June Trailblazer: Manufacturing & Technology

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR JUNE 2022

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’m excited to welcome you to the Manufacturing and Technology Edition of the “Trailblazer Magazine”. It seems fitting that we use a quote from James Stewart’s movie “It is a Wonderful Life” for this publication with the National Conference less than two months away. It will be wonderful to see you all in Chantilly! Another reason why we are sharing this quote is because Dr. Victor McCrary our special featured guest is a major fan of the movie. Find out why when you read his article on page 12.

For me, it is a reminder that the trailblazers we feature in this magazine are much like George Bailey. They are brilliant-go-getters who are passionate about the historically underrepresented communities throughout our nation. They see good people struggling to raise their families in communities that have housing, food, education, health challenges and are moved to action.

These trailblazers have made it their mission to provide a pathway to a middle-class lifestyle for their HUBZone neighbors at their personal peril much like the character James Stewart played “George Bailey”. Each of us has the opportunity to use our talents to make this nation even better, to include others on our journey. I have the opportunity and privilege to take you with me as you read these pages. My real question is, will you come, and when you come will you be willing to add your talents, and creating your own story? I hope your answer is YES! HUBZone Trailblazers are an integral component of our country’s story. We will tell their story, and how their commitment is leveling the playing field in their respective communities. I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to shine a major light on the heroes that are in the trenches some flying, some running, but all committed to revitalizing HUBZone Communities.

We want everyone to get involved with future edition topics like the HBCUs Partnering with HUBZones, Hispanic Heritage, and much more. If you want to be a sponsor or just share a story, we want to hear from you.

Lily Milliner Vice Chair, HUBZone Council, Inc. & CEO, Build IT Up, LLC

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contents.

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FEATURE Dr. Victor McCrary Vice President for Research, University of the District of Columbia, and Vice-Chair, National Science Board

“We take the stones the builders rejected to build the STEM workforce. Whether it is blue- or white-collar careers. They have the next idea; I’m encouraging folks not to give up.”

table of cont 20 ASSOCIATION: MANUFACTURING

20| Dr. Timothy Akers

Assistant Vice President for Research Innovation and Advocacy, Morgan State University, Member, National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee This trailblazer has gone from surviving to thriving, having almost drowned three times before he was even 16 years old.

The last time was in the “Big Flood of 77” in Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.

CAPACITY BUILDING

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ASSOCIATION: TECHNOLOGY

08| Dr.Willie Sanders Executive Director, Pass IT On Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Computer & Information Sciences Towson University

08| Lamont Norwood Board Member, Pass IT On CEO of Strategic Government Solutions This trailblazer used his initial failures to blaze a trail for others to follow. Pass IT On is located in a HUBZone community in the heart of Baltimore City. It has one big vision: providing technology education to all. Dr. Sanders truly believes that race, class, or socioeconomic status – or whether people view you as a celebrity or a bum – should not impact your technology literacy, let alone a career in IT.

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10| Amy Arnett Director of Sales and Business Development BNL Consulting Amy Arnett is part of a team of trailblazers. What makes this company unique is that it hires people located in HUBZone communities and provides them the necessary hard and soft skills to systematically move up the corporate ladder. BNL’s investment in HUBZone community members has enabled the company to develop a workforce that is able to provide custom analytic platforms, highly interactive user experiences, and seamless enterprise integration solutions to the federal government.

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MANUFACTURING AND CONTAINERS

26| Don Morin

President, Garrett Containers Garrett Container Systems was one of the first businesses to push for the legislation that created SBA’s HUBZone Program.

Trailblazers throughout the nation worked with Senator Bond to create a program that, to this day, creates high-paying jobs in HUBZones.

24| Charles Robinson Public Sector Leader IBM Quantum Team; Mid-Atlantic Quantum Alliance Diversity & Inclusion Team Co-Lead At 4 years old, he witnessed his mom operating lithography machines – the ones that created the computer chips – and he was hooked. That experience propelled him into the STEM field.

More than 50 years later, Mr. Robinson gave testimony to the House's Subcommittee for Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, & Innovation.

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table of contents.

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PRIVATE/PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP

22| Dr. Celia Merzbacher

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Executive Director of the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C), Managed by SRI International This trailblazer’s career started in material science research for the Department of the Navy. There, Dr. Merzbacher researched nanoscience and the ability to control materials at the scale of atoms. As the science matured, so did the applications – from lasers to networks for securely transmitting quantum information. Today, the possibilities seem endless.

TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS

30| Nicholas Koopalethes CEO, Global Broadband Solutions (GBS) Trailblazing has taken Mr. Koopalethes from Antarctica to the Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific, inventing several critical patents along the way. Since 1998, his company has been providing expertise to the federal government for the development, installation, maintenance, and administration of undersea cable systems.

THROWBACK

Partner, KBS Group

34| Senator Kit Bond

President, L’Anse Manufacturing, Inc.

“Get with the gang! This is a program that will reward you for hiring people who need to be hired. To do a job the federal government needs. What could be more simple than that!”

Business Development Director, L’Anse Manufacturing, Inc. This trailblazing team has known each other for more than 30 years. They may tell you differently, but having spent some time with them, I believe the secret to their success is humor and deep respect for their team. LMI is a defense aerospace manufacturing company with a strong belief that rural communities have valuable untapped resources.

YOUNG DISRUPTOR 32| Angela Nguyen

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TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE

28| Mark Massicotte 28| Gilles Fouquart

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Marketing Manager, HUBZone Contractors National Council & Board Member, HUBZone Council, Inc. This young trailblazer is a master of IT improvisation. Ms. Nguyen is known for coming up with ways to enhance the Council’s media footprint. Whether she is designing Airtables to match HUBZone Companies with job seekers or creating frameworks for digital publications (like the 21 Days of HUBZones), Ms. Nguyen is quickly making her mark on the HUBZone Program with social media campaigns that educate the nation on its economic impact.

PASSING THE PUCK

34| Revitalize American Manufacturing Executive Order 14005, Ensuring the Future is Made in America by All of America's Workers, launching a whole-of-government initiative to strengthen the use of federal procurement to support American manufacturing.

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ASSOCIATION TECHNOLOGY

confidence. When he attended Towson University in 1998, they only offered a Computer Science degree anchored in programming. His mother suggested that there might be other technology areas in which he might excel.

Eventually, she connected him with a program that introduced him to a different type of computer technology.

It was called computer networking. Dr. Sanders had always been a hands-on learner: breaking stuff and putting it back together was his passion. When they introduced him to computer Lamont Norwood, networks and hardware, something Dr. Willie Sanders, Board Member, Pass IT On clicked. A key was turned, changing the Founder & Executive CEO of Strategic Director, Pass IT On, and Government Solutions whole trajectory of his life. He had Clinical Assistant suddenly found his niche. He recalls Professor, telling his mother, “this is somewhere I could Department of Computer & Information Sciences fit into, information technology.” Dr. Towson University Sanders has been studying those pathways ever since, from independent studies and This trailblazer used his initial failures certifications all the way to his Doctorate of to blaze a trail for others to follow.

Science (D.Sc.).

Pass IT On is located in a HUBZone community in the heart of Baltimore City. It has one big vision: providing technology education to all. Dr. Sanders truly believes that race, class, or socioeconomic status – or whether people view you as a celebrity or a bum – should not impact your technology literacy, let alone a career in IT.

Dr. Sanders is the middle child of five, and was expected to be the next IT Whiz Kid. His hardworking singleparent mother was counting on it. She had struggled, working three jobs to make sure that her children could succeed. With her son’s 3.6 GPA and acceptance to college, that vision was about to become a reality. But that reality changed when Dr. Sanders’ journey was almost derailed because of the disparities in technology education in his public high school. He showed up eager to learn but ill-prepared for what he would be facing. Dr. Sanders quickly fell behind, unable to keep up with the rest of the students or connect with his professors.

Each semester became more difficult and Dr. Sanders started to believe he couldn’t do it – so he dropped out of college.

Thank goodness, his mom did not give up. She started working to build back his

Lamont Norwood (on the left), Willie Sanders (middle-left) and volunteers at Lansdowne Middle School

Exposure Is Critical Dr. Sanders’ first certification landed him a job at the IRS as an IT federal contractor.

