An employee from the Savannah River Site (SRS) was recently named the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2023 Small Business Advocate Most Valuable Player (MVP) during an annual Supply Chain Management Center’s (SCMC) event. Lisa Tanner, Small Business Liaison Officer for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), was recognized for her exceptional performance in procurement practices that benefit DOE. “In fiscal year (FY) 2023, I collaborated with Rachel Boyd, Deborah Tyler and the SRNS Supply Chain Procurement team to improve the visibility and performance of the supplier-onboarding process, with the pending implementation of the supplier portal and risk assessment software,” Tanner stated. “Our team is vital in supporting SRS missions, and I remain focused on the deployment of these tools for future onboarding efficiencies.” Every year, DOE’s Small Business Awards Program recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that promote and expand small businesses. Since 2018, SRNS has created 15,700 local jobs and 82,800 regional positions — some of which support the Site materials procurement and small business commitments. In FY23, SRNS granted $732 million in total small business awards, marking a 70% increase from the previous year. Dave Dietz, SRNS Senior Director of Procurement, emphasized, “Lisa and the team are key in establishing our Supply Chain Center of Excellence by consistently assessing and evaluating supplier performance. Weekly monitoring of supplier on-time delivery, performance meetings and automated reports have led to success with our small business contractors.” Dietz continued, “Lisa also supports the ‘Small Business First’ policy by guiding our various buyer teams to consider small business suppliers whenever possible. These efforts have been extremely successful with some buyers awarding over 80% of work in any given month to small businesses.” Tanner also oversees the SRNS acquisition forecast, continuous improvement program, and the Mentor Protégé Program –– a DOE initiative designed to assist small businesses in enhancing their capabilities. Lisa Tanner, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Small Business Liaison Officer, was recently named the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 Small Business Advocate Most Valuable Player for her exceptional performance in procurement practices. “The SRNS Small Business Program is pivotal in nurturing companies for DOE missions and is a model for supplier development,” said Jay Johnson, SRNS Deputy Vice President of Contracts and Supply Chain Management. “Lisa has been an excellent advocate and makes it her business to raise our level of commitments; resulting in record highs in protégé and small business awards.” Tanner and SRNS Supply Chain Procurement continues to ensure diversity in procurement and longterm subcontract agreements by participating in trade fairs; establishing relationships between the small business community and buyers; and developing government subcontract plans in compliance with Federal and DOE Acquisition Regulations. “While this award may be an individual honor, success in Procurement is often a collective effort,” Tanner expressed. “I am delighted by this recognition that shines light on the entire team’s dedication to maximizing small business opportunities.” Each year, DOE aims to meet its Small Business Administration-established goals for four socioeconomic categories: Small Disadvantaged Businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned, historically underutilized business zones (HUBZone), and women-owned small businesses. Supply Chain Management Center Senior Director Scott Bissen, center, awarded the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 Small Business Advocate Most Valuable Player award to Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Small Business Liaison Officer Lisa Tanner, far left. Standing next to Tanner; Royina Lopez, Sandia National Laboratories MentorProtégé Program Lead; Bissen; Hayley Bowers, Y-12 National Security Complex Senior Subcontract Administrator; and Gregory Long, Idaho Environmental Coalition Senior Procurement Specialist. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor and HII partnership company, is responsible for the management and operations of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, located near Aiken, South Carolina.