Jim House was named director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.

Before rejoining USDA, for nearly 30 years--from 1993 until his appointment to this position and, earlier, from 1971-91--House worked as an entrepreneur and an economic development consultant as president of the Eckenberge Group, a professional services firm based in Bowie, Md. It provided primarily marketing assistance services to small businesses, large federal prime contractors, state governments, and historically black colleges and universities. From 1991-93 he served as associate director of USDA’s [then] Office of Advocacy and Enterprise, responsible for the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. The March 1992 issue of the USDA News carried his complete biographical sketch, following his selection to that position.

In 1976 House served as a national minority association member of a task force of trade association representatives which drafted the subcontracting provisions of Public Law 95-507. Signed into law in 1978, this amended the Small Business Act and subsequently created the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization in USDA and in all federal departments and agencies with significant federal procurement responsibilities. He began his career in 1963 as an engineer in the aerospace industry, where he worked on the design, development, and testing of military fighter aircraft, commercial airplanes, and space vehicles.

A native of Goldsboro, N.C., House holds a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Howard University in Washington, DC.

Sharron Harris, the previous director of OSDBU, held that position from July 1993 to January 2001, and is now a senior manager, specializing in organizational improvement consulting, for Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio, & Associates, a small business certified public accounting and management, systems, and financial consulting firm in Washington, DC. •