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the program. It took a couple years to develop and in the first iteration, the agency trained 800 certifiers nationwide, Freilich says. Finally, as a way of centralizing resources and connecting participants from certified companies to airports, the agency created FAA Civil Rights Connect to provide an electronic web-based information system to share information, gather compliance review reports and complaint investigations and put “everything the FAA needs to know and all the users need to know in one place,” he says. Challenges Still Exist While many improvements have been made, many challenges still exist. Nancy West, founder and managing member at Exstare Federal Services Group , has also been a lifelong advocate for the program. In addition to previously cited victories, she counts adding goal-setting for rental car companies within the ACDBE program as another major enhancement in the years since it was founded. She also applauds the work of the Airport Minority Advisory Council, in particular, and a lot of businesses that understand the intent of the program and have taken steps to improve practices.

And West says some airports take their diversity efforts seriously, including Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) , Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) , Richmond International Airport (RIC) and, particularly in recent years, Denver International Airport (DEN) . DEN, she adds, has a mentor-protégé program, a detailed training program and many more efforts underway to make sure small companies have access to opportunities. But she sees more work to be done. The playing field, she says, is far from level, even after more than 40 years. And she’s calling on high-ranking individuals in the industry to step up and execute the intent of the program. “A lot of smaller companies don’t have the same capacity as others in terms of staff resources,” West says. “Usually, the owners are running everything.” That makes it challenging for them to add to their list of responsibilities figuring out how an airport works, she adds. “The hurdles that existed even 40 years ago are still going on,” West says. “Those big hurdles are access to capital, getting bonded and insurance. Because of the size of projects, in many cases - on the construction side and on the concession side - you have a personal net worth standard that is very outdated.” So, what would be helpful? PHX, West says, has long been unbundling portions of its opportunities so small businesses can bid on fewer locations and have a chance to compete. In line with DEN’s protégé program, Ron Gomes, who retired recently as vice president of strategic alliances with HMSHost , told AXN during a recent podcast interview he’d like to see the ACDBE program include a mentorship program that would allow growing companies to retain membership in the program even as they exceed net worth goals if they agree to mentor one or more smaller participants. “Right now, the young bucks are at odds with the older generation in the industry because the young guys feel like they’re being blocked,” he says. “To my mind, that could be pretty helpful.” The personal net worth cap of $1.32 million remains a big hurdle. Even at the adjusted rate, Plummer says, it’s nowhere near high enough to allow small businesses to truly compete. Even at $10 million, he adds, they’d still be disadvantaged compared with larger well-capitalized primes.

Spinning Forward Freilich sees the ACDBE program as a complicated effort that took time to mature but is now in a thriving adulthood state. Now retired from the FAA, Freilich continues to monitor the program. With the nation’s airports needing infrastructure upgrades and large sums of money coming in - like the $25 billion allocated to airports through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - he wants to see the program perform even better and is working to build a consortium aimed at finding ways it could do so. The timing may be good. Throughout its history, the combined DBE and ACDBE program has faced challenges. The program does have some Supreme Court backing legitimizing its cause, stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1995 decision in Adarand Constructors v Pena. That ruling allowed for the program’s existence as long as racial classifications passed strict scrutiny review, meaning it must serve a compelling government interest and must be narrowly tailored to further that interest. But with the makeup of the current Supreme Court, it’s likely further challenges are coming. Session points to the 2023 Supreme Court ruling banning the use of race in undergraduate admissions at universities as evidence that such programs are under increased scrutiny. “It is really going to be a political solution, a political answer,” he says when asked what the future holds for the ACDBE and DBE programs. “First of all, the advocacy to continue the program has to continue and it has to be ramped up to be even more vigilant. Ultimately, Congress will have to legislate and the Supreme Court will have to opine. Given the composition of the Supreme Court today, given the recent decision in higher education, it’s problematic.” In the meantime, observers and participants like Plummer celebrate the victories created by the program, even as they suggest solutions for challenges that still exist. “I know I’m grateful for the opportunities it afforded me,” Plummer says. “The intent was to bring in companies, mentor companies to be able to perform in this complex, nuanced environment. And the program has definitely been successful at achieving that end result. “If it weren’t for the program, I certainly doubt I would be an operator and entrepreneur in the airport space,” he adds. “It’s not for lack of ability, but more so the way the contracts are designed.”

Above: Ron Gomes, retired vice president of strategic alliances from HMSHost, would like to see the ACDBE program add a mentorship provision allowing graduates of the program to stay if they assist a younger, smaller business.

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AX NEWS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024