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Today is the first official day of summer in 2022! There’s plenty to do during the longest sun-lit day of the year besides look at the computer screen - enjoy the warmth, take a walk, light the grill, and talk with family and friends. Of course, we will get some work done, but it’s nice to know there will be a few more hours in the day for some much needed vitamin D. We’re always grateful for the ability to work virtually, and even more so when we realize the spread of our amazing team. On this summer solstice, we realize just how diverse our days can be. For our CANAer in Hawaii, sunset is 7:16 pm and the Southern Cross is visible in the night sky; in San Diego, our team will see light until at least 8:00 pm along the eastern edge of the Pacific; our Virginia team is awakened by daybreak at a very early 5:43 am, and our Northern Michigan CANAer can see out towards Canada until well after 10:00 pm. Of course, we’ve got a lot of folks in-between and across the U.S., and they all keep CANA moving through a wide variety of hours. Not only is it wonderful summertime, but June is proving to be as productive and exciting as the months’ previous. In this newsletter, we offer onboarding insights from Tristan Rentsch, one of our newest software developers who joined us this past year right out of college; we talk about the accomplishments of the past five fantastic years of our "give back" CANA Foundation arm; and we share the highlights of our most recent in-person team offsite in Virginia. Finally, we provide a little teaser for our upcoming podcast with the CANAers who are ‘real’ Top Gun graduates. They will have lots of fun insights into the summer hit, Top Gun: Maverick. It’s exciting we have CANAers old enough to have watched the original in theaters, talented enough to have experienced it in real life, and young enough to wonder what all the hype is about! As always, we’re thrilled to share the CANA team with you. Have a wonderful summer! Team CANA Five Years of the CANA Foundation By Kassie McRostie Our mission is simple – We are committed to creating positive change and providing creative solutions to problems to enhance the lives of people, organizations, and the environment in our communities. 5 years. 5 ye ars of purpose. 5 years of connecting. 5 years of giving. When Rob and Liz Cranston started CANA back in 2008, they were driven by a purpose and a vision - to create an organization that was innovative and devoted to excellence, but also supportive of an environment where generosity would flourish and together we could take on the tough challenges our world and our communities face. That desire to do good, to see a smile on someone’s face when they receive an unexpected gift or when they learn something new, is why we work so hard. Giving back is our raison d’être. The CANA Foundation was established in 2017 on the premise that we are blessed with individual talents, financial resources, and a successful company that provides a platform for the CANA family to connect with and give back to community areas we feel passionate and care about. We believe we have an obligation to use those skills and resources to help individuals and organizations in our communities overcome the barriers they face. This year, in 2022, we celebrate the 5 Years of CANA Foundation! These past five years have given us opportunities to give back to our communities in more ways than we could have imagined. Our team has turned their passions into purpose with over 45 completed initiatives. From helping students create their own children’s book to creating an analytics course for veterans, we have seen our team make a positive change in their communities. For the rest of 2022, we will commemorate the 5th anniversary of the CANA Foundation by showcasing some of our initiatives, the people behind them, and the future of the CANA Foundation. Stay tuned for more of 5 Years of CANA Foundation. To learn more about the CANA Foundation visit the Foundation webpage at https://www.canallc.com/giving-back Fresh Perspectives from a New Developer By Tristan Rentsch When I first joined CANA, right out of college, it was a bit overwhelming. Transitioning from attending classes and completing homework assignments to attending meetings and completing Jira tasks was a deceptively big change. Although college taught me in theory about programming and software development, I didn’t have much firsthand experience and wasn’t familiar with the technologies being used at CANA. Luckily, CANA had a training schedule ready for me to get me acquainted with the development process and the technology I would have to use. During this training process, I learned JavaScript and TypeScript. In addition, I completed the official Appian training course from their website. Appian is a Marine Corps-approved platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that provides the capability for enterprise application development in a cloud environment. I have found this training to be especially helpful, since Appian is mainly what I work with every day, and I haven’t used TypeScript or JavaScript yet. However, I didn’t feel like I had a real grasp on the concepts until I put them into practice. I gained this experience working on real bugs and features for the Integrated Materiel Analysis Toolset (IMAT) system which is designed to replace the Marine Corps’ legacy war reserve. I started with pair programming. Two senior programmers helped work me through some small bug fixes and taught me how they usually approach these issues. There were some differences between how they approached development and what was taught in the official Appian training. In particular, they taught me how to use the hidden Appian lambda functions, which weren’t mentioned in the official training. This training and the experience of working on actual software systems, with paying clients, has been effective in making me much more confident and knowledgeable in the development of software. Besides the training, another challenge was working from home. However, this wasn’t actually a big change for me. In college, I had to work from home during my last semester due