The finalists for WashingtonExec’s Chief Officer Awards were announced April 8, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person June 4.
Next is Nathan Sanders, director of biosecurity & emerging threats at BryceTech, and a finalist in the Healthcare Executive of the Year category. In this spotlight, he reflects on key achievements, offers advice for those following a similar path, shares community engagement passions and more.
What key achievements did you have in 2024/2025?
Expanding our Support to DHS FEMA and JPEO-CBRND, as well as growing business through exciting new contracts within our existing HHS client base, led to over 25% growth over the period. Aside from the obvious benefits of expanding our base of technical expertise to meet client needs for innovation, we were also enabled to upgrade our Divisional infrastructure to improve quality assurance and provide additional training opportunities for key staff members. One highlight was our support to HHS’s H-CORE vaccine donation program facilitating the donation of 185.2M COVID-19 vaccines to 109 countries, contributing to global health security.
What is your best career advice for those who want to follow in your footsteps?
The best advice I can give anyone starting in the GovCon industry is: Listen to your clients. We have a tendency to combine delivery of the technical skills our clients need with the solutions that our company wants to provide, and calling it success because the tactical tasks of today are being handled. But if you truly listen to your clients you’ll hear the challenges that they wish they could overcome. Ideas they would like to try. Endemic organizational flaws that they feel are too deeply rooted to change. You may not be able to solve them all but you can use that information to make the next hire, offer the white paper analysis, write the budget justification, or connect the stakeholders to create a solution for just about anything. Without listening, we’re just commodities. Insight drives success.
Fun Fact: What is something about you that most people do not know?
Since 2020 I have been donating time to The Kinera Foundation, a non-profit located in Stevensville, MD providing support for pediatric patients with special healthcare needs, and their families. On the Eastern Shore, 1 in 4 families are affected in some way by disability, whether it’s intellectual, developmental, or physical, many of whom are forced to travel over 150 miles roundtrip for access to specialized care. Kinera Foundation has been serving the Eastern Shore since 2016 providing physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy for kids with a wide range of disabilities.
In addition, they support their community with parent navigation services to include consulting on Individualized Education Programs (IEP)s, educational support, resources and referrals for working with healthcare specialists, and state provided services such as housing for emerging adults and grants for special needs accommodations. I am humbled to volunteer with an organization that gives so much for a desperately underserved community of beautiful children, who deserve our faith in their ability to overcome.