Bonnie Carroll founded the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), the American nongovernmental organization providing care to the families of military and conflict deceased. The surviving spouse of a Soldier, Ms. Carroll also served in the military, retiring as a Major in the USAFR. In her earlier civilian career, she served three Presidents in the White House in senior policy positions; lobbied on Defense and Aerospace issues; and was posted in Baghdad, Iraq as the Deputy Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Communications in '03-'04. She has traveled extensively to countries of conflict mentoring programs to empower bereaved survivors. In 2015, the US Department of State asked TAPS to mentor the creation of an organization in Ukraine to care for the families of their fallen, and today, TAPS Ukraine is a major national program across Ukraine offering psychosocial support and resources. Ms. Carroll has published research on "Turning War Grief Into Positive Peace" which has been presented at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. In 2015, Ms. Carroll was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, the highest US civilian recognition.

Serving the First Congressional District of Virginia since 2007, Rob has been focused on strengthening our military and supporting veterans, promoting economic development through fiscal responsibility, fixing our crumbling infrastructure, increasing access to high-speed internet, and promoting workforce development through Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) programs.

In the U.S. Congress, Rob serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Natural Resources, where he is well-positioned to represent the needs of Virginia's First District. He has quickly earned a reputation for being an advocate for our men and women in uniform and for being a champion of the Chesapeake Bay.

On the Armed Services Committee, Rob serves as Vice Ranking Member of the full Committee and Ranking Member of Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. In addition, as Co-Chair of the Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, he is a staunch advocate for a robust Naval fleet and a healthy domestic shipbuilding industry. He also currently serves on the U.S. Naval Academy’s Board of Visitors. Rob also served as Chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee for four years and as Chairman of the U.S. Naval Academy's Board of Visitors for nine years.

As a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Rob brings his professional expertise in water quality, fisheries, and other natural resource issues. He is a champion of the Chesapeake Bay -- for its environmental and economic attributes -- and has introduced legislation that will increase the accountability and effectiveness of cleaning up the Bay. He serves as co-chair of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus, which brings Bay issues into focus for Members of Congress.

As a Co-Chair of the House Rural Broadband Caucus, he is leading the way to bring high-speed internet to the unserved areas of the First District and the nation. In 2018, he held two meetings of his Broadband Taskforce, where he brought together national, state, and local stakeholders to focus on finding real solutions that will expand broadband to unserved areas. His other infrastructure priorities include deepening and widening the Port of Virginia, easing congestion on I-95, improving and expanding the Long Bridge, expanding the capacity of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), and providing sustainable funding mechanisms to Dulles international Airport (IAD) and Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA).

He was re-elected for his seventh full term in the House of Representatives in November 2020 and for more than 30 years, Rob has served in several levels of government, from Montross Town Council to United States Congress. Rob won his first campaign for public office in 1986 when he was elected to the Montross Town Council, where he served for 10 years, four of them as Mayor. In 1995, Rob was elected to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and was elected its Chairman in 2003. In 2005, voters in the 99th Legislative District elected Rob to the Virginia House of Delegates, where he served until he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2007.

Prior to his election to Congress, Rob spent 26 years working in state government, most recently as Field Director for the Virginia Health Department's Division of Shellfish Sanitation. Earlier, he worked for many years as an environmental health specialist for local health departments in Virginia's Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula regions.

He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, a Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Tech.

Our Critical Infrastructure and Government Services (CI&GS) division is led by Mr. Pete Dordal, who oversees the delivery of security, medical, response logistics, and canine services for stability operations, contingency missions, disaster, and recovery operations across the globe in support of U.S. Government (USG), FVEY, NATO, and European Union (EU) government customers, as well as other USG partner countries.

We maintain business offices and operations in complex and challenging environments worldwide, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Poland, Libya, Yemen, Jordan, Indonesia, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Haiti, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Our integrated service offerings combined with our worldwide presence allows us to be directly involved with nearly all USG-related stability, contingency, disaster, or recovery efforts.

While other companies may provide international stability and disaster relief services by relying on varying types of subcontractors, GardaWorld is a large, self-performing business that directly delivers critical services to its customers anytime, anywhere. This ranges from providing diplomatic security operations supporting the U.S. Department of State in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe, to self-performing large-scale direct care and facilities services for Operation Allies Welcome (OAW), to administering urgent medical care to populations across the globe. We are intimately involved in large-scale prime contracts and large-scale subcontracts supporting disaster and emergency-related services worldwide. GardaWorld remains involved in Afghanistan evacuation efforts, Eastern Europe logistics support and security operations, medical services near the US Southern Border, Afghan relocation efforts under OAW, and CONUS Natural Disaster Response efforts. This diversity of work demonstrates our highly versatile organic capabilities and operations across the globe. We are often the first to arrive and often the last to leave.

About Constellis: Constellis provides end-to-end risk management and comprehensive security solutions to safeguard people and infrastructure. Operating globally and based in the Washington D.C. area, our employees bring unparalleled dedication and passion for creating a safer world while upholding the highest standards of compliance, quality, and integrity. Constellis’ solutions include a range of services, including background investigations, K-9, technical services, UAV and counter UAV services, advanced training, logistics and life support, fleet maintenance, construction, contingency operations, and emergency response. At Constellis, our number one priority is securing customers’ success. Learn more at www.constellis.com.

LBS was the last contractor operating at Bagram Airfield as it worked to remove U.S.-owned assets that had been present in Afghanistan for decades and provided Aerial Port Operations Services necessary to keep evacuation activities moving around the clock. It was also the last civilian contractor at the New Kabul Compound (NKC), the main hub for the Tactical Operation Center (TOC), where LBS provided base power plant operations until Coalition Forces handed the NKC to the Afghan National Army.

LBS’ Afghanistan mission became a refugee effort in July 2021 when the NEO began at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Of the total 124,000 American citizens, civilian allies, and refugees who were removed in the NEO, LBS helped transport more than 15,000 by providing Aerial Port Operations. LBS personnel successfully orchestrated an unprecedented movement of evacuees on commercial and military aircraft to the Kuwait International Airport and NAVSTA Rota, Spain, where LBS employees stood ready to support and care for incoming refugees. Not only did LBS help develop temporary waiting accommodations in Kuwait and a temporary city in Rota where people could sleep and be processed, many employees paid out of their own pocket for water, food, and other life-supporting supplies and services for arriving passengers. LBS’s operation at Cargo City in Kuwait resulted in 113 missions with 10,373 evacuees from Afghanistan and 36.1 tons of humanitarian cargo, while LBS staff at NAVSTA Rota managed processing for all passengers destined to the Continental United States without a single delay or a missing refugee.

About Louis Berger Services

Louis Berger Services (LBS) specializes in operation and maintenance services at large, mission-essential military installations, and transportation facilities worldwide. As a trusted partner to federal government agencies, we provide expertise in aerial port operations, contingency logistics and ground support services, turnkey power and fueling solutions, as well as heavy vehicle maintenance for defense and security customers. We also provide industry-leading transportation asset maintenance services to state and local customers across the United States. It’s our mission and an honor to help clients solve their most complex challenges.

International SOS provides specialized, integrated, and innovative medical services ensuring quality health care outcomes and reducing medical risk for governments, military, commercial and international organizations. Adaptable to any mission or program around the globe, their Government Services include: pre-deployment screening, expeditionary/deployed medical teams, referrals to credentialed local providers, telehealth, occupational health, medical informatics, patient-centered experience of care, technology-based services, aeromedical evacuation, medical staffing, outsourced medical supply chain management, and military healthcare program administration overseas. Leveraging their extensive infrastructure and working side-by-side with hundreds of government organizations (including government contractors), their globally integrated solutions and medically led footprint support and supplement a broad range of health care needs. Their 24/7 on-demand, comprehensive solutions, utilized by over 750,000 people working in support of governments (including civilians, deployed military, and other government personnel) worldwide, are backed by their global staff of 13,000 medical, security, and logistics experts working from 1,200 locations in 90 countries, offering a rapidly deployable, boots-on-the-ground physical presence with proven in-the-field expertise.

