Speakers: Photos and Bios
Allen Gutierrez
OSDBU Director
Allen Gutierrez serves as the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) at the U.S. Department of Transportation. In this role, he ensures that the Secretary’s small business goals and policies are effectively implemented to expand opportunities for small businesses in federal procurement.
Mr. Gutierrez is the founder of The MCA Group, a Maryland-based firm specializing in public affairs strategy and federal compliance. He is a nationally recognized leader with extensive experience guiding entrepreneurs in starting and growing their businesses.
Previously, he held key leadership roles at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), including Senior Advisor to the COO and Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development. There, he expanded counseling and training services nationwide, opened record numbers of Women’s Business Centers, and launched the SBA’s first digital platform for women entrepreneurs.
Mr. Gutierrez has also led major Hispanic business advocacy organizations, serving as National Executive Director of The Latino Coalition and COO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles in the healthcare industry with Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and others.
Born in Costa Rica and raised in California, Mr. Gutierrez is a first-generation college graduate with a B.A. from the University of Southern California. He is also a member of the official Spanish broadcasting team for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.
Jack Albright
Deputy Chief Information Officer
Jack Albright is the Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Jack joined OCIO as the Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO) for IT Shared Services (ITSS) in March 2016. He leads a team of highly skilled and energetic IT professionals that provide and maintain technology innovations and solutions to effectively, efficiently, and economically enable the Department's lines of business. Jack also serves as a senior advisor to the CIO and Deputy CIO by providing policy support and strategies to both secure and enable the safety mission of the organization. Jack is passionate about customer service excellence which is clearly evident in his character and attitude. He is committed to applying an enterprise approach to all business challenges to ensure technology solutions meet expectations, provide maximum business value and reduce redundancies and costs.
Prior to his position as ACIO ITSS, Jack served as the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Chief Information Officer for more than 10 years. Previously Jack served as the Information Resources Manager for PHMSA's predecessor agency, the Research and Special Program Administration (RSPA) where he became the first non FAA DOT federal employee to obtain a SANS Institute Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC).
Jack has more than 24 years of experience in information technology, including strategic planning, policy, alignment of technology with business, Capital Planning, Enterprise Architecture, application and systems development, mobile computing, project management, cybersecurity, IT and data center operations, and cloud services.
Jeffrey Baker
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Acquisition and Business Services, FAA
Jeffrey Baker is the acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Acquisition and Business Services, FAA Acquisition Executive (FAE). As FAE, he is responsible for the evolution and execution of the FAA’s Acquisition Management System. He also oversees contracting, real and personal property management, policy development, investment analysis, and acquisition workforce training.
He has dedicated his talents to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) since 2002, with almost 25 years of acquisition experience. Prior to his appointment as FAE, Mr. Baker served as the Acting Director of FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center. He has also served in multiple executive and management positions in acquisition and IT, to include Aviation Property Management, Acquisition Policy and Oversight, and Solutions Delivery.
Mr. Baker received the Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award in 2020 and the DOT Secretary’s Award for Excellence in 2005. He was also a member of teams that received the DOT Secretary’s Partnering for Excellence Award, the Secretary’s Award for Excellence, and the Phyllis Scheinberg Award. Mr. Baker was named the Office of Finance & Management’s Employee of the Year in 2021.
Sherese Lewis
Deputy Senior Procurement Executive
Sherese is an accomplished senior executive with over 30 years of experience in public administration, including 26 years specializing in federal acquisition. Currently, she serves as the Deputy Senior Procurement Executive for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), providing executive oversight of the Department’s acquisition framework. In this capacity, she ensures that procurement policy, regulatory compliance, and enterprise-wide systems are effectively implemented to support the DOT’s evolving mission. Her expertise is defined by an extraordinary blend of technical mastery in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and a visionary approach to organizational management.
Prior to her current role, Sherese served as the Director of the Office of Acquisitions Management at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), where she functioned as the primary technical authority and reengineered business processes to eliminate workflow gridlock. Her federal tenure also includes high-impact leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Education, where she served as Deputy Director of the Contracts and Acquisitions Management Office and as the Acting Director for the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Under her stewardship, the Department achieved its first-ever "A+" on the Small Business Scorecard. She has consistently championed change management and strategic sourcing initiatives, utilizing data-driven tools to streamline operations and foster collaborative partnerships across the federal landscape.
Sherese is a committed advocate for workforce development, frequently implementing mentorship programs and progressive engagement initiatives to cultivate high-performing, diverse teams. She holds a Master of Science in Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus and an Executive Certification from the Harvard Kennedy School. An alumna of Howard University and a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute, she consistently applies innovative solutions to address the most complex challenges in federal procurement.
Manuel Rosales
Special Advisor
Manuel “Manny” A. Rosales is a seasoned entrepreneur, small business leader, and currently, a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Transportation. With over 40 years of experience in trade, finance, small business development, and government, he has built businesses, expanded international markets, and championed community initiatives. Manny’s deep expertise in public and private sectors enables him to drive impactful reforms and transformative initiatives.
Barakat Shakir
Small Business Specialist
Barakat Shakir currently serves in a hybrid role as a Small Business Specialist and Procurement Analyst with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Originally hailing from Massachusetts—proud home to the "Most Dominant Team in the NFL"—Barakat moved to Maryland in 2005 shortly after graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He began his professional career in the retail sector as a consultant at Marlo Furniture before transitioning into public service.
Barakat entered the federal workforce in 2011 as a Contract Specialist for the Defense Contract Management Agency within the U.S. Department of Defense. Since then, he has built an extensive background in the Federal Acquisition field, serving as both a Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer for the U.S. Department of Education. During that time, he worked on notable requirements such as educational longitudinal studies and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. He later joined the Information Technology Acquisition Center for Excellence team at the Federal Highway Administration, specifically focusing on the Software Engineering Support Services (SWES) requirement, before transitioning from the operational side of acquisitions to his current work in acquisition policy and small business at FMCSA.
Today, Barakat continues to reside in Maryland, where he fully embraces the vibrant energy of the Washington, D.C. area. He is a frequent fixture at local cultural festivals and sporting events, and he loves exploring the city's many galleries, with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History holding the top spot as his favorite. In his personal time, Barakat enjoys the creative worlds of anime and comic book collecting, occasionally finds time for video games, and always enjoys a good cup of tea.
