In Memoriam

Al Alvarez, co-founder and co-owner of Cloudburst Consulting Group, Inc., passed unexpectedly on July 12th. Al, a dedicated father, husband, and leader worked tirelessly to grow a business built on trust, dedication, and integrity. Along with his business partner Patrick Moynahan, a model minority owned government contracting business was nurtured to provide support services to programs designed to serve economically and socially disadvantaged populations – a mission Al was extremely proud of.

Al was a born leader. He was able to leverage his academic background in Accounting and Finance from Clemson University and extensive experience in corporate accounting and financial management systems to build a solid foundation for Cloudburst. Al positioned Cloudburst to be a Top 100 diversity owned businesses in Maryland and a top 500 Hispanic American Owned Businesses in America.

On a personal note, Al was an avid soccer enthusiast. He not only played, but used his talents to coach and mentor youths in Bowie, Maryland, West Pembroke Pines, Florida and, most recently, the Soccer Association of Columbia. His impact was felt on and off the field by the players and their families. He was considered by many of his current and former players as a “father figure,” an inspiring leader, and someone who will be greatly missed.

Our Cloudburst family is deeply affected by this sudden loss of our friend and colleague. As we continue in our work, we will greatly miss his candor, leadership, and most of all, his wonderful sense of humor. Al’s legacy will continue at Cloudburst under the leadership of the Cloudburst executive team.

March 18, 2010 - Washington, DC: OSHA Guidance and Docket Management

Cloudburst was recently awarded a contract with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a unit of the Department of Labor, to provide technical support for rulemaking activities and guidance. Under this contract Cloudburst will conduct research to develop quantitative risk assessments for health hazards such as chemicals, biological agents and physical hazards; coordinate peer reviews of agency scientific assessments; conduct research to analyze the feasibility of reductions in exposure to chemicals, biological agents and physical hazards; and prepare other written materials to support the rulemaking process.

September 30, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Children’s Legacy Study

Cloudburst was awarded a subcontract through CNA to provide support for their 8-1/2 year contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct the Legacy for Children Longitudinal Follow-up Study. CNA will evaluate the cognitive, social, and emotional development of children at ages 8, 10 and 12 from both intervention and comparison families. The study’s findings will inform public policies aimed at improving the success of disadvantaged children in school and in life. The Cloudburst Group will provide logistical support to CNA as it convenes and manages a panel of researchers to provide direction and support to the study.

September 30, 2009 - Rockville, MD: Mental Health, United States 2010 and 2012

Cloudburst was awarded a task order to provide support to the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in its work to develop and produce Mental Health, United States 2010 and 2012 for the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration. Cloudburst is providing developmental and logistical support for the project’s Expert Panel Meeting, which brings together academic, research and field experts to make recommendations regarding the projected content of MHUS.

September 30, 2009 - Washington, DC: Moving to Work

Moving to Work Demonstration Support – Cloudburst was recently awarded a contract to assist HUD’s MTW Demonstration in optimizing its program with existing and newly awarded MTW sites. Cloudburst’s support is to maintain MTW plan and report data submitted by participating housing agencies; to coordinate site visits to the agencies; to provide general demonstration support; to coordinate the national conference for the demonstration; and to develop a web-based application for reporting out analyses of demonstration data.

September 30, 2009 - Washington, DC: Cloudburst awarded a three-year contract with HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development

Cloudburst has been awarded a three-year contract to provide data entry, analysis, and support services to HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development. This contract will provide data entry and analysis services on critical data management efforts to support the office of Special Needs Assistance Programs for the Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Grants. Data management services will support ongoing analysis of Annual Progress Report (APR) data and support of the e-snaps grants management lifecycle online application.

