The Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) Technical Assistance Center is a 5-year Blanket Purchase Agreement. Authorized under Sections 2222-2225 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Center supports the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED, or the Department) goal to create a comprehensive literacy program that advances literacy skills — including preliteracy skills, reading, and writing — for children from birth through grade 12, with an emphasis on disadvantaged children, including children living in poverty, English learners, and children with disabilities. In May 2023, Synergy Enterprises, Inc. (Synergy) received a prime award to (1) provide technical assistance and subject matter expertise to support all states, the Bureau of Indian Education, and four outlying areas (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands); (2) provide monitoring support for the Department related to CLSD; and (3) produce ad hoc reports and data analysis. Dr. Bridget Humphries, Principal, will serve as the Project Director. Synergy is partners with the American Institutes for Research on this important effort. 

On February 1, 2023, Bronwyn Roberts, Senior Principal, Training and Technical Assistance, for the Title IV, Part A Technical Assistance Center (T4PA Center) and REMS TA Center, alongside Ruth Ryder, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy and Programs—Formula Grants in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, presented the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act Updates and Best Practices for Student Well-Being” session during the 2023 National Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Conference. The session provided updates on two grant programs to increase access to mental health services for students that were funded through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) and about technical assistance to states and districts in using BSCA state and local resources to invest in evidence based practices that support student well-being.  

On February 2, 2023, Candace Ferguson, Principal, Training and Technical Assistance, for the REMS TA Center and T4PA Center, presented for the “Addressing the Social, Emotional, Learning and Mental Health Needs of Students and School Staff” session during the conference. This session shared information from U.S. Department of Education resources and highlighted federal technical assistance resources that can be used to support state, district, and school efforts. Candace also serves as the Task Lead for the Best Practices Clearinghouse.  

On March 25, Synergy’s senior science editor, David Yontz, presented a session titled “Mistakes That Often Slip Through the Cracks” at the ACES: The Society for Editing conference in Columbus, Ohio. Almost 200 other copy editors attended it. He was also highlighted in the keynote address by Pulitzer Prize winner Connie Schultz, who praised him for being one of the four editors who have helped her the most in her career. 

Congratulations to Janelle Hughes, Principal, Training and Technical Assistance, for being recognized by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency team for her presentation at the inaugural National Summit on K–12 School Safety and Security. The summit had more than 3,500 attendees, and Janelle’s valuable contributions have helped the implementation of strategies for keeping schools safe. 

To read about Synergy’s award-winning work with the U.S. Department of Education and other agencies, click here.  

Synergy has won 6 Hermes Creative awards recognizing our team’s creativity and effort working with The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) “Talk. They Hear You.” ® campaign. The awards consist of 3 platinum winners, 1 gold winners and 2 honorable mention winners for the following products and materials:

Platinum Winners:

• “This Life For Us” Discussion Starter Video
• “What Parents Are Saying — Prevention Wisdom, Authenticity, And Empowerment.” Podcast Series
• “This Life For Us” Discussion Starter Video

Gold Winners:

• “This Life For Us” TV PSA

Honorable Mention Winners:

• “This Life For Us” Original Soundtrack
• “This Life For Us” Radio PSA

On Saturday, April 29, The Children’s Inn at NIH hosted An Evening for Hope gala at The Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner, Virginia. Thanks to the remarkable generosity of sponsors and donors, they raised $2,000,000! Synergy’s President and CEO, Prachee Devadas, submitted two paintings that auctioned for $35,000.  These funds will be used to make childhood possible today and a cure possible tomorrow for the children, teens, young adults, and their families who stay at The Inn. 

The Procurement of Research Evaluation and Statistics Task Orders (PRESTO) is a 10-year IDIQ with a ceiling of $2 billion. It supports the entire Institute of Education Sciences (IES) mission as the U.S. Department of Education’s arm for independent education research, evaluation, and statistics. In February 2023, Synergy received a prime award on Domain Category 5 for IES Operational Support to enable ongoing project management and logistics support functions across IES. Specifically, this domain category covers project program integration and coordination, business case quality management support, institutional monitoring and modernization activities, compliance support, event planning, and help desk support activities. Dr. Sherri Lauver, Senior Principal, will serve as the PRESTO Director and business development lead.