The Republic of Yemen, situated in Western Asia, is one of the most mine-polluted countries in the world. SafeLane Global helps breathe new life into Yemeni lands, restoring stability through the survey and clearance of landmines, UXO, and improvised explosive devices. It works with Project Masam, training and then mentoring its teams of local citizens, enabling them to reclaim contaminated land through clearance. SafeLane’s work in Yemen began in 2018; to date 400,000 explosive items including anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices have been cleared. 45 million m2 of previously unsafe land can now be freely accessed. SafeLane’s work enables stability and allows local communities to return to their normal lives.

SafeLane’s demining project teams in South Sudan provide explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) to the local communities affected by the explosive contamination it is responsible for locating and clearing. The risk education sessions are always adapted to suit the demographic present, considering attendees’ education level, age, and gender. The concept, messages and delivery methods are tailored to ensure the entire community is included accessibly. Ensuring children understand the dangers of explosive ordnance (EO) is particularly important, as their curious minds and playful nature put them at the highest risk of accidentally detonating explosive hazards.

SafeLane creates memorable, engaging lessons to ensure the knowledge taught is retained, shared and is lifesaving. As one of SafeLane’s Deputy Operations Managers commented, “…I remember creating a song for an EORE session in South Sudan in 2016. When I returned to the country 5 years later, the village still remembered the song and would sing it regularly.”

The legacy of explosive contamination within communities requires a long-term solution to remove reliance on the international community. SafeLane is committed to supporting the development and enhancement of national capacity in the countries it operates within. It recruits and trains local citizens to conduct survey and clearance operations and is currently doing so in Western Sahara, South Sudan, and Azerbaijan.

About SafeLane: SafeLane Global counters explosive threats, hazardous material dangers and security risks, whilst enabling stabilisation, reconstruction, and development efforts. It enables its humanitarian, governmental and commercial clients to achieve their objectives, whilst creating sustainably safer land and marine environments for the global community. SafeLane is expert in the clearance of landmines and explosive remnants of war, including improvised explosive devices. It detects weapons, narcotics, and intruders, and ultimately protects against the threats of harm and commercial loss.

SafeLane also provides training and consultancy services to support the activities of governments, security companies and multinational organisations around the world. It is trusted by over 10,000 clients in 60 countries. Clients include renewable energy companies, humanitarian, and supranational organisations.

Austability’s differentiators are its ability to be first on the ground, first to respond, and deliver critical support when other options are not available. This was demonstrated by Austability’s CERT which sprang into action over the 2022 Christmas and New Year period to meet the expeditionary and rapid mobilization timelines of our client. Despite facing the challenge of delivering more than 250 tons of materials and equipment within a timeframe of 72 hours, our team was able to achieve this feat with great efficiency.

Ethics, transparency and human rights principles are integral parts of Austability’s daily business processes through the Austability Integrated Management System. The story of Austability's successful launch of the Ukrainian Children Aid Base in Lviv is a testament to its passion and drive for accountability, ethical conduct, and respect for human rights. the goal of the Aid base was to minimize the fear and uncertainty that war brings to children and provide a child-friendly environment that promotes safety and happiness. The camp was designed to provide entertainment and fun activities for the children, and the Austability team worked with the local community to create events that would promote learning and play.

About Austability: Austability's vision and aspiration is to become the leading global brand in providing expeditionary integrated operational support services to its clients. Its mission is to support the Five Eyes (FVEY) and their allies' foreign policy in the ongoing fight against terrorism and related transnational serious organized crime, while prioritizing transparency, accountability, ethical conduct, and respect for human rights. The organization's mission involves accurate analysis, development, and execution of military-grade expeditionary integrated operational support services, which are carefully crafted to ensure exceptional results. Austability provides mission critical remote installation integrated support services, and its in-house expertise and globally acknowledged leadership, backed up by a unique network of specific subject matter experts and industry partners, enables implementation and delivery of internationally accepted and recognized Train, Advise and Assist frameworks.

Over the past two years, Austability has achieved some of its proudest accomplishments in the field of work instability, contingency, disaster, or recovery operations. One of the key highlights was our recent award of multiple Base Operations Support Services contracts with a United States Government Prime Contractor in a Strategic Eastern European Area of Responsibility.

Austability’s work is based on clearly defined austere, conflict and post-conflict environments supporting scalable expeditionary integrated base operational support services.

Island and Coastal Operations: Island and coastal operations are particularly sensitive to their environmental footprints and often have very stringent environmental regulations that impact how waste disposal is handled. Terravive began supplying an island in the Pacific with its eco-friendly, compostable cafeteria products almost four years ago. Prior to using Terravive products, the island was barging off their waste at great expense or incinerating their plastic and Styrofoam waste with the associated emissions liabilities and expenses. Over four years, Terravive was able to save its client almost $1 million in operational expenses in addition to avoiding various environmental fines.

Refugee Operations: Recently, the US has experienced a large influx of refugees who need to be provided with food and other necessities while they are awaiting their final homes. During all of these operations, a literal mountain of plastic and styrofoam waste is generated from the dining operations. In one location, the client decided to use Terravive’s compostable products. The Terravive team delivered 2.2 million products with 6 days' notice, and in just one delivery eliminated 664 tons (602 metric tons) of plastic pollution by utilizing eco-friendly, compostable products. For context, that’s the plastic equivalent of 222 adult elephants NOT going to the landfill!

Remote Humanitarian Operations: In most remote locations around the world where there are humanitarian efforts underway, the default is to simply dump all waste into a landfill. More frequently, the waste is burned in unregulated burn pits with all the associated health damage for the locals. Recently, a Terravive client decided to avoid creating mountains of plastic pollution that eventually would be burned, so they standardized on eco-friendly, compostable products. By simply standardizing on Terravive’s products, our client chose to directly eliminate thousands of tons of plastic and Styrofoam pollution annually, reduce operational costs and long-term liabilities, while also supporting over 1,000 American green jobs.

About Terravive: Terravive (www.terravive.com) is a global supplier of novel eco-friendly, compostable dining and cafeteria consumables (I.e., take-out containers, trays, cutlery, cups, straws, bowls, plates, resealable bags, trash bags, other kitchen/cafeteria/dining products) currently shipping throughout North America and on four continents. Established in 2015 as an advanced materials company, Terravive is a woman, minority, and veteran owned small business with 16 manufacturing locations in the USA and capacity of 50 billion products annually. Terravive’s biodegradable products such as cutlery & mess trays are engineered to degrade in soil, compost, river, ocean and lake water just like a piece of fruit, fully degrading in 3-6 months with no residual pollution and no plastic pollution liabilities. Terravive is literally eliminating mountains and oceans of plastic and Styrofoam pollution globally and saving our clients tens of millions of dollars annually.

KRH academy is an initiative developed in 2019 by KRH to act as the learning & development engine & hub to support all KRH project employees. The original concept was to improve the quality of their employees’ performance through a vigorous and thorough analysis of the job requirements and aligning it with the ever-changing market and competition. However, KRH Academy has expanded its services to include pre-job assessments, certain certifications, employees’ onboarding & orientation, health & safety awareness, and other supplementary courses that support employees to manage change in critical times, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The focus of KRH Academy is vocational training & development since the majority of their project employees are in the blue-collar segment. At the beginning, this was considered a challenge as the region lacked similar initiatives and pioneers addressing the same segment. The challenges made them realize that for this initiative to succeed, they need to build things from scratch. They had to design and develop their courses, whether technical or soft, 100% internally.

Using the ADDIE model (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate), KRH has developed internal SMEs and on-the-job training modules, created a diverse online library, partnered with an online platform, and started tracking employees’ performance. As part of KRH’s commitment to combat Trafficking in Person and its concrete compliance plan, KRH Academy has created educational videos that explain trafficking in person and its different forms. They have also created their own Defensive Driving course, and also acquired the NSC (National Safety Council) accreditation to be able to have their Defensive Driving course included in their library.

KRH Academy takes pride now that they have:

• Assessed more than 4,000 on their English language proficiency
• Certified two staff members as internationally certified AHA instructors and conducted Heartsaver courses to recertify more than 260 employees on CPR and FA
• Designed an onboarding program for new hires that launched in 2022 that has been delivered to more than 380 new hires.
• Developed and designed 2 technical courses (Heavy Equipment Mechanic Program and Supply Chain Program). Each program is divided into 3 phases: English – Theoretical – On the Job (Practical) Training.
• Built a team of SME of more than 10 senior employees
• Provided an LMS system and app that has served more than 1,800 employees
• Conducted awareness sessions on “Hygiene practices” and tips on “Managing Stress” to more than 4,000 employees

“We take pride in every step of the way, because the goal we had made us develop our own skills, take the time to fully understand employees’ needs and see the real potential of this human capital.”

About KRH: Established in 1991 and operating from the heart of CENTCOM, KRH provides outsourced integrated HR solutions, life support services and engineering services. KRH is headquartered in Kuwait, with offices in KSA, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq. KRH’s Integrated Support Services plays a huge role that enables clients who need a bundle of services, including Human Resources & Administration, Government Relations, Facilities, Transportation, Field Operations and Academy.

Cobots are inherently safe and thus can work in close proximity to their human teammates. Cobots give companies the ability to engage in hazardous operations while keeping staff safe via remote operations. Cobots can be used to handle potentially contaminated mail, perform surveillance of hazardous areas, and for staff augmentation.

The goal of this project is to provide technological solutions to improve mail room operations. Cobots can be programmed and customized to scan and sort incoming mail using a variety of measures and criteria, such as the name of the recipient, department, and location. By automating these tasks, businesses can reduce the risk of human error and improve mailroom speed and accuracy. This new technology will transform the mailroom industry by making existing processes more efficient, safer, and more cost efficient with guidance from each client’s goals and objectives.

After a series of testing, Planate will begin offering Cobot mailroom services by the second half of 2023. The usage of Cobots in the mailroom represents a momentous opportunity for businesses to improve their operations in an increasingly fast-paced, evolving, and digital world. By taking advantage of Cobots as an advancement in automation and robotic solutions, businesses in the industry can create more flexible, efficient, and collaborative work environments that will allow humans and automation to achieve together. The abilities of Cobots have the potential to go beyond mailroom operations with the help of creative engineering minds.

About Planate Management Group: Planate Management Group is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business with a unique business model that provides service delivery excellence with responsive, innovative technical solutions for facilities engineering and management consulting services to clients in both traditional and difficult environments worldwide. Our installation management expertise covers Planning, Architecture and Engineering (A/E) Design Services, Engineering Support Services, and Environmental Services.

Planate is now offering technological solutions to improve mailroom operations. They are transforming the mailroom industry through the introduction of robotics, Process Automation, and high-hazard detection solutions to improve current mailroom practices. Planate aims to make existing processes more efficient, safer, and more cost-efficient, all tailored to each client’s goals and objectives. Our offices are spread across the world, including cities in the United States, Philippines, Taiwan, Kenya, and Ukraine.