September 29, 2009 - Washington, DC: Cloudburst awarded contract with HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP)

Cloudburst was recently awarded $4.1 million in technical assistance funds for HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Cloudburst will provide expert assistance to communities nationwide to help stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods adversely impacted by foreclosed and abandoned property. Cloudburst will use a technical assistance plan that relies upon cost-effective methods of deploying technical assistance (TA), including increased use of virtual technology to address the needs of NSP grantees and their community partners. Cloudburst will help NSP grantees and communities navigate non-traditional tasks and relationships, ramp up quickly to handle increased work demand for existing grantee staff, and more fully leverage NSP program funds to affect positive change to these impacted neighborhoods. Designed to be implemented in conjunction with the CDBG program, NSP will require a wide range of activities that may be unfamiliar to grantees. Integrating NSP into a community development program can be especially daunting given the urgency of stabilizing neighborhoods and ambitious deadlines for commitment and expenditure of funds. Specifically, our services will be used to build local capacity to effectively manage and administer local strategies to purchase, rehabilitate, and renovate properties in neighborhoods significantly impacted by home foreclosures and abandonment. Funding for this assistance is provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

September 28, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst was awarded a task order by CDC for Implementation and Monitoring Progress of the Division of STD Prevention’s Strategic Plan (DSTDP)

Cloudburst is providing management consultation services to assist CDC’s Division of STD Prevention in developing routine processes and structures to monitor the use of its strategic plan and to facilitate meetings and/or retreats to assist the division in developing activities that will provide ways of measuring progress on strategies and objectives.

September 26, 2009 - Washington, DC: OSHA Economic and Analytical Support

Cloudburst has been awarded a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to provide economic and other analytical support to OSHA's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management. Under the agreement, Cloudburst will conduct regulatory impact analyses and economic analyses of proposed and final regulations and standards, of revisions to regulations and standards, and of regulatory and non-regulatory effects (compliance costs, effects on competition) on small businesses and other small entities.

September 24, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst to work at CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP)

Cloudburst (as a subcontractor) is assisting with the implementation of an evaluation plan created by Cloudburst under another contract that was designed to determine the uptake, use and impact of the best practices initiatives undertaken by CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP).

September 22, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst awarded contract with CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity

Cloudburst was awarded a task order to populate and enhance the State Legislative database on nutrition, physical activity and obesity related legislation, regulation and appropriation history for CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity.

September 21, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst awarded contract with CDC's Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant Program

Cloudburst was awarded a task order by CDC to provide support to the grantees of the Preventive Health and Health Services (PHHS) Block Grant Program in the developing and marketing of programmatic success stories, along with the development of communications projects, technical assistance, and consultation work.

September 15, 2009 - Rockville, MD: SAMHSA Co-occurring Disorders Initiative (CODI)

Cloudburst has been selected by HHS SAMHSA to increase the quality of and access to integrated services for people with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders through provision of support to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Center for Mental Health Services. According to results from SAMHSA’s 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health more than seven million people who suffer from at least one mental disorder also have a substance use disorder. Cloudburst serves as the evaluation lead for this project, and will assess the impact of the innovative Learning Community model of knowledge transfer used in the contract, as well as assessing satisfaction with information products and more traditional TA events. This work is being conducted under subcontract to Westat.

August 28, 2009 - Washington, DC: Analysis, Information Management and Communications – USAID Global Health Evaluation

Cloudburst was recently awarded a contract to evaluate analytical, communications, and knowledge management services provided to USAID's Global Health Bureau by another firm under a support contract. Cloudburst staff interviewed USAID Global Health and Regional Bureau staff and management as well as contractor staff, reviewed the documentary work product and systems developed for USAID under the contract, analyzed the data gathered, wrote a report of findings and recommendations for future directions for the activity, and briefed senior Global Health staff.

August 28, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst has been awarded a task order to assist CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control to develop training materials for the Colorectal Cancer Screening Program (CRCP).

Colorectal Cancer Screening Program Training Materials. The purpose of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Program (CRCP) is to establish and integrate evidence-based colorectal cancer screening programs with existing CRC screening programs and/or other cancer screening or chronic disease programs, in order to increase population-based CRC screening among persons 50 years or older, focusing on asymptomatic persons at average risk for CRC with low incomes and inadequate or no health insurance coverage for CRC screening. Cloudburst is assisting CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control with the design and testing of training materials relevant to implementation and evaluation of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Program (CRCP).

August 25, 2009 - Washington, DC: Cloudburst, as part of a robust team led by the Federal Practice Group, is pleased to announce we have been selected as a Green Communities Technical Assistance Provider by Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.

Enterprise Green Communities has launched an ambitious agenda for the delivery of green training and TA to the affordable housing community. To meet these goals, Enterprise has selected our team, as leaders in the industry, to help identify current needs, innovative solutions, and expand Enterprise’s capacity. Through our efforts as Green Communities TA providers, we support low-income families, green developers, and public housing agencies across the country with their green housing development plans. Enterprise’s vision through the five-year $555 million Green Communities program is to fundamentally transform the way the U.S. thinks about designing and building affordable homes.

August 3, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst Awarded Task Order to Support CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Contract.

Cloudburst was awarded a task order to support CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity in promoting the HHS 2008 National Physical Activity Guidelines for decision-makers and practitioners in the worksite. Cloudburst will be conducting an environmental scan and key informant interviews in order to develop recommendations for making the business case to business leaders. In addition, Cloudburst will develop and evaluate materials that will translate and enhance the Guidelines for improved dissemination to employers.

July 22, 2009 - Landover, MD: Cloudburst Group is developing an agency-wide knowledge management system for USAID's Economic Growth and Trade (EGAT) Bureau.

The new EGAT knowledge management system will house all of USAID's Environmental Compliance review documentation and will be accessible from USAID's public web page. This project will result in a single unified database enabling users, for the first time, the ability to search approved environmental compliance documents across all USAID Bureaus and Offices, replacing numerous Bureau-specific systems. Designed with the end user in mind, this new portal will allow USAID, its implementers, and the public to access mission-critical documentation enhancing transparency of USAID environmental procedures. This work is being conducted under subcontract to IRG.

June 2, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst awarded a Task Order to provide programmatic assistance and support for the immunization activities of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Immunization Services Division, Program Operations Branch, assigned to the Indian Health Service (IHS), Albuquerque, NM.

Cloudburst will support CDC in its partnership with the Indian Health Service (IHS) and assist IHS in preventing disease, implementing an effective immunization system, and raising and sustaining vaccine coverage for the American Indian/Alaska Native population.

June 2, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst Group is providing support for the Georgia Consumer Data Repository/Information Management System.

Cloudburst staff are providing consultation and guidance to the Georgia Department of Mental Health for the development of the Graphic User Interface (GUI) components of the CDR/IMS system and the Electronic Health Record reference design. This work is being conducted under a subcontract to SRA International. We are serving as Subject Matter Expert and liaison between key members of the SRA development team, the Georgia Department of Mental Health and the Georgia Technology Authority to translate technical needs into requirements.

June 1, 2009 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst is assisting CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) with the redistribution of television PSA’s Paremos el VIH. Empieza Tu – Stop HIV. It Starts with You.

NCHHSTP leadership deemed efforts to increase awareness of HIV testing among disproportionally affected populations as a high priority. Cloudburst is assisting NCHHSTP with wide distribution and airplay of public service announcements (PSA’s) in English and Spanish.

May 7, 2009 - Washington, DC: Cloudburst expands Environmental Services with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Compliance Services.

We are available to help move your NEPA review and analysis process forward to meet your Agency’s stimulus spending targets as promulgated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. From technical review and analysis to data management, our experts are available to meet your challenges in a timely and efficient manner.

For more information please click here.

April 6, 2009 - Washington, DC: Cloudburst set to assist HUD Grantees in Implementing Neighborhood Stabilization Programs (NSP)

Cloudburst can assist HUD NSP grantees and communities to navigate non-traditional tasks and relationships, ramp up quickly to handle increased work demand, and more fully leverage NSP program funds to maximize the impact on neighborhoods. Specifically, we can provide expert assistance to NSP grantees throughout all phases of NSP planning and implementation to:

· Research and analyze a variety of sources to acquire foreclosed homes

· Conduct housing market analysis

· Develop effective program design and implementation strategies and systems

· Meet NSP and CDBG program compliance

· Navigate relationships with housing developers and mortgage holders/banks

· Meet reporting and results tracking requirements

For more information please click here.