to COVID restrictions. In addition, I had experience working from home from my internship with the startup, Northland Creative Wonders. However, with the startup, I occasionally met with my boss in person. At CANA I never meet anyone in person, as a result, I must rely more on Zoom meetings and chats to keep in contact with coworkers. I think the biggest challenge of working from home is keeping a schedule. If I was working in an office, the manager would tell everyone when it was time to attend a meeting or do other activities, but when you work remotely, you need to keep track of these things yourself, and it can be easy to get engrossed in a task and not notice what time it is. I have dealt with this challenge by setting up alarms that notify me when it is time to start a new task or join a meeting. I’ve enjoyed working at CANA so far and think this is a great start to my professional career. My favorite things so far have been the friendly company culture, the kind people, and the ability to work from home. My fellow programmers have been very nice and helpful to me during my time working at CANA. They have given me helpful tips and feedback on how to do the best work I can and have assisted me when I was struggling with hard tasks. Although I didn’t get to go last year, I look forward to meeting everyone in person at the next offsite. My advice to a new developer joining the company is this: make sure to manage your time well, try your best to become very familiar with the new technologies we use, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you are stuck. Together Again - Virginia Offsite By Connie McKissack Our Project and Program Management (PPM) and Business Operations (BusOps) teams recently met in person for a team-focused offsite in Haymarket, VA. We focused on information sharing and collaboration, leading to a greater understanding of our teams and their particular talents and challenges. On the first evening, our BusOps team met at a fantastic outdoor brewery for a thought-provoking discussion about their DiSC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness) Assessment profiles - a pro tool that CANA uses to dig into personal work styles and effective relationship building. This has been particularly important given our remote and virtual operating model. During our Day One Collaboratory, both teams spent the morning breaking the ice and using a campfire approach to get to know each other. After that, Senior Project Manager Hannah Wallace, Principal Program Manager Will Berry, and Principal AI Analyst Chris Cichy tag-teamed for an exciting deep dive into NextStrategy, our ongoing project in support of the Miramar, California - based NavalX SoCal Tech Bridge. We’re particularly excited for this upcoming year as we work with the Tech Bridge to bring innovative 5G services, autonomous and electric vehicles, and AI capabilities to the modern warfighter. We are seeking to continually improve our CANA business development and proposal process, so Senior Operations Manager Kenny McRostie next provided a refresher on the opportunity development process and management of the CANA tracking system. Hannah Wallace explained the work and effort a project lead must put into planning a project and understanding it from the top-down and bottom-up - it’s no easy task, but always easier when we share best practices. Our Digital Media Coordinator, Kassie McRostie, followed with a presentation on the CANA Foundation, its history, and a summary of the impact this give-back arm of CANA has had in the past five years. When Chris Cichy took the podium, he shared his CANA independent research and development project (IRAD) to use virtual gaming as a tool for product research, development, and marketing. It generated excellent questions and excitement (some of us need to invest in virtual real estate…now). Lead Graphic Artist Koa Beam then demonstrated the capabilities of our new Social Media hardware kit - a full complement of digital audiovisual equipment - that we anticipate will travel as widely as our CANA team! Day Two, we jumped into the CANA Deliverable Tracking System collaboration session, led by Senior Project Manager, Stephanie Allison. This was so timely - getting both teams' input, understanding, and buy-in to drive better solutions. With upcoming proposal efforts, we used our last hours to get the proposal team together for some outstanding, face-to-face, cowork. It was a great time collaborating and sharing. While the BusOps team had to say goodbye, the PPM team gathered for a little friendly competition and battled it out through ax-throwing and go-carts (but not at the same time!) before saying goodbye. Can’t wait for the next offsite! To learn more about CANA visit our website at www.canallc.com

What an AMAZING event the Warrior GMR Foundation Armed Forces Esports Championship was! This event was a two-day esports tournament featuring the game Rocket League and five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces - the Air Force, Coast Guard, Army, Space Force, and Navy! The U.S. Air Force ultimately dominated the tournament, going undefeated on their journey to winning the championship! This event also hosted a bracket for the Gold Star Gamers, a wonderful esports organization “helping military kids that lost a parent find hope and healing through competitive gaming”. The four Gold Star Gamers branches of the Armed Forces that competed in this bracket were the GSG Army, GSG Marines, GSG Air Force, and the GSG Navy. CANA was honored to be a part of this event, as Nick Pakosky, Jack Murray, and Koa Beam provided gameplay analytics support for the tournament. Below are just a FEW examples of the support CANA provided - the "MVP" leaderboard and "Top Scorers’" leaderboard, for both the adult AF bracket and GSG bracket. The team members of the Air Force find themselves at the top of both leaderboards, due to their outstanding performances; while the members of the GSG Army and GSG Marines are highly represented on the GSG leaderboards. We will be releasing a blog post soon that goes into depth about the other statistics and analytics we created from this event and how each was calculated. So stay tuned for more unique Rocket League analytics from the Warrior GMR Foundation Armed Forces Esports Championship! Again, huge thanks to Warrior GMR for putting this event together! It is amazing to see how esports is being utilized to create these outstanding communities and act as a method to support mental health among our nation's Armed Forces. #esports #esportsanalytics #warriorgmrfoundation #goldstargamers #CANAesports #CANAanalytics #armedforces #rocketleague #airforcegaming #coastguardgaming #usarmyesports #spaceforcegaming #usnavyesports Jack Murray is our Business Analyst here at CANA. You can contact Jack at jmurray@canallc.com or on Linkedin.