AVC-L has redoubled its efforts to engage women-owned and operated businesses in the livestock sector in the last two years and is making an important contribution to their opportunity to continue to earn money and produce food products not only for their local communities but also the urban populations of the country. This in turn promotes stability and provides a platform for future further development of the country when political operating conditions allow.

Some of the achievements in this area include:

1. 4,045 women participants in training designed specifically for women
2. 4,187 women participants in project activities designed for both women and men (26% overall inclusion rate)
3. 120 support agreements signed with women-owned businesses
4. 56 women-owned businesses participated in trade fairs and exhibitions
5. 22 women-owned manufacturing businesses reported increased sales
6. 1,289 full-time jobs created for women
7. 13,193 women households benefitted from project activities

In Zambia, Prime is working with women in the dairy sector to build their capacity in dairy management. The dairy farming sector is important for Zambia as it provides an important source of nutrition and livelihoods for rural Zambians, and it has become a major vehicle for economic empowerment of rural women in particular. The Zambian Dairy Transformation Program (ZDTP), designed and managed by Prime, has been active since 2016, providing capacity building in dairy farm management and cooperative business governance. ZDTP is funded by the New Zealand Aid Program.

Under ZDTP, Prime’s work has resulted in a 3438% increase in female smallholder farmer gross profit between January 2017 and December 2022 (whereas men had only 781% increase on baseline). This shows the powerful results available when women are fully empowered to participate in capacity building programs. The payoff for addressing these matters contributes substantially to food security, economic security and the stability of the country.

About Prime Consulting: Prime Consulting International Limited (Prime) is a management consultancy and programme/project management firm that operates worldwide. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in New Zealand, Prime has joint ventures, subsidiaries and representative offices in Australasia, the Pacific Islands, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and USA. Prime has worked in more than 50 countries, delivering services for government agencies, private sector firms and multilateral international development agencies. Prime’s operations are strongly localised, with over 70 percent of personnel being country nationals. The firm champions integrated business solutions in the humanitarian, security and development sectors, including in fragile conflict affected situations (FCAS). FCAS where Prime has experience include Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar and other fragile states in the Indo-Pacific. Fifty percent of our Executive Leadership Team are women.

Services include security, humanitarian aid and development.

Two workstreams with positive results include:

First: As part of a D4I activity, Palladium engaged with Chisinau Municipality to conduct the mapping of needs of around 3,000 children and implement the ‘Help Me to Help You’ campaign which provided information to over 315,300 refugees and citizens hosting refugees in their homes on available municipal services they can access in Chisinau. Following the mapping, services provided by Chisinau Municipality were adapted and provided to address these needs. These included support for legal documentation and asylum application, medical services, educational services, child protection services, social assistance services and community services, including day care centers, extracurricular activities, camps and youth centers.

Impact of the campaign Help Me to Help You (May-August 2022) in figures: 50,610 humanitarian aid packages distributed, of which 27,923 packages provided to 6,193 families with 9,660 children (the number of distributed packages doubled since the start of the campaign); 1,998 refugees benefitted of hospital services and 9,140 refugees saw family doctors; 6,425 children received medical care (doubling the number since the start of the campaign); 468 pregnant women received medical assistance (three times more since the start of the campaign); 299 children were enrolled in kindergartens; 529 students were enrolled in educational institutions; 697 refugees registered at the library (one fifth increase since the start of the campaign); 2,107 young refugees benefited from the programs of Chisinau Municipal Youth Center (four times more than the ones before the campaign); number of employed refugees increased by a quarter as a result of the campaign.

Second: To support the institutionalization of data review and use processes at the level of decision making, Palladium established ‘Refugee Data Review Rooms’ in two locations in Moldova. The first of its kind in the country, Refugee Data Review Rooms allow decision makers’ access to data across disparate sources in one place so the data can be analyzed in real time for refugee surveillance and response. Palladium established these rooms, provided equipment, developed a guidance document, including practice standards for use of the rooms for data review and decision making, and provided training and mentoring to users. It has also facilitated regular data review meetings in these rooms with Moldovan stakeholders aimed at taking decisions for improving the well-being of Ukrainian refugees and better coordinating the volume of humanitarian assistance with the international response community.