Synergy Widens Focus to Alcohol and Cannabis Policy and Expands Work on Preventing Underage Drinking

Synergy Enterprises, Inc. (Synergy) recently won two new contracts that will expand our decadelong work in the prevention of underage alcohol consumption and illicit drug use.

NIAAA APIS Website

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) awarded Synergy a contract that began in January 2023 to broaden and promote its Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) website (https://alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov). APIS is an online resource that provides public access to detailed information on a variety of public policies related to alcohol and cannabis. APIS collects and analyzes statutes and regulations concerning alcohol and cannabis and is designed to simplify the process of accessing the relevant state laws for researchers studying the effects and effectiveness of alcohol- and cannabis-related policies. Synergy’s team of legal researchers, social scientists, communications specialists, and information technology professionals will collaborate with NIAAA on the important work of updating and sharing policies on alcohol and cannabis while increasing the dissemination of information to a wide variety of audiences, including researchers, practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and more.

STOP Act

In September 2022, the federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking, on behalf of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, has engaged Synergy to support work on the congressionally required Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act (STOP Act) reporting. These reports include current data on underage drinking, individual state reports on prevention and enforcement activities, and performance measures for evaluating best practices. They serve as the leading compendium of state and federal efforts toward reducing underage drinking. Synergy is responsible for compiling and updating data across multiple national surveys; working with 16 different federal agencies to track their efforts toward preventing underage drinking; conducting a review of the current state of published literature on underage drinking and related harms; and collecting data and conducting legal research on the 50 states’ and the District of Columbia’s activities related to underage drinking and their prevention policies. In addition, Synergy is developing educational products and materials related to the reports, and these will be disseminated to a wide range of audiences, including state prevention, treatment, and enforcement officials; state and federal policymakers; community coalitions; educators; and parents.

The STOP Act reporting and accompanying educational products are important tools in U.S. efforts to reduce and prevent alcohol and substance use disorders. Synergy takes great pride in our contributions to this work.

Synergy Extends Long-Term Work with the Office of School Support and Accountability

In September 2022, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of School Support and Accountability (SSA) has renewed its contract with Synergy Enterprises, Inc. (Synergy) for meeting and conference logistics and peer reviews, extending an already decadelong history, which includes Synergy’s performing as the prime contractor, a subcontractor, and then the prime contractor again.

SSA administers many formula grant programs and oversees the Student-Centered Funding Pilot and Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority demonstration grant programs and the Competitive Grants for State Assessments discretionary grant program. Synergy’s conference and meeting support helps SSA provide coordinated policy development, performance management, technical assistance, and data analysis services through a state support team structure that deepens partnerships with states and more effectively supports their implementation of key reforms that will lead to improved outcomes for all students.

The contract renewal is a testimony to Synergy’s deep commitment to maximizing the profound and beneficial impact that government services can have upon the lives of individuals.

Synergy Enterprises, Inc. (Synergy) is proud to announce two new contracts for 2022! First, Synergy was recently awarded the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Logistic Support contract under the U.S. Department of Education, Education Grants Management Support Services (EDGMSS) Blanket Purchase Order Agreement. NCES collects statistics on the condition of education in the United States; analyzes and reports the meaning and significance of these statistics; and works with states, local education agencies, and postsecondary institutions in improving their statistical systems. Synergy has been selected to work with NCES in fulfilling its mission by providing support in the areas of coordinating meetings and conferences, securing external experts to participate in meetings and conferences, performing editorial and graphics activities related to public release of NCES products, and fulfilling quick turnaround requests. We are proud to be a part of the NCES mission since 2005.

Synergy was also selected by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to provide communications and technical logistics services for the virtual workshop titled “Technology to Improve Maternal Health.” With over 500 registrants, this event aimed to advance collaboration on maternal health technology to improve maternal health and to treat and/or prevent maternal morbidity and mortality! We are honored to support NIBIB on its mission to improve maternal health.

Recently, Synergy’s Junior Data Associate, Rachel Edsall, co-authored 2 papers for “Q Chat Space,” a platform designed for LGBTQ+ youth to come together and discuss a variety of topics in a safe and moderated environment.

Both of the papers analyze the chats to understand the impact of having an anonymous online space with trained facilitators on youth experience. With one of the papers focusing on youth comments during the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Majority of Rachel’s work was done through the Social Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) research lab at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she worked with them during undergrad between 2019 to 2020.