Overview One of the largest and most educational esports conferences came to the Washington D.C. area last week, from May 16-18. The Esports Insider Washington D.C. conference began with esports focused D.C. embassy tours with panels, a networking lunch, and a late night social at the Crimson Bar. Day two of the conference, May 18th, was held at the National Press Club and included all-day educational panels and networking breaks, and socials. This event hosted over 400 attendees made up of colleges and universities, professional esports teams, esports specific companies, and non-endemic companies trying to get into the esports industry. To learn more about ESI Washington D.C. and the reach it had, click here. I had the honor of representing CANA on day two of ESI D.C. As we here at CANA continue our journey in the esports industry, this event was extremely beneficial to us. From the moment I arrived for the networking breakfast, to the event ending evening social, I was blown away by the efforts ESI and Events D.C. put on to host this event. It was well run, well organized, and overall just an amazing experience. The eight panels held on day two covered some of the most important and influential aspects of the esports industry. The three most intriguing panels, to me, were: “Can esports be a building block of real world communities?”, “Esports and the collegiate experience - providing pathways and foundations”, and “How best can traditional sporting entities make waves in the esports space?”. While I found these panels to be the most intriguing, all eight were phenomenal and extremely informative. It was amazing to meet, and chat with, many experts and leaders in the industry in person, rather than the new normal of over the phone or email. This was truly an outstanding event, that not only provided plentiful networking opportunities, but it also provided top tier insight and education on the current and future state of the esports industry. Takeaways Overall, this conference greatly enhanced our knowledge and understanding of the entire esports industry. There were three main themes throughout all the panels and discussions held at the conference; education on esports, toxicity and diversity, and data accessibility. Education on esports was a main topic of conversation throughout the conference, as the lack of it is one of the most prominent factors prohibiting the growth and development of esports. It was stressed that everyone needs more education on esports, no matter how involved they may be. There is a need for more qualified and educated esports staff at schools, more educated moderators in streaming and everyday online communities, and an overall greater knowledge base of non-endemic companies joining the esports space. The bottom line is, the lack of education on esports is hindering every aspect of the industry, but it is something that can be fixed with more effort and resources. Toxicity and diversity was mentioned to be another large challenge and obstacle the esports industry faces at every level. Esports is a sport that has no physical, gender, or racial barrier, yet there is still much harassment and exclusion occuring. It was discussed that game publishers can only do so much to help this cause, and that it is everyone’s job to cut out the toxicity in gaming and esports. The last major topic of discussion was the lack of accessibility to data. This is a common challenge in the industry as well, as every game publisher is unique and offers varying levels of access to their API and data. The lack of game specific data also leads to restrictions on data available to measure ROI on sponsorships and partnerships. Thus leading to a snowfall effect of challenging situations, where more data accessibility is believed to be the solution to the problem. This event also gave great insight on the collegiate esports space, more challenges facing each sector of the industry, and how and why traditional sport entities are making their way into esports. Again, this was an absolutely amazing event that was extremely educational and beneficial to everyone involved. Whether you were an expert or leader already in the esports space, just beginning your journey in esports, or a non-endemic company wanting to learn more, this event provided the tools and knowledge to help you and the esports industry succeed. Conclusion As stated many times before, this event was particularly beneficial to us here at CANA. We are now much more educated and informed about the specific areas we believe CANA’s services would be the most beneficial to the esports industry. We will continue our efforts and look forward to being part of the growth of such an exciting industry with endless possibilities! Thank you Esports Insider for bringing this event to the Washington D.C. area, and thank you to all the attendees who contributed to such an amazing learning and networking experience. Check out our latest episode of the CANA Connection Podcast our Host Rob Cranston President and COO of CANA along with CANA Business Analyst Jack Murray, talk with Rebecca Dixon, Co-Founder of The*gameHERs. the*gameHERs organization is a women-led community dedicated to amplifying and centering the voices of women gamers and gamers of marginalized genders, who are comfortable in spaces that center on women. Listen here: https://www.canallc.com/podcast/episode/1d063d57/talking-thegamehers-with-rebecca-dixon Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WUBznNoKiQ You can contact Jack at jmurray@canallc.com or on Linkedin.

