Nspiregreen Testimony to DSLBD - Committee on Small and Local Business Development

My name is Veronica O. Davis. I’m a resident of Hillcrest in Ward 7 and co-owner of Nspiregreen LLC. My testimony today will be on behalf of Nspiregreen LLC.

Nspiregreen LLC is an environmental consulting firm established to shape approaches and attitudes for sustainability and community development through public involvement and outreach. With our engineering and urban planning backgrounds, we specialize in public involvement and outreach for environmental planning and compliance; environmental justice, facility planning and facility environmental program management; civil infrastructure (transportation, wastewater treatment); and master planning. We are 100% women, and minority-owned small business.

Our office is located at the HIVE (Home of Innovators Visionaries and Entrepreneurs), a business incubator, located in the business district of Historic Anacostia in Ward 8. We are located in DC because of our dedication and commitment to being part of the DC economy.

I could easily use my time to express our frustrations with being a small business in DC. However, we are here today to offer 5 recommendations to bring DC closer to being small business friendly.

Recommendation 1 – Schedule a second Roundtable Discussion with all relevant agencies

As a consulting business owner there are three main agencies that we have regular interaction, Department of Local Small Business Development (DLSBD), Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), and Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR). Each agency plays a role in the frustration of doing business in DC. We recommend that the Council committees that have oversight hold a joint roundtable to address how these three agencies can work together to reduce headaches and frustrations of small business owners.

Recommendation 2 - Create a Robust Business System

Currently businesses register in separate online systems for several agencies. For example, as a consulting business we are registered in DCRA, OTR, DDOT (DBE), OCP, and DSLBD. As a business it would be great if on the user side there was one system to log into to be able to access all the agencies that we communicate with. The system could allow uploading of documents and a messaging system to directly communicate with a specialist about a specific issues.

On the agency side, they would be allowed to edit, delete or modify information applicable to their agency’s functions only. For example, only DCRA could make changes in the business license section. However, they would be allowed to see applicable information from other agencies. For example, DCRA could see that a business has clean hands with OTR.

By housing everything in one place, it eliminates opportunities for fraud, streamlines information, and reduces the paper exercise for businesses.

Recommendation 3 – Restore the Procurement and Technical Assistance Center

As a small consulting firm we do not have the luxury of a marketing department. The PTAC was extremely helpful with providing marketing expertise that we would not have been able to afford from a private company. They assisted us with enhancing our company capability statement, developing a strategy to market to our target Federal and local agencies, and brokering relationships with Federal and local small business offices. Of all the services provided to small businesses, this was by far the most helpful in growing our company.

Recommendation 4 – Combine the CBE and DDOT DBE process

Currently businesses have to go through an arduous application process for both certifications. The CBE program administered by the Department of Small & Local Business Development is only applicable for contracting with DC government. The District Department of Transportation DBE program is a Federally recognized program administered by the District Department of Transportation. The DDOT DBE allows a company to receive reciprocity with State DOTs and serves as the DBE designation for contracting with the Federal government.

Both applications processes require an online submission with submission of a half a ream of paper worth of supporting documentation. Ideally, both processes could be housed in the same department similar to Virginia and Maryland. Therefore, eligible businesses could receive both certifications simultaneously.

Recommendation 5 – Re-establish the Small and Local Business Development Opportunity Commission

There are currently 7 vacant seats on the 9 person commission. It should be a priority to fill those seats with small business to provide guidance to DSLBD and the Council on small business issue

Thank you again for the opportunity to provide comment on this very important issue.

Art is an integral part of livable, sustainable communities

Our offices are located one block from the intersection of Good Hope Rd SE and Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE. This intersection is the Gateway to Historic Anacostia. It's in major need of something iconic.

Often when the topic of sustainability comes up, the focus is on the environment. Sustainability is about bring everything into balance. Public art is usually an after thought in the livable, sustainable community conversations. Public art is a vital part of communities. It can bring energy to public space and serve as a "third place" by bringing people to a public space.



