Scott Denniston, Director of Programs
As the director of programs, Scott Denniston enhances NaVOBA’s success in corporate America while simultaneously offering an instantly more salient presence in the government sector. He capitalizes on more than 35 years experience in the federal government championing opportunities for veteran-owned and small businesses.
Denniston is perhaps the most high-profile and respected advocate for vetrepreneurs in the government sector and served as the director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) and the Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Denniston served at the Pentagon with the Army as a personnel specialist from 1970 to1973 and during this time he attended graduate school and earned a master of science degree in government from Southern Illinois University to build on the bachelor of arts degree in economics he earned from Waynesburg College in Waynesburg, Pa. Denniston also attended law school at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
Denniston worked on Capitol Hill in the office of U.S. Rep. Peter Frelinghuysen in 1973, and took a job with the U.S. Customs Service in 1974 as a management analyst. In 1975, he began working with at the Small Business Administration and advanced through numerous management positions until he was promoted to manage the Breakout Procurement Representative Program. This program allowed small businesses to compete for Department of Defense contracts and saved the federal government more than $100 million.
In 1987, Denniston was appointed the director of the VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. In 1998, Anthony J. Principi, the deputy secretary at the VA and chairman for the Congressional Commission on Service Members and Veterans Transition Assistance, asked Denniston to serve on the commission providing recommendations about increasing support and enhancing business opportunities for veterans. This led to the Public Law 106-50 (the Veteran Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999) and Public Law 108-183 (the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003).
Denniston was the co-founder of the Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) in 2000. In 2005, Denniston received the Federal 100 Award from Federal Computer Week for his efforts in creating the Vendor Information Pages database and the VetBiz Web site. Denniston is active in the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), the National Defense Industry Association (NDIA) and is the former chairman of the Small Business Committee of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA). Denniston also established the annual Secretary of Veterans Affairs Award for contracting activity accomplishments with veteran-owned businesses.