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byline: Sam Wall

Guidehouse hires chief culture, inclusion and diversity officer

Guidehouse, a Fairfax County-based global consulting firm, has hired Dominica Groom Williams as the company’s head chief culture, inclusion and diversity officer.

Groom Williams, who has more than a decade of human capital, diversity, inclusion, strategy development and leadership experience, will begin her new role June 7.

She will be responsible for heading the company’s efforts to develop “a strategic vision and implement a plan to evolve a culture of inclusion, diversity and excellence as a part of the core mission and values.”

Additionally, she will be responsible for overseeing programs and initiatives that will further enhance the company’s commitment to fostering a great work environment and will report directly to the company’s CEO, Scott McIntyre.

Groom Williams most recently served as vice president of the Office of Inclusive Engagement at Freddie Mac, the Fortune 500 federally sponsored home loan mortgage company based in Tysons.

“I am honored to be joining the Guidehouse family and its powerful mission. I look forward to playing a meaningful role in further evolving company culture, advancing [diversity inclusion and equity] and impacting our communities globally,” Groom Williams said in a statement.

Guidehouse announced in May that it will establish its world headquarters in Tysons, investing $12.7 million in a facility that will house 1,550 employees at full capacity. Virginia beat out Maryland and Washington, D.C., for the project.

Owned by Veritas Capital, Guidehouse employs more than 9,000 people in more than 50 locations around the world and works in public and commercial markets, providing advisory, consulting, outsourcing and digital services in management, technology and risk consulting.

IDEMIA taps CEO for North American identity and security biz

French global tech company IDEMIA, which has its U.S. headquarters in Reston, announced Wednesday it has named Donnie Scott the new CEO for its North American identity and security business.

Scott, a 20-year veteran of the public security and IT solutions industry, was promoted from his current position as senior vice president and general manager of IDEMIA’s North America public security division, effective June 1, according to a company news release.

“I am honored to be leading I&S North America at a time when more than ever our society needs trusted, technology-enabled solutions to facilitate their travel, commerce and access to public services,” Scott said in a statement. “We have ambitious growth objectives as a team here at I&S supported by our long history of delivering market-leading identity and security solutions to both government and commercial customers here in North America.”

IDEMIA President and CEO Pierre Barrial said, “I have worked closely with Donnie for a number of years and know that he is the right leader at the right time to lead our efforts in such an important market for the group.”

Scott formerly was a sales leader at Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Electronic Data Systems. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and currently serves as the treasurer of the International Biometrics Industry Association.

With several locations throughout the U.S. and internationally, IDEMIA employs approximately 15,000 people worldwide.

Leidos’ Dynetics scores $90M NASA contract

Dynetics Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Reston-based Fortune 500 government contractor Leidos Holdings Inc., has received a potential $90 million contract from NASA to produce a laser air monitoring system (LAMS) for the agency’s Orion spacecraft, beginning with the Artemis III mission, which plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972’s Apollo 17 mission.

Derived from an air monitoring system flown on the Mars Curiosity rover, LAMS  is a new air monitoring technology that will measure oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, temperature and pressure within Orion during Artemis missions to the Moon. The system is accurate enough to detect unsafe levels of these elements in cabin air composition, giving crews time to respond.

Dynetics also created the first version of the system for NASA to use in the Artemis II Orion spacecraft, scheduled to be the first manned mission in NASA’s Artemis lunar program.

The contract is valued at $17.8 million for production of the Artemis III LAMS unit, as well as a qualification unit, design modifications and long-lead procurement items in support of the Artemis IV and V missions, but the contract has a maximum potential value of $90 million, should additional flight units or components be needed for the Orion program or other NASA programs and projects. The period of performance extends through 2025, according to the release.

Located in Huntsville, Alabama, Dynetics offers engineering, scientific, IT solutions to the national security, cybersecurity, space and critical infrastructure sectors. Dynetics is currently protesting NASA’s $2.89 billion contract award for the design of the human lunar lander to billionaire Elon Musk’s California-based SpaceX. Dynetics and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space company were also in the running and both have entered formal protests of the contract award.

Dominion vessel to assist in building Northeastern offshore wind farms

Dominion Energy Inc. has reached an agreement with two companies to charter its offshore wind turbine installation vessel to assist with construction of two offshore wind farms in the Northeastern U.S.

The partnership with Ørsted and Eversource was announced Tuesday and comes six months after Dominion announced construction had begun on the $500 million vessel, named Charybdis after the sea monster from Greek mythology.

It will be the nation’s first offshore wind vessel in compliance with the Jones Act, which requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be carried on U.S.-flagged, U.S.-built ships. Charybdis will be 472 feet long, 184 feet wide, 38 feet deep and will be made of 14,000 tons of steel, with nearly 10,000 tons sourced from the U.S. The vessel can hold up to 119 people, including somewhere between 20 and 30 maritime crew and 30 to 100 wind turbine workers, depending on the vessel’s mission at the time.

“A Jones Act-qualified installation vessel is a game changer for the development of the U.S. offshore wind industry,” said David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America, in a statement. “This investment will enable us to unlock the economic benefits of offshore wind, not just for the Northeast, but for the Southern states as well. We’re proud to partner with Dominion Energy and Eversource on this historic milestone.”

The $500 million watercraft, Charybdis, is expected to be sea-ready by late 2023, and will be responsible for carrying materials and assisting in the construction of offshore wind farms.

It will first be deployed out of New London harbor in Connecticut to support the construction of Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, both under joint development by Ørsted and Eversource, according to Dominion’s release.

The projects are set to serve nearly one million homes in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. Once complete, the two farms will generate more than 1.6 gigawatts of energy.

The charter’s terms will allow the vessel, subject to state regulatory approval, to also support construction of Dominion Energy’s proposed $7.8 billion, 2.6 gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The farm is expected to be completed by 2026.

The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project will support roughly 900 jobs, with about 60% in Hampton Roads, leading to more than $143 million in economic output. Once construction is completed in 2027, more than 1,100 workers in Hampton Roads would operate and maintain the wind farm. That could translate into $210 million in economic output for the region, generating nearly $6 million in local tax revenue, according to Dominion.

 

Sentara expands Healthier Communities Fund by $40M

Sentara Healthcare is allocating $40 million to expand its Healthier Communities Fund across Virginia and northeast North Carolina, with an aim to address health disparities that have been magnified by the impact of COVID-19 among underserved populations.

Today’s announcement follows an initial $10 million the Norfolk-based health care system pledged in January to address health disparities and bolster regional health sciences programs, according to a Sentara news release.

The $10 million will be disbursed during a two-year period among Sentara’s partner universities, including Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University; as well as Eastern Virginia Medical School and organizations in Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg and Suffolk. The funding will go to community-based health efforts such as mobile clinics, community clinics, health screening, testing, behavioral health services and access to nutritious foods as well as  academic scholarships for underrepresented students, according to a Sentara spokesperson.

The fund will allow for more engagement of community members, including faith-based leaders, in the distribution of the funds and will include an employee-led fund that allows Sentara team members to directly influence the distribution of funds.

“As we continue to face the impact of a pandemic of unprecedented magnitude, never has our community commitment been more vital,” Sentara President and CEO Howard Kern said. “In order to drive lasting change, we must forge new partnerships, strengthen longstanding relationships and marshal resources to build stronger, healthier, more equitable communities together. Based on the overwhelming response to the Sentara Healthier Communities Fund, Sentara is proud to be able to provide additional support to tackle these pressing issues.”

In 2020, Sentara invested nearly $256 million to support communities through health and prevention programs, teaching and training opportunities for health care professionals, philanthropic giving and uncompensated patient care.