Alba M. Aleman is president and co-founder of Chantilly-based government and professional services firm Citizant. Citizant is involved with the Department of Housing and Urban Development in updating the National Housing Locator System, a database with housing information for emergency situations.
Why’d you decide to start this business?
Myself and my business partner had been working together in a similar business, with government technology services, and for us the company was an opportunity to develop a team and grow a business focused on things we feel are important, including a strong citizen impact. All of our business is with the government, on a federal and state level.
How did the HUD contract come to fruition?
We had worked with HUD before, and we learned that after Katrina, the department was unable to locate affordable housing. We built a database using commercially available data by partnering with commercial organizations that agree to provide information in times of emergencies. We’re focusing on expanding the database in several Southern and Gulf states due to the recent tornadoes and the likelihood of future events.
Since you’ve been involved in professional government consulting since the early 90s, how’ve you seen it change?
In the areas of defense, the government has moved more toward the mission of the warfighter and protecting the warfighter. The government is also a lot more focused in the way they’re spending funds. There’s been a lot of work done in streamlining systems and eliminating systems, and generalizing others for multiuse.
As a female and a minority, how have you uniquely impacted your company?
My partner and I are both immigrants, and we probably both have a greater appreciation of what it means to be an American. I came from Cuba and became a citizen in the late 1980s. As a female, I don’t know that I’d run the business differently if I were a man. I feel we’ve been successful because we focus on outcomes and performance.