As he met more and more black and brown people in the field, he discovered that his journey wasn't unique. Other people had gone through the same struggles. Did they have a mom like his? This is when the vision for Pass IT On came into focus. What if he could educate and mentor people to break that crazy cycle so they too could enjoy a 6figure income? How could Dr. Sanders help them stay on the trail without the detours?

Mr. Norwood’s story was a little different.

He finished at Towson University but ended up frustrated and took the only job he could get, which was reading gas and electric meters in the City of Baltimore. This trailblazer’s journey changed with a chance meeting with his uncle in the middle of the day. The discussion led to him sharing his job quest, and his uncle immediately connected him to a federal employer. That exposure resulted in Mr. Norwood working for the Defense Department as a Contracting Specialist.

Bartering Makes a Difference Dr. Sanders has figured out a workaround to the funding challenges of Pass IT On. He developed an arrangement with another association, the Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training (MCVET).

In exchange for facility space and equipment, Pass IT On became MCVET’s IT Service provider. Dr. Sanders and his team provide the necessary services to keep MCVET operational 24/7. Instead of trying to tackle the IT literacy problem alone, Pass IT On partners with other organizations who are serving similar populations (homeless, disadvantaged youth, underemployed, career changers), bartering to leverage their talents.

Feeding a Non-Profit A federal retired National Program Manager for Direct Procurement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Norwood has one major regret from those days: that he could never get his agency to reach the 3% HUBZone goal, no matter how

hard he pushed. He is still passionate about the HUBZone Program and found a great ally in Dr. Sanders. COVID hit the funding for Pass IT On hard. Their donors dried up, but not the IT training demand. The Federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act provides state-administered training contracts, which measure success by job placements. These trailblazers noticed that very few employers are willing to hire their at-risk graduates. Therefore, Pass IT On will be launching Pay IT Forward as a for-profit HUBZone Business in order to hire these individuals. This HUBZone company will create the IT employment opportunities these untapped resources deserve.

Importance of Shadowing Pass IT On has three main programs: Youth Technical Training, Workforce Development, and Empowerment Fellowship. These programs are bringing IT literacy to the DMV area, from integrating music mix and mastering software in Public Schools to infusing technology into the Parks and Recreation Departments. Dr. Sanders, a classically trained opera singer, has made sure that it is more than STEM: it is STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). Pass IT On provides hands-on training that allows students to shadow the mentors, teachers, and coaches.

Vinod Akunuri, a recent graduate of the 32week intensive Empowerment Fellowship Program, is now a trainer in Pass IT On’s Community Literacy Program. Mr. Akunuri considers Pass IT On a life-changing experience; he is part of a bigger family. It is clear that this young disrupter is about to influence the next generation of savants, having just graduated from Towson University with a major in Information Technology and a minor in Applied Adults Disabilities Studies. He has become part of the next generation of Pass IT On advocates.

To find out more about how you can support Pass IT On click here [Donate | passitonmd].

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ASSOCIATION | TECHNOLOGY

He decided to create an organization that would expose people in different ways to information technology. He is now a professor in the Computer & Information Sciences Department at Towson University in Towson, Maryland – the very school he had dropped out of because of his IT exposure. Along the way, he asked his Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brother Lamont Norwood to join his Board of Directors. That act exposed him to the HUBZone Council and the work we are doing around the country.

CAPACITY BUILDING

especially the billable technical kind, they need only chat with Ms. Arnett. BNL has no problem finding good employees, it seems that they are either referred by their current workforce or they develop them in-house by taking the time to invest in their success. This trailblazer believes that BNL continues to build a strong internal infrastructure through satisfied employees.

Time Flies: Setback to a Comeback

Amy Arnett, Director of Sales and Business Development, BNL Consulting

Amy Arnett is part of a team of trailblazers. Her husband is the CEO of BNL Consulting. What makes this company unique is that it hires people located in HUBZone communities and provides them the necessary hard and soft skills to systematically move up the corporate ladder. BNL’s investment in HUBZone community members has enabled the company to develop a workforce that is able to provide custom analytic platforms, highly interactive user experiences, and seamless enterprise integration solutions to the federal government.

BNL Consulting developed a workforce that not only survived the “Great Resignation” but have found ways to flourish during the COVID pandemic. BNL has a totally different corporate mindset.

They balance the social and technical needs of their workforce to provide quality services to their clients and community.

Ms. Arnett admits that it might sound cheesy, but BNL is committed to developing people on a humanistic level so that the individual, family, community, and clients all flourish because of their transformation.

For companies that insist that they can't find good HUBZone employees,

Sometimes the trailblazing journey requires that you go backward to move forward. Ms. Arnett learned that hard lesson. Time flies when you’re generating revenue, but what happens when the revenue ceases? As a subcontractor, BNL did things a lot differently in the beginning.

Revenue was flowing from their multi-year contracts and BNL got comfortable with their success. When the contracts ended, they weren’t prepared.

BNL hadn’t spent the resources necessary to build a sustainable pipeline. This setback forced them to lay off staff, Ms. Arnett being one of them. BNL faced the hardest setback in their history. Could they recover? Or would their doors be closed for good? As I listened to Ms. Arnett’s trailblazing story, I discovered some secrets to BNL’s comeback. It became clear their leadership’s ability to admit, assess, and accelerate that resulted in BNL’s comeback story.

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Admit: Leadership admitted their shortsightedness to their staff and vowed to put the time and effort needed to make a comeback. This trailblazer admitted the importance of being completely transparent.

They now have monthly meetings to discuss the health of the entire organization. Within their smaller departmental meetings, individuals take responsibility for their shortcomings and the team works together to mitigate them.

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Assess: BNL discovered that ignorance was not bliss. They didn't know what they were doing back then. They learned that their profit-and-loss statements were not an indication of future success. The 5-year contracts were big for them, but they hadn't yet realized what BNL needed to know to sustain that growth. They hadn’t yet understood that for government contracting, you had to be constantly hustling, looking for the next contract, and mindful of the dangers of customer dependency on the bottom line.

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BNL is better and stronger than ever. They were able to hire back many of the workers they laid off. Their leadership now understands fully that government contracting requires constantly selling quality products and services. BNL proved their dedication and perseverance by not giving up.

engineering, data analytic, and building complex dashboards for federal agencies.

Heroes from Atlanta to Maryland Ms. Arnett’s top two heroes from the Atlanta area are Martin Luther King, Jr., and her husband (Michael Arnett, CEO & Senior Systems Architect, BNL). They both represent the passion and drive needed to motivate people, communities, and the nation. Ms. Arnett mentioned that what she admires about her husband and BNL most is their ability to leave everything better off than where they found it: their employees, families, and communities.

That is BNL’s legacy, and one she is so proud of.

HUBZone Upskilling: Developing In-House Expertise Ms. Maddie Greer, Strategic Communications Manager, is one of BNL’s best success stories.

She started working for BNL part-time as a Marketing Assistant working primarily on social media. Ms. Greer proved she was agile and adaptable. She learned everything possible about how BNL did business. All that effort paid off; she now works with every department, including holding meetings with Clevel management daily.

BNL has made critical investments in the Maddie Greer, workforce, encouraging Strategic Communications their employees to become Manager, Development, BNL specialists. Since Consulting technology has always been at BNL’s core, they support the IT certification training that enables employees to accelerate their career path progression. They have grown in the ranks and have been able to convert nonbillable resources to billable assets. This investment has improved employee engagement and retention, attracted new talent, and increased collaboration between departments.

BNL’s upskilling success stories include cloud

Photo Source: BNL Consulting

Ms. Arnett also greatly admires Anita Allen a Maryland based HHS Small Business Specialist who blazes trails every day. She uses her fiery personality and immense passion to do incredible advocacy work for small businesses.

She isn't afraid to bring decision-makers and HUBZone businesses to the table to create a win-win situation. Ms. Arnett is grateful for all the countless hours Ms. Allen has invested in the HUBZone program. Businesses are truly better off because of Ms. Allen’s heroic efforts. She is an inspiration to us all.

Photo Source: BNL Consulting

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Accelerate: BNL’s comeback story would require them to accelerate their recovery by taking advantage of the federal educational resources available and implementing that knowledge. Ms. Arnett used the free resources that the small business offices provided to figure out how to acquire more contracts. Her study led to developing systems and processes to build capacity and sustainability within their pipeline. This process allowed BNL to be ready when contracts were signed and up for rebid, one which eliminated the third-year atrophy. She also put in place a business expansion structure that would increase her customer base, allowing BNL to continuously grow.

It’s A Wonderful Life Written By: Lily Milliner Photo: Dr. Victor McCrary

“We take the stones the builders rejected to build the STEM workforce. Whether it is blue-or white-collar careers. They have the next idea; I’m encouraging folks not to give up.”

–Dr. Victor McCrary

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FEATURE

It is a Wonderful Life.

The first time I met this trailblazer, I knew there was something special about him.

Dr. McCrary seemed genuinely interested in what everyone had to say. It didn’t matter whether it was a building security guard, a student, or a CEO, this trailblazer was listening. Just recently, I found out how he stays so energized. He told me he loves movies, particularly the old ones. His favorite movie is the 1946 version of “It is a Wonderful Life,” in which Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey. George runs the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan, which provides money for the ordinary person to move out of the slums to home ownership. Mr. Bailey wasn't making a lot of money; he did what he did to change people’s lives. The family in Bedford Falls who didn't have a chance, George gave them an opportunity. Dr. McCrary compared the work the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) has been doing to the Bailey’s Brothers Building and Loan.

Dr. Victor McCrary with two New STEM Deans for Engineering and Science Photo Source: Dr. Victor McCrary

Blue Collar STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Dr. McCrary has been a blue-collar STEM advocate for years. He is quick to cite statistical evidence of bluecollar occupations that require STEM skills. These are workers with high school, vocational training, or 2-year degrees – people who represent over 10% of the US job market and over 50% of the STEM labor force according to the National Center for Science and

generation of submarines and other vessels. DoD is already concerned that, as the older workforce retires, there may not be enough workers with these skills to fill the demand.

Future of IT and Manufacturing In partnership with Morgan State University’s Dr. Timothy Akers, UDC’s Dr. Marilyn Hamilton, Dean of UDC’s Community College, is leading their 2-year degree program in Quantum Information Systems (QIS) to be launched in 2023. UDC is

“If you think about our nation's HBCUs like UDC, we are the nation's capital only public HBCU. We offer opportunities that many of our students wouldn't have in other institutions. I was born and raised in DC, so when I went to Howard, a lot of my colleagues started their undergraduate education at UDC because it was affordable, and they opened the doors for those for many of my colleagues and many of the residents of the District of Columbia. I can say the same for HBCUs that are across the country. They have opened their doors, caring for their communities. I see us, like I said, I'm George Bailey, I don't do it for the money, I'm out here to make a difference. My purpose is to change lives, to uplift, to elevate, and empower the next generation, even folks in my generation. I've been blessed with so many gifts that it is up to me to share those gifts with everybody. What better place to do it than at a HBCU, and more importantly, at the University of the District of Columbia, which is located in a HUBZone.”

As stated previously, The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and the NSF are taking a second look at this workforce, which now represents nearly half of the STEM jobs (19 million skilled technical workers).

The Skilled Technical Workforce (‘Blue Collar STEM) represents a crosssection of America in terms of demographic parity, these are often people without degrees but who have certifications in this area and contribute to our economy.

They're helping us keep our overall science and engineering ecosystem vibrant and innovative.

The Departments of Energy and Defense have laboratories, facilities, and bases where they can only hire U.S. citizens. The US Navy’s base in Norfolk is one of the world’s largest bases, and the blue-collar STEM/ skilled technical workforce is critical to its operations.

The base needs welders and electricians for the new

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Victor McCrary, PhD Vice President for Research Office of University Research University of the District of Columbia Photo Source: Dr. Victor McCrary

developing a curriculum to upskill workers who will be able to go into the quantum area. They will be dealing with extremely fast computers that use algorithms to solve complex problems that impact every industry. Codebreaking will most likely be at the top of the list, resulting in new types of security algorithms and a host of problems for our workforce to solve.

Thus, the future of the IT and Manufacturing workforce may be in the hands of academic leaders like the ones at UDC – the individuals who spend countless hours ensuring that the STEM workforce is ready for whatever comes their way.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration awarded UDC $3 million to establish a Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Space Technology & Applied Research with a focus on research, investigating advanced manufacturing techniques and their application in space exploration technology. They will conduct nanotechnology

research in nano-scale electronics for nextgeneration computers, metal additive manufacturing, and nano-materials-based energy systems. They will be devising new techniques and processes that will be used in machine shops across the country. This effort is being led by Dr. JiaJun Xu in UDC’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.]

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded UDC $8.7 million to create a consortium aimed at identifying and educating individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in public health, informatics, and data science.

This effort is being led by Dr. Mashonda Smith, Dean of UDC’s Workforce Development and Lifelong Learning division.

Yes, You Can Dr. McCrary has a long list of heroes who have impacted his trailblazing journey. He started with his military father

FEATURE

Engineering Statistics. Dr. McCrary has urged the National Science Board (NSB) and Congress to invest in programs that focus on this segment of the STEM workforce. For instance, Macomb County Community College outside of Detroit has more than 50,000 students. The college has a program teaching the next generation of transmission and automobile mechanics as part of a curriculum that includes how to use sophisticated scientific equipment to diagnose automobile problems. These are STEM-based skills that don't necessarily require a bachelor’s degree.

Austin, or Boston – it is in the thousands of HUBZone communities across our nation.

Victor Rex McCrary

Dorothy “Juanita” Williams

Photo Source: Dr. Victor McCrary

Photo Source: Dr. Victor McCrary

and very much his mother (his #1 hero!!!), who were unable to live on the military base because interracial marriages were illegal then. Then quickly moved to his siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, who swept floors, served food, changed IV bags, and cleaned the toilets. Those aunts and uncles said of him, “He was going to be the one to make a difference.” They were the workers who fueled his advocacy for blue-collar STEM.

Technology, who encouraged Dr. McCrary, a chemist, to pursue electronic book standards as an area of focus. This led to him running the first electronic national book conference of industry leaders and the first standardized language for electronic books with high school students creating the prototype. In 2000, the Secretary of the Department of Commerce, Norman Mineta, awarded Dr. McCrary the Department’s Gold Medal award as a corecipient for developing electronic book standards.

Then there was Dr. Dean Collins, his former boss at the High-Performance Computing Division of the National Institute of Standards and

Dr. McCrary has spent his entire life with family,

In March 2022, NSF’s Director Sethuraman Panchanathan (another of Dr. McCrary’s heroes!) put together a new Sethuraman Panchunathan, directorate Director, supporting National Science critical Foundation partnerships Photo Source: between Dr. Victor industry and McCrary academia that will lead toward major workforce development.

NSF believes that this directorate, Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP), “will accelerate the development of new technologies and products that improve Americans' way of life, grow the economy, and create new jobs, and strengthen and sustain U.S. competitiveness. TIP will establish regional "innovation engines" throughout the U.S. These innovation engines will advance use-inspired research, entrepreneurship, and workforce development to nurture and accelerate regional industries, ushering in a transformational revolution of business and economic growth regionally and nationally that strengthens bottom-up, middle-out growth in industries and communities across America.”

Just like NSF, we as a country need to pull all our intellectual resources from every community to face what Dr. McCrary views as a Sputnik 2 moment in our country’s history. Our

Photo Source: Dr. Victor McCrary

Dr. Victor McCrary, fourth one from the left in. National Science Board 2016-2022 Photo Source: Dr. Victor McCrary

friends, mentors, and allies, all reminding him, “Yes – You Can.” When President Obama appointed him to the NSB, it was one of his proudest moments.

