Airport Experience® News - ACDBE Issue 2025

operators willing and able to put in the time. She points at airports like Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) , Denver International Airport (DEN) , Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) , San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and San Diego International Airport (SAN) that have already been parceling out portions of procurements for small businesses. “If you are a smart and strategic, you can figure out, as a small business, how to develop strong relationships,” she says. “Every airport wants to support their local small business. They do. If you just work that side of it, develop relationships and be a good operator, learn what you are doing and come up with some cool, innovative ideas, I think we can outmaneuver and really bring to the table some really unique idea for airports that will allow us.” Companies need to focus on their own operations, making sure they are qualified to pick up opportunities and thrive when they present themselves. “We are all small businesses in a very tough industry for people to get into,” she says. “One of the things I am doing in my business is I’m focusing on our own operations. I do have joint ventures – some of them have been good. Not all. I feel like now is the time for our business – and I would say a lot of ACDBE businesses that have not been operating – to jump in.” Not All Bad That might not be a bad result, agrees long-time industry consultant Mario Trevino, president and founder of Innovative Strategies who previously worked at both DFW and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). He’s not thrilled to see the ACDBE program under attack, but he also acknowledges that through legal challenges over the years, the program has survived in part due to its ability to evolve and become more tailored to societal needs. And he’s not ready to concede to “doom-and-gloom” theories that the program is coming to an end. “It can happen, but … how do we fight back, you know?” he says. Trevino envisions a program similar to what the SBA’s 8(a) program has evolved into. It started out as a program similar to the existing DBE and ACDBE programs

but has evolved into one with a nine year window in which anyone who can prove they were socially disadvantaged – regardless or face or gender – can receive assistance, training and access to federal contracts. They are eligible for set-aside contracts throughout their nine years, but as the clock starts winding down on their eligibility, their survival relies on using their learned skills and capital to compete for non-government contracts. “Everybody is eligible to [be classified as disadvantaged] as long as you show you are socially or economically disadvantaged,” he says. “If you don’t get it in seven to 10 years, you’re not going to get it.” Responsibility To Airports? A race- and gender-neutral small business program approach such as the SBA’s, some say, would shift at least some of the burden for retaining a focus on diversity directly to airports. This would mean some airports might excel at it while others that were just conducting diversity efforts to comply with goals might see participation decline. But it is not unheard of, says Bob Silvas, president of The Silvy Group . Following the results of Western States Paving v Washington State in 2006, airports in the 9 th Circuit have had to either conduct

Above: Mario Trevino, owner of Innovative Strategies, says the DBE program could evolve like SBA’s 8(a) program did to a format where anyone who can prove they are disadvantaged is eligible.

Maybe An Opportunity While some are girding for a fight for the program’s survival, others see the possibility that it might be time for an evolution within the program. The current chaos could perhaps lead to a program tailored to all small businesses, says Pady Regnier, founder and CEO of Airport Retail Group , which has been in business since 1998. While the ACDBE program may have a tough future ahead, she is bullish on the continued importance of small businesses, in general, to the airport. It’s not going to be easy. High rents and labor costs will be a struggle, though Regnier suggests perhaps small ACDBE operators can partner together to create some efficiencies. But primes are not going to be able to lead joint ventures that produce financially for themselves and ACDBE partners as they have in the past, she believes. That will create opportunities, at least in airports with a desire to partner with small businesses, for them to operate their own spaces and to provide creativity primes aren’t nimble enough to produce. The fallout, Regnier says, might look more like a program for all small businesses rather than one based around race and gender, but it can still be beneficial to those

Above: Consultant Bob Silvas helped implement a race- and gender-neutral small business program that helped significantly increase participation from some segments of the population that had previously not bid on airport projects.

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AX NEWS JUNE 2025