Meet the 2024 Mid-Atlantic finalists

Anil is the CEO of 22nd Century Technologies, Inc.

22nd Century Technologies partners with government entities in delivering improved citizen services in a secure, efficient and user-friendly manner through technology solutioning, purpose-built products and consulting services. Having broadened and deepened their technology and cybersecurity capabilities, 22nd Century Technologies has become a partner of choice for government entities and their mission-critical programs. Its team of 5,500 professionals are driving customer engagement and value creation, and are powered by secure, cleared offsite application development and managed services centers, centers of excellence, and a niche Software Products Division.

Sachin is the President & CEO of Annapath, Inc.

Annapath is an anatomic pathology laboratory based in the mid-Atlantic region. The company processes between 800 to 1,100 biopsies for cancer diagnoses every day. With 55 full-time employees and 16 contracted on-site pathologists, Annapath is one of the largest privately held anatomic pathology laboratories in the mid-Atlantic region.

Josh is the Co-Founder & CEO of Apkudo

Headquartered in Baltimore, with offices around the world, Apkudo helps companies managing connected devices to maximize device value, minimize labor costs and reduce e-waste. Apkudo’s Circular Industry Platform provides a full suite of decision-support and operating tools: automated testing and grading systems, device lifecycle management and resale market integration. As a result, Apkudo customers always have the answer to the question, “What should I do with this device, right now?”

Kevin is the Chairman & CEO of Arcfield

Arcfield was purpose-built to protect the nation and its allies through innovations in systems engineering and integration, space and mission launch assurance, cybersecurity, and conventional and hypersonic missile support. Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, with 18 global offices, Arcfield employs more than 1,600 engineers, analysts, IT specialists and other professionals with more than 60 years of collective proven experience supporting missions in cyber and space defense, hypersonic and nuclear deterrence, and warfighter readiness. 

Julie is the CEO of Association Analytics

Founded in 1999, Association Analytics has been working with mission-driven organizations and their data for more than 20 years. Association Analytics started as a services company before evolving into a product company focused on providing customers easy access to all their data to generate insights and make data-informed decisions. 

With a three-year revenue growth of 174%, Association Analytics is one of the fastest-growing private companies in America and listed on the Annual Inc. 5000 list. The company was also named a 2021 NVTC Tech 100 Honoree by the Northern Virginia Technology Council and has industry-recognized executives leading the company’s growing team, including Julie, who won a 23rd Annual Women in Technology Leadership Award.

Sukumar is the Executive Chairman & CEO of Brillient Corporation.

Brillient is an award-winning full-spectrum digital transformation company enabling clients to transform through the continuum of analog, to digital, to analytics, leading to insight-driven decision-making and mission execution. The company helps clients achieve better efficiencies and lower costs in their digital government and IT modernization initiatives, enabling friction-free interaction with citizens and businesses.

Sonny is the CEO of Clutch Co. LLC.

Clutch empowers better business decisions as the leading global marketplace of B2B service providers. More than 1 million business leaders start at Clutch each month to read in-depth client interviews and discover trusted agency partners to meet their business needs. Clutch has been honored for the past six consecutive years as an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing company and by the Washington Business Journal as one of the 50 fastest-growing private companies in the DC metro area for 2023.

Justin is the Founder & CEO of Collars & Co.

Collars & Co. is one of the fastest-growing menswear brands in the US, blending style and function. The company is a Shark Tank/Mark Cuban-backed business based in Bethesda, Maryland.

Sid is the Founder & CEO of Credence Management Solutions.

Credence provides innovative technology, health, development, engineering and management solutions to support mission-critical programs for federal government customers. The company is one of the nation’s largest privately held government contractors.

Dan is the CEO of Culmen International.

Culmen International serves the US public and the global community as a government contractor supporting international safety security initiatives, national security missions and humanitarian programs. The company supports the US Departments of Defense, State, Energy, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, as well as INTERPOL, the United Nations and select nongovernmental organizations. Culmen’s areas of technical expertise include weapons of mass destruction nonproliferation, counter illicit trafficking, US government operations, international development, global health and refugee support. The company’s services consist of technical and management support, global procurement and logistics, training and language services, technology development and deployment, laboratory and facility operations, and partner capacity building. Founded in 2004, Culmen is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, with over 500 employees across the US and 38 countries internationally.

Tom is the Founder & CEO of DroneUp.

DroneUp is a pioneering autonomous drone delivery company that specializes in providing innovative and efficient solutions for last-mile delivery. DroneUp’s proprietary autonomous technology is integrated with its ground infrastructure to provide affordable and scalable last-mile delivery. With a commitment to utilizing cutting-edge technology and a customer-centric approach, DroneUp is revolutionizing the way goods are transported, making delivery faster, safer and more cost-effective.

Founded in 2016, DroneUp is headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and provides drone delivery service in 34 locations across six states.

Burton is the Co-Founder & CEO of Excella.

Excella is an Agile-first technology firm that works with organizations that recognize the need to transform to power their mission. The company does this by supporting exceptional talent and creating opportunities for them to work on missions that matter, make an impact and grow their careers. The diverse Excella team provides unique perspectives and harnesses state-of-the-art technology to deliver meaningful solutions for partners in the private and public sectors, working with clients to develop their expertise and coach them to manage their solutions themselves.

Dawn is the President & CEO of FM Talent Source.

FM Talent Source is a mission-based professional services firm that believes The Right People Get More Done™. Dedicated to providing exceptional recruiting and management consulting services, the company specializes in collaborating with government, nonprofit and commercial organizations to help them achieve their goals.

FM Talent Source’s core recruiting solutions encompass permanent placement, staff augmentation and recruitment outplacement services. In addition, the company’s consulting expertise spans financial management, grant management and human capital strategy services. FM Talent Source is devoted to delivering customized solutions that enhance organizational efficiencies, implement best practices and deliver tangible results.

Ben is the CEO & Co-Founder of Fundrise.

With more than 2 million users, Fundrise is the largest direct-to-consumer alternative asset manager in the country. For more than 10 years, the company’s mission has been to use technology to build a better financial system for the individual. Fundrise builds software that develops and delivers investments designed to give clients a performance edge in any economic environment. Fundrise’s more than US$3 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on real estate private equity, private credit and growth-stage venture capital.

Samir is the Founder & CEO of Georgiamune.

Georgiamune is a private science and discovery clinical stage immunotherapeutic biotechnology company focused on reprogramming immune signaling pathways to redirect the immune system to fight diseases. The company has designed unique approaches to re-establishing immune balance and has spearheaded groundbreaking scientific discoveries that have led to the development of pioneering immune therapeutics for cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Georgiamune was founded by Dr. Samir Khleif, a world-renowned medical oncologist and researcher in the field of immunology and cancer, based on discoveries in his lab on novel mechanisms to modulate immune response. Dr. Khleif’s work has led to the discovery of novel core targets that control critical immune cell pathways leading to the development of first-in-class molecules that modulate and restore these immune signaling pathways for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Tim is the Co-Founder & CEO of GoTab, Inc.

GoTab helps restaurants, breweries, food halls, hotels and other venues improve the guest experience and address substantial inefficiencies that continue to plague the hospitality and retail industry. Featuring a sophisticated point-of-sale (POS) system that can optionally integrate with other popular POS and property management systems, GoTab also includes a robust bar and kitchen display system with integrated two-way messaging to optimize operations and delivery. GoTab’s platform empowers every guest and staff member to make the most sensible, convenient choices for their scenario while maintaining appropriate controls. Through its suite of flexible tools, GoTab creates measurable benefits for its operators, driving increased spend while reducing costs and contributing to the bottom line. Founded in 2016, GoTab processes over $500 million in gross merchandise value annually with operations across 39 US states and Canada.

Kyle is the CEO of Huntress.

