, jennifer gratzki who is executive director for the federal relations for the university of southern california, and ralph moore who is the president of ralph moore and associates. unfortunately davis is sick today. so she's with us in spirit. so, but before we get started and we hear from our private sector partners, i'd like to introduce to you deputy secretary for the u.s. department of commerce, dennis hightower, who will give opening remarks. president obama pointed secretary hightower on august 11, 2009. he is a seasoned business executive with extensive global general management experience. his distinguished career path spans the private and public sectors, including more than 30 years of experience in global marketing, strategic planning, operations and international general management. ladies and gentlemen, deputy secretary for the united states department of commerce, dennis hightower. [applause] >> thank you very much, david. and good morning and welcome to everyone. we are here today to really announce a very exciting new program to prepare minority-owned construction firms to compete in the global marketplace. the department of commerce is minority business development