Citizen CEO

The business of working with the government—from the inside and the outside.

Deana Herbert joins us and shares her thoughts around the importance of infusing culture into the recruiting process. and establishing partnerships allowing us to show up as our authentic selves in all aspects of our businesses.

Deana P. Herbert is Co-Founder, President & Chief Operating Officer of Thomas & Herbert Consulting (T&H) with over 33 years of experience in strategic planning, organizational development, leadership, and business transformation. In her role, Ms. Herbert provides strategic advisory support services to various clients and mentees. Deana oversees the daily operations of T&H and serves as an Certified Executive and Leadership Coach for executives in Government, faith-based organizations and other client organizations.  She is also a co-founder of 3 joint ventures, P3 Innovations LLC, Agility LLC and MT&H. Today, Deana shares her insights on establishing and maintaining healthy partnerships based on her 24 year long partnership with Rodney Thomas.

We return with our interview with Vicki Vasquez. Vicki Vasques is Founder and CEO of Tribal Tech and CEO of Cowan & Associates. Both companies are American Indian, woman-owned small businesses that provide management and consulting services and technical assistance to federal, state, tribal and corporate clients. For more than 30 years, Ms. Vasques has been an advocate for American Indians, leading education reform, health care and advancing energy initiatives. Today we chat about Vicki’s journey to entrepreneurship, her passion for education reform for American Indians, and intentional culture.

Vicki Vasques is Founder and CEO of Tribal Tech and CEO of Cowan & Associates. Both companies are American Indian, woman-owned small businesses that provide management and consulting services and technical assistance to federal, state, tribal and corporate clients. For more than 30 years, Ms. Vasques has been an advocate for American Indians, leading education reform, health care and advancing energy initiatives. Today we chat about Vicki’s journey to entrepreneurship, her passion for education reform for American Indians, and intentional culture.

Kimberly shares her vision for 2020 and her process for developing that vision.Links of interest:<ul><li><a href="http://www.eosworldwide.com" target="_blank">www.eosworldwide.com</a></li><li><a href="http://www.iamthedoc.com/" target="_blank">http://www.iamthedoc.com</a></li><li><a href="https://jongordon.com/books/one-word/" target="_blank">https://jongordon.com/books/one-word</a></li></ul>

We continue our conversation with Shana Cosgrove, Founder and CEO of Nyla Technology Solutions. On this episode, Shana shares with us the importance of philanthropy and volunteerism as a key component of Nyla’s culture. We also chat about the challenges of attracting top tier talent in a highly competitive technical marketplace. Shana offers insights and inspo about being a business owner and the pros and cons of working in a business with your significant other.A little more info about Shana:Shana Cosgrove is founder, owner, and CEO of Nyla Technology Solutions, Inc., (“Nyla”) a HUBZone-certified and Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned small business (EDWOSB) founded in Baltimore City, Maryland in 2013 and focused on providing mission-focused software systems development services to the United States Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. Shana - a principal engineer, enterprise architect, and product strategist—combines over 20 years of experience in the computer science and systems engineering fields with a creative, proactive, and focused approach to projects that address all aspects of the software systems lifecycle. She brings a strong understanding of a broad range of technologies and techniques used to develop software-intensive systems.Shana started Nyla as the sole employee/owner and has grown it to over twenty-five full-time employees and overseen the authoring of 3 proposals that lead to 3 successful prime contracts with government. Nyla has an exceptional reputation for software engineering, data science, and cyber security capability development services. Nyla builds enterprise-scale, cloud-based software systems that “just work” and “end-users love” and Nyla thought leaders are often requested by name for helping solve some of the community’s hardest problems.Shana is also focused on giving back to the local community and drives Nyla’s philanthropy program. Nyla employees receive 8 hours a year to use for volunteering and are offered a variety of opportunities spaced throughout the year in which they can give back. In November 2018, Nyla’s charity efforts culminated Nyla’s First Annual Charity Chili Cookoff which raised over $6,000 for the charity, K9 for Warriors. Links:<ul><li><a href="https://nylatechnologysolutions.com" target="_blank">Nyla Technology Solutions</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bamboohr.com" target="_blank">Bamboo </a></li><li><a href="https://slack.com" target="_blank">SLACK </a></li><li><a href="https://gsuite.google.com/products/meet/" target="_blank">Google Hangouts</a> </li></ul>