March 30, 2009 – Washington, DC: Cloudburst to Support New HUD Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program under new 2008 National HUD Community Development Technical Assistance Award

Cloudburst is supporting HUD's Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPs) in their efforts to develop the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program (HPRP), a new program created out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Beginning in February 2009, Cloudburst is providing assistance to HUD and HPRP grantees on the development of program guidance and training materials; development of “what works” best practices documents on effective prevention and re-housing programs; supporting response to Q&A on the Notice; as well as other long-term program implementation support, training, and technical assistance. Additional support services under a new training and TA award will be provided to support the development of general Continuum of Care and homeless programs curricula and TA documentation; GIS analysis and development of grantee maps; provision of disaster technical assistance; as well as ongoing Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) technical assistance and support of efforts to standardize homeless reporting across the Federal government.

January 5, 2009 - Atlanta, GA; Cloudburst Awarded MCTA Contract at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded Cloudburst Consulting Group the Management Consultation and Technical Assistance (MCTA) contract to provide CDC with a ready source of management and technical expertise in carrying out projects related to planning, organization development, project management, technical assistance, programmatic assessments and evaluations, business process improvement, fiscal management services, and improving business and administrative effectiveness/efficiencies. With contract renewals, Cloudburst expects to provide these services to CDC over a 5-year period of performance.

January 5, 2009 - Atlanta, GA; Cloudburst Awarded the Evaluation Design Services Task Order under MOBIS Contract at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

CDC has awarded Cloudburst a task order under the MOBIS contract to provide evaluation design services to CDC’s Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) for the Key Best Practices Initiative. In order to ensure that CDC will be able to analyze the impact of these interventions, and in keeping with DHDSP’s commitment to evidence-based public health policy, Cloudburst is designing a comprehensive evaluation plan, including the identification or development of indicators based on program logic and clear evaluation questions, and preparation of data collection tools.

November 21, 2008 – Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst Awarded TAMS Contract at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Cloudburst has been awarded a contract with the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) to provide technical and management support services for health promotion activities which includes performing literature reviews, arranging for scientific peer review services, preparing and providing health education materials, conducting statistical analysis and strategic planning services.

November 21, 2008 – Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst Awarded Task Order under TAMS Contract at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Cloudburst has been awarded a Task Order by the CDC to develop a protocol for a Medicare Cancer Atlas in one state. Medicare datasets include a large amount of information that potentially might be useful to state Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) planning projects. However, Medicare datasets are also relatively complex and state CCC programs do not have guidelines on how to best design an atlas of cancer-related Medicare data. Cloudburst will assist CDC in selecting the state partner, developing the protocol, convening an expert panel meeting and creating CMS data request packets and data use agreements.

November 21, 2008 - Atlanta, GA: Cloudburst Awarded Companion Contract to TAMS 8(a) IDIQ at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Cloudburst is part of a team led by Battelle Memorial Institute that recently qualified for the full and open portion of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) IDIQ vehicle for Technical and Management Support (TAMS 2008) for Health Promotion Activities. A companion contract to the TAMS 8(a) IDIQ, which Cloudburst was awarded, Cloudburst brings research, evaluation, and data management services to the Battelle team to study a variety of important chronic disease-related issues for CDC.

October 27, 2008 - Washington, DC: HUD Releases Cloudburst Group “Community Perspective” Case Study Document, September 2008

The Cloudburst Group is pleased to announce the publication of “The Community Perspective: Using Research and Technology to Identify Effective Solutions to Prevent and End Homelessness.” This publication highlights community-level best practices and is based on case studies presented at the Second Advanced Homeless Data Users Meeting.

