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Executive Director, Carl E. Brown, Jr.

Mr. Carl Brown has held executive and leadership positions in a variety of industries in the private and public sectors. He has been called a “Transformational leader” by Earl “Butch” Graves, Jr., publisher of Black Enterprise magazine.

Mr. Brown has over two and a half decades of experience; he currently is a Supervisory, Contracting Officer for the District of Columbia, and prior to that he was a small business counselor at the Howard University Small Business Development Center. Mr. Brown served five years as the Executive Director at the Center for Minority Business Development. His previous work history includes: Manager for Business Development, DBE Programs, Director of Civil Rights, and Acting Assistant General Manager for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA); Senior Contracts Manager at Verizon Communications; Director of Human Resources at Pepsi-Cola of Washington; Senior Purchasing Agent, Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission; and as a Procurement Specialist at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Carl has a reputation for being fair, honest and a policy guru. He has written legislation in support of strengthening minority business programs and contract compliance. He has provided volunteer leadership support to the City of Bowie Economic Development Committee; Boy Scouts Troop 1559; and the City of Bowie Education Committee. He is the former President of Northview Elementary School and a graduate of Leadership Montgomery in Montgomery County, MD. He has uniquely served as a Human Relations Commissioner in Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, MD. When campaigning for a seat on the Bowie City Council the newspapers called him “Blunt Taking Brown, he will tell you the truth like it or not.”  

Mr. Brown is a visionary who uses his gifts to help empower the minority business community. He recently received a certificate in Government Contracting from George Washington University; has a certificate as a Contract Compliance Administrator, (CCA), from Morgan State University. He earned a MGA, from University of Maryland University College; and a B.A. from Howard University; a Masters Certificate in Human Resource Management from University of Maryland University College; and a Certificate in Leadership Development from the University of Maryland Executive Leadership Institute. Mr. Brown is the recipient of numerous awards and citations for his work in the community and with minority owned businesses.   

Married to Evelyn Brown, they have twins, a son and daughter who have been on the honor roll every year and both are involved in scouting.

Associate Director, Lucretia Freeman-Buster

As Associate Director of DC Small Business Development Network (DC SBDC) at Howard University School of Business, Lucretia works closely with the Executive Director in planning, implementing, managing, evaluating and reporting DC SBDC activities throughout the DC Network.  She works with all funders and partners of the DC SBDC at Howard University School of Business and the US Small Business Administration (SBA), the general public, and the ASBDC.  Lucretia has amassed twenty-five years of experience in commercial banking, with a well-rounded background that supports a progressive organization in optimizing performance and revenue growth.  Prior or joining the DC SBDC, she served as vice president for numerous national and community banks in the Washington DC Metropolitan area with particular emphasis on financial management, business development and planning, commercial and micro lending, risking management, and community development. Ms. Freeman-Buster holds a MBA from the University of Maryland University College and various professional certifications.

 

GADGET Center Director, Felipe Peres

Felipe obtained a B.S. in Marketing & Finance, at the University of Maryland (College Park), and an MBA, with a concentration in international business, at The George Washington University.  His business experience spans several industries, though it was concentrated in financial services, both at American Express Financial Advisors and independently.  Functionally, he has experience in sales, finance, and procurement roles.  Several years ago, Felipe was an intern at a SBDC and it sparked his interest both in entrepreneurship and in providing consulting to the small business community.  He loves being around professionals who are passionate about what they do and determined to create a life of their own design.

In his current role, Felipe is responsible for increasing the quantity and quality of GADGET’s small business management workshops offered to the public, developing relationships with resource partners to refer clients to for specialized assistance, and ensuring that GADGET meets and exceeds SBA’s goals and abides by its regulations, so that our center may continue to offer valued and ever increasing services to the community.

 

Director of Government Contracts & Procurement Services, Charles H. Motte Jr.,

Mr. Motte has over 28 years in the aerospace and management consulting industries with large and small firms in management and team leader capacities.  He is knowledgeable on small business management with over 20 years of experience working in management as a business owner, employee or consultant with small firms.

He is the Director of Government Programs and Support Services at the DC Small Business Development Center at Howard University, Washington, DC.  He assists DC SBDC clients in identifying applicable government contracting and certification vehicles, navigating government procurement processes and other related counseling, training and support service activities lending to small business capacity building.

Charles is the founder and principal consultant of Heuristic Enterprises LLC.  He has assisted small to medium sized businesses in building stronger business relationships, enhancing their infrastructure and ultimately increasing organizational success.  Heuristic Enterprises service offerings include individual and group behavior and leadership profiles, assessments & training; branding and image development; business infrastructure consulting; and other small business related services that aid business stability, growth and expansion.

His previous positions and firms include Director, Angarai International; Vice President and Co-owner, Aura Management Consulting, LLC; Business Development and Project Manager, Cornerstone Transportation Inc.; and, Senior Human Factors and Safety Engineer, Loral Corporation (now Lockheed Martin) respectively.  He has also conducted workshops on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and Everything DiSCTM.

He has a certificate in Project Management from the University of California Extension, Berkeley, CA; an MBA in New Ventures & Small Business Management from California State University, East Bay (formerly California State University, Hayward), Hayward, CA; and a BS in Industrial Engineering, from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.  He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute (PMI) and a member of the Association for Accredited Small Business Consultants (AASBC). 

 

Director of Finace, Tiehdi Johnson

Tiehdi officially joined DC SBDC as the Director of Finance on August 3, 2015 and will be responsible for providing direction and guidance in strategic operations and planning as it relates to the DC SBDC’s grant budget, as well as other supervisory duties.  Tiehdi has a background in Finance, Accounting and Business Management.  She obtained her BBA in Finance from Howard University and a MBA with a concentration in Management from the University of Maryland University College. Tiehdi served previously as an accountant for several non-profit and private organizations. She also has a passion for entrepreneurship and brings valuable experience to the DC SBDC. 

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