Charleston, SC – Jan. 16, 2019 – The Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA)—a non-profit defense advocacy group– today announced its 2019 board members and officers and highlighted 2018 achievements around strengthening and advocating for the defense industry in the Southeast.
“Over this past year, the CDCA focused strategically on growing our national brand and impact on the defense discussion from Capitol Hill to the local region. Our direct engagements on the Hill resulted in the addition of advantageous language related to Working Capital Fund organization authorities in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act,” said Heather Walker, President CDCA. “Additionally, our 12th Annual defense summit brought national attention to the Southeast as a major hub of innovation for the industry at large. The Southeastern region is driving innovation in the defense industry, which is leading to more jobs and local economic growth.”
Now at 336 members ranging from individuals to small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, the association is starting 2019 with a 17 percent increase in membership over last year. This growth is a testament to the power of the organization to further its mission to bring private and public industries together to have an impact in the defense community.
The CDCA is run by an experienced group of industry and community leaders, and 2019’s Board of Directors includes the following:
President: Heather Walker, Principal, Booz Allen Hamilton
Vice President: April Nadeau, Vice President, Sentar
Secretary: Robin Burke, Sr. Sales Executive, Cask
Treasurer: Brian Lindgren, Director, Bowhead
Board of Directors:
Becky Roberts, Technical Project Manager, Ward ENG Support Services
Beth Meredith, Director, KBRwyle
Gary Jaffe, Director, Atlas Technologies, Inc
Jimi Eldeman, Operations Director, Spry Methods
Kris Busch, Vice President, BAE Systems
Manuel Lovgren, Senior Vice President, Life Cycle Engineering
Maura Boselowitz, Director, Parsons Corporation
Red Hoover, Vice President, ManTech International Corporation
Stella Mercado, CEO and President, Mercom Corporation
The annual CDCA Defense Summit, which continues to bring thousands of attendees from all over the US, offered two new elements in the December 2018 agenda. First, a “speed-networking” session provided an opportunity for individual company meetings with government leaders. Additionally, the inaugural Innovation Spotlight gave CDCA members the opportunity to compete for the honor of “best-in-class” innovative solution. This year’s award went to Netizen Corporation for their CyberSecure Dashboard.
Aside from the annual event, the CDCA emphasizes programs to help small businesses gain traction in the defense market by offering quarterly Small Business and Industry Outreach Initiative (SBIOI) events. The full-day events provide informative presentations, networking and attract 400+ government and industry attendees. Additionally, the CDCA continues its dedication to supporting local STEM initiatives through professional development events and an annual internship program. Over the course of the past year, five interns were placed with member companies.
Please visit the CDCA website (www.charlestondca.org/about) for more information or email us at info@charlestondca.org.
Media Contacts:
Michelle Van Jura, Intersect Communications
310.420.4062, michelle@intersectcom.com
Joy Capps, Intersect Communications
843.730.3857, joy@intersectcom.com
