Bassette Confirmed as Department of General Services Secretary

ANNAPOLIS, MD — C. Gail Bassette, nominated by Governor Larry Hogan to be Secretary of the Department of General Services (DGS), was confirmed by the Maryland State Senate today.

“I am so honored to have been nominated by Governor Hogan to lead the Department of General Services,” said the Secretary after her confirmation. “My thanks go to all the members of the Senate for their support of my nomination.”

As a private sector business woman who founded and was President and CEO of TCE, Inc. for more than 20 years, Secretary Bassette gained a reputation for being a results-driven entrepreneur dedicated to delivering value-focused solutions to her customers.  She also was widely known for her passion for showing small, local and minority business enterprises  (SLMBEs) how to manage, operate and grow their companies faster, smarter and more profitably.

Located in Prince George’s County, TCE, a strategic management and business development consulting firm, managed multi-year contracts with federal and state governments, with awards totaling over $40 million dollars. Under Secretary Bassette’s leadership, the company provided support services in project management, organizational development and training, procurement, IT and small business development.

“I’m excited to be able to bring to DGS my 20 years of experience and best practices in procurement, contract execution and organizational management,” the Secretary said. “I’m a strong proponent of implementing practical and innovative solutions, and I’ll be looking for ways to deliver our services to our clients in a more efficient and effective way.”

Secretary Bassette has received numerous national and state business service awards for her work. Her company was featured in Inc. Magazine in 2007 as one of the 500 fastest growing private companies. She was presented with the Women Business Enterprise Award from the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2004. Secretary Bassette also served on the Obama Administration’s Interagency Task Force on Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses and was an advisor to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Civil Rights to develop a national small and disadvantaged business enterprise program. She served as Vice Chair of the Corporate Roundtable for the World Conference of Mayors. The latter organization was created to support positive and constructive relations between mayors and other local officials internationally.

Secretary Bassette holds a B.A. in Communications Media from Bowie State University. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Entrepreneurship and Technology at the University of Maryland.  She is a graduate of the Advanced Minority Business Executive Program, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, as well as a graduate of the Transportation Construction Management Institute at Virginia Tech. In addition, she is a graduate of the SBA 8(a) Academy at the Howard University School of Business. Secretary Bassette also received two honorary doctorates, one from the University of Virginia in Lynchburg and another in Humane Letters from the Lighthouse Christian College.