(President Obama is also one of Dr. McCrary’s heroes, too!) To be thrust into the limelight as a national changemaker by one of the ultimate transformational trailblazers was Dr. McCrary’s greatest honor.

foreign competitors are extremely fierce, and, in some areas, the U.S. has fallen critically behind them.

It is time to make sure everyone (black, white, brown, yellow, red) is at the workforce table. Diversity is this nation’s greatest asset over foreign competition, but first, we must overcome the fact that many of us are different. If we can live with that, NSF’s newest Directorate will thrive.

Partnerships – Making Them Now

One of Dr. McCrary’s best stories about relationships comes from the medical industry; it went like this.

Dr. McCrary urges HUBZone businesses to embrace the talent within their neighborhoods. The President of UDC, Ronald Mason’s mantra, is, “talent is equally distributed everywhere but access is not” and HUBZone businesses have an excellent opportunity to provide that access. Innovation is everywhere, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Louisiana Bayous. It is not just in Silicon Valley,

was ‘What’ was the name of the woman who sweeps the learning laboratories? The students couldn’t understand why that was important. He said, ‘it's important because you're going to be serving all types of patients. If they are just bodies to you without names, you really cannot fulfill your oath as a physician.’

He reminds us of the importance of transformative relationships. To this point, one of his favorite books is “Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty” by Harvey Mackay.

Final Thoughts

Just like George Bailey in “It is a Wonderful Life” was A Doctor gave his able to build a whole housing medical students a test with development for the least of an extra credit question in those in his community with order for them to get a passion and a shoestring passing grade. The question budget, HUBZones have that same grit in As Dr. McCrary always says, their profession.

“If you are not at the table, you HUBZone businesses have are on the menu!” Get involved been placed in communities that now with your local HBCUs are hungry, and it is time to unlock and HUBZones!! that talent before it atrophies.

MANUFACTURING

ASSOCIATION

believes there are all types of hunger -physical, spiritual, and intellectual -- and he is on a quest to ensure that historically underrepresented communities are at the table, feasting on all that our nation has to offer, including Quantum Literacy.

Accelerating the Quantum Literacy Workforce

Dr. Timothy Akers, Assistant Vice President for Research Innovation and Advocacy, Morgan State University, Member, National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee

This trailblazer has gone from surviving to thriving, having almost drowned three times before he was even 16 years old.

The last time was in the “Big Flood of 77” in Southern West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.

He was holding his 1-year-old nephew tightly, but the river was about to consume them. His brother-in-law and brother reached out firmly and pulled them to safety as the hillside gave way to fast-moving flood waters. This was probably the first foreshadowing of the impact Dr. Akers would have on the HUBZone program. HUBZone Businesses reaching out to help, often having to hold tightly onto that young person who needs to make it or that older person who may need a few people to drag them to economic safety.

To understand fully Dr. Akers’ passion for the underserved, we need to take you further back. This trailblazer was one of 8 children whose coal-mining father lost the full use of his left arm in a coal truck crash. Dr. Akers grew up in the heart of Appalachia, which is now designated a rural HUBZone. He remembers that work was scarce, and his family had to move more than a dozen times while the father worked any construction job he could get. Dr. Akers lived in abject poverty, up and down “hollers” in rural Appalachia, where most people were poor, yet would show how much they cared by anonymously leaving boxes of food on their porch. They knew fully that his parents would never accept charity. Dr. Akers

When Dr. Akers heard that the HUBZone program was about workforce development, he was a natural advocate. At Morgan, he found kindred spirits - businesses where diversity, equity, and inclusion were part of their ethos, not a check box on an application form. These relationships provided the foundation for Dr. Akers’ National Quantum inclusion mission, ensuring that the underserved were significantly represented in all aspects of the industry.

Quantum Artificial Intelligence Nascent Taxonomies Dr. Timothy Akers and Dr. Kevin Peters

To this end, Dr. Akers launched the “National Quantum Literacy Network (NQLN)”, having been told by senior administrators and researchers that NSF would never fund his research because he didn’t have a PhD in Quantum Physics.

Refusing to listen to the naysayers, Dr. Akers pulled together a team of HUBZones, Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), and other HBCUs to tackle the quantum literacy issue with folks like Drs. Denise Baken and Kevin Peters. They helped lead the charge that resulted in Morgan receiving an NSF Phase-1 award of more than $911,000 for a Quantum Literacy prototype.

What the naysayers didn’t know was that Dr. Akers had survived multiple drownings for a greater purpose. Dr. Akers’ trailblazing journey is not about receiving credit, but about the legacy he creates for the next generation.

The motto he lives by is, “if not us, then who, and if not now, then when?”

Manufacturing -- Quantum Leapfrogging

Driving the Economic Engine Workforce development is not something that is “loosey-goosey;” it is the core driver of our nation’s economic engine. When the United States fails to invest in its workforce, particularly in blue-collar STEM, the economic index, communities, and families suffer. A Quantum Literate workforce development ensures that technicians, journeymen, and others are trained to meet the demand now and in the future.

Creating High-Performance Innovation Teams This process begins with leaving no child behind. Dr. Akers failed both 5th and 6th grades and was told he was “stupid” despite his ability to create things with his hands. Dr. Akers’ high school was a vocational trade school in electrical wiring and electronics. He eventually entered the U.S. Air Force, where he specialized in nuclear weapons security and was pushed to high performance. During his service, he used his technical skills to excel, and after going to Community Colleges, received BS and MS degrees and attended Law School. Dr. Akers eventually received a joint Doctorate in Natural Resources and Urban Studies. He believes none of this would have

Dr. Akers’ foundation in interdisciplinary themes has been a catalyst for many of the programs and projects he has supported or undertaken (from AIDS research to aerospace proposals to his theory of epidemiological criminology and now quantum literacy). The teams that excelled were the ones that valued their differences, leveraging divergent thought to accelerate innovation. This was not just STEM, but non-STEM as well. The NQLN is a High-Performance Innovation Team made up of industry leaders from HUBZones, MBE, HBCUs, Federal Laboratories, Non-Profits, and large businesses, all sitting at the table to support hyper-disparity in Quantum Literacy.

Dr. Akers believes NSF has figured out, with their new directorate (Technology, Innovation and Partnerships), that supporting critical partnerships among industry and academia will lead toward major workforce development for the 2nd quantum revolution.

He asked me to draw a 5-pointed star, each point representing Minority Serving Institutions, Major Universities, MBEs, Major Companies, and Federal Agencies working collaboratively with Quantum Literacy at the center. Now can you imagine the brightness of that star, with millions of high-performance teams working around the nation? This is the mission of the National Quantum Literacy Network.

What is Next •

August 31, 2022: Accelerating Quantum Literacy Workforce, National HUBZone Conference

•

October 3 – 7, 2022: Quantum Literacy in the Quantum Age, NQLN Literacy

1300 middle and high school students at the 2019 Quantum Literacy in Quantum Age at Morgan State University

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Quantum Manufacturing is a nascent industry in which HUBZone businesses can still build, assemble, fix, modify, and ship products.

HUBZone businesses need to think about supplying the products of the future, which include technologies and components for quantum computers, quantum lasers, quantum sensors, and quantum networks, among others. This is exactly the direction the National HUBZone Council and the HUBZone manufacturers can move in because these new industries will allow them to leapfrog forward into cutting-edge STEM and non-STEM research. Dr. Akers believes that if HUBZones don't do it now, they're going to be left holding onto the shirttail of larger manufacturers.

occurred without leaders who were champions promoting the inclusion needed to build strong teams.

PARTNERSHIP

PRIVATE/PUBLIC

Dr. Celia Merzbacher, Executive Director, Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C)

The quantum journey for humankind began more than 100 years ago and our understanding is constantly evolving to keep pace with the global demand. This trailblazer’s career started in material science research for the Department of the Navy. There, Dr. Merzbacher researched nanoscience and the ability to control materials at the scale of atoms. Her research was part of the evolution of leadingedge research from nanotechnology to the emerging area of quantum technology. As the science matured, so did the applications – from lasers to networks for securely transmitting quantum information.

Today, the possibilities seem endless.

