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Jacobs, CODE Plus Inc. Sign Mentor-Protégé Agreement at NASA Marshall

Executives from NASA prime contractor Jacobs of Dallas, Texas, and CODE Plus Inc. of Fairfax, Virginia, took part in a NASA Mentor-Protégé Agreement signing ceremony on March 22 – promoting continued growth of the spaceflight industry and mission success for NASA in pursuit of its Artemis-era human spaceflight goals.

Executives from NASA prime contractor Jacobs of Dallas, Texas, and CODE Plus Inc. of Fairfax, Virginia, took part in a NASA Mentor-Protégé Agreement signing ceremony on March 22 – promoting continued growth of the spaceflight industry and mission success for NASA in pursuit of its Artemis-era human spaceflight goals.

Under the two-year agreement, CODE Plus, an 8(a) certified, woman-owned small business, will aid Jacobs Space Exploration Group of Huntsville, Alabama, in delivering engineering and scientific services at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The signing event was overseen by small business leaders from Marshall, marking the 20th such agreement supervised by the NASA center.

3 people sit behind a table covered with a black cloth. A group stands behind them for the Mentor-Protégé Agreement signing.
Participating in the Mentor-Protégé Agreement signing March 22 are, seated from left, Jeff Haars, vice president and general manager of Jacobs Space Exploration Group; Andrea Tobias, contracting officer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center; and Jinan Aboushakra, president and chief executive officer of CODE Plus, Inc. Also participating in the event are, standing from left, John Cannady, director of Marshall’s Office of Procurement; contract administrator Esther Veras of 7th Sense Consulting; David Brock, manager of NASA’s Mentor-Protégé Program; Shawn Wallace, contracting officer for Marshall’s Engineering Services and Science Capability contract Mary Beth Koelbl, director of Marshall’s Engineering Directorate; and Sadie Moulton, engineering laboratory branch chief at Marshall. Established in 2008 by NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs in Washington, the NASA Mentor-Protégé Program is managed by Marshall’s Small Business Office.
Credits: NASA/Sarah Lincoln, Jacobs ACI

“We’re confident this partnership between Jacobs and CODE Plus will directly benefit Marshall and NASA,” said David Brock, program manager for NASA’s Mentor-Protégé Program. “We also anticipate it will further strengthen the outstanding small business pool here in Huntsville and help the spaceflight industry flourish nationwide.”

Launched in 2008 by NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs in Washington, the Mentor-Protégé Program facilitates agreements between NASA’s large contractors and eligible small businesses and academic institutions.

“Each time we participate in a Mentor-Protégé Agreement, we learn as much from the small business as they learn from us,” said Jeff Haars, vice president and general manager for Jacobs Space Explorations Group. “It’s important to help keep the pipeline of small businesses refreshed – and this is a great way to do it.”

“As a small business, we’re excited to be part of this program, to become a NASA service provider and expand our capabilities in the space arena, and to increase our contracting presence here in Huntsville,” said Jinan Aboushakra, president and chief executive officer of CODE Plus, Inc. “We very much look forward to working with Jacobs in NASA’s Mentor-Protégé Program.”

Jacobs, which has entered into five Mentor-Protégé Agreements since 2008, is among some two dozen NASA prime contractors currently qualified to participate as program mentors.

Both mentor firms and prospective protégés go through stringent NASA review processes to qualify. Once signed, the two-year agreements aid prime contractors in meeting agency goals and help small, minority-owned, and geographically disadvantaged businesses make vital government and industry connections, mature their technical skills, and grow their workforce.

Marshall, which six times has been awarded the Small Business Administrator’s Cup for NASA’s best overall small business program, has managed the Mentor-Protégé Program for the agency since 2019. Learn more about the program and NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs here:

https://osbp.nasa.gov/mentor

https://osbp.nasa.gov

Jonathan Deal
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-631-9126

jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov