Mary Ann Beyster led panel discussion at the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) 5th Annual National Small Business Conference

On May 21, 2008, Mary Ann Beyster led a panel discussion at the NDIA National Small Business Conference held at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla, San Diego, CA. Joining her on the panel were:
•    June Chocheles, CEO, Chocheles Consulting Group, Former VP of S&T Strategy, Internal R&D (IR&D) Program, SAIC.
•    Babak Nouri, Asst. VP and Deputy Director of Small Business Development Programs, SAIC.
•    Larry Trammell, President of TechFlow, Former SVP of SAIC's Technology Services Company.
•    Mary Walshok, Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor, UCSD Extended Studies, Public and Economics Program.

The topic of the panel discussion was Technology Innovation in Small Business. Mary Ann started with a discussion of lessons learned from DARPA SBIR Technology Transfer and the speakers addressed topics including Collaboration, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Employee Ownership; The Role of Small Business in Partnering with Primes to Develop and Deliver Innovative Services and Solutions; Business Models for Delivering Technology and Innovation-based Services; and finally Local and Regional Initiatives to Create and Build Technology and Innovation-based Small Businesses.

The NDIA is a defense industry association who sponsors tradeshows and symposiums that provide government and industry interchange and networking opportunities on national security issues. The annual National Small Business Conference provides a forum to educate, guide, and assist businesses, especially small businesses, in working with the federal government. The theme for this year's conference, "Success: Survival & Beyond", is focused on helping companies expand their business opportunities within the Department of Defense.