The two papers can be found at the following links: Q Chat Space: Assessing the Feasibility and Acceptability of an Internet-Based Support Program for LGBTQ Youth | SpringerLink and “I’m Kinda Stuck at Home With Unsupportive Parents Right Now”: LGBTQ Youths’ Experiences With COVID-19 and the Importance of Online Support—Journal of Adolescent Health (jahonline.org).

In May 2021, Synergy was selected to support the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Public Awareness Support Activities contract. Synergy will provide front office communications and educational outreach for the agency’s priorities as well as research trends and emerging issues in the mental health and substance use disorder field.

SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities.

In addition, SAMHSA works to provide leadership and resources toward the knowledge that behavioral health is essential for health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover from mental and substance use disorders.

We are thrilled to continue supporting SAMHSA and their mission.

On June 4, 2021, Synergy received two Digital Health Awards for work produced and written for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH). All 60 categories are awarded based on a scale of Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Merit judged by a panel of health technology professionals. Synergy’s awards include the following: Silver in Digital Health, Social Media for the ORWH Twitter page and Merit in Digital Health Media Publications, Newsletter for the ORWH newsletter Women’s Health In Focus at NIH, Vol. 3, Issue 3.

The Digital Health Awards, which honor the best and high-quality digital health resources for consumers and health professionals, is organized by the Health Information Resource Center (HIRC), a clearinghouse for professionals who work in consumer health fields. This competition is held twice a year, in both spring and fall, and receives hundreds of submissions from local, state, and national health-related organizations and companies.

Recently, the Synergy Gives Back (SGB) team organized a casserole drive with Small Things Matter’s Kokua Foods Program. Small Things Matter is a 100 percent volunteer-run nonprofit whose mission is to help support children, families, and individuals in need via its food, literacy, and crafting for charity programs. The Kokua Foods Program provides more than 1,000 food-insecure families in Maryland with fresh produce and groceries, chicken, casseroles, non-perishable items, and other household goods through partnership with various organizations and volunteers.

Team Synergy’s volunteers prepared 21 casseroles to donate to marginalized and underprivileged communities. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number of food-insecure families, but with donations from SGB and other volunteers, we can make changes in our communities.

The Kokua Foods Program takes donations every first and third Friday of each month. If you’re interested in donating in the future, check out their website at smallthingsmatter.org.

On February 11, Synergy employee Matthew Grossman had the opportunity to speak at a Starkloff Disability Institute and Permobil event called Inclusion Matters: Disability Allyship in the Workplace. Matt, who lives with an invisible disability and hearing loss, was joined by two other panelists to provide information and bring awareness to living life with a disability and the affect it has in the workplace. This “disabilities immersion” conversation allowed Permobil employees to understand, in depth, the experience of those living with visible and invisible disabilities.

Matt first began working with Starkloff in graduate school at Washington University, where he promoted disability events on campus and advocated for support enhancements within his program. Since receiving his master’s degree, he has also partnered with Starkloff to provide one-on-one career coaching for current Washington University students with disabilities.

Conversations like this are important. Synergy values an inclusive workplace and offers employees with disabilities — whether visible or invisible — an equal opportunity to succeed, to learn, to be compensated fairly and to advance.

Recently, Synergy employee Bronwyn Roberts has been helping with COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Yolo, California. As a Dispensing Assistant, she has assisted with providing more than 2,000 vaccines to community members over age 65, educators, first responders and others. Although she had no medical experience, Bronwyn received all her training on the spot and was able to work alongside a Dispenser (who administered the actual injection), by filling syringes and documenting patient information for public health records.

Bronwyn is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of history. As part of her volunteer efforts, she was able to receive her vaccine – and was able to hug her mom for the first time in a year.

Bronwyn plans on volunteering at other vaccine clinics on the west coast, including some in Oregon. She encourages everyone to look to their local public health departments if they are interested in volunteer opportunities.

Synergy is proud to announce our first contract win of 2021! We have been selected to provide technical assistance, website design and communications support to the U.S. Department of Education’s Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices Clearinghouse.

The Clearinghouse responds to needs that were revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic and supports the Department, schools and campuses in the United States as they proceed to safely reconvene in-person teaching and learning across the country.

Synergy will support the Clearinghouse by providing services to aid in three primary areas: safe and healthy environments; student support; and teacher, staff, and faculty well-being, professional development and support.

