Highlight Awarded Role to Support Platform One Jedi Praxium

Highlight is proud to support our partner, ATA LLC, to provide comprehensive support for onboarding, installation, cloud management, deployment, and maintenance to promote a smooth experience for the United States Air Force (USAF) Platform One, Jedi Praxium value stream.

Our Jedi Praxium team will provide O&M support, change control, configuration for the enterprise collaboration tool suite, and ChatOps tools to both internal and external Platform One DoD customers. This will ensure the continued success of Platform One’s hybrid remote working environment.

Highlight has supported various Department of Defense and Homeland Security customers with key DevSecOps solutions to meet their mission goals. Our team supported the US Air Force supporting the establishment of Kessel Run. This work enables our team to continue support to the ever-growing Software Factory sector.

“Highlight is honored to continue our support of the US Air Force in their advancement of software development for the warfighter. We are eager to innovate with Platform One network to deliver critical services supporting our Airmen,” said Kevin Long, VP of Digital Government.

About ATA
ATA (“Advanced Technology Applications”) is an evolutionary, mission-driven organization. Since 2008, ATA has successfully delivered full lifecycle data-intensive solutions and services to federal and commercial customer across multiple domains, data types and challenges. For more information, please visit www.ata-llc.com.

About Highlight

Highlight Technologies (“Highlight”) is an award-winning, employee-owned, ISO® 9001, ISO 20000, ISO 27001, ISO 44001, ISO 56000 certified, CMMI-DEV Level 3, and CMMI-SVC Level 3 appraised federal contractor that provides Digital Government and Mission Support services to more than 20 U.S. federal government customers. Our customers include National Security (DHS, State, Army, Air Force), Health IT (USAID, NIH, HRSA), and Citizen Services (FCC, EPA, GSA, HHS, SBA, Education). For more information, please visit www.highlighttech.com.

Highlight Partners with JV Protégé RP Professional Services to Continue Support to Small Business Administration

Highlight Technologies (“Highlight”) is proud to support our JV Protégé RP Professional Services in the mission to continue to assist the Small Business Administration (SBA) with supporting American small businesses. This five-year BPA, valued at $427.5 million will provide the SBA with financial, program management, certification, and administrative services.

From 2017-2022, Highlight provided support under the previous SBA BPA for administrative, lending, legal, financial, risk management, and technical support. Highlight received multiple CPARS for our disaster and CARES Act support, including ‘exceptional’ ratings for Quality and Management for CARES Act programs.

Highlight was tasked to provide surge support to assist the SBA’s unprecedented pandemic response effort.  Our team provides full lifecycle loan processing support to SBA Office of Capital Access (OCA) to provide economic relief to homeowners, small businesses, and non–profits throughout the United States.  Highlight lending professionals ensure loans in support of disaster and CARES Act programs are serviced with the highest level of professionalism, always prioritizing the needs of the agency and those impacted by economic hardships. Highlight collectively supported programs to process over 10 million loans and $300 billion in relief aid to date.

“Highlight has proudly supported the SBA for over five years in its goal to support American small businesses.  From assisting borrowers recovering from natural disasters or pandemic-related events to providing critical risk management, technical and program management support, our team has been honored to advance the Agency’s mission.  We look forward to continuing this journey with RP Professional Services in providing critical professional support services to the SBA.” said Lia Melakou, Highlight Vice President of Mission Solutions.

“As a small business ourselves, RP is especially honored to help the Office of Capital Access deliver crucial financial services to millions of American companies. We’re excited to partner with our long-term mentors and teammates at Highlight to offer the best possible financial and program management support to the SBA,” said Tamar Mintz, Executive Vice President at RP Professional Services.

About Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 to support small business owners and entrepreneurs. The SBA is the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to small businesses and provides counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses.

SBA OCA helps to make capital available to small businesses through banks and other lending partners that conventionally would not be able to access credit. SBA ODA provides low-interest, long-term loans to repair or replace the property and other business assets that a disaster has impacted.

About RP Professional Services

RP Professional Services (RP) is a government services provider offering a wide array of Technology and Mission solutions to our federal customers. Tactful anticipation of our customers’ needs and our track record of superior service delivery have led to “fastest-growing” accolades from both the Washington Business Journal and Inc. 5000. We offer a robust suite of industry-leading personnel and program management practices to deliver the highest quality support, on time and on budget.

About Highlight

Highlight Technologies (“Highlight”) is an award-winning, employee-owned, ISO® 9001, ISO® 20000, ISO® 27001, ISO® 44001, ISO® 56000 certified, CMMI-DEV Level 3, and CMMI-SVC Level 3 appraised federal contractor that provides Digital Government and Mission Support services across the federal government. Highlight delivers federal loan services, grants management, strategic communications, international development, conference and event support, program management, administrative support, agile systems development, DevSecOps, data management and analytics, cloud services, web services and automation services to National Security and Intelligence (DHS, DoD, State, DOJ, IC), Health IT (USAID, NIH, HRSA), and Citizen Services (FCC, EPA, GSA, HHS, SBA, Education) agencies. For more information, visit www.highlighttech.com.

Fortune Media and Great Place To Work Name Highlight to 2023 Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials List

Fairfax, VA — Great Place To Work® and Fortune magazine have honored Highlight as one of the 2023 Best Workplaces for Millennials. This is Highlight’s2nd time being named to this prestigious list, this year coming in at no 25. Earning a spot means that Highlighth as surpassed rigorous benchmarks, establishing itself as one of the best companies to work for in the country.

To determine the Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials™ List, Great Place To Work collected nearly 500,000 responses from millennials at companies eligible for the list. To be considered, companies had to be Great Place To Work Certified™ and have at least 50 millennial employees in the U.S.

“Highlight is honored to be included as a Best Place to Work for Millennials. Highlight is an innovative, high-performing, and diverse company that is fortunate to have a wide range of ages and generations. We offer flexible remote work policies, paid parental leave, social gatherings, and economic opportunities as a 100% ESOP-owned company. These benefits, combined with rewarding careers, are designed to attract and support millennials and employees of all ages at Highlight” said Highlight Founder and Chairperson, Rebecca Andino.

The Best Workplaces for Millennials list is highly competitive. Survey responses reflect a comprehensive picture of the workplace experience. Honorees were selected based on their ability to offer positive outcomes for employees regardless of job role, race, gender, sexual orientation, work status, or other demographic identifier.

“With the largest share of the workforce today, the workplace experience of millennials says a lot about your organization,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place To Work. “These workers are looking for authentic leadership, meaningful work, and a healthy work environment — and they show loyalty to those who can deliver.”

“Congratulations to all of the Best Workplaces for Millennials finalists,” says Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell. “These companies are setting themselves up for continued success by committing to the purpose-driven work that attracts the next generation of business talent.”

About Highlight 

Highlight Technologies (“Highlight”) is an award-winning, employee-owned, ISO® 9001, ISO® 20000, ISO® 27001, ISO® 44001, ISO® 56000 certified, CMMI-DEV Level 3, and CMMI-SVC Level 3 appraised federal contractor that provides Digital Government and Mission Support services across the federal government. Highlight delivers federal loan services, grants management, strategic communications, international development, conference and event support, program management, administrative support, agile systems development, DevSecOps, data management and analytics, cloud services, web services and automation services to National Security and Intelligence (DHS, DoD, State, DOJ, IC), Health IT (USAID, NIH, HRSA), and Citizen Services (FCC, EPA, GSA, HHS, SBA, Education) agencies. For more information, visit www.highlighttech.com

About the Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials List
Great Place To Work selected the Fortune Best Workplaces for Millennials List by surveying companies employing 7.5 million people in the U.S. with 1.3 million confidential survey responses received. Of those, nearly 500,000 responses were received from millennials at companies eligible for the list and these rankings are based on that feedback. Read the full methodology.

To get on this list next year, start here.

About Great Place To Work
As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work brings 30 years of groundbreaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Their proprietary platform and For All™ Model help companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming Great Place To Work Certified™ or receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces™ List.

Follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram or visit greatplacetowork.com and sign up for the newsletter to learn more.

About Fortune
The Fortune mission is to change the world by making business better. We achieve that by providing trusted information, telling great stories, and building world-class communities. We measure performance by rigorous benchmarks. And we hold companies accountable. Our goal is to make Fortune a force for good through its second century and beyond. For more information, visit www.fortune.com.

