We’re thrilled to announce two new partners at Summit Consulting: Sarah Cunningham and Sam Seong!
For years, both Sarah and Sam have guided clients in Summit’s core practice areas including predictive modeling, federal credit, federal transaction advisory, and evidence-based evaluation. Each are expert practitioners, and we are proud to announce their promotions to partner.
“Sarah and Sam exemplify Summit’s hands-on, thought leadership approach. These newly appointed partners demonstrate an unwavering commitment to partner-led advisory service, which is pivotal to our clients’ success,” says founding partner Albert Lee.
Sarah and Sam’s skills in nurturing client relationships, cross-practice teamwork, and dedication to upholding our firm’s distinct culture positions Summit to lead in our core practice areas in 2025 and beyond.
Read more about our newest partners on the Summit website.
We are excited to share that Summit has been awarded a GSA OASIS+ Unrestricted IDIQ contract in the Management & Advisory Domain! This contract positions us to provide flexible, innovative, and high-quality professional services across federal agencies. With our proven expertise in the Management & Advisory domain, we are eager to support complex government initiatives and offer impactful solutions to federal clients.
As a trusted partner, we look forward to leveraging the GSA OASIS+ IDIQ's government-wide reach to compete for a broad range of future requirements. Learn more about Summit and our capabilities here.
🎃Pumpkin Carving to Kick Off the Spooky Season🎃
On October 24, Summit’s Wellness Committee sponsored a pumpkin-carving event to get everyone into the Halloween spirit. They provided pumpkins and carving tools, and coworkers got to vote on the best pumpkin in our Break Room chat the following day!
🦃“Coworkersgiving” in the Office🦃
Right before Thanksgiving, on November 21, Summit held a potluck feast in the office
for an afternoon filled with good food, great company, and a chance to share some thanks and laughter. Employees brought main dishes, sides, desserts, and drinks and gathered around the conference table to share a hearty meal.
Four Signs Your Agile Transformation May Be Off Track
Derek Hills, Kaye Burton, Jackson Walbridge, and Andrew Robbins comprise Summit Consulting’s Agile Transformation Team. In this video blog, they talk about implementing Agile effectively in a federal government context and why it looks different than textbook
The Evolution of Model Risk Management: From Regulation to Practice
Regulators of financial institutions play a vital role in encouraging prudent risk management. Yet designing an effective regulatory framework that balances innovation with accountability and establishes appropriate guardrails is no easy task. In this post, Summit director Josh Goldberg talks about the 25‑year journey of model risk management’s development. Read more here.
Using Evidence in the Fight Against Fraud
Protecting government programs from fraud is a continually evolving challenge, and one that’s getting harder as fraudsters get more sophisticated. To help the U.S. Small Business Administration in the fight against fraud, Summit recently completed a formative evaluation of fraud risk mitigation oversight at the agency. Learn more about our work here.
Capital Ideas: How Does FHA Loan Pricing Work?
Even though the Federal Housing Administration Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund experienced a modest dip in its capital reserve last year, many in the mortgage industry continue to hope that FHA will cut the premiums it charges to borrowers to insure their mortgages against default, as the reserve remained well above the statutory minimum.
Should that be FHA’s course of action? The answer is complicated. Read more in our blog.
Wrap-Up: American Evaluation Association 2024 Conference
In October, members of Summit’s Performance Improvement and Evaluation practice attended the American Evaluation Association’s Evaluation 2024: Amplifying and Empowering Voices in Evaluation conference in Portland, Oregon. Summit manager Kyle Crane and senior consultant Teresa Kline delivered two Ignite-style presentations, sharing insights about underreporting of black lung in the Navajo Nation and opportunities for participatory data analysis to advance government evaluations. Read more here.
The U.S. Small Business Administration Fraud Risk Management Board (FRMB) was established in 2022 to serve as the agency’s designated anti-fraud entity. Summit conducted an evaluation to identify opportunities for improvement and to assess readiness for a future outcome evaluation of the FRMB.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Chief Evaluation Office sought guidance on how to design and implement an unemployment insurance program for the territory of Guam. Summit was engaged to conduct a comprehensive exploration of potential unemployment insurance program models tailored to the unique demographic, economic, and geographic characteristics of Guam.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Single Family Post Insurance Division contractually recovers funds from mortgage servicers that submit insurance claims for Federal Housing Administration–insured mortgage properties due to improper payments. Over the past 15 years, Summit has designed and reevaluated the stratified random sample design that helps HUD effectively use its limited resources for recovery efforts.
Curious about our other case studies? See more here.
Welcoming Fotis Gavriil to Summit
On our latest episode of the Complexity Simplified podcast, founding partner Albert Lee talks with manager Fotis Gavriil about his background in astrophysics and how that led Gavriil to working in model validation. Listen to the podcast here.
Conferences & Partnerships
Summit Founding Partner, Senior Manager Attend SurvAI Day at the University of Maryland
On October 7, Albert Lee, Balint Peto, and Ryan Place explored the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in survey data at UMD’s SurvAI Day.
Summit Director Josh Goldberg Speaks at Model Risk Conference
Director Josh Goldberg spoke on a panel about industry trends in model development and implementation at the 2024 FHFA Model Risk Conference on October 22.
Summit Presents at Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology Conference
On October 24, Summit presented “A Modular Approach to Survey Editing and Imputation for Agriculture Statistics,” about our work with USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Summit Attends Imagine Nation ELC Conference
Director Kate Lynch Machado and managers Scott Senkier and Antonia Baker learned about elevating through disruption and connected with fellow leaders in government and industry.
Summit’s Work with the U.S. Small Business Administration Featured in Forbes
On October 24, Summit Consulting was included in the Forbes article “When SBA Disaster Lending Restarts, Expect Better Results,” by Doug Criscitello. At Summit, we’re committed to supporting meaningful work that makes a difference. We are proud to contribute to critical studies that focus on improving disaster lending outcomes at a time when communities need it most. Read the article here.
NASS IDEAL Project Named a Finalist in the AGA TTS24 Innovation Challenge
Summit’s work on IDEAL at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service was named a finalist in the TTS24 Innovation Challenge. This innovative solution automates survey data editing and imputation, significantly improving accuracy and efficiency in agricultural statistics. It’s an honor to see NASS nominated alongside such groundbreaking technologies shaping the future of government.
Summiteers Share Expertise with Virginia Tech Students
Manager Kyle Crane and analyst Josiah Gilbert visited the Virginia Tech Department of Statistics in November to share their consulting expertise and continue Summit’s long partnership with the university. During this annual event, students have multiple opportunities to connect with sponsors in networking receptions, information sessions, job interviews, and poster presentations. Learn more here.
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