Woven into every aspect of Clearinghouse operations and materials will be a commitment to equity, for the Department and Synergy share the conviction that all students deserve support and all deserve equal access to support if they are to learn, thrive and succeed.

We are honored to support the U.S. Department of Education during this critical time.

In 2020, Synergy Enterprises, Inc.’s (Synergy) creative work with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) parent-oriented prevention campaign, “Talk.  They Hear You.”® received 12 accolades from the Hermes Creative Awards.

Synergy garnered recognition in every category it entered, winning six platinum awards (Hermes’ highest honor), four gold awards, and two honorable mentions for original public service announcements (PSAs) and videos, soundtracks, and brochures:

Platinum Winners

• Original Music (Video)—"By Your Side” PSA
• Original Music (Audio)—"By Your Side” Soundtrack
• Informational Video, Directing, Editing, and Videography—“By Your Side” Student Assistance Discussion Starter Video

Gold Winners

• TV PSA—"Clouded"
• TV PSA—"Choices"
• TV PSA—"By Your Side"
• Brochure—5 Conversation Goals: Talking With Your Teen About Alcohol and Other Drugs

Honorable Mentions

• TV PSA—"Helping a Friend"
• Brochure—Talk With Your Teen About Vaping: Keeping Your Kids Safe

Hermes Creative Awards honor the messengers and creators of the information revolution. Each year, competition judges evaluate the creative industry’s best publications; branding collateral; websites; videos; and advertising, marketing, and communications programs. More than 6,000 entries were submitted for consideration in 2020.

Synergy’s strategic communications team works with SAMHSA to encourage parents and caregivers to talk with their children about alcohol and other drugs early on and as often as possible. “Talk.  They Hear You.” team members support all facets of the national media campaign, from concept testing through materials development, outreach and promotion, and evaluation. Their efforts have ensured important prevention messages reach parents and caregivers in all 50 states and Washington, DC.

In 2020, three National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) products that Synergy helped write, design, and produce won Communicator Awards. These awards include:

Communicator Award of Excellence. This award is the program’s highest honor and is given to those entrants whose ability to communicate positions them as the best in the field. Two ORWH products that Synergy worked on received this award: an online video titled “Maternal Morbidity and Mortality: What Do We Know? How Are We Addressing It?” and a booklet of the same name.

Communicator Award of Distinction. This award is presented for projects that exceed industry standards in quality and achievement. ORWH’s booklet on polycystic ovary/ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which Synergy worked on, won this award.

The Communicator Awards is an international awards program for marketing and communications programs that receives over 6,000 entries from companies and agencies, making it one of the largest of its kind. The awards honor work that has made a lasting impact and are decided by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts, an invitation-only group consisting of top-tier professionals from acclaimed media, communications, advertising, creative, and marketing firms.

Synergy’s strategic communications team works with the ORWH to promote women’s health research within and beyond the NIH scientific community. Synergy supports ORWH in the areas of project management, communications planning and research, materials development, media, outreach, promotion, conferences, events, information technology, and information tracking.

On Oct. 19, 2018, Prachee J. Devadas, president/CEO and founder of Synergy, joined the board of directors of The Children’s Inn at NIH. Located on the NIH campus, The Children’s Inn is a nonprofit hospitality house that provides free lodging and supportive services to families of children with rare and serious illnesses whose best hope is a clinical trial at the NIH. Every year, The Children’s Inn houses more than 1,700 children and their families from across the United States and the world to help reduce the burden of illness on families, make childhood possible despite illness and advance medical breakthroughs at the NIH that benefit children today and generations to come. In addition to serving on the board of directors of The Children’s Inn at NIH, Devadas serves on the advisory boards for So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.) and BB&T Bank.

Synergy has received numerous prestigious awards and has been consistently recognized for outstanding work performance over the last decade. We have gained a stellar reputation for our creativity, innovative approaches, and excellent business practices with partners, clients and industry alike. In 2018, Synergy won the below awards competitions on behalf of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) “Talk. They Hear You.”^® Campaign:

• Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Thoth Awards – PRSA awarded SAMHSA the Award of Excellence for the “Talk. They Hear You.”^® Campaign Public Service Announcement, Dads. The Thoth Awards recognize the outstanding strategic public relations programs and components developed and produced in the Greater Washington, DC area.
• The National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) Berreth Award – NPHIC awarded SAMHSA the silver medal in the