To harness commercial possibilities, the QED-C, managed by SRI International, was established with support from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as part of the Federal strategy for advancing quantum information science and as called for by the National Quantum Initiative Act enacted in 2018. Dr. Merzbacher has spent the last 3 years working with U.S.

stakeholders to advance the practical use of quantum discoveries. As QED-C’s leader, she supports the mission to enable and grow a robust commercial quantum-based industry and associated supply chain in the United States. The consortium comprises stakeholders from government, industry, and academia who work together to identify gaps in technology, standards, and workforce while addressing those differences through collaboration.

Quantum & Technology Heroes When we asked Dr. Merzbacher, “who were your heroes?” her list began with her father.

He was a quantum physicist. He taught her how to appreciate the science. Then there was the physicist Robert Norton Noyce, “the Mayor of Silicon Valley” and co-founder of Intel Corporation. She was inspired by his passion for education and collaboration among competitors to accelerate technology progress.

Finally, she has admiration for HUBZone entrepreneurs: the risk-takers, the people out there taking this quantum field forward, removing barriers to grow the quantum economy and ensure a robust talent pool while building their communities.

Typical Quantum Employee: Does Not Exist

QED-C Plenary Event, June 2022 Photo Source: Dr. Celia Merzbacher

Now that quantum is becoming more practical, the U.S. needs to be building a workforce that can support the various innovations, including for artificial intelligence, drug development, cybersecurity, financial modeling, traffic optimization, weather forecasting, and others.

Dr. Merzbacher has both good and bad news as it relates to the U.S. workforce status. The

good news first!

•

Bad News: The United States does not currently have in its pipeline enough quantum workers to meet demands. The U.S. will need folks who cover the full spectrum of the workforce. Diversity will be a plus –within the various social, ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation areas and in terms of skills. Who is needed? Individuals who embrace the opportunities and challenges that quantum will bring to their industry.

In 2020, QED-C conducted an industry survey on what companies thought their workforce would look like in the next few years. Their answers showed that they would be looking for people in the business, sales, and support side, along with the legal, R&D, and in-house product development. These companies felt that a variety of disciplines would be needed because quantum systems include a lot of components: laser technicians, quantum specialists, engineers, and software developers, to name a few.

This trailblazer is confident that the opportunities will be endless for individuals who are willing to do the work to be part of the quantum trail. Dr. Merzbacher thinks it is really important for students and those who are thinking about shifting and pivoting into this area to appreciate that they do not have to go back and start all over in the Physics department. They can work in the area they are specializing in now and obtain a little bit of quantum education on top of that. This extra “push” will enable them to be highly qualified for a whole range of jobs. She stressed that whether they're in the business or the technical side, getting a little bit of quantum knowledge in addition to other training is the way to go. It won’t take a whole lot of extra training to be well-positioned to get a job with any number or type of firms.

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Attendees at the QED-C Workshop on Cryogenic Technology for QIST Photo credit: Madison Cebuhar

The U.S. has big gaps between the demand and the supply, so it's really a sellers’ market. This is great news for HUBZones and the communities they serve: the quantum field is opportunity-rich. It is a great time for businesses and people who perhaps don’t fit the national STEM norms; that is, don’t look or think the same as everyone else in the STEM field. It is time to think—QUANTUM!

Making Connections: Sustainable Bridges QED-C has been creating quantum bridges between the government, business, and academic communities. They facilitate discussions and collaboration that would lead to the advancement and development of quantum products and services in multiple U.S. industries. QED-C implements programs to help their industry members, especially the small companies and startups, advance quantum discoveries.

Dr. Merzbacher gets particularly excited to be part of creating trusted partnerships, resulting in commercial products and services. To ignite more of this partnering, QED-C launched a program called “Quantum Marketplace.” Monthly webinars highlight QED-C member companies that offer a range of quantum technology and services.

Technology providers and users give presentations; then engage the audience in a panel discussion to share expert views on the state of the art and emerging applications and markets with both non-members and members. These webinars are a great tool for HUBZone businesses looking to learn more about where quantum is going QED-C | Quantum Marketplace - QED-C (quantumconsortium.org).

PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

•Good News: There is not a typical quantum employee.

Quantum can and will appear in almost every industry, from jobs that will require a high school diploma with supplemental quantum training to positions that will need individuals with science or technology postgraduate degrees.

FORTUNE 500

Being the Only One Mr. Robinson is often the only African American at the quantum table. He will tell you that being the only one never feels good, especially knowing that the U.S. desperately needs industry representatives reflecting the nation’s demographics. He is working with HBCUs to ensure diversity in the quantum workforce. Mr. Robinson reminds the students he mentors to take risks. Quantum is still a nascent area and therefore, fear is the enemy of your progress within it.

Education Charles Robinson, Public Sector Leader IBM Quantum Team; IBM

This trailblazer’s mom was truly a virtuous woman who made his journey even sweeter. For 35 years, Charles Robinson’s mother worked at Ford Electronics as a blue-collar STEM worker.

Mr. Robinson credits her with laying the foundation for him, especially all those “Bring Your Kids to Work” events. At 4 years old, he witnessed his mom operating lithography machines – the ones that created the computer chips – and he was hooked. That experience propelled him into the STEM field.

Congressional Testimony Recently, more than 50 years later, Mr. Robinson gave testimony to the House's Subcommittee for Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, & Innovation. He testified on steps being taken in the Quantum arena that will be “Securing the Future: Harnessing the Potential of Emerging Technologies While Mitigating Security Risks”.

Subcommittee Chairwoman Yvette Clarke asked some pointed questions of our Trailblazer, particularly this one: “As quantum-resistant cryptography becomes available it is important that both the government and technology companies be prepared to implement it into their existing systems. Mr. Robinson what steps have you seen the federal government or and private sector take to prepare themselves for this transition [click on this link to hear his answer and much more]” Securing the Future: Harnessing the Potential of Emerging Technologies while Mitigating Security Risks (house.gov)

A few years before attending Abraham Lincoln High School, the Brown vs. Board of Education had mandated desegregation in that Philadelphia district. Mr. Robinson wanted to play on their winning football team, so he chose to take the hour-long trip each morning to be on time for practice. He wasn’t sure he would receive a football scholarship, so he developed Plan B: join the ROTC at his high school for 3 years. In the meantime, he deftly juggled sports and academics, or so he thought. He succeeded enough that in the final quarter, the “Hail Mary pass for an A or B grade” allowed him not to have to repeat the class. This worked really well until he was 1 point from a pass / fail grade.

The teacher failed him, providing Mr. Robinson with one of the best lessons of his life. The lesson was to do the best you can, which in his case resulted in an “A” the second time around.

But he has also learned that also risk getting a “C” grade in something meaningful is very

Charles Robinson testified before House Cybersecurity, Critical Infrastructure, & Innovation subcommittee for IBM Photo Source: Lily Milliner

The Challenge

different than getting an “A’ in something that doesn't make a difference. Take the risk!

Create A Culture Mr. Robinson is living “In Truth and Service” his alma mater’s motto (Howard University). A catalyst for change, even as the COVID pandemic continued, Mr. Robinson masked up and headed to the Annual BEYA conference in Washington, DC, because the students who were attending needed his inspiration. He believes our words have the power to energize, and he wanted to plant seeds in the next generation of STEM workers to help them learn the difference between artificial and real constraints. Reminding the HBCU students that we are in the post-civil rights era, more opportunities now exist. Just stay motivated and don’t quit. He says, “I’m just passing on what grandpa Charlie and grandma Gladys gave to me, encouragement.”

This trailblazer is passionate about creating a culture of science, technology, engineering, and math in the African American community.

His desire is to make this area cool. He has joined numerous grassroots efforts supporting programs all over the nation to help teach young people C programming, artificial intelligence, gaming, networks, fuzzy logic, quantum, and algorithms to enforce that culture that STEM can be just as much fun as basketball, football, or dance. He aspired to create the technology that would transform the world. What he has learned along the way is that you may not be the person who creates the technology that will change the world, but you can inspire the person who will.

