A Washington, D.C-area consulting firm that has helped countless companies do business with the federal government now wants to work on more commercial endeavors, and the greater Sarasota area may be where many of those private sector efforts happen. Sheri Dougherty, CEO for DAI Solutions, believes the Florida market is a great locale in which her company can expand. “Florida is a perfect place to me to bring the commercial practice and still be totally connected to D.C.,” Dougherty said. 

DAI has been heavily involved in the government contracting world for some 17 years, assisting companies on recruitment policies, human relations procedures, communications and a wide variety of services that will assist in getting bids. Whether it has been calculating the best ratio of full-time to part-time employees or ensuring a company is offering the right mix of skills for a job, the company has provided services from seminars to individual consultation for companies working with the Health and Human Services Department, Food and Drug Administration, National Institute of Health, Veterans Administration and a wide variety of other agencies. Now, the company is expanding outside the government world. “These skills are very transferable to the commercial sector,” Dougherty says. The company has done work now with three or four important commercial clients and wants to significantly boost that figure. In the Alexandria, Virginia-headquarters, the company keeps 50 full-time employees and another 25 to 30 part-time employees.  

Now, Dougherty is also making Florida a market for commercial growth. While the company for now remains based in D.C., Dougherty has a home on Longboat Key. A graduate of Florida State University, she is looking now toward her Sunshine State roots. She has already had conversations with the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County about doing more business here, and plans to become engaged with a variety if business groups as she builds a network of local businesses that could eventually become clients or partners. The company on Sunday sponsored a polo match/networking event in Lakewood Ranch.

For now, Dougherty will be the major representative for the company in Florida. But she noted the staff in D.C. can serve clients anywhere. “We are really worldwide in terms of delivery,” she says.