As the global health crisis continues to push organizations to host virtual conferences, the Aeronautical Center’s Small and Disadvantaged Business Office is no different. This past July, FAA’s Small Business Program Office (AAP-20) held the first-ever, virtual small business matchmaking event. This is an event where small and disadvantaged business owners can have brief appointments with FAA procurement officials who represent the Aeronautical Center and tenant organizations. These meetings, in person or virtual, are a great place for businesses to gain exposure to potential government contracts. They serve as great networking opportunities, allowing participants to connect (informally) with buyers and other potential partners.

Using a Microsoft Teams virtual platform, participants from the Aeronautical Center, the U.S. Department of Transportation and FAA organizations having offices outside of the Aeronautical Center were represented at this event. The kickoff occurred on July 29^th at 8:30am with Michelle Coppedge, Director of the Aeronautical Center opening the event.

Gerald A. Lewis, Sr., the Small Business Liaison for Aeronautical Center, served as the Master of Ceremonies and shared the purpose and vision for the event. Lewis explained, "This year’s MMAC small business outreach and engagement event is focused on Small & Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs). This is not to slight the other classes of small business, but to further the President’s Administration’s initiatives, and goals for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, as it relates to underutilized and underserved communities in this country. So, we are looking at using the FAA Small Business Program, along with the flexibility available to the FAA through its Acquisition Management System, to drive that change - by expanding opportunities for SDBs, while at the same time continuing to meet all of our small business goals. There will be more information on this subject coming out in the very near future. Stay tuned, and continue to check the System for Acquisition Management (SAM) website for announcements. We have also posted a request for comment on SAM asking for feedback, recommendations, and suggestions for improving the delivery and effectiveness of our Small Business Program. So, please let us hear from you."

The Matchmaking sessions were held from 9 a.m. to Noon and were scheduled by Govmates (a Small, Woman-Owned Business) using Microsoft Teams. Buyer and Seller profiles were developed using a template provided by Govmates to collect pertinent information in assisting them to make the best possible matches. Special thanks to the staff at Govmates who contributed to the success of this event. A virtual networking session was also offered to all businesses and was held from 9am to 11am. The feedback from this one event has been outstanding. In summary, there were:

• 275 Small Businesses Registered for the event
• 331 Individual Matchmaking Sessions.
• 160 Small Business Sellers
• 29 FAA/DOT Representatives

Special thanks to all those who participated in the 2021 Virtual Small Business Matching Event.

AMA (FAA Academy):

1. Dejon R. Johnson, Management & Program Analyst/COR, Training Services Support, Distance Learning Branch, AMA-024
2. Tim W. Jones, Manager, Contracts and Program Administration Branch, AMA-260
3. Jason McLaughlin, Management & Program Analyst/COR, AMA-260

AAQ-700 (Aeronautical Center Acquisition Services & Franchise Acquisitions Division):

1. Neil Amaral, Contracting Officer, AAQ-722
2. Nia Glover, Contracting Officer, AAQ-732
3. Jason Perry, Contracting Officer, AAQ-722
4. Stephanie Riddle, Contracting Officer, AAQ-731

AAM (Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI)):

1. Katharine (Kate) McCauley, Management & Program Analyst, AAM-6

AMK (Enterprise Services Center (ESC):

1. Monique (Mo) Walswick, Management & Program Analyst, Business and Admin. Support Branch, AMK-011
2. Katie Nguyen, Management & Program Analyst, AMK-011

AIT (Office of Information Technology) Industry Liaison (ASP-220):

1. Kenyon Elliott, AIT, IT Industry Liaison, Contract Strategies and Metrics, ASP-220

AJW-L (FAA Logistics Center):

1. Darrell L. Anderson, Radar Product Group, Technical Support Program, Team Manager, AJW-L910
2. Andrea M. Clark, Quality Systems Group, Quality Management Systems Team, Industrial Engineer, AJW-L220
3. James R. Price, Navigation & Weather Products Group, Program Support Team, Electronics Engineer, AJW-L750
4. Tony R. Johnson, Quality Systems Group, Quality Management Systems Team, Supplier Quality/ESD Program Manager, AJW-L220
5. Mark Parmenter, Quality Systems Group, Quality Management Systems Team, Facilities Program Manager, AJW-L220
6. Curtis Malone, Navigation & Weather Products Group, Program Support Team, Engineering Manager, AJW-L750
7. Kevin Oaks, Product Services Group, Logistics Services Team, Equipment Specialist, AJW-L511
8. Cory Yeager, Product Services Group, Business Operations Team, Program Manager, AJW-L531

AAQ-500 (FAA Regional Acquisitions Division):

1. Carey Gonzalez, Contracting Officer, AAQ-5A0
2. Shannon Kincaid-Toncray, Contracting Officer, AAQ-5B0
3. Susan Newcomb, Contracting Officer, AAQ-540

U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU):

1. Randall (Randy) Nossaman, Small Business Specialist, U.S. DOT OSDBU

AAP (Acquisition Policy & Oversight):

1. Jeffrey Baker, Deputy Director, AAP-2

AAP-20 (Small Business Development Program):

1. Allen Bresley, Program Manager, AAP-20
2. Lakisha Davis, Small Business Liaison, Washington Headquarters, AAP-20
3. Deborah Hemphill, Small Business Liaison, William J. Hughes Technical Center, AAP-20
4. Gerald A. Lewis, Sr., Small Business Liaison, Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, AAP-20
5. Lelanie Rivera, Small Business Liaison, FAA Western Service Area, AAP-20
6. Tony Ortiz, Small Business Liaison, FAA Eastern Service Area, AAP-20