Team CANA would like to proudly welcome our newest business analyst, Jack Murray! From intern to full-time, Jack tells us about his journey with CANA and what he is looking forward to in his new role. After two amazing years at CANA, I am excited to say that I have transitioned from being an intern to now being a full-time Business Analyst with CANA. Switching over to this full-time position is a new challenge that I look forward to. As a Business Analyst I will be supporting, and contributing to, CANA proposed technical and/or business solutions. This includes, but is not limited to, conducting research, performing analyses, and developing reports to support business strategy and to capture value in specific CANA industries and markets. I will also conduct opportunity assessments on CANA's strategic business-to-business (B2B) partnerships and work with the Business Development team to identify program highlights and key performance milestones for marketing and sales objectives. Additionally, I will continue my efforts on getting CANA immersed in the esports industry. I will be working closely with multiple agile teams here at CANA, but I will also be expected to work independently. This mix of independent and team-based work will allow me to enhance both my independent and cooperative professional skills. During my time as an intern with CANA, I had been working heavily on our esports front. As a company with analytics expertise, we believe that with the completely virtual environment esports offers, we can be of immense support and help to the industry. Much of my work as an intern, on the esports front, aligns with the work I will be doing as a Business Analyst. I have been heavily involved in conducting research on the esports industry, analyzing where we best fit and developing reports on business strategies that will help us best utilize our capabilities applied to esports. During this time, we have hosted an esports tournament of our own, made relationships with key esports industry leaders, built out a beta esports service platform, and partnered with Warrior GMR, an esports company that hosts esports tournaments for the branches of our military and utilizes esports as a means to help with mental health. I am confident that my work, and overall development, as an intern with CANA will not only help us make more progress in the esports industry, but it will also help me apply my capabilities to other areas of CANA, as I now join as a full-time Business Analyst. I am grateful for this opportunity and very excited to begin my new journey here at CANA! You can contact Jack at jmurray@canallc.com or on Linkedin.

