Diné Development Corporation will become the latest tenant at the Capital Factory within the Boeing Center at Tech Port, offering engineering, professional and environmental solutions.
A holding company wholly owned by the Navajo Nation and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, DDC was founded in 2004 to “generate prosperity” for the tribe by providing IT, professional, environmental, research and development services to government agencies and commercial companies. Diné is the Navajo word for “the people.”
DDC is led by Austin Tsosie, a Diné tribal member who previously served as president of DDC ITS, one of 10 companies in the holding company’s portfolio.
With the opening of a San Antonio office, the company hopes to land more U.S. Department of Defense contracts in the region. DDC plans to “employ up to 75 local team members co-located with clients in the region,” according to a joint news release from DDC and Port San Antonio.
DDC is the latest company to plant its stake at Capital Factory; earlier this month, Maryland-based X8 announced its expansion plans and is also seeking to grow its Defense Department contracts.
For tribal entities like DDC, the Defense Department provides the bulk of their contracting revenue, according to a 2023 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
“Since the 1980s, Native entities have developed revenue-generating strategies tailored to their unique economic and legal status, and federal contracting has become a successful revenue-diversification strategy,” the report states.
Tribal entities won a record $23.3 billion in federal contracts that year, reported Tribal Business News, “due primarily to double-digit growth in federal contracts” from the Defense Department.
Much like the City of San Antonio owns CPS Energy and so receives dividends from that investment, DDC has paid out $17 million in dividends to the Navajo Nation since the company was founded, said Jennifer Creamer, vice president of operations.
In addition to dividends, the company contributes to the community in myriad other ways, she said, from sponsoring youth sports teams, installing solar panels on the reservation and supporting Navajo veterans. It also offers training opportunities to employ tribal members within the company.
The Navajo Nation is roughly the size of West Virginia, taking up the Four Corners region of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. There are 400,000 people registered as Tribal members, she said.
This year the company is celebrating its 20th anniversary by expanding its footprint in other locations as well as San Antonio.
Earlier this month, it opened a new “innovation center” in downtown Dayton, Ohio, named the Navajo Code Talkers Building, and committed to bringing 100 new jobs to Dayton. Since first locating in that region in 2017, the company’s regional footprint there now includes six of its 10 subsidiaries.
Creamer, who works in Dayton, said the company is committed to ensuring the legacy of Navajo Code Talkers, who encrypted their language to provide secure communications during World War II. Their work is credited with helping the U.S. win the war, yet for years, many Americans were unaware of their contributions.
Dan Riggs, DCC’s chief growth and strategy officer, called San Antonio “a dynamic community that promotes cutting-edge technology and innovation,” in Wednesday’s news release.
“Establishing this office aligns with our objectives to expand our presence in the rapidly growing defense community,” he continued. “This investment not only fuels regional growth and client impact, but also allows us to contribute to the local economy and innovation ecosystem.”