Alexei Buzu, Minister of Labor and Social Protection, affirmed the value of the Data Review Room hosted in the ministry: “I am glad that this initiative is continuing, and I appreciate the support of our partners in helping us develop tools to increase social protection for vulnerable groups. The data generated will help us to better identify the needs of refugees, host communities, and citizens in difficult situations. It will also help us better plan our response actions. We will be there for those who need our support”.

About Palladium: Palladium is a global impact firm with nearly 60 years of experience linking social progress and commercial growth in over 90 countries. It aligns business interests with development objectives so that interventions are commercially viable, sustainable, inclusive, and address the root causes of today's biggest challenges. Palladium has been working in Moldova since 2017, initially in USAID-funded projects, MEASURE Evaluation and currently on Data for Impact (D4I), and has in-depth knowledge of Moldova’s protection systems, working closely with the government and its partners to collect, analyze, and use data to positively impact vulnerable populations. The award recognizes the talented and dedicated in-country team of Palladium, who have been closely working with the Government of Moldova, USAID, civil society organizations and international response community to serve Ukrainian refugees in need of compassionate care and support.

Since 2004, Culmen employees have traveled, lived, and worked in Ukraine supporting joint U.S.-Ukrainian projects including the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, the Department of State (DOS) Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) Program, and the Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Smuggling Detection and Deterrence (NSDD) Program. Culmen is the single prime performer that supports DTRA’s mission by providing services which all CTR project teams leverage to execute a set of functions that most projects encounter during traditional project execution: in-country logistics, in-country event management and facilitation, interpretation and translation, direct procurement, warehousing, international shipping, export control, and special infrastructure projects. Since 2009, Culmen has been a prime performer supporting the Department of State’s Office of Export Control Cooperation, the Executive Agent responsible for managing the Export Control and Related Border Security Program (EXBS) and is currently supporting the DOS Offices of Non-proliferation and Disarmament Fund and Cooperative Threat Reduction in their efforts to provide critical equipment needs to Ukraine.

Since the outbreak of the war, Culmen has worked diligently with the U.S. and Ukrainian governments to provide support. On behalf of the Departments of State and Energy, Culmen has sourced and delivered approximately $38M worth of CBRN personal protection equipment (PPE), body armor, helmets, UAVs, medical supplies, medical countermeasures, and other critical equipment for the State Border Guard Service (SBGS), State Emergency Services (SES), National Police Unit (NPU), State Security Services of Ukraine (SSSU), State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU), State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SSTC NRS), and the Ukraine Special Operations Forces (UKRSOF). Culmen also supports security teams responding to incidents at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. In its role supporting DTRA, Culmen has also been responsible for delivering another $50M worth of technical aid to Ukraine.

About Culmen: Culmen International, LLC is an international security organization with more than eighteen years’ experience providing exceptional security support to the United States Government (USG). Headquartered in Alexandria, VA, with personnel permanently stationed in over 25 countries, Culmen is certified under International Organization for Standardization 9001:2015 for quality management. It is dedicated to enhancing international security by optimizing government operations and facilitating international collaboration so that Culmen’s customers can accomplish critical missions in challenging environments with constrained resources. The primary domains that Culmen operates in include weapons of mass destruction nonproliferation; border security; security cooperation and international partner capacity building; counter-terrorism and homeland security; military, intelligence, and federal law enforcement operations; and international development, which has resulted in involvement in more than 130 countries.

The uncertain future in Ukraine highlights another direct need, unfulfilled at scale – resilience support for men, women, and children profoundly impacted by the conflict. Therefore, in October 2022, Reinaert, with the support of its non-profit partner, Operation Recovery, launched a unique resilience program centered around EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a widely utilized modern trauma intervention therapy. Led by a licensed, U.S.-based clinician, Reinaert program staff provide remote training to partner clinicians in Ukraine. Clinicians observe, learn, and then apply peer-reviewed coping and trauma-intervention protocols that mirror U.S. military and VA methodologies.

