Lisa M. Van Wormer
Founder & CEO
Abrado Analytics
Government Contracting Expertise for Agencies, Primes, and Small Businesses
We deliver ready-to-deploy mission support to federal, state, and local agencies. We team with primes who need a certified small business partner who can actually do the work. And we help woman- and veteran-owned businesses compete for their first contract.
Translation Has Always Been the Job
I'm Lisa M. Van Wormer, founder and CEO of Abrado Analytics. Before this, I spent years taking dense, technical, high-stakes information and handing it back to people in a form they could actually act on. Some of that was language work in the Army. Some of it was running cloud projects for the Intelligence Community, where the pressure was relentless and the vocabulary was its own barrier to entry. I couldn't just translate words. I had to interpret meaning.
The words are different now. These days I'm interpreting NAICS codes, the industry classifications the government uses to decide what your business is qualified to bid on, along with eligibility clauses and Small Business Administration guidance. The job itself hasn't changed. Whether you're an agency, a prime, or an owner trying to get in the door, the work is the same: take what's already there and make it usable.
For Government Agencies
Agencies call us when there's a gap and no time to fill it the slow way. We work independently from day one, integrate with your existing team, and add value beyond the basic scope of work, which usually means answering the question before it gets asked.
Our contracting work covers:
Language and data analysis
Training and documentation
Program management
Health research and analysis
Proposal and bid support
For Small Businesses Entering Contracting
The system wasn't designed to include us, but the opportunities do exist. Most of the women, veterans, and underrepresented owners I work with aren't unqualified. They've just been shut out, because nobody handed them the map. So we start where you actually are: a discovery call, an honest read on whether your business is ready, the certifications and registrations that apply to you, the codes that describe what you do, how to find the bids worth your time, and who to team with.
Someone is going to win that contract. So why not you?
For Primes and Teaming Partners
If you're building a team for a bid and you need a small business partner who won't need managing, that's us. Our certifications help you meet small business subcontracting goals on federal and Maryland state work, and we're comfortable coming in as a subcontractor, as a joint venture partner, or as a named resource in your technical volume.
We turn a capability statement and past performance around quickly, and we hold up our end once the work starts.
About Lisa M. Van Wormer
I've been in and around government systems for more than 20 years, and I've seen them from just about every seat. I've been the soldier. I've been the contractor. I've been the government civilian. I've been the unaffiliated outsider trying to get a straight answer out of an agency that had no particular reason to give me one. And now I'm the small business owner holding the contracts.
Every seat shows you something the others can't. The soldier sees the mission. The civilian sees the process. The contractor sees the deliverable and the deadline. The owner sees what it actually costs to get in the door, and how many capable people never make it that far.
That last view is why Abrado exists. Once you've sat in all those chairs, you can see exactly where the system loses people, and it isn't where most people think.
I also hold a Master's in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding and an MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts, and I'm a contributing co-author to the We Lead three-book series for women in business.
Certifications
Abrado Analytics is certified as a:
Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB). A federal certification that qualifies Abrado for contracts set aside specifically for women-owned businesses. If you're working toward WOSB set-aside targets, an award to Abrado counts.
Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB). A federal certification for businesses majority-owned and controlled by veterans, which opens additional set-aside and sole source opportunities.
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). A federal certification with its own set-aside authority that counts toward the government-wide SDVOSB contracting goal.
Maryland Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise (VSBE). Maryland's state-level veteran certification. State solicitations carry VSBE participation goals, and an award or subcontract to Abrado counts toward them.
Maryland Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), woman-owned. Maryland's state-level minority business certification. Only MBE certified firms can fill the minority participation goals attached to a Maryland solicitation, so if you're a prime chasing state work with an MBE goal on it, Abrado counts toward it.
Maryland Small Business Reserve (SBR). Maryland's certified small business program. Only certified small businesses can compete for it. SBR certification also carries a price preference of up to five percent on other state contracts, with additional preference for veteran-owned firms.
FAQs
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If you're an agency or a prime:
1. Tell us the requirement, the vehicle, and the timeline.
2. We confirm relevant experience, availability, and clearance posture.
3. We send a capabilities statement and references.
4. We talk through direct award, subcontract, or teaming options.
If you're a small business owner:
1. Book a discovery call.
2. We take an honest look at where your business is and where you want it to go.
3. We map a realistic first path into government contracting.
4. You leave with a clear next step, not a sales pitch.
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Two things. For agencies and primes, we provide direct mission support: language and data analysis, training and documentation, program management, health research and analysis, and proposal and bid support. For small business owners, we consult, which means walking you through certifications, registrations, opportunity searches, and teaming in plain English. Same expertise, two very different conversations.
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Abrado is a certified Woman-Owned Small Business, Veteran-Owned Small Business, and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business at the federal level, and a Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise in Maryland. Each carries its own set-aside authority and counts toward the small business and socioeconomic participation goals on your award. If you're a contracting officer or a prime tracking subcontracting plan credit, Abrado counts in more than one category at once.
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Yes, and it's a deliberate part of how we work. We can join your team as a subcontractor, a joint venture partner, or a named resource in your proposal. The certifications help you meet small business subcontracting goals, and the technical work stands on its own, so you're not carrying us through performance.
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Because the certifications are the floor, not the pitch. Lisa spent her career inside the mission before she ever advised anyone on it, which means we read a statement of work the way the government wrote it. And we work both sides of the table: we support agency programs, and we coach the small businesses coming up behind us. That dual view is why we catch things a firm working only one side would miss.
Still have questions? Reach out at info@abradoanalytics.com and let's find your place in the government contracting space.