Expert Witness

The team at GovContractPros has unparalleled experience with federal small business programs, from high level policy to granular implementation and oversight of small business contracting programs.

John Shoraka served as the Associate Administrator of Government Contracting and Business Development at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from December 2011 to January 2017. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing the federal government’s small business procurement programs, a marketplace of over $500 billion.

He was personally involved in overseeing the federal government’s small business set-aside programs, including the 8(a) Business Development program and the Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program. He was ultimately responsible for administration of the set-aside programs, which consisted of initial certification, business development, continuing eligibility, terminations, and early graduations.

Shoraka was also responsible for overseeing the federal government’s small business size and status protest programs, establishing agency small business goals, and determining whether agencies were meeting their small business goals.

In addition, he was substantially involved in establishing policy, reviewing proposed regulations and publishing final regulations with respect to the federal small business set-aside programs.

Prior to his time at the SBA, Shoraka was Vice President of The Aries Group, a small business government contractor engaged with the government on both prime and subcontracts. In that capacity, he was responsible for preparing proposals, negotiating contracts with The Aries Group’s prime contractors (including Deloitte, Arthur Andersen and Bearing Point), overseeing billing processes and submissions, and managing international economic development projects.

Before joining the SBA, he was the Chair of the Small Business Association for International Contractors (SBAIC). SBAIC is a membership forum established to share and encourage best practices in development and to promote equity in USAID contracting.

Shoraka has testified before Congress, given many presentations, performed media interviews and published articles regarding small business contracting issues. The following is a list of relevant articles, hearings and interviews:

Articles:

Congressional Hearings:

  • Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business, entitled Ensuring Opportunities: Oversight of the HUBZone Program, September 7, 2016
  • Hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, entitled Beyond the Bench: Ramifications of the Supreme Court Kingdomware Decision, June 23, 2016
  • Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and the Workforce, entitled SBA Management Review: Office of Government Contracts and Business Development, February 3, 2016
  • Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and the Workforce, entitled Maximizing Mentoring: How are the SBA and DoD Mentor-Protégé Programs Serving Small Businesses, October 27, 2015
  • Joint Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations, entitled Manipulation and Fraud in Reporting of VA Small Business Goals, June 23, 2015
  • Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy, and Trade, entitled Modernizing Agriculture Producer Size Standards, July 24, 2014
  • Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce, entitled Action Delayed, Small Business Opportunities Denied: Implementation of Contracting Reforms in the FY 2013 NDAA, July 15, 2014
  • Joint Hearing before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce and U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, entitled Consistently Inconsistent: Challenges for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, March 19, 2013
  • Hearing before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services Panel on Business Challenges Within the Defense Industry, entitled Doing Business with DOD: Unique Challenges Faced by Small and Mid-Sized Businesses, January 17, 2012

Relevant interviews: