality ethics and integrity. Bechtel’s business lines are Energy, Infrastructure, Mining & Metals, Manufacturing & Technology, and Nuclear, Security & Environmental.

Participating In:

Purchasing/Contracting Needs

Architecture/Engineering
Architectural Design
Structural Engineering
Civil Engineering
Community Engagement
Cost Estimating
Document Control
Environmental
Geotechnical
Inspection
Landscape Architecture
Program and Construction Management Support
Project Controls
Scheduling
System Safety and Security
Third Party Coordination
Traffic Engineering
Urban Design
Utility Relocations
Facility Management
Systems Engineering
Software Quality Management & Testing
Nuclear Safety
Fire Protection
Criticality Safety

Representatives:

Willie T. Franklin III, Corporate Manager of Supply Chain Diversity

Willie Franklin is the Corporate Manager of Supply Chain Diversity for Bechtel Corporation, headquartered in Reston, VA. He provides the leadership, management, and oversight of the firm’s socio-economic program. Willie’s responsibilities include the promotion and implementation of Bechtel’s utilization of small, diverse, and underrepresented companies across the globe. Willie coordinates with Bechtel’s offices worldwide to ensure clients’ and Bechtel’s diverse spend initiatives and objectives are exceeded.

Willie began his contracting career in 1981 in the U.S. Air Force as a purchasing agent. After eight years of military service, he continued polishing his contracting skills and became a civil servant with the U.S. Coast Guard. Willie was appointed as a Contracting Officer and was responsible for administering vessel repair & maintenance contracts.

In 1991, Willie’s career moved him to Colorado, where he’s held various contract and procurement positions. In 1995, Willie landed his “dream job” advocating for small and diverse businesses and for the past 28+ years, he continues to be a champion for increasing subcontract opportunities to the maximum extent practical.

National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)

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The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research. From scientific discovery to accelerating market adoption, NREL deploys its deep technical expertise and unmatched breadth of capabilities to drive the transformation of our nation’s energy resources and systems. At NREL, we are transforming energy.

Participating In:

Purchasing/Contracting Needs

Construction (236220)
Mechanical (238220)

Representatives:

Rexann Dunn, Small Business Partnerships

In her position managing small business partnerships at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Rexann Dunn oversees many of the lab’s outreach activities with the small business community, both locally and across the nation. In this capacity, she attends trade fairs, conferences, and other events to educate and assist small and minority-owned business owners and managers, and facilitates their efforts to explore business opportunities with NREL. To further her efforts in building a dynamic workforce that supports minority and small business entities, Rexann also works closely with the Department of Energy’s Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization and the Small Business Administration, as well as with other laboratories and government agencies.

In addition to her work with the small business community, Rexann manages NREL’s Mentor-Protégé program, in which she works with small businesses to enhance their performance capabilities so they could successfully subcontract with NREL, the Department of Energy (DOE), and other federal agencies. In 2015, Rexann was selected by DOE as it’s Facility Management Contractor Small Business Program Manager of the year.

On behalf of NREL, Rexann works with:

The Opportunity Council – Board of Directors member
The Mountain Plains Minority Supplier Development Council
Presidents and directors of local small business councils
Local Chambers of Commerce
Small business and diversity program managers of large businesses and other federal laboratories and agencies
Minority and small business community leaders

Randy Fransua, Sr. Subcontract Administrator (Construction)

Randy has been with NREL for 19.5 years. He has supported R&D in procurement for about 5 years and construction for about 11 years. Randy enjoys being involved with the Small Business community.