HBCU led University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) For the last six years, Mr. Robinson has been working with stakeholders to socialize the idea of the Defense Department creating a HBCU led UARC. His colleague Dr. Harris and several others have been advocating for this type of UARC for close to 30 years. This week the Air Force and the Defense Department announced a plan to create a 15th university affiliated research center, or UARC. The new center will be the first to be associated with an historically Black college or university and will also be the first UARC associated with the Air Force.

This is an example of a hard-fought victory. If you get rejected, push through it.

Mr. Robinson has been rejected more than most, but he has succeeded more than most.

When you get rejected, you build more resilience to try again. Mr. Robinson reminds us all: “if you want to do something badly enough and for the right reasons, don’t give up; a door will open, just like it did with the HBCU led UARC.”

20 22 FORTUNE 500

Charles Robinson testified before House Cybersecurity, Critical Infrastructure, & Innovation subcommittee for IBM Photo Source: Lily Milliner

Mr. Robinson applied to Graduate School at Johns Hopkins with a 2.9 GPA and 172 credits. He had an interview with the Dean of the Engineering Program, Dr. Dexter Daniels.

Dr. Daniels told him he would have to take the GRE before he would be able to determine whether or not to admit him. Mr. Robinson was in his early 40s and had an employer who was willing to pay for the education, but standardized tests were not his strength. At that moment, his sales background kicked in and he suggested an alternative. So he said, “if you give me the opportunity to take any two classes over the summer and you can pick whatever classes you want and if I get two “As” will you let me in the program?” and Dr. Daniels agreed. Mr. Robinson end up getting two “As” – one in Advanced Mathematics for engineers and the other in Digital Signal Processing. After he was admitted to Johns Hopkins, the GRE requirement was waived for all students. Mr. Robinson had leveled the playing field. With that one successfully delivered sales pitch, he had created equity in the acceptance structure.

& CONTAINERS

MANUFACTURING

Don Morin, President, Garrett Container Systems, Inc. (GCS)

In the beginning, there was a group of people who believed that businesses could make a difference in areas that were experiencing high unemployment and economic hardship. Garrett Container Systems was one of the first businesses to push for the legislation that created SBA’s HUBZone Program in 1998. Trailblazers throughout the nation worked with Senator Kit Bond to

create a program that, to this day, creates high-paying jobs in HUBZone Communities.

"It's viewed as a popular, bipartisan program on the Hill," McHale said. "The godfather of the program is Christopher "Kit" Bond, senator from Missouri and chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee. It passed his committee unanimously and then passed both houses of Congress by unanimous voice vote as well." South Florida Business Journal, HUBZone, the small business incentive that no one knows (December 4, 2000)

Despite the fact that HUBZone legislation passed in 1998, SBA received no funding for program implementation.

Trailblazers like Mr. Morin and Mr. Ron Newlan (HUBZone Council Founder) continued to press for funding for implementation. In the Winter of 1998, the HUBZone certification system went online for less than 20 minutes before the system crashed. But that was just long enough for Mr. Morin to download the form to complete later that same day. On March 25, 1999, GCS became the first small business to be certified as a HUBZone.

Don Morin, Chair of the Garrett College Board of Trustees, performs the ribbon-cutting surrounded by federal, state and local officials and members of Garrett College administration. Photo Source: Garret College

Mr. Morin remembers the dozen or so Council members that believed in the program so much that they contributed thousands of dollars to launch it. They testified at hearings, wrote to legislators, and rallied businesses in HUBZone communities in all 50 states. Mr. Mike McHale proved to be a great ally; he later became in charge of setting up the HUBZone Program.

The Strong Survive Our war-fighters’ safety and security depend on the quality of GCS containers.

This trailblazer makes sure that GCS continues to provide stellar products to the government. Their containers meet all the contract specifications. They are climatecontrolled, airtight, and strong enough to store ordnance for decades. The government never has to worry whether they are placing an ordnance that cost millions of dollars into a container that will leak before it is even deployed.

The U.S. Air Force The U.S. Air Force seemed to be the first agency to understand the importance of the HUBZone Program. GCS received its first U.S. Air Force HUBZone award in 2001, and since then it has received hundreds more. A defense contractor, GCS is primarily known for making aluminum-welded containers for ordnance and for shipping and storing missiles. GCS’s first significant contract was for welded airtight containers, a HUBZone set-aside procured out of Eglin Air Force Base for helicopter containment.

From the left are Don and Liz Morin, who created a new scholarship at Northern Garrett High School; Phil Carr, head coach at the school; Jon Houser, assistant coach; and Jim Maddy, principal. Photo Source: Cumberland Times-News

Workforce Demands Despite the impact of COVID, GCS’s core workforce depends on the business to make a living. Currently, the company has a backlog of between 18 and 22 months. GCS could easily increase its workforce by 20%, but national workforce shortages have impacted them, too.

Mr. Morin stated that right now there are just fewer and fewer people who want to do anything that involves actually working with their hands and he doesn’t anticipate that changing in the near future. Fortunately, the demand for GCS’s products has increased; their specialized niche can’t be outsourced to other countries.

Certificate presented to Don Morin from HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program in 1999 for being one of the first HUBZone certified small business. Photo Source: Don Morin

20 22 MANUFACTURING & CONTAINERS

"The HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program is still an experiment," said Mike McHale, associate administrator of the HUBZone program at the SBA in Washington. "We know that it is a good formula, that a proper database infrastructure has been built and that HUBZones can make a dramatic effect in certain pockets of unemployment. We are confident that it will be successful." South Florida Business Journal [December 4, 2000]

& LOGISTICS

TRANSPORTATION

the manufacturing industry.

He reminds his customers “we can either utilize technology or serve technology,” and LMI chooses to utilize it. They believe that part of their value is their ability to provide the appropriate technology to a requirement. LMI determines the client’s pain points while using technology to design different scenarios, allowing for customized solutions.

Mark Massicotte, President, L’Anse Manufacturing, Inc. (LMI)

Gilles Fouquart, Director of Business Development, L’Anse Manufacturing, Inc. (LMI)

This trailblazing team has known each other for more than 30 years. They may tell you differently, but having spent some time with them, I believe the secret to their success is humor and deep respect for their team. LMI is a defense aerospace manufacturing company with a strong belief that rural communities have valuable untapped resources. These resources lie in the skills and talents of their potential workforce and the HUBZone contractors willing to give them an opportunity. LMI is creating these opportunities in well-paying, technology-driven manufacturing jobs.

LMI has a rightsizing approach to technology. In the last 30 years, Mr. Massicotte has experienced the benefits and drawbacks of IT solutions within

Governor Gretchen Whitmer was in L’Anse on Aug. 18, 2021, as part of her U.P economic tour. L-r, Quentin Messer, Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO; Mark Massicotte, L’Anse Manufacturing; Governor Whitmer, Phil Knapp, L’Anse Manufacturing and Mary Myers, Lake Superior Community Partnership.

Photo Source: L’Anse

Growing the Business

How to grow LMI? Mr. Massicotte said, “You're asking me to grow a company, I can't grow a company unless I grow a community, I can't grow a community unless I grow a person.”

The individual performers are a catalyst to that growth. LMI builds their workforce, community outreach, and corporate infrastructure in the following ways: •

Workforce: Apprenticeship programs and ISO & AS9100 training [96% HUBZone participation].

•

Community outreach: Michigan Works, Wisconsin Procurement Institute, Northwest Michigan PTAC, GreenForces Coalition, Aerospace Industry Association of Michigan, and HUBZone Council.

•

Corporate infrastructure: Web-based systems, cybersecurity, and certifications such as CMMC. •

Recently, switching from an ERP system to a web-based system, giving remote workers a real-time view of products and services. The team makes quick and accurate updates. Any problems are escalated and tracked efficiently.

•

Embraced cybersecurity practices and early adopters of the CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) about 3 years ago. LMI saw that some of their systems might be vulnerable to security breaches. They took measures to mitigate any risk. This resulted in LMI being far ahead of most DoD small business contractors. Security is infused into all of their processes.

•

Certifications like ISO 9001:2015 & AS9100 [International Aerospace quality management standard, which includes requirements for aviation, space, and defense industries].