Highlight Names New Chief Executive Officer, Aarish Gokaldas

July 17, 2023 – Fairfax, VA – Highlight Technologies, a leading federal IT services government contractor, has hired Aarish Gokaldas as its new CEO, starting immediately. Mr. Gokaldas is a government contracting industry executive with two decades of experience serving national security and federal civilian clients. Mr. Gokaldas succeeds Highlight’s founder and current CEO Rebecca Andino, who has served in this role for the past 15 years. Ms. Andino will continue serving as Highlight’s Chairperson of its Board of Directors.

Mr. Gokaldas is the founder and former CEO of The Eclipse Network, a firm providing growth strategy and business development consulting to firms in the defense and intelligence sectors. He also recently served as the Chief Growth Officer for Applied Information Systems, delivering cloud adoption, application modernization, and data intelligence to commercial and federal clients. Prior to that, Mr. Gokaldas served as the CEO and Chief Growth Officer of OGSystems, an intelligence and defense contractor known for its rapid growth and transformation from a small to a large company through performance on MOJAVE and other Intelligence Community contracts. Aarish created and implemented a long-term strategy to continue OGSystems’ growth in a sustainable and focused way without sacrificing its commitment to culture or employee welfare, culminating in its acquisition by Parsons in 2019. At Parsons, he served as EVP of its Space and Geospatial Solutions Business Unit, where he led the P&L of a $300M portfolio, as well as the capture, proposal, and award of a 10-year, $300M security services contract within the IC. Prior to joining industry, Mr. Gokaldas served as an Intelligence Officer supporting the Defense Intelligence Agency.

“I am thrilled to join Highlight,” said Mr. Gokaldas. “Rebecca and team have done a phenomenal job on building this company the right way – with a three-part focus on client mission, employee well-being, and an infrastructure built to accommodate rapid growth. I look forward to working with the leadership team and employees as we continue to put our clients’ missions front and center.”

The Highlight independent Board of Directors selected Mr. Gokaldas for his successful track record driving growth in the mid-tier space and increasing corporate value for the firms he has served. The Board is looking to leverage Mr. Gokaldas’ knowledge and relationships in the defense and intelligence communities, his experience using acquisitions for strategic growth, and his business development experience as a former Chief Growth Officer.

Highlight’s Board of Directors includes Paul P. Peou, Elma Levy, and Nancy Peters, industry veterans in the government contracting community, in addition to Ms. Andino.

“We are excited to have Aarish join the Highlight team as our new CEO. Under his leadership, Highlight will continue delivering excellent service and innovation to our federal clients while expanding to new clients, particularly in the defense and national security markets,” said Ms. Andino. “Aarish shares our passion for Highlight’s entrepreneurial, customer-focused, and diverse and inclusive culture, which is foundational to Highlight’s identity and brand.”

Highlight Technologies was founded in 2008 to provide information technology and mission support services to civilian, federal, healthcare, and national security agencies. The company uses its HI-WAY™ delivery framework including seven industry best practice certifications to deliver quality, innovative tailored solutions to meet the needs of its federal customers. The Digital Government business unit provides federal agencies software development and digital transformation support services, including agile systems development, DevSecOps, and data management and analytics. The Mission Solutions business unit delivers financial services, policy support, and strategic communications to federal agencies.

In 2021, the company established its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), giving the employees ownership of the company’s financial success and creating a vehicle for employee financial security and wealth creation. As a 100% ESOP-owned company, Highlight is now eligible for federal procurement incentives such as DoD’s Section 874 pilot program, which allows DoD customers to award sole-source follow-on contracts to 100% ESOPs.

About Highlight: 

Highlight Technologies (“Highlight”) is an award-winning, employee-owned, ISO® 9001, ISO® 20000, ISO® 27001, ISO® 44001, ISO® 56000 certified, CMMI-DEV Level 3, and CMMI-SVC Level 3 appraised federal contractor that provides Digital Government and Mission Support services across the federal government. Highlight delivers federal loan services, grants management, strategic communications, international development, conference and event support, program management, administrative support, agile systems development, DevSecOps, data management and analytics, cloud services, web services and automation services to National Security and Intelligence (DHS, DoD, State, DOJ, IC), Health IT (USAID, NIH, HRSA), and Citizen Services (FCC, EPA, GSA, HHS, SBA, Education) agencies. For more information, visit www.highlighttech.com