President's Message - Minority Enterprise Executive Council

Guest Speaker
The Honorable Lurita Doan
Lurita Doan hosts Leadership Matters on FederalNews Radio AM 1500, a commentary and
talk show discussing issues facing today’s government leaders. Before hosting Leadership
Matters, Lurita served as the Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration from
May 31, 2006 to April 30, 2008. She is the first woman and the first African-American woman,
to serve as chief executive of the U.S. General Services Administration.
Lurita’s tenure at the nation’s premier procurement agency was marked by a return to the fundamentals that date
to GSA’s creation in 1949 as well as a wave of innovative new ideas. With Doan at the helm, the GSA:
• Regained its clean audit, eliminated or revamped many non-performing programs, and saved millions of taxpayer dollars;
• Completed a major reorganization that has bolstered internal efficiencies and sharpened GSA’s focus on customer service;
• Launched the Office of Emergency Response and Recovery;
• Restructured the GSA Land Border Ports of Entry (POE) construction program to streamline the process to build POEs and ignite a
building book at the northern and southern borders of the US;
• Implemented the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Express program, which reduced the time to award contracts by three months;
• Reaffirmed its commitment to increase federal contracting opportunities for all small business owners;
• Awarded a $5 Billion contract vehicle to Service Disabled Veterans in the federal government;
• Launched the most aggressive TELEWORK initiative in the federal government;
• Launched the MAS Advisory Panel, Blue Ribbon Commission to review the GSA Schedules Program and the procurement pricing
policy requirements;
• Launched one of the most robust mentoring and leadership development initiatives in the federal government.
Such accomplishments have helped GSA restore customer confidence and rebuild employee morale. The latter was reflected by a
2007 survey that ranked GSA among the best places to work in the federal government.
In August 2008, Doan was selected as the recipient of the ABRAZO 2008 award from San Diego, CA community groups led by Casa
Familiar for her “transformational efforts at bi-national border crossings.” Lurita was awarded the prestigious “Friend of the Americas” tri
national award in April of 2008, selected by representatives from Canada, the U. S. and Mexico. Previous recipients include Secretary Tom
Ridge and then Governor George Bush. Doan was chosen in February 2008 as one of the 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business.
In addition, prior to her tenure in public services, Lurita founded a surveillance Technology company in 1990. She was selected as
one of SBA’s Women Business Owner Success Stories for its 50th Anniversary Celebration. In December 2004, Lurita was selected
as one of the members of the inaugural class of 50 “Women Who Mean Business” by the Washington Business Journal. In addition,
Lurita is the 2004 recipient of the National Women’s Business Council Award for entrepreneurship, the 2003 recipient of the National
Director’s Award for Entrepreneurial Innovation from the Department of Commerce, Committee of 200 Luminary Award for Innovation
in Technology, the 2003 recipient of the Office Depot Entrepreneurial Visionary Award and the recipient of the 2003 Visionary Award
from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship.
Background
Lurita is a native of New Orleans whose home was destroyed in during Hurricane Katrina and is descended from three generations of African-
American entrepreneurs. Doan led her company over fifteen years from a one-woman operation to its standing as a highly innovative IT
organization with offices across the United States and a vital and family oriented corporate culture. Doan cites the inspiration of her grandmother,
customer loyalty and a willingness to be first to market, as key elements of her company’s success. She sold the company in 2005.
Education
M.A., University of Tennessee-Knoxville, 1983; B.A., Vassar College, 1979; Russian- Defense Language Institute, Monterey,
CA, Certificate, 1988
Publications
“Irresponsibility: Alive and Well at the Highest Levels of Government”, FederalNewsRadio.com, August 26, 2008,
http://www.federalnewsradio.xcom/nid=444&sid=1466581
“The Once and Future Idea”, FederalNewsRadio.com, August 5, 2008, http://www.federalnewsradio.com/nid=443
“Peter Drucker Comes to Washington”, FederalNewsRadio.com, July 29, 2008, http://www.federalnewsradio.com/nid=443
“Leadership Matters”, FederalNewsRadio.com, July 10, 2008, http://www.federalnewsradio.com/nid=444&sid=1437979
“African Burial Grounds: Strengthens Bond Between Citizens, Government, News Long Island, October 17, 2007
“Telework: GSA Venture Promotes Quality of Life, Environment, National Security”, Huntington Press, September 15, 2007.
“GSA Committed to Backing Those Who Served”, Muncie Press, July 6, 2007.
“Government “Landlord” Also a Superior Child Care Provider”, Muncie Press, Aug 16, 2007.
“Small Businesses Have Equal Role in War on Terror”, FederalTimes.com, 27 September 2004.
“Because We Can”, Diversity Journal, November 2003.
“Charity begins at the Corporate Home”, Washington Business Journal, 31 March 2001.