Prior to COVID, these trailblazers had invested in the rigorous training needed to become aerospace-certified. Upon certification, LMI obtained DoD contracts to provide critical aerospace parts to the government. During the pandemic, DoD sent an official letter to them identifying their workforce as essential and legally mandating staff to remain on the job.

LMI took extreme measures to protect their crew from COVID. When Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding came available, they were able to distribute extra funds to their workforce. Because they had invested in their workforce and infrastructure, LMI was ready for the pandemic.

Apprenticeship Program – Blue Collar STEM

Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things Everyday LMI’s heroes are those who put others in front of themselves. Every one of the people at LMI have a trailblazing story of their own. They are heroes. Both Mr. Fouquart and Mr. Massicotte have the privilege of leading a group of creative people who strive to do the right thing. They're actually the heroes, because they do the work; without them, you don't need the leaders. Mr. Massicotte said, “I think if we all take that humble approach that we're not the most important thing in the room, it's everybody, that's allowed us to do what we do so much better. Our growth objectives are met by our heroes in every room. I'm extremely proud of my staff. I get to see them every day.

I'm just blessed. I get to actually interact with all these great ordinary people doing extraordinary things, pretty much every day.”

Taking Responsible Risks

CEO Mark Massicotte on the shop floor of L’Anse Manufacturing in L’Anse, Michigan Photo Source: National Center for Economic Gardening

Recently, LMI was featured in the National Apprenticeship Week. This is an annual weeklong celebration geared toward raising awareness for apprenticeship-based training programs throughout Michigan and the country as a whole [see video]. LMI’s president, along with several conference participants, were featured. This apprenticeship program trains new practitioners of a trade through paid onthe-job training and related classroom instruction. The training takes place under the careful supervision of LMI’s seasoned and knowledgeable professionals. Apprentices –

What differentiates LMI from the pack is that their trailblazers “own it.” Mr. Fouquart believes that when something goes wrong, the entire team needs to own it. Blame is neither an option nor a solution. It doesn’t matter if LMI was a subcontractor and was not assigned the task.

There is no time for finger-pointing; the customer needs a solution. LMI wants to be at the table contributing to the solution.

LMI is not afraid to tear everything up and start all over to get it right. That attitude has resulted in extremely loyal customers. They know that LMI will come up with a solution that works, probably because they often say “I don't always need to win, but I really don't like to lose.”

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Impact of COVID

after receiving this impactful training – earn industryand nationallyrecognized credentials granted through the U.S. Department of Labor. LMI has been able to build workforce capacity and sustainability through this program.

TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE

communities and nations they serve.

The National Science Foundation engaged GBS through a HUBZone contract to accomplish trailblazing work designing a cable system connecting US research stations in Antarctica to New Zealand and Australia. This “SMART” (Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications) cable system will have embedded sensors to transmit information about the undersea environment, including temperature, pressure, and seismic movement.

This project will provide scientists with enough bandwidth to upload Terabytes of data almost instantaneously and have services like video conferencing allowing them to engage and collaborate with others around the world.

Mining Diamonds Nicholas Koopalethes, CEO, Global Broadband Solutions (GBS)

Trailblazing has taken Mr. Koopalethes from Antarctica to the Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific, inventing several critical patents along the way. Since 1998, his company has been providing expertise to the federal government for the development, installation, maintenance, and administration of undersea cable systems. 99% of all internet traffic is carried by submarine fiber optic cable systems on the bottom of the ocean and are responsible for most of the rapid communications for the Internet, banking, cell phones, and research.

He explained that satellites transport a very small percentage of our telecommunication traffic because of the time required for the information to travel from earth to the satellite and back -72,000 km round trip. Even moving at the speed of light, satellite communication takes much longer than transporting that same information over submarine cables which are much shorter. Fiber optic cables have revolutionized telecommunications by delivering vast amounts of information at near real-time speed.

More than 450 cable systems exist under our oceans connecting more than 1.3 million kilometers of cables in service globally. Many have been designed, constructed, protected, and maintained by companies like GBS. These systems comprise critical infrastructure for the

GBS is used to going deep-sea diving, so digging on land has not been a challenge. They are proud of the work they have done on behalf of the HUBZone Program. Mr. Koopalethes is excited about the opportunity to mine for diamonds each and every day. The terrain may look rough to the outsider, but underneath those communities, there are valuable gems if companies keep digging. Just like any great gemologist, the GBS team keeps mining-uncovering the talent within their community.

They see diamonds that might be overlooked; they are on a mission to help diverse communities sparkle.

Cable Ships installing a submarine cable for a GBS Project Photo Source: GBS

Family First This trailblazer considers himself honored to be part of a group that puts family first. As he reflected on the previous Trailblazer issues, Mr. Koopalethes said he saw a common theme: “Family First.” He defined the family ecosystem

as comprising both the biological and business families. That this family ecosystem has allowed his business to thrive during tough times. He told countless stories of his employees taking the lead when he had to do something like take his daughter to a play, or as heart-wrenching as caring for his wife who was terminally ill. All of Mr. Koopalethes’ family was there to support him, with lines like, “What would Nick do?”

When GBS has a client kick-off meeting, it invariably starts with everyone introducing themselves. This trailblazer waits until all his staff has been introduced, then he says “I want you to know, as a CEO, I work for these people, because if they’re successful you will be successful. My job is to help them to be successful.”

Best Character Your Best Character is not exhibited when things are great; it comes out during adversity.

This trailblazer’s character has been tested as an individual and as a company. He looks back at some of the easier tests - like, for example, when an employee made a mistake that cost the company thousands of dollars. These tests required counseling and a recalibration to not stifle the employee but to ensure that it didn’t happen again. The loss of revenue stung, but paled in comparison to the time the company was owed almost a half-million dollars.

The Government delayed payment for almost 2 years because it was completing an internal audit of its contracting practices.

During this time, Mr. Koopalethes and his partner’s character were truly tested on how to meet payroll and pay suppliers. They could have decreased salaries, or not paid vendors in a timely fashion. But instead, they paid everyone.

They went into their personal savings – not because they had to, but because the company would face significant cashflow challenges. They did it because they understood that the best character is greater than good character (legal thing).

Attendees at the Brad Yowell, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Co-Owner Nick Koopathales, CEO, Bruce Morris, Vice President and Co-Owner

It was a hardship, but Mr. Koopalethes and his partner both agreed that best character was far more important than good character. They trusted GBS would be given what was due, and eventually that occurred. He believes GBS came out as a better company. Their employees and suppliers now had proof, that what the owners had been preaching, they were willing to put into action. As a trailblazer, Mr. Koopalethes took the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference in their brand.

Tide Rises Mr. Koopalethes wanted to remind the federal government that the HUBZone acronym means historically underutilized business zones. These are businesses that raise the tide for not only their community but the entire nation. Your decision helps not only the companies who are in the HUBZone, but the people who live in the HUBZone. That action will impact the service industry that supports the HUBZone. The nation will be able to dip into the resource pool of very creative minds and help to improve the economy, innovation, and health. Therefore, this trailblazer has three final words of wisdom for our readers: Council, Create, and Collaborate!

•

Council: Join the HUBZone Council by giving your time and resources to advocate for more HUBZone contracts to level the playing field. Our voices are stronger together.

•

Create: Create well-paying jobs in historically underutilized neighborhoods.

Find ways to identify, train, build, and sustain the HUBZone workforce.

•

Collaborate: Work with other HUBZone Businesses that have your same ethos.

Freely share best practices. When other HUBZones excel, the door opens wide for more HUBZone companies.

TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE

As he talked further about his HUBZone family, he explained, “I am your brother, and you are my sister.” Mr. Koopalethes says he was created to make a difference in the community. His faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior has allowed him to build a business with that ethos firmly at the center. He doesn’t do it perfectly, but he keeps trying; that’s why he considers all employees heroes. They support GBS in both the good and hard times.

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YOUNG DISRUPTOR

with the HUBZone Council. She began pursuing creative technology careers, which culturally would have been seen as a hobby and therefore taboo. Ms. Nguyen can’t see herself doing just one thing, so she dove headfirst into the endless possibilities at the HUBZone Council. Her path has changed so much in the last 5 years, and she admits it would be difficult for her to envision life in 2030.

