April 2018 Good Morning Rockville

Join us for our annual Entrepreneurial Panel!  

This year we will hear from the following fantastic panelists:


Erin Allen, President - Contemporaries, Inc.

For over 25 years Ms. Allen has provided the staffing industry with her marketing, management and recruiting expertise. She works tirelessly to support and expand the local business community’s development and prosperity by actively participating in networking groups and key issues such as “Ban the Box” and minimum wage legislation.

Contemporaries, Inc - a government staffing firm - is the family business Ms Allen was raised in. Stepping into the role of President of Contemporaries, Inc was a natural transition. 

Under her leadership, Contemporaries, Inc., a small woman-owned business, has thrived. It has consistently served as the largest provider of staffing services to the National Institutes of Health under their small business program. Since 2003, Contemporaries has been one of the most successful staffing suppliers to the Department of Health and Human Services, including the FDA. In the D.C. metro area, her company is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 venders under the GSA Federal Supply Schedule for Schedule 736 and in 2008 was recognized as one of the Top 100 “Small Businesses of the Year” by the state of Maryland. In 2017 Contemporaries was named an Honoree for the SmartCEO Washington Family Business Award.

As a longtime member of the business community, Ms. Allen participates in local business outreach and in addition to serving on multiple boards she provides executive leadership to multiple organizations.

Ms Allen has 2 small children and has been happily married for 20 years.  


Joe Richardson, Chief Executive Officer, BAR-T

Joe Richardson (CEO of Bar-T) started in the family business in 1994 at the age of 11. His parents got tired of him playing Nintendo all day and kicked him outside with a cool $25/week under the table. An extremely practical Latin American History degree from Elon University, an MBA he earned in his pajamas, 2 kids and wife later and now he's in charge of the whole kit and caboodle. He credits his complete willingness to humiliate himself and nepotism to his overall success.