The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Captain Walker Mills’ timely opinion piece in The Hill, Navy’s Red Hill debacle is both a warning and an opportunity, is a reminder to CANA that what we do matters. We have been committed for several years to developing and promoting alternative energy capabilities aboard military installations and on future battlefields. The recent Red Hill fuel spill in Hawaii is unfortunate proof the time for change is now. Captain Mills’ comments about energy resilience remind us of the issue’s urgency, its global relevance, and its role as a lever of power: The overdue closure of Red Hill is also an opportunity for the United States to reevaluate its energy infrastructure in the Pacific. The military should invest in the energy resilience and efficiency of its facilities across the region, perhaps as part of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, and look for alternative concepts for sustaining U.S. capability in the region. Over the last two decades, the U.S. military has quietly upgraded the energy resilience and efficiency of its bases with micro grids, solar power and other forms of alternative energy. How much more can be done to help reduce the demand for petroleum? Investments in alternative energy would be received well by U.S. partners in the region at a time when the U.S. is jockeying for influence in the Pacific…. At CANA, we’re deeply invested in the military - as veterans, as a small business, as Americans - and our work reflects that. Our partnership with the NavalX SoCal Tech Bridge supports energy innovation on military installations and the battlefield. We contribute to the research, development, and stakeholder engagement for electric and autonomous vehicles such as the eTHOR project - a mobile, modular, 5G ad hoc network capability on an electric platform that also supports exportable energy. We’re active participants in the SoCal Tech Bridge’s 5G Living Lab, Electric and Unmanned Living Lab, and Energy Resilience Living Lab aboard MCAS Miramar, that set the right conditions for experimentation, analysis, and investment into electric mobility innovation. CANA knows it takes more than talk to create meaningful change in how the nation and military sources and sustains its energy needs; we’re meeting the future now. If you’d like to contact Cherish Joostberns, CANA Media, you can reach Cherish at cjoostberns@canallc.com

Our Project and Program Management (PPM) and Business Operations (BusOps) teams recently met in person for a team-focused offsite in Haymarket, VA. We focused on information sharing and collaboration, leading to a greater understanding of our teams and their particular talents and challenges. On the first evening, our BusOps team met at a fantastic outdoor brewery for a thought-provoking discussion about their DiSC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness) Assessment profiles - a pro tool that CANA uses to dig into personal work styles and effective relationship building. This has been particularly important given our remote and virtual operating model. During our Day One Collaboratory, both teams spent the morning breaking the ice and using a campfire approach to get to know each other. After that, Senior Project Manager Hannah Wallace, Principal Program Manager Will Berry, and Principal AI Analyst Chris Cichy tag-teamed for an exciting deep dive into NextStrategy, our ongoing project in support of the Miramar, California - based NavalX SoCal Tech Bridge. We’re particularly excited for this upcoming year as we work with the Tech Bridge to bring innovative 5G services, autonomous and electric vehicles, and AI capabilities to the modern warfighter. We are seeking to continually improve our CANA business development and proposal process, so Senior Operations Manager Kenny McRostie next provided a refresher on the opportunity development process and management of the CANA tracking system. Hannah Wallace explained the work and effort a project lead must put into planning a project and understanding it from the top-down and bottom-up - it’s no easy task, but always easier when we share best practices. Our Digital Media Coordinator, Kassie McRostie, followed with a presentation on the CANA Foundation, its history, and a summary of the impact this give-back arm of CANA has had in the past five years. When Chris Cichy took the podium, he shared his CANA independent research and development project (IRAD) to use virtual gaming as a tool for product research, development, and marketing. It generated excellent questions and excitement (some of us need to invest in virtual real estate…now). Lead Graphic Artist Koa Beam then demonstrated the capabilities of our new Social Media hardware kit - a full complement of digital audiovisual equipment - that we anticipate will travel as widely as our CANA team! Day Two, we jumped into the CANA Deliverable Tracking System collaboration session, led by Senior Project Manager, Stephanie Allison. This was so timely - getting both teams' input, understanding, and buy-in to drive better solutions. With upcoming proposal efforts, we used our last hours to get the proposal team together for some outstanding, face-to-face, cowork. It was a great time collaborating and sharing. While the BusOps team had to say goodbye, the PPM team gathered for a little friendly competition and battled it out through ax-throwing and go-carts (but not at the same time!) before saying goodbye. Can’t wait for the next offsite! Connie McKissack is the Director of Programs & Project Management at CANA LLC. To reach out to her or for more information on CANA email her at cmckissack@canallc.com

There are almost four billion women with stories to tell here on planet Earth. That’s roughly half the world’s population. Yet, according to historical estimates, women are included in about 0.5% of recorded history. There’s a lot of catching up to do! Women always did make history and continue to do so. CANA is a part of that trajectory. Our thirteen women CANAers are intelligent, tenacious leaders. Each is, without a doubt, very much unique and brings a fresh perspective to our organization. One member of our team - Stephanie Allison, Senior Project Manager - is a CANAer of many talents and passions. We benefit from her project management skills as well as her singular personality: optimistic, energetic, and passionate. We wanted to close out March with her observations on Women’s History Month and how to carry that focus forward. “During Women's History Month, I reflect on those who came before us, paving the path for those of us who follow. As this month of recognition comes to an end, I encourage that in addition to reflecting on history, we also aim to make history. 2022’s Women's History Month carries the theme, "Providing Healing, Promoting Hope. Healing and hope have never been needed more than in our world today. Step up, lead the way, spread light in the lives of those around you to make a difference. Seek out those who are broken and allow your care and compassion to make them whole. Each of us have unique and amazing God-given gifts. Find them, use them, share them. Extend hope in a world that is hurting. Exude peace where there is pain. Mend division amidst dispute. You cannot pour from an empty cup. So, follow your dreams, look after yourself, take charge of your life, fill your soul! Then let all the joy you've created overflow throughout your families, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Rise to the challenge. "Make history!” " Stephanie is a Senior Project Manager here at CANA. You can contact Stephanie at sallison@canallc.com CANA LLC is a Veteran-Owned and Woman-Owned Company.

I was pleased to participate as a panelist in a lively discussion on AI Bias at the 6th annual Business Analytics Symposium on Thursday, March 3, 2022, hosted by The University of Texas at Arlington Center for Innovation and Digital Transformation. The theme of the conference was “Explainable and Unbiased AI – Going Beyond the Hype.” The in-person symposium provided a forum for industry professionals and academics to exchange information and knowledge in the area of analytics and AI. The event featured tech talks and engaging panels with prominent industry experts and an exciting tech workshop. The symposium had participants from over 50 companies from various industries represented, including CANA, American Airlines, Raytheon, Southwest Airlines, Lone Star, GM Financial, State Farm, Verizon, Ericsson, Infosys, and many others. The keynote speaker was Dr. Raj Iyer, Chief Information Officer, United States Army, who gave an update on the status of the Army’s recent AI and analytics efforts. I very much enjoyed the panel discussion and the various thought-provoking conversations I had on AI with many of the symposium’s attendees. I hope to keep this timely and important discussion going at next year’s symposium! Connor McLemore is one of our Principal Operations Research Analysts here at CANA. If you would like to contact Connor, you can reach him at cmclemore@canallc.com

Margaret Hauser, Ph.D. Senior Operations Research Analyst "Wherever you go, there you are" - Unknown Margaret joins the CANA team from a research associate position at the Naval Postgraduate School where she worked alongside faculty and students to support Navy and Marine Corps logistics and operations research. She earned a Ph.D. in Operations Research from North Carolina State University; her dissertation investigated the adoption of additive manufacturing for the mass customization of orthopedic implants. She also holds a Master’s degree in Engineering and Technology Management as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, both from Colorado School of Mines. Margaret brings breadth and depth of theoretical knowledge in modeling and optimization to generate applicable solutions for real-world problems. You can contact Margaret at mhauser@canallc.com or Linkedin.

Almost two months into 2022 and many of us probably still haven’t begun to tackle those New Year resolutions or maybe you began but have already given up. Motivation to get started on healthier habits can be hard to find and the commitment to stick with them is often just as challenging. So, how do we get on track? Why don’t we talk a little about this beautiful woman! You’re looking at Ernestine Shepherd. She is one of the world’s oldest female bodybuilders. Between the ages of 56 and 85 years old, Ernestine won two bodybuilding titles, ran nine marathons, worked as a personal trainer, professionally modeled, and instructed fitness classes for seniors. She attributes discipline, determination, and hard work as her secrets to success. Next time you need a little inspiration to get moving, think of Ernestine and remember it’s never too late to begin, always focus on progress, not perfection, and never ever give up! Learn more about Ernestine's achievements here: https://ernestineshepherd.net/?page_id=2 Stephanie is a Senior Project Manager here at CANA. You can contact Stephanie at sallison@canallc.com CANA LLC is a Veteran-Owned and Woman-Owned Company.

The story of Alice Ball is perfect for the 2022 Black History Month’s theme of Black Health and Wellness. Alice’s achievements as a Black chemist in the late 19th and early 20th century were extraordinary, even more so considering the social barriers and scientific limitations of the time. Her contribution to human medicine - the ‘Ball Method’ - was not really fully recognized until the late 1970s, over 60 years later and long after it had been co-opted by others. Alice Ball’s life is noteworthy in a number of ways. She achieved her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in pharmacy and chemistry, respectively, from the University of Hawaii in the early 1900s. She was the University’s (then, the College of Hawaii) first female and first Black graduate student. Her amazing upward trajectory continued when Alice was, in turn, made a chemistry professor at the school. Her studies of chaulmoogra tree oil resulted in the ‘Ball Method’ treatment for reducing symptoms of leprosy - a terrible and contagious disease that not only disfigured and killed people for centuries but also created populations of ‘lepers’ exiled from society. Hawaii was no exception and forced sufferers into a leper colony on the Kalaupapa peninsula of Molokai, Hawaii, until, shockingly, the late 1960s. Alice addressed a disease that terrified generations. It is unlikely Alice realized the full import of her 1915 discovery or how it contributed to future developments and an eventual cure for leprosy. She died only a year later, in 1916, of an unknown illness. In her short 24 years; however, Alice Ball was extraordinary. She personally and professionally excelled in spite of innumerable barriers, and erasing her relative anonymity is just one more reason to celebrate Alice Augusta Ball this Black History Month. Visit www.scientificwomen.net; www.blackpast.org and www.hawaii.edu to learn more about Alice’s legacy.

