Stell Environmental digs in with Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Contract
Stell Environmental Enterprises was established in 2004. The business, headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania became an SBA-certified 8(a) business in 2006 providing environmental and planning services. Julie Erickson joined the company in 2010 and brought several new clients and revenue to the firm due to her background in 8(a) programs and environmental services. She was asked to become the CEO of the company a few years later in large part due to her military experience, MBA, and leadership coupled with the founder’s desire to retire. After two years, Erickson purchased the company in 2016 with an SBA 7(a) loan using the company’s accounts receivables as collateral as well as her personal home. Although the company has successfully graduated from the 8(a) program in 2014, it continues as an SBA-certified EDWOSB/SDVOSB (economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business/service-disabled veteran-owned small business).
Stell has more than 100 employees nationwide and provides consulting services across infrastructure, asset management, energy resilience, environmental planning, cultural, natural resources, NEPA; sustainability, environmental compliance, remediation feasibility assessments and data science; for the Department of Defense, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Department of Transportation. The company projects have exceeded $134 million, spanning 43 states and Puerto Rico, with a global reach extending to Belgium, Germany, Japan, and Korea.
Stell received a $1,122,197 contract from the Department of the Interior in July 2023 through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal also known as the Infrastructure and Jobs Act. The contract focuses on providing archaeological inventory services in support of Bureau of Land Management's programs in the Adel, Oregon area. As a prime contractor, Stell has performed a variety of environmental and cultural resource services for federal agencies under small business set-aside contracts. The contract, which has a completion date of June 24, 2027, is impactful for Stell: it is a multi-year contract that will take the pressure off their cash flow and allow them to fully use the tools in their toolbox.
As a Navy veteran, Erickson benefits by knowing the organizational structure of government agencies and military organizations; she understands their mission and goals and the federal procurement requirements when they are seeking small business contractors.
Stell was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; travel to clients was limited and client infrastructure was not set up for virtual communications. In 2016, Erickson had moved the company to the cloud and virtual offices, so the ability to continue to work on projects not requiring in person efforts continued, but building new work was limited. The business was successful in obtaining SBA Paycheck Protection Program loans to keep their employees on payroll and use that time to for professional development. Post-COVID, Stell continues to leverage the virtual model to engage with federal agencies and allows their employees the choice to work remotely or in-person at their flex spaces nationwide.
The business has received consulting services through their local APEX Accelerator and participated in SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP). MPP helps small businesses (protégés) partner with more experienced businesses (mentors) to gain capacity and win government contracts. Stell pooled their efforts by forming a joint venture, Stell SIA Salas O’Brien, LLC, with their mentor to compete for contract awards with new clients like NASA, NPS, NIST and the Veterans Administration in new service areas of engineering, and infrastructure. Being in a joint venture benefits them by being able to pursue small business set-asides and engineering services with a much more robust presentation of capacity, skills and past performance. This is key to advancing their growth in engineering services.
Julie finds purpose in serving and galvanizing sustainable communities for the betterment of all things. She also loves being a platform for her staff to achieve their professional and personal goals. She previously served on the board of Retro Environmental and the Seattle Post of the Society of American Military Engineers. She works with her church on international missions to provide clean water to communities in Uganda, help free the oppressed in Thailand/Burma, as well as enable the assistance to missionaries that teach children of other missionaries in southeast Asia. Locally, she convened a veteran’s group, Mission Continues, to clean up and beautify the grounds of her local VFW as well as the Fischer House in Seattle, WA.