The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, is looking for input. Please review the presentation below, and fill out this survey.

1201-1203 Good Hope Rd Public Art

Down on the Bayou

Southern Louisiana is rich in culture from the food that is a mix of French, African and Spanish heritage, to the music, to the dialect. New Orleans on down to Bayou country is truly an American treasure. Although this area is rich ecologically and culturally, the region still endures the brunt of natural disasters and man made environmental injustices. On a piping hot and humid day, Nspiregreen toured Bayou Barataria in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana with the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health (GCF) and heard the daunting challenges of people who have called this region home for generations.

It's been over a year since the beginning of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the worst oil spill in our country's history. The disaster claimed eleven lives and spewed nearly four million barrels (200 million gallons) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico for more than three months. Although the cameras, politicians and "disaster" opportunists have dwindled, the people who live along the nation's gulf coast have had their lives change dramatically as they continue to deal with the after effects.

On our visit to Bayou Barataria we heard from Gulf Coast Fund Grantees who told of life pre and post Katrina now pre and post the oil spill. Below I have included a few residents’ statements from our live tweet:

“Racism and poverty still play into politics and environmental issues. Many of which are the residual effects of slavery”

“Organizations are working to have the entire Gulf Coast Region recognized as an environmental justice community”

“The community knows that if push comes to shove, we are going to be shoved. Everything south of I-10 is expendable.”

“The 2^nd largest deposit to the US Treasury behind the IRS are royalties from deepwater oil drilling; however, the state of Louisiana gets $0 of the royalties.”

“The Mississippi River brings so much sedimentation that the Army Corps of Engineers has to dredge it daily. The sedimentation could be used to build up the significant land loss the state experiences on a daily basis but since its not in the corps cost benefit ratio to move it a few miles to the wetlands they dump it into the Gulf of Mexico”

“Fishermen use to get $1/lb of shrimp now they are getting $0.30/lb”

“Fishermen haven’t been shrimping because shrimp are full of oil”

“The government says that oil is gone but the fisherman know its not because we see it everyday”

*sign on boat reads I got screwed by BP

From our visit and these statements alone, Nspiregreen has witnessed a resilient people but one that almost feels powerless in the wake of the natural and man-made disasters that they have experienced. Their way of life is changing, as they no longer fully trust the seafood that they have caught, eaten and sold for generations. It is disheartening that in the case of the oil spill, the parties who are responsible still have not made the people of the gulf feel whole. Moreover, the journey to restoration has been difficult as many claims are denied and oil that is thought to be no longer present continues to appear. The future of the gulf looks bleak but its citizens continue to persevere even in the midst of extreme of adversity. The Gulf Coast Fund and its many grantees continue to play an integral role in connecting people, organizations and resources to change the dynamics of the gulf. Nspiregreen intends to join in the effort by working with communities to extract a comprehensive vision for the region. We are thankful for the opportunity and we look forward to it.

Nspiregreen Partner to be panelist at Thursday Network

Join Thursday Network for June General Body Meeting: "The Gentrification of Chocolate City - Reality vs Perception" on Thursday, June 23rd at the National Public Radio Building.

Our speakers include Veronica Davis, a Partner at Nspiregreen, LLC and contributor to the Greater Greater Washington website; and Jalal "Jay" Greene, Vice President for The Community Builders, Inc. - the nation's largest nonprofit urban housing development firm - and former Director of the DC Department of Housing and Community Development.


What: The Gentrification of Chocolate City - Reality vs Perception
Thursday Network June General Body Meeting

Date: Thursday June 23, 2011

Time: 6:45 PM

Where: National Public Radio Building
635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Closest MetroRail Station: Gallery Place - Chinatown (Red, Yellow and Green lines)

Parking: FREE - enter the garage from Massachusetts Avenue

For more information contact Hakimu Davidson, Personal & Professional Development Chairperson, at ppd@thursdaynetwork.org

Happy Earth Day!!!

At Nspiregreen, we:
Nspire to improve and change the world
Strive to teach others to be good stewards of God’s creations

We are a company founded on the principle that sustainability is not just a buzzword. It's a way of life and a way of being. On this Earth Day, we encourage you to make a commitment to even the smallest change. For example, commit to:

• Recycling
• Changing all the light bulbs in your house to energy efficient bulbs
• Drinking tap water
• Installing low-flow shower heads and faucets
• Using public transportation (#RediscovertheBus)
• Biking and walking
• Unplugging electronics when not in use
• Teleworking 1 day a week

Small changes can have a big impact.

We'll be at NFBPA

Veronica will be on the Emerging Leaders Panel at the National Forum for Black Public Administrators conference in Chicago, IL.

Saturday April 16, 2011, 3:00 - 5:00 pm
Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, Superior Room
301 East North Water Street

In case you missed it - NCAC APA Presentation

Did you miss our presentation at the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Planning Association Conference? No need to worry. We have it available for your viewing pleasure, HERE.

Public Involvement in Alexandria Waterfront

National Capital Area Chapter - American Planning Association

Join Us at the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Planning Association Conference

NCAC-APA Planning Conference
Saturday, March 26, 2011
8:00am to 5:00pm

Catholic University of America, School of Architecture and Planning,
Edward M. Crough Center for Architectural Studies.
620 Michigan Ave., N.E., Washington, DC 20064

Veronica O. Davis will be presenting with Nancy J Williams from the City of Alexandria on public outreach for the Alexandria Waterfront Small Area Plan. For more information about the conference, click here.

Meet us in St. Louis!!!

Nspiregreen LLC was birth as a result of us meeting in 2002 at a NSBE conference. As Lifetime Members, we remain committed to the NSBE mission "to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community."

You can find us as the upcoming National Convention. We will be participating in the Graduate School Conference.

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Chancee will moderate a panel:
"Engineers and Scientists in Non-traditional Fields."
Friday, March 25, 2011
11:15 AM -12:30 PM
America's Center Convention Complex Room 266

Description: Are you exploring all of your career options? This informative panel discussion will feature panelist who gained advanced degrees, and then chose to transition into non-traditional career paths.

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Veronica will be a panelist:
Research Entrepreneurship & Career Panel #3
Friday March 25, 2011
1:00 PM ‐ 2:30 PM
America's Center Convention Complex Room 266

Description: Do you have an idea that extends beyond anything that you have ever seen or heard of? Have you developed something during an academic career that seems marketable? Will your idea require some seed funding or some initial resources? While small businesses and start-ups have traditionally leveraged angel funding and private investors, we, as scholars, have the further ability to leverage research-oriented funding for such ideas. This session will discuss how to set up a small research-oriented business. The presenter has won several Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants and will show how these awards can be used to seed your innovative ideas. Furthermore, this session will break-down the actions needed to establish a legitimate small business by showing standard business plans based on product sales, patents, licensing/royalties, training, and speaking engagements.

Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service

"Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

For Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Holiday, Nspiregreen participated in the 5th Annual Pope Branch Clean-up. Over 200 volunteers came out to pick up trash from Pope Branch Park and the decommissioned CSX rail tracks, in addition, to clearing the Pope Branch Creek of leaves and other organic materials.

We collected several bags of trash, in addition to large items such as TVs, bikes, propane tanks, mattresses, and tables. Several organizations were there to support the clean-up: Pope Branch Alliance, Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, Groundworks Anacostia, Sierra Club, Youth Build, Conservation Corps, DC Water, DC Department of Public Works, and USAID.

Nspiregreen is glad we could be part of the day.

Trash collected along the CSX rail tracks

Volunteers clearing organic debris from the Creek

Ms. Dolly Davis of the Pope Branch Alliance with Nspiregreen Partner, Veronica