Huntress elevates small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to a level of threat protection only seen by enterprise organizations. The company’s platform combines fully managed protection for endpoints, Microsoft 365 identities and employees, all with the human expertise of Huntress’ 24-7 Security Operations Center. With Huntress, organizations can power their threat defense with around-the-clock management, award-winning support and at a price built for the needs of SMBs.

Prashant is the CEO of Impact Analytics Inc.

Impact Analytics offers a completely integrated retail-, grocery-, CPG- and supply chain-focused suite of native AI-powered planning and merchandising products. A growing roster of top brands rely on the company’s SaaS solutions to grow profitably through data-driven decision-making across full-lifecycle categories including demand forecasting, pricing optimization, assortment, inventory management and financial planning. Fortune named Impact Analytics to its top 100 of the Most Innovative Companies in America, and The Financial Times ranked it the fastest-growing company for the fourth straight year.

Tim is the CEO of Level Access.

Level Access provides a comprehensive solution for digital accessibility: the practice of making websites, apps and other digital experiences usable for people with disabilities.

Level Access’ solution equips organizations with advanced software, access to expert support services and training to ensure the digital experiences they create are accessible for all. From the company’s Figma plugin for designers to a suite of developer tools, Level Access makes it easy for teams to prioritize accessibility at every stage of the experience creation lifecycle. And with the company’s integrated platform, organizations can monitor accessibility progress, keeping their experiences barrier free over time.

Helen is the Founder, President & CEO of The Midtown Group.

The Midtown Group is a WBENC-certified woman-owned business providing staffing solutions in 36 states and supporting over 200 government and commercial organizations. The company’s mission is to connect people to life-changing career opportunities and workplaces to remarkable, reliable talent. With more than 200,000 skilled professionals across the country, The Midtown Group offers contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire solutions for all business sectors. The company provides qualified resources specializing in IT, legal, education and professional services to solve client problems and achieve their goals.

Steve is the Founder & CEO of Mindoula.

Mindoula is a next-generation population health management company that identifies, engages, and serves complex and rising-risk populations with behavioral health, medical and social challenges across the continuum of care. Mindoula deploys teams of 24-7 virtual and in-person care extenders — powered by adaptive data science, proprietary psychometrics, predictive analytics and a multi-platform technology suite — to deliver proven outcomes and guaranteed ROIs. Mindoula’s data-driven, member-centric approach has made it a market leader in complex and specialty population health management, collaborative care and behavioral health network extension. Mindoula contracts with payers, primary care and women’s health practice groups, health systems, and hospitals, extending their capabilities and helping them achieve their population health management goals.

Manu is the CEO & Co-Founder of MPower Financing.

MPOWER was founded in 2014 by Manu Smadja and Mike Davis, two former international students, with a shared dream: to remove the financial obstacles that students often face when pursuing an international education. 

Its proprietary algorithm analyzes overseas and domestic credit data as well as future earning potential to serve promising international students. MPOWER works with over 400 top universities across the US and Canada to provide financing to students from over 200 countries. The MPOWER team primarily consists of former international students and provides students with personal financial education and career support to prepare them for their professional careers after graduation.

MPOWER is a Certified B Corp and has a Great Place To Work Certification.

Josh is the Founder & CEO of Rehab 2 Perform.

Rehab 2 Perform’s mission is to ensure that patients reduce the risk of re-injury and are empowered with the tools they need to be physically active, and achieve performance in the areas that matter to them.

R2P provides solutions to improve movement, increase physicality and help patients perform in all areas of life. With an emphasis on education and physical competency, the company caters to athletes of all backgrounds — from beginners and youth to professional athletes and weekend warriors alike.

Kristina is the President & CEO of Reston Limousine.

Reston Limousine and Travel Service (RLS) is a privately held, certified Women-Owned Business with over 30 years’ experience in passenger transportation services including shuttle transportation and event and executive charter transportation. With over 300 employees and a fleet of approximately 230 vehicles, RLS operates the largest charter and private shuttle transit service in the Washington, DC, area and the 10th largest in the nation. RLS is also the largest woman-owned transit service in the nation.

In 2023, RLS transported approximately 375,000 passengers each month on approximately 90 individual routes in service of over 50 shuttle contracts. In addition to these shuttle achievements, the charter department dispatches an average of 1,750 event and private trips each month.

Dave is the Founder & CEO Royce Geospatial Consultants Inc.

Royce Geo, founded in 2015, was built to provide laser-focused expansion of emerging advanced data analytics and automation solutions (AI/machine learning), geospatial-intelligence tradecraft, enterprise IT solutions for the US Intelligence Community and Department of Defense by combining force multiplying technology with top-tier talent. Royce Geo’s first hire started on a Monday morning and flew to Afghanistan that very evening. Royce Geo has always remained close to its mission and its success. Royce Geo is a values-based firm driven by positive attitude, accountability, innovation, communication and leadership, to affect beneficial change not only for customers, but to improve the company’s employees’ experience.

Sarela is the Co-Founder of SIMPLi.

SIMPLi is a leading regenerative food brand on a mission to connect people around the world through the joy of food. Founded in 2020, SIMPLi co-founders Sarela Herrada and Matt Cohen sought to bring flavorful, nutrient-dense ingredients from around the world directly to customers in a way that equally benefits people, producers and the planet. Today, SIMPLi isn’t just a company, it’s part of a larger movement to know where food comes from and transition power and profits to Indigenous farmers who are healing the planet with regenerative practices. SIMPLi is creating a gold standard of elevated pantry staple products sourced from regenerative ecosystems and making them accessible to consumers nationwide in stores, restaurants and online. By fostering partnerships with Indigenous farmers globally, SIMPLi fosters a mutually beneficial relationship that honors traditional wisdom while integrating modern innovations. SIMPLi offers products across five categories: grains, beans, oils, spices and superfoods.

David is the CEO and Dan is the President of Soapbox.

Soapbox makes thoughtfully crafted hand and body care products that support communities in need by donating a bar of soap for every product purchased stateside to shelters and food pantries or abroad to their nonprofit aid partners. When possible, these bar soap donations come from local soap makers to support the community. Often these bar soap donations are paired with hygiene education for the most impact. A personal care brand with the mission to empower consumers to change the world through everyday, quality purchases, Soapbox offers award-winning, naturally derived hand care, hair care, and bath and body care products. Crafted with nourishing blends of oils, vitamins and extracts, Soapbox products are always cruelty-free and vegan, hair color safe and free of parabens, harsh sulfates and silicone. Soapbox products are available nationwide.

Glenn is the Founder & President of Summit Human Capital, LLC.

Summit Human Capital was founded in 2018 to bring necessary innovation to the technology workforce solutions industry. Human capital is defined as “a measure of the economic value of an employee’s skill set.” The company understands that without the proper human capital, organizations from nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies will not succeed. Summit Human Capital was founded to provide those resources, and the company connects career passion to client mission through direct hire, contract-to-hire and project-based resources.

Henok is the President & CEO of USP Holdings Inc.

USP Holdings, a family-owned and operated conglomerate of companies, is one of the most sought-after service providers across the United States and Ethiopia, the company founder’s birth country. What started as a parking management company has expanded over two decades to various lines of business operations in real estate, construction, property management, transportation, mobility consulting, janitorial services and security. A minority-owned company, USP Holdings’ group of companies are CBE, DBE, ACDBE and SBE Certified.

The company focuses on providing high-quality initial and ongoing training to its team and takes great pride in seeing its employees thrive. Thanks to USP Holdings’ positive company culture, the company’s team of more than 1,000 talented experts and dedicated service providers take tremendous pride in delivering exceptional products and services to every client, across every sector. 

Tobias is the President of WillowTree.

WillowTree is a digital agency providing clients design and development services around apps, websites, AI implementations, voice, digital marketing and digital strategy.