Reinaert’s resilience program provides tangible skills and tools to their Ukrainian counterparts to use for in-country care. Trainings are conducted once a week and are focused on stabilization and grounding techniques including the use of breathing exercises, dietary reviews, task prioritization, shared experiences, and support systems.

The program provides a model for how a small company can make a difference in the lives of people around the world. Trainings provided to date have already enabled providers in Ukraine to reach an estimated 6,000 people.

“The need today in Ukraine is monumental and as the war drags on, that need will only increase,” said Josh Owen, president of Reinaert LLC. “Our program is the ideal intervention to help meet the task. We are honored by this prestigious award from ISOA and pledge to continue this vital work to support the people of Ukraine.”

Reinaert, LLC, is a Service Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business that provides a range of humanitarian, security, logistics, training, and other highly specialized mission support solutions to multiple U.S. government, corporate, and non-profit entities. Reinaert’s team has more than 80 years of combined experience in national security activities, intelligence operations, special operations, and disaster management. Founded in 2019, Reinaert currently supports missions in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Slovakia, and the United States.

One month before the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, DAI’s Vice President of USG Programs had declared that supporting Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants would be “our highest priority as a business unit, as we have a moral obligation to our colleagues.” Two challenging years later, DAI remains true to this commitment, and measures its results in concrete terms: since August 2021, DAI has helped 297 former staff and their families—1,208 people in all—to relocate from Afghanistan, and it currently has an additional 170 staff—representing 723 people—notified by Department of State’s Coordinator of Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) to prepare for relocation in the coming months.

In the month leading up to the U.S. withdrawal, the volume of SIV requests incoming to DAI quintupled. In response, its HR department rapidly launched an Emergency Response Team of 50 home office volunteers. These initial “pioneers” invented many of our processes and effectively laid the groundwork needed for the success of what would become the formal SIV Team.

By January 2022, five months post-withdrawal, DAI had converted the Emergency Response Team into a permanent SIV Team, which deployed 10 full-time employees dedicated solely to processing employment verification letters (EVL) and letters of recommendation (LOR). By February, the backlog was cleared. The company was able to move that mountain because DAI’s SIV Team is driven by a sincere dedication to their Afghan colleagues. Eventually, they determined that the best way to help people escape Afghanistan was to focus intently on ensuring the accuracy and authenticity of SIV documentation so that DAI could earn the reputation as a thoroughly reliable and fastidious partner for USG and other counterparts when manifesting opportunities arose.

The results have been gratifying. Between August 2021 and early 2023, DAI’s SIV Team distributed 1,407 EVLs, delivered 644 LORs, and referred 292 individuals and their eligible family members to the P-2 Program.

When former DAI staff members arrive at the CARE processing center in Camp As Sayliyah in Doha, Qatar, they receive a DAI-authored, 46-page comprehensive guide to resettling in the United States—in English, Dari, and Pashto—which has now been adopted by #AfghanEvac (an invaluable partner) and shared on its website, accompanied by a list of well researched, often-overlooked areas for resettlement, profiling their in-depth characteristics and benefits.

DAI remains engaged in the development of Afghanistan, where the firm continues to implement three USAID-funded programs. And its support for Afghan colleagues, past and present, remains unwavering.

About DAI: DAI is an employee-owned international development company, one of the world’s larger enterprises dedicated solely to international development. Global in reach—fielding more than 5,000 staff—DAI is delivering development results on more than 200 projects in more than 80 countries, from stable societies and high-growth economies to challenging environments marked by political or military conflict, including Afghanistan, Haiti, and Ukraine. The company’s tagline (“shaping a more livable world”) speaks to a mission that is unchanged since 1970: helping people improve their lives.