About Santa Barbara Applied Research, Inc.
Founded in the early 1980s and headquartered in Ventura, California, Santa Barbara Applied Research, Inc. (SBAR) is an exceptional provider of high technology solutions and specialized support services primarily for U.S. defense and civilian government agencies.  With a workforce of 600, and using proven processes that are based on its ISO 9001 approved methodologies, SBAR delivers a full range of services that spans the project lifecycle from strategic planning, design, and engineering, to implementation and operation of complex, mission critical systems.
 
With expertise and operational experience to address the specialized needs of missile, satellite, and orbital related programs, SBAR provides a broad range of highly technical support services, particularly in the areas of IT, engineering, Logistics, and O&M.  The Company is dedicated to providing its customers with a total solution characterized by the highest level of quality.  SBAR’s focus on delivering quality solutions and superior customer service has resulted in an extremely loyal and broad base of customers that have continuously entrusted the Company with their most critical requirements for operational support.
 
With particular expertise supporting space related activities and missile launch sites, SBAR has developed a strong track record with customers within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Department of Defense (DoD).  The Company has also forged strong relationships with several component organizations with the U.S. Air Force, and specifically the Air Force Space Command.
 
Throughout its 27-year history, SBAR has remained committed to its core value of innovation, quality and customer satisfaction.  Its leadership has successfully instilled a culture that captures their customer-oriented and employee-centric attitude, as well as their tremendous work ethic and creativity. SBAR’s focus on innovation provides an intellectually stimulating environment that has created a significant degree of employee satisfaction, as is evidence by the Company’s remarkably low turnover rate.
 
As a rapidly growing and successful organization, SBAR has garnered frequent recognition for its achievement.  In addition to receiving numerous awards from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Company was named by the Pacific Coast Business Times as the “2007 Private Company of the Year” in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties, California.  Pacific Coast Business Times also ranked SBAR first on the list of Woman-Owned Businesses in the region, and the Company has also been included on Inc. Magazines list of “500 Fastest Growing Companies”.

Marina M. LaVerdy, Commercial Market Representative/Procurement Analyst, Office of Government Contracting U.S. Small Business Administration
 
Marina Laverdy is a Commercial Market Representative (CMR) and Procurement Analyst in the Office of Government Contracting at the U.S. Small Business Administration in Los Angeles, CA.  Ms. Laverdy works to assist small businesses in obtaining subcontracts and to help other-than-small businesses meet their subcontracting goals.  This is accomplished by performing  reviews of other-than-small Federal contractors to identify opportunities for small businesses and to ensure that subcontracting plan requirement are met, and also by counseling small businesses on how to market their products and services to prime contractors.
 
The Office of Government Contracting (GC) works to create an environment for maximum participation by small, disadvantaged, and woman-owned businesses in federal government contract awards and large prime subcontract awards. GC advocates on behalf of small business in the federal procurement world.
 
Before coming to the Office of Government Contracting in Los Angeles, Ms. Laverdy worked for eight years in SBA’s Headquarters in Washington, DC as Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Business Development, a Policy Analyst in the Office of Business Development and a Legislative Analyst in the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.
 
Prior to joining SBA, Ms. Laverdy was the Executive Director of the Latin American Management Association a Washington, DC based national minority small business trade association.  Ms. Laverdy also served as the Deputy Director of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Inc. and worked as an Aide to Congressman Esteban Torres in his Capitol Hill office.
 
Ms. Laverdy is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara and currently lives with her husband and son in Oxnard, CA.
 
About the Office of Government Contracting, U.S. Small Business Administration
The Office of Government Contracting (GC) works to create an environment for maximum participation by small, disadvantaged, and woman-owned businesses in federal government contract awards and large prime subcontract awards. GC advocates on behalf of small business in the federal procurement world.
 
Each year, our government spends billions of dollars in goods and services purchased from private firms. To foster an equitable federal procurement policy, government-wide small business goals, in terms of a percentage of annual expenditure, are established for federal agencies. SBA negotiates the goals annually with each federal agency on an individual basis. Currently, the overall small business goal is 23%. This includes the specific goals of 5% to Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), 3% to service disabled veterans, 5% to small disadvantaged businesses, and 3% to Hubzone firms.
 
Under the Small Business Act, federal agencies conduct a variety of procurements that are reserved exclusively for small business participation. These transactions are called "small business set-asides" and include the Small Business Reserve, Set-Asides above the simplified acquisition threshold, the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program, and the HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program.
 
For all procurement actions expected to exceed the $100,000 simplified acquisition threshold, prime contractors are required to make a "best effort' attempt to make use of small, disadvantaged, and women-owned small businesses as subcontractors if the opportunity exists under the contract. For procurement actions expected to exceed $500,000 ($1 million for construction), the winning contractor is required to provide the agency contracting officer with a written plan that establishes a small business subcontracting goal. The plan details how the winning contractor will make use of small business in each subcontract category and provide for timely payments.
 
GC administers several programs and services that assist small businesses in meeting the requirements to receive government contracts, either as prime contractors or subcontractors. These include the Certificate of Competency, the Non-Manufacturer Rule Waiver, and the Size Determination programs. The office also oversees special initiatives such as the Women's Procurement program, the Veteran's Procurement program, and the Procurement Awards program, and the Annual Joint Industry/SBA Procurement Conference.
 
GC also plays a major role in the formulation of federal procurement policies that affect small businesses.

Robert Lane, Business Consultant with the Federal Technology Center
Bob Lane is a former Deputy for Small Business with the Defense Logistics Agency where he monitored large prime contractors to ensure that they did business with small, minority, and women owned businesses. Bob retired from the Department of Defense after 33 years of federal service.  After retirement from federal service, he continued his career as a Procurement Specialist with both the Bay Area Procurement Assistance Center in Oakland and with the Commission on Economic Development for the State of Nevada.  Subsequently he became the Outreach and Marketing Director for the Procurement Resource Center helping small businesses obtain certifications for the federal and state government. Bob has also taught Small Business Management classes at various community colleges including West Valley College, DeAnza College, and Skyline College. 
Among other ventures, Bob currently trains and counsels small businesses as a Business Consultant for The Federal Technology Center.  The Federal Technology Center is a not for profit corporation that helps small businesses with all aspects of contracting with the federal, state, and local governments.
 
Federal Technology Center
The Federal Technology Center (The FTC) is a not-for-profit public benefit California corporation whose mission is to improve the state’s economy by helping small businesses successfully compete for federal, state, and local government contracts. Headquartered in North Highlands, California (Sacramento Area), The FTC has been designated by the Department of Defense as a Statewide Procurement Assistance Program to serve over 1,000,000 businesses in 54 of California’s 58 counties. The FTC provides free basic and advanced classes on how to do business with the government and free counseling on any aspect of government contracting.