The document contains case studies from communities across the country demonstrating how communities are using program-level data to more fully understand the extent and nature of homelessness in their own community and to develop practical strategies to address this issue. Examples of this include:

· Researchers from Wisconsin demonstrate a unique and innovative “network analysis” conducted to determine the effectiveness of transitional housing programs by program structure.

· Community leaders in Houston, Texas are using GIS to identify encampments of homeless individuals to assist with evacuation efforts during a natural disaster and for targeting public health risk reduction initiatives.

· Northern California communities and the State of Michigan demonstrate their data warehouse projects. These data warehouses will enable them to achieve a better understanding of characteristics of their region’s homeless population and will help inform resource allocations and policy decisions.

The publication can be found at www.hmis.info

October 1, 2008 – Washington, DC: The Cloudburst Group has been selected by the U.S. Agency for International Development to provide technical support via the Environmental Compliance Support Services project to the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia (E&E).

Cloudburst staff and subject matter expert consultants will provide technical assistance to the Bureau Environmental Officer (BEO) to fulfill requirements of USG environmental regulations regarding environmental impacts of

U.S.

funded activities overseas. Cloudburst will apply its expert knowledge of environmental regulations and policies as they apply to USAID programs including the Agency’s NEPA implementing regulation 22CFR216 (Reg. 216), the Foreign Assistance Act Section 118/119 addressing Biodiversity, the Pelosi Amendment (Title XIII) relating to Multilateral Development Banks, and relevant Chapters of the USAID's Automated Directive System (ADS). Cloudburst staff will also provide leadership in maintaining and enhancing the E&E Bureau’s Environmental Compliance Knowledge Management System.

Cloudburst has assembled a team of technical subject matter experts with experience in USAID / USG Environmental Regulations, Environmental Management Systems, Pollution Prevention / Cleaner Production, Environmental Due Diligence (EDD), Environmental Impacts, Industrial and Utility Infrastructure, Coastal Zone Management, Environmental Policy, Pesticides, Biodiversity, Agriculture / Agro Systems to meet the challenging compliance needs of the E&E Bureau.

September 26, 2008 - Washington, DC: The Cloudburst Group has been selected by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to manage and administer its College of Experts technical assistance contract.

Cloudburst staff and a team of expert consultants across the country will provide assistance to HUD grantees that receive funds from an array of Community Planning and Development (CPD) programs, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships program and McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance grantees. Through the College of Experts, Cloudburst will work with state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and other community partners to address complex programmatic or management problems at the local program level in an array of subject areas including: project management, supportive housing, land-use planning and urban design, organizational development, grant administration and reporting, financial management, economic developing, capacity building, energy efficiency and a variety of other subject areas. This award will leverage Cloudburst’s extensive expertise in providing responsive, timely, cost-effective, outcomes-driven technical assistance to develop short-term solutions to move stalled, slow, or promising new community development projects forward quickly while building local capacity to achieve permanent solutions. HUD grantees can request College of Experts services by contacting their local HUD field office managers ( http://www.hud.gov/localoffices.cfm ).

September 1, 2008 - Atlanta, GA: The Cloudburst Group is selected by CDC to Conduct Impact Evaluation of Best Practices Key Initiatives.

Cloudburst has been awarded a task order to develop an evaluation plan for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention’s (DHDSP) new Best Practices Key Initiatives. Cloudburst will design an evaluation plan to serve as the framework for assessing and documenting the diffusion, use, effectiveness and impact of these projects which support DHDSP’s five year plan to identify and promote best practices across its five priority areas: reducing hypertension and cholesterol; stroke signs and symptoms; emergency response; health care; and, health disparities.

August 19, 2008 - Rockville, MD: The Cloudburst Group to Participate in Evaluation of Jail Diversion and Trauma Recovery Program for Veterans

Cloudburst will provide evaluation expertise in support of a Jail Diversion and Trauma Recovery Program being implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Continuing a series of SAMHSA-funded programs and evaluations for jail diversion, the current effort expands to include trauma recovery and aims to prioritize services to veterans. Cloudburst will be principally responsible for design and maintenance of the secure databases housing the patient-level administrative data and analysis files for the evaluation, coordinating data collection, and providing statistical analysis, as well as training and technical assistance to the local grantee implementers and evaluators on monitoring and data collection. This work will be conducted under subcontract to Advocates for Human Potential.

August 11, 2008 - The Cloudburst Group Facilitates National Behavioral Health Conference and Policy Academy for Returning Veterans and Their Families

Cloudburst provided facilitation services for “Paving the Way Home: The National Behavioral Health Conference and Policy Academy on Returning Veterans and Their Families.” This national policy academy was sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The purpose of this event was to assist federal, state and local partners to improve and enhance mental health and substance abuse services for returning veterans and their families.

Federal, state and local service providers, military and veterans service organizations, primary care and community health and prevention providers, educators, and advocacy groups were on hand to assist state policy-making teams to develop innovative strategies for dealing with issues facing returning veterans and their families. This included sharing ‘best practices’ and successful program implementation models to build resiliency and stability by preventing and/or treating complex conditions, including mental disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders, as well as suicide, homelessness, domestic violence, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and co-occurring disorders. In addition to providing facilitation services, Cloudburst worked with individual states to develop action plans to help inform and direct policy and programs to assist their returning veterans and their families, whether active duty, National Guard, or reservists.

May 22, 2008 - Washington, DC: The Cloudburst Group is selected by US Department of Housing and Urban Development to be Community Development Technical Assistance (CD-TA) provider for Homeless Programs.

Cloudburst has been selected by HUD to provide services to HUD grantees and program applicants under a national technical assistance grant. Nationally recognized for its expertise in HUD homeless programs and Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS), Cloudburst will assist grantees or potential applicants of HUD's homeless assistance programs to plan for and imple The Cloudburst Group Facilitates National Behavioral Health Conference and Policy Academy for Returning Veterans and Their Familiesment strategies that result in more permanent housing solutions for persons and families without a home of their own. Cloudburst will work under the direction of HUD's Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs to determine the priorities for delivery of technical assistance to locally-funded Continuums of Care to capture better data on the extent and nature of homelessness, assess service utilization patterns, and evaluate the effectiveness of locally-funded programs to prevent and end homelessness. Cloudburst will work to develop technical assistance documents, i.e. guidance documents, training curricula, tool-kits, etc.; conduct local and national training; provide onsite and virtual outreach and technical assistance support; as well as facilitate metropolitan, regional and statewide collaborations to better understand and document the intersection between homeless and mainstream service utilization.

May 1, 2008 - Landover, MD: The Cloudburst Group today announced that it has been awarded a GSA Management, Organizational, and Business Improvement Services (MOBIS) Federal Supply Schedule, Contract # GS-10F-0218U .

The awarding of this contract vehicle will allow Federal agencies to order goods and services directly from Cloudburst. Services include Research and Analysis, Program Evaluation, Management and Strategy Consulting, Strategic Planning, Performance Measurement, Data Analysis, Training, and Disaster Preparedness.

As a pre-approved provider on the GSA Supply Schedule, Cloudburst has already been evaluated by GSA for its quality of service, administrative and management capability, fiscal soundness, and pricing. For additional information, please contact us at (301) 918-4400 or info@cloudburstgroup.com.

April 2, 2008 - Landover, MD: The Cloudburst Group today announced that Pat Shifflett, an industry leader in public health strategic planning and program development, will join the firm as Vice President of its Health Practice. In this newly created position, Shifflett will open Cloudburst's Atlanta office and will be responsible for managing and driving the firm's growing business in health communications, program planning and technical assistance services.

"Pat has a twenty-year track record of success in health communications and program planning and development," said Al Alvarez, Cloudburst's President and CEO. "She is the ideal person to build the Cloudburst business, and tell the Cloudburst story to public and private sector health professionals."

Shifflett joins Cloudburst from Constella Health Sciences, where she has spent the last six years building and managing Constella's Center for Health Program Advancement, focusing primarily on federal, state and public health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control. Prior to joining Constella, Shifflett was the Director of Patient and Family Support at the American Cancer Society. Shifflett has been recognized by her peers as an industry leader, winning the CINE Golden Eagle Award for the CDC "Just Talk" Public Service Announcement as well as the PRSA Silver Anvil Award for the American Cancer Society's "Tell-A-Friend" campaign.

Shifflett is a graduate of the Westminister College of Nursing and holds a Master's degree from the Capella University School of Business.

March 20, 2008 - Washington, DC: The Cloudburst Group’s nationally-recognized housing experts are under contract to provide assistance to HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing, Special Applications Center (SAC), for the voluntary and required conversion of public housing units. The Voluntary and Required Conversion Program identifies distressed developments (or parts of developments) that may be more cost effective when converted from public housing units. SAC, based in Chicago, serves a major support function for the 44 HUD Field Offices serving communities across the country.

Cloudburst is working with SAC staff to develop guidance documents for the field, provide national trainings to HUD and housing authority staff on the conversion process, and conduct site visits to housing authorities with pending conversion applications.

March 17, 2008 - Albuquerque, NM: The Cloudburst Group has been selected by The Department of Energy National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) http://www.nnsa.doe.gov to conduct an internal work flow and information management audit to assist NNSA Service Center Departments of Contracting and Personnel Security to improve their information management processes. Cloudburst’s work includes conducting a work flow analysis and information management tracking process, and developing a cost-effective technology solution integrating the features of a legacy work flow system with a robust, state-of-the-art tracking system to seamlessly manage NNSA's inventory of sensitive products and materials.

September 12, 2007 - Little Rock, AR: The Cloudburst Group has been chosen by Heifer International to conduct a mid-term review of its ten-year strategic planning process. The overall focus of the evaluation will be to ensure that Heifer is meeting its purpose of bettering the lives of its intended beneficiaries.

Heifer, a non-profit organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas, works to end hunger and poverty worldwide while caring for the earth. For more than 60 years, Heifer has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for dependable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in more than 57 countries, including the U.S., to help families and communities become more self-reliant. Since 1944 it has helped more than 45 million people through training in livestock development and livestock gifts that multiply. Every gift of an animal provides benefits such as milk, eggs, wool and fertilizer, increasing family incomes for better housing, nutrition, health care and school fees for children. Recipients “Pass on the Gift” of the offspring of their cows, goats and other livestock to others in an ever-widening circle of hope.

June 26, 2007 - Washington, DC: The Cloudburst Group is engaged in an important effort to support the integrity of Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) Program data in HUD's block grant data management system known as IDIS. Cloudburst housing experts will be providing technical assistance to recipients of ESG funds to improve the quality of data provided to HUD regarding activities funded by the ESG Program. This work is being conducted under Lockheed Martin Aspen Systems' Community Connections (ComCon) contract.

Monday, April 23, 2007 - Rockville, MD: The Cloudburst Group is pleased to announce that it has signed a contract with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to provide support to SAMHSA statistical projects - Domain 2S. This work will include Sampling Designs and Statistical Methods; Acquisition, Development, and Collection of Data Bases; Analyses of Large Scale Data Bases; Analyses of Complex Quantitative Data; Development, Implementation, and Testing of Quality Tools; and Information Technology (IT) Statistical Projects. For further information, please contact Steven T. Sullivan, Ph.D. at (301) 918-4400 ext. 14; or sts@cloudburstgroup.com .

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 - Washington, DC: The Cloudburst Group has been chosen by Constella Futures Group International to be on Project SEARCH (Supporting Evaluation and Research to Combat HIV/AIDS), a USAID-funded project designed to carry out research and evaluation to improve the coverage, quality and effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs worldwide. In addition, the Project focuses on strengthening local capacity in HIV/AIDS research and public health assessments. Additional Project SEARCH team partners include The Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and the University of Washington. For further information, please contact Louisa Hart at (301) 918-4400 ext. 12; or sts@cloudburstgroup.com .