Shana Cosgrove, Founder and CEO of Nyla Technology Solutions, shares her journey to entrepreneurship along with insight into the challenges that come along with starting your own business. Shana chats with us about her inspiration for starting Nyla Technology Solutions. We have a deep dive discussion about the ins and outs of creating a culture that is employee focused and community oriented. Shana discusses how intentional she has been in fostering culture through her Culture Manifesto for Nyla and tips for maintaining employee engagement with a distributed workforce.A little more info about Shana:Shana Cosgrove is founder, owner, and CEO of Nyla Technology Solutions, Inc., (“Nyla”) a HUBZone-certified and Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned small business (EDWOSB) founded in Baltimore City, Maryland in 2013 and focused on providing mission-focused software systems development services to the United States Intelligence Community and Department of Defense. Shana - a principal engineer, enterprise architect, and product strategist—combines over 20 years of experience in the computer science and systems engineering fields with a creative, proactive, and focused approach to projects that address all aspects of the software systems lifecycle. She brings a strong understanding of a broad range of technologies and techniques used to develop software-intensive systems.Shana started Nyla as the sole employee/owner and has grown it to over twenty-five full-time employees and overseen the authoring of 3 proposals that lead to 3 successful prime contracts with government. Nyla has an exceptional reputation for software engineering, data science, and cyber security capability development services. Nyla builds enterprise-scale, cloud-based software systems that “just work” and “end-users love” and Nyla thought leaders are often requested by name for helping solve some of the community’s hardest problems.Shana is also focused on giving back to the local community and drives Nyla’s philanthropy program. Nyla employees receive 8 hours a year to use for volunteering and are offered a variety of opportunities spaced throughout the year in which they can give back. In November 2018, Nyla’s charity efforts culminated Nyla’s First Annual Charity Chili Cookoff which raised over $6,000 for the charity, K9 for Warriors. Links:<ul><li><a href="https://nylatechnologysolutions.com" target="_blank">Nyla Technology Solutions</a> </li><li><a href="https://www.bamboohr.com" target="_blank">Bamboo </a></li><li><a href="https://slack.com" target="_blank">SLACK </a></li><li><a href="https://gsuite.google.com/products/meet/" target="_blank">Google Hangouts</a> </li></ul>

We continue our conversation with Gina Ramsey, Founder and President of Pink Dog Digital,. On this episode, Gina talks about leveling up your digital strategy game and provides practical tips using common tools to do so. We also reflect on Gina’s first year in business, lessons learned and her advice for anyone who is interested in starting a digital strategy firm. A little more info about Gina:Gina Ramsey is the President of Pink Dog Digital. She has been involved in digital media since 2006. Her role allows her to help businesses grow through their digital footprint. Her services include website development, search engine optimization, content creation, social media management and consulting and digital ad campaigns. Gina is a two-time Maryland Top 100 Women, BRAVA, Executive Management Award and most recently Women of Influence winner. Additionally, Gina gives back to the community by serving on the Board of Directors for There Goes My Hero, The Girl Scouts of Central Maryland and the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority. Gina also co-chairs Women In Business and the Executive Forum at The Center Club. Mom of three fur babies and step mom of three, Gina enjoys spending time with her husband Brian and friends and family. Links:<ul><li><a href="https://pinkdogdigital.com/" target="_blank">Pink Dog Digital</a></li><li><a href="https://www.score.org/" target="_blank">SCORE (Mentoring Programs)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.outbrain.com/ " target="_blank">Outbrain (Web Advertising Platform)</a></li><li><a href="https://hootsuite.com/" target="_blank">Hootsuite (Social Media Management Platform)</a></li><li><a href="https://eclincher.com/" target="_blank">eClincher (Social Media Management Platform)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.contentsamurai.com/" target="_blank">Content Samurai (Intelligent Video Creator)</a></li></ul>

Gina Ramsey, Founder and President of Pink Dog Digital, shares her journey to entrepreneurship along with insight into the challenges that come along with starting your own business. We chat about the importance of mentorship while building your business. Gina also shares her expertise on crafting a simple, effective digital strategy: Determine what you want to be recognized for, Define the appropriate channels for that audience, Define your message, and then refine your messaging. Be clear about your work, your voice and your message.A little more info about Gina:Gina Ramsey is the President of Pink Dog Digital. She has been involved in digital media since 2006. Her role allows her to help businesses grow through their digital footprint. Her services include website development, search engine optimization, content creation, social media management and consulting and digital ad campaigns. Gina is a two-time Maryland Top 100 Women, BRAVA, Executive Management Award and most recently Women of Influence winner. Additionally, Gina gives back to the community by serving on the Board of Directors for There Goes My Hero, The Girl Scouts of Central Maryland and the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority. Gina also co-chairs Women In Business and the Executive Forum at The Center Club. Mom of three fur babies and step mom of three, Gina enjoys spending time with her husband Brian and friends and family.  Links:<ul><li><a href="https://pinkdogdigital.com/" target="_blank">Pink Dog Digital</a></li><li><a href="https://www.score.org/" target="_blank">SCORE (Mentoring Programs)</a> - </li><li><a href="https://www.outbrain.com/ " target="_blank">Outbrain (Web Advertising Platform)</a> - </li><li><a href="https://hootsuite.com/" target="_blank">Hootsuite (Social Media Management Platform)</a></li><li><a href="https://eclincher.com/" target="_blank">eClincher (Social Media Management Platform)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.contentsamurai.com/" target="_blank">Content Samurai (Intelligent Video Creator)</a> </li></ul>

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