Unbound Aspirations Fuel Midsize Firm
Abstract
Photo courtesy of Alpha Corp. These and other efforts have contributed to a 50% organic increase in Alpha's firmwide revenue over the past three years. Kathleen Linehan, Alpha president, says that while being one of the industry's few woman-owned businesses occasionally offers advantages for certain types of set-aside contracts for minority and women-owned firms, most of Alpha's selections are earned on the firm's fundamental merits. "It's nothing short of doing excellent work," she says, "Selling ourselves well to our clients and making sure they understand we bring the best resources to them-we're dependable, we do great work and that's a relationship we can keep and build on." Johann Dobak, Alpha vice president and leader of its civil engineering team, says the firm has a knack for serving high-end, demanding clients, particularly when they need to undertake complex projects in active campus environments. Lindsey took the helm of Alpha in 2013 after the death of her husband, Jeff, who was then president and CEO. In addition to Linehan, women also hold many other top Alpha positions, including Michelle Parker, chief financial officer, and Lara Hegler, who was recently hired as chief operations officer. "We know our clients embrace and benefit from that as well." "For us, it's been very easy to be inclusive and diverse because that's who we are." -Kathleen Linehan, President, Alpha Corp. While Alpha will continue to foster diversity, she adds, "For us, it's been very easy to be inclusive and diverse because that's who we are." Alpha's culture is also demonstrated in its community and charitable activities, which include support for Lombardi Women, an organization committed to assisting the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. The firm has also donated laptops to children in the Anacostia-AMP Outreach & Empowerment Center in D.C. The power of people Though Alpha Corp. has made great strides in a highly competitive region, the company's leadership sees talent as the key to sustaining that growth. Original Mount Vernon High School Renovation/Adaptive Reuse Alexandria, Va. Alpha is providing comprehensive site/civil design and surveying services for the historic renovation and adaptive reuse of the 83-year-old building.