Tori J. Ross 
The University of Mary Washington Center for Economic Development presented its annual Veteran Small Business Owner of the Year award to Dr. Sharon Kelley, owner of P Cubed Consulting LLC.
Kelley, a Stafford County resident, started her defense contracting company in 2014 after retiring from the Marine Corps. She specializes in cybersecurity and logistics management.
In addition to running his successful business, Kelley gives back to veterans by conducting workshops on entering the civilian workforce and mentoring veterans suffering from mental and financial crises. She also helps other small business owners develop business structures and identify resources.
In the community, she helps young people learn business and technical skills and understand entrepreneurship. She is active with Cinderella Experience, helping young women choose outfits and accessories for special events.
Kelley sits on the boards of several organizations that help homeless and underserved populations, including Watchman Ministries Inc., Propulsion Circle Inc., FailSafe ERA, the Transition Place, and the Resting Place.
After Kelley became a Center for Economic Development client in 2016, “it quickly became apparent that she had a lot to offer that would benefit other clients,” said Susan Ball, director of the UMW Small Business Development Center.
“We invited her to be a speaker for one of our seminars. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” Ball said. “Since then she has spoken frequently to our clients, and the comments we hear most often are that we should give her more time to speak because she has so much great information to share.”
Joel Griffin, chairman of the Stafford County Economic Development Authority, added his congratulations to Kelley. “Stafford County is proud to have businesses and community leaders like Sharon who not only make a professional impact in the defense contracting and cybersecurity industry, but also community support efforts in education. , mentoring and volunteering time and resources for those in need of food, clothing and shelter,” he said.
In addition to presenting the Veteran Small Business Owner of the Year Award, the Economic Development Center helped inaugurate the Boots to Business program launched in 2012 and has partnered with Stafford County Economic Development for the past six last years to organize training camps for veteran companies.
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