We're closing out the second quarter with a series of powerful conversations, connecting you to the resources your business needs to not just survive covid 19, but to pivot, position & thrive!
Join us this Monday with Michelle "G-I" Gardner-Ince, Director of Women Veteran-Owned Small Business Initiative (WVOSBI) and Laurie Sayles, President/CEO, CivilityMS for a powerful conversation on pivoting and positioning your business for success.
MEET OUR GUESTS:
Michelle "G-I" Gardner-Ince, Director of Women Veteran-Owned Small Business Initiative (WVOSBI), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), Department of Veteran Affairs
Michelle "G-I" Gardner-Ince, Director of Women Veteran-Owned Small Business Initiative (WVOSBI), leads the Department's efforts to develop programs that connect and enable underrepresented target groups with VA, the federal and commercial marketplaces to increase educational, employment and economic opportunities. She is the architect of the Department of VA's inaugural Women Veteran-Owned Small Business (WVOSB) Initiative. The program brings together like-minded female veteran and non-veteran entrepreneurs to position and enable their success and to remove obstacles that often stand in the way. The effort is known in the veteran and small business community as" VetBizLady or VetBizLadies."
Ms. Gardner-Ince has successfully led several Directorates within OSDBU. As the Director of National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE), Ms. Gardner-Ince led the NVSBE is the Department's premier event for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) to connect with Procurement Decision Makers and contracting experts from the federal and commercial marketplaces. She simultaneously served as Operations Director, where she led the management and delivery of services and products to OSDBU directorates, enabling 242 federal and contract staff to help veteran businesses. She oversaw the human capital, financial, security, administrative, logistical, information technology, and support functions that are critical to its mission. Focusing always on "people, process, and technology," her vision brings significant value to the federal government's largest Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU).
Before being the Director of Operations, she was the Director of the Center for Verification and Evaluation, formerly known as The Center for Veteran Enterprise (CVE), within the OSDBU at the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) from December 2011 to November 2015. As Principal of the only Federal Government program that audits and verifies ownership and control of Veteran-owned businesses for the Department of Veteran Affairs and other federal agency contract set-asides, CVE enabled $3.8B in contract set-asides making the Department of Veterans Affairs the leading supporter of Veteran small businesses. Under her leadership, CVE was certified as one of three ISO- 9000-1 registered organizations in the entire Department of VA. Further, she successfully led the historic transformation of the new CVE to achieve historical precedence: 100% of applications processed within the Veterans First law timelines for the "first time" in the history of the Veterans' First Program. The CVE program is known within the supplier diversity and veteran small business communities as VetBiz.gov and is recognized as the "Gold Standard" for Veteran Small Business certifications.
Ms. Gardner-Ince is a highly decorated Air Force Veteran and a retired Colonel, having served 27 years supporting Veterans, military troops, and their families. Before the creation of her own small business, G-I Strategic Solutions LLC., an advisory and consulting firm, she held numerous executive-level positions. Her experience spans customer-centric business operations, training, consulting, strategic collaboration, and directing award-winning complex global operations. One of her most significant leadership roles was as the Commander (Senior Vice President) of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Pacific Region where she led a $1.8 billion-dollar retail, food, and services business, with full profit-loss responsibility, that employed 7000+ associates who provided goods and services to over 350,000 military, U.S. government civilian and State Department patrons and their families. While in command, her leadership led to the top highest grossing military exchanges in the world two years in a row. AAFES is the U.S. military's largest retail operation.
Ms. Gardner-Ince's mission is to be "About the business of America's Veterans – serving those who continue to serve America." Ms. Gardner-Ince has a unique perspective in that she has never been without a military ID Card. She is not only a veteran, a military spouse, but she grew up in an Army family and is originally from Albany, Georgia. She was commissioned by her father and Vietnam Veteran, Colonel Arthur Gardner. She holds a bachelor's degree from Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama, and a master's degree from Troy State University, Troy, Alabama. She is a Dale Carnegie and John Maxwell leadership coach/trainer. She resides in the Metro Washington DC area and is married with two children.
Laurie Sayles, President & CEO, CivilityMS VET-Force Executive Committee Officer, VIP Graduate & Goldman Sachs 10KSB Alum
Laurie Sayles formed Civility Management Solutions (CivilityMS) in 2012 as a professional consulting services firm working within in the Government and Commercial space. CivilityMS is providing Project, Program, Financial and Grants Management; Training; Conference Logistics, Acquisition, Call Center and Administrative support. Our clients are Department of Defense, NASA, Department of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Department of Veteran Affairs, Government Accounting Office, Department of Transportation, State of Maryland and Baltimore County. CivilityMS is a certified Small Business Administration 8(a), Women Owned Small Business, and verified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business with an office in a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone).
She was introduced to Federal Government Contracting almost 11 years-ago and immediately realized it was the ideal business to develop a legacy for herself and others. Laurie has always been an entrepreneur, beginning in her parents’ home in Chicago, IL, selling candy to the neighborhood kids, modeling professionally during High School in downtown Chicago, all before joining the United States Marine Corps.
Laurie’s seven years’ active duty in the Marine Corps increased her leadership, integrity, teamwork and persistence. She was tested as she earned the respect as a Woman, who is African American in a man’s world. Her Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was Maintenance Management and she served in Camp Lejeune, NC; Kaneohe Bay, HI and Cherry Point, NC. Laurie was highly regarded as a Woman Marine and was often called upon by superiors to mentor and train others. The importance of her job is best stated as “A Marine must be properly equipped to function at 110%,” as her demanding role was to push mechanics, technicians, armorers, etc., to maintain a 98% equipment readiness at all times.
Laurie has become an outspoken advocate for Veteran’s as has served on two U.S. Senate Small Business Committee hearings regarding Veteran Entrepreneurship Training and SBA Reauthorization. She was elected as the first Woman Veteran Officer on the Veteran Entrepreneurship Task Force (VET-Force) Committee and was nominated to become a representative on the SBA Inter-Agency Veteran Task Force. She has been honored to speak on panels for Maryland Legislatures, Department of Veteran Affairs, and attended the 2015 “Joining Forces” Veterans Day Luncheon with Mrs. Michelle Obama and the highest-ranking Veteran of the country, Vice President Joe Biden.
Laurie was awarded as 2019 Maryland Women Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2018 we were selected as 1 of 100 Minority Businesses in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia area, however, the most recent award as a Compassionate Business Leader was due to her advocacy on behalf of Veterans business owners. CivilityMS participated in a pilot program with Bowie University, BowieBic referred to as an 8(a) accelerator program, for SBA certified 8(a) programs in Prince George’s County, MD. Before this, Laurie participated in the pilot program for Baltimore, MD and became a scholar in the Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Business Program with Babson Entrepreneurship Training at Johns Hopkins University. CivilityMS has received numerous awards during the past seven years of being established.
Laurie received her BS in Social Science and a Minor in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship, along with a Business Project Management Certification from University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and has been accepted in UMUC Graduates Program and plans to return for a dual degree. Her advocacy work include: 1) VetForce, which fights for policy for Veteran Business owners and 2) Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), which fights for policy for Women Owned Businesses. Lastly, Laurie is an author of her journey of moving through tough challenges, “As My Leaders Go … So Do I.”