It’s easy to ‘talk the talk,’ but far more effort to ‘walk the walk.’ This is particularly true when it comes to environmental obligations - our commitment to our future on planet Earth. The goals are enormous, obstacles seemingly endless, and taking the (very) long view is a difficult necessity. It might seem easier to leave it to the next company, and the next generation. That - however - is not part of the CANA ethos, and we are mindful to look for ways to integrate important environmental and climate-related considerations into our portfolio. Part of the CANA mission statement is, “to provide efficient and adaptable solutions to our clients, as well as create a life cycle of giving back to the communities and civic organizations we work with throughout the world.” Working on projects and initiatives that support a clean, healthy, and sustainable global environment is one of the ways we walk that walk. CANA deeply believes in the future of electric mobility, sustainability, and resilience, to include the tremendous value and utility of electric and autonomous vehicles. These innovations lay the groundwork of many of our projects in Southern California, ranging from the promotion of autonomous transit, distribution, and observation capabilities aboard bases, to identifying means to reduce local metro traffic gridlock and pollution. CANA has worked with entities like the SoCal Tech Bridge, state and local organizations, as well as like-minded commercial entities for several years now, providing logistics expertise, data analysis, prototype modeling and simulation, and project management. Every small step forward is a movement towards a larger goal. One of CANA’s most exciting involvements this year is with Project Vesta - an ongoing SoCal Tech Bridge-guided experiment that addresses a critical issue - wildfire response. The project brings together eight commercially developed technologies to solve a wicked, and growing, problem. Not only are wildfires immediately dangerous to humans and wildlife, but they are part of a deadly cycle of environmental damage, with effects that far outlast any single blaze. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) recognizes that while, “[a] warmer and drier climate is expected to lead to more frequent and more intense fires near or within populated areas…[the wildfires themselves]...release large amounts of carbon dioxide, black carbon, brown carbon, and ozone precursors into the atmosphere. These emissions affect radiation, clouds, and climate on regional and even global scales.” It is a truly vicious cycle. Methods to combat wildfires are, at best, moderately successful. Past and current efforts at fire suppression and timber harvesting practices have actually contributed to the problem by greatly increasing the amount of forest fuel load, particularly in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The dangers of combating wildfires for first responders and the local population are numerous and potentially long-lasting, especially when wildfires take several weeks to months to contain. ------------------------------------- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Impact of Wildfires on Climate and Air Quality.https://csl.noaa.gov/factsheets/csdWildfiresFIREX.pdf. Keeley, J.E., Syphard, A.D. Twenty-first century California, USA, wildfires: fuel-dominated vs. wind-dominated fires. fire ecol 15, 24 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-019-0041-0 Project Vesta is developing a fire mitigation system with a focus on autonomy - an interoperable network that combines autonomous air and ground vehicles, stand-alone, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and machine learning systems, and advanced fire prevention and containment materials. It does not remove or negate the human response factor, but adds a potentially safer, more efficient, and more wide-reaching tool to the firefighters’ arsenal. When fully functional, it is anticipated each Project Vesta system will be able to identify, engage, and prevent fire within a wide range of areas. The Project Vesta team is coordinating a number of opportunities to test the project prototype in a controlled live fire environment. The first experiment - to be held on February 14th - 18th, 2022, at Camp Roberts, California - will test a viable prototype and is expected to provide rich data for future analysis and adaptation. Follow-on experimentation is planned for May and July of this year. CANA is excited not only to be a part of these continuing efforts in wildfire mitigation, but also to continue work with industry innovators like SoCal Tech Bridge and others. They, like us, realize the importance of doing the hard work now to enable the environment - and planet - to support future generations. We will share more updates about Project Vesta in the upcoming weeks. Follow us on all social media platforms to learn more. #wildfires #electricvehicles #climatechange #californiawildfires #fire If you’d like to contact Cherish Joostberns, CANA Media, you can reach Cherish at cjoostberns@canallc.com.