Angela Nguyen, Marketing Manager, HUBZone Contractors National Council & Board Member, HUBZone Council, Inc.

This young trailblazer is a master of IT improvisation. Ms. Nguyen is known for coming up with ways to enhance the Council’s media footprint. Whether she is designing Airtables to match HUBZone Companies with job seekers or creating frameworks for digital publications (like the 21 Days of HUBZones), Ms. Nguyen is quickly making her mark on the HUBZone Program with social media campaigns that educate the nation on its economic impact. She uses social media to demystify the program, often re-educating businesses, workers, and the government to set the record straight. Ms. Nguyen believes the HUBZone program is powerful: she has seen it change the lives of workers and the communities they work in.

180 Degree Turn: Moving from Surviving to Thriving Ms. Nguyen’s parents migrated from Vietnam to America, and the journey was steeped in challenges that they overcame. They launched a small business in 2003. Their dreams for their daughter included the path she was initially on, which was Pre-Med at Frostburg State University. By her junior year, Ms. Nguyen had realized that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. She felt stuck, and her passion was gone. She found herself at a crossroads: change her major? Or be complacent and stick it out? True to form, Ms. Nguyen chose to thrive, adding Human Resources to her degree along with an internship

In 2022, without any formal training, Ms. Nguyen singlehandedly transformed the look and feel of the monthly Trailblazer Magazine.

Her motto is, “Go Big or Go Home,” a belief that is reflected in each issue. Ms. Nguyen’s technical and creative expertise has often left our members speechless. Questions like, “how does she come up with these new layouts each month?“ Michelle Burnett, Executive Director of the Council, has said that Ms. Nguyen has an “improvement mindset,” and is constantly looking at ways to collaborate and bring more stakeholders to the table. Ms. Nguyen’s problemsolving skills Michelle Burnett, Executive Director, HUBZone and dedication Council, Angela Nguyen, Marketing Manager, HUBZone Council, Lily Milliner, CEP, Build-IT-Up have allowed at the 2021 Live! Casino & Hotel Minority Outreach the Council to Fair build sustainable processes and systems despite the challenges of doing so.

Bubbling Up Effort: Individuals, Companies, Communities, and the Nation One of Ms. Nguyen’s initial workforce initiatives was to increase employment opportunities for students residing in HUBZone areas. She wanted to: •

Identify ways that HUBZone businesses could change the trajectory of students within their particular communities through

meaningful jobs.

•

Match students’ talents, whether they lived in rural or urban HUBZone communities, with national workforce needs.

Ms. Nguyen’s talent management system has become the gift that keeps giving, as HUBZone businesses struggled to deal with the impacts on their workforce of the COVID-19 pandemic. The product has increased businesses’ abilities to recruit a skilled workforce, particularly as remote work lessened the sting of the high gas prices. This system continues to offer our Council members and their prospective employees actionable workplace alternatives.

The Elephant: Kicking It Out of the Room When I asked Ms. Nguyen, “who are your heroes?” I shouldn’t have been surprised when she replied, “they are people who go against the grain to stand-up for what is right, people not willing to go with the flow, but make waves. The ones who do that are my heroes”. Clearly, this young trailblazer is a champion for the historically disadvantaged. For her, silence and ignorance are not bliss. She has watched with zeal as her generation has chosen to kick some of America’s biggest elephants out of the room.

Elephants that had to go because of movements like MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and Stop Asian Hate to ensure the credibility of the Declaration of Independence: “…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”

Angela Nguyen, Marketing Manager, HUBZone Council, and Kindra Dionne, CEO, Purpose Worx Photo Source: HUBZone Contractors National Council

Impact of IT: Changing the Workforce Ms. Nguyen’s generation is technologydependent. We are all reminded that their dependency has captured data that would have been lost decades ago. Individuals might have been gaslighted, questioning their own recollection of the facts, but now, these facts are globally available for all to see. IT advancements have opened doors in every industry, providing new skills and opportunities for the talented HUBZone workforce.

The impact of IT on the workforce has led to interdependency. Companies are beginning to realize that what some employees may lack in experience, they quickly make up in ingenuity, and ingenuity is harder to teach. This talent is what Ms. Nguyen and many of her peers bring to the workforce. She believes businesses that have been able to harness talents from all communities have created sustainable ecosystems that have been able to thrive, even during the pandemic.

Chrissy Marucci, Small Business Consultant & Vice President, Pepburn, LLC, and Angela Nguyen, Marketing Manager, HUBZone Council, at the 2020 HUBZone Industry Awards Gala Photo Source: HUBZone Contractors National Council

YOUNG DISRUPTOR

Ms. Nguyen created a talent management system that HUBZone Council members could access. The system included student profiles, along with resumes and employment interest.

This system provided Council members a national workforce pipeline of prospective HUBZone students. Additionally, the students were able to beef up their resumes with handson experience, from Business Development to Quantum Literacy. Upon graduation, many students were able to land well-paying, full-time positions using the experiences they had gained at the HUBZone businesses. Ms. Nguyen reminds the businesses using this system that “one hire can make a difference to the company, family, community, and the nation”.

20 22

THROW BACK

trained, some of them multiple times, but there were no jobs.

What we need is jobs!

Senator Kit Bond is considered the godfather of the HUBZone program our ultimate trailblazer. When we asked, him what it took to make it happen. He told us the idea came from a conversation with Clyde McQueen the Head of the Fair Employment Council in Kansas City MO. The Senator kept asking him if he needed more training money.

Finally, Clyde responded saying stop sending us training money. The people were

PASSING THE PUCK In his first week in office, President Biden signed Executive Order 14005, Ensuring the Future is Made in America by All of America's Workers, launching a whole-of-government initiative to strengthen the use of federal procurement to support American manufacturing. For years U.S Manufacturing jobs have consistently declined; however, in February of 2022, the Biden Administration was proud to announce that 367,000 manufacturing jobs were added to the U.S economy, which is the highest in 30 years. This uptick in employment

This one precise answer changed the direction of their conversation. For Senator Bond this was a call to action. He started thinking about what the federal government could establish to bring jobs to areas of high unemployment both in urban and rural communities.

The answer was the HUBZone Empowerment Act supported by the Chairman of the Small Business Committee in the Senate, Senator Carey and signed into law by President Clinton.

Success stories include a HUBZone company in Kansas City with operations in opportunities stems from the numerous resource and programs implemented to support U.S Manufacturers; to learn more about these programs, click here.

In May 2022, Biden Administration celebrates launch Additive Manufacturing (AM) Forward and Calls on Congress to Pass Bipartisan Innovation Act. AM Forward will help lower costs for American families by improving the competitiveness of America's small-and-medium-sized manufacturers, creating and sustaining high-paying manufacturing jobs, and improving supply chain resilience through adoption of additive manufacturing.

To support AM Forward, the Biden Administration has identified a range of federal programs that U.S. SME

Oklahoma which had a large Native American population with high unemployment and low wages. This HUBZone company provided better wages and lowered the unemployment rate. The same success occurred in western Kansas with Hispanic workers.

These two HUBZone companies supported the DoD on building parts for a major aerospace program. It was really exciting to see how the program improved the economic stance of that community.

When we asked the Senator what message he would give to the federal agencies that still haven’t hit that 3% goal. He had a simple response, “Get with the gang! This is a program that will reward you for hiring people who need to be hired. To do a job the federal government needs.

What could be more simple than that!”.

manufacturers can use to support their adoption of additive capabilities and increase their competitiveness. The Administration's actions are focused on helping to overcome common challenges that have slowed the deployment of AM technologies, particularly among smaller manufacturers.

They include: • Providing access to capital to our SME manufacturers • Delivering technical assistance from the federal government and OEMs to our SME manufacturers • Investing in the additive manufacturing workforce • Setting industry standards

20 22 CALLING ALL SUPPORTERS

Calling All

Supporters We want you to get involved. We have advertisement space that fits everyone’s budget, from congratulating one of our many trailblazers to showcasing a company’s related products and services. Please email angela@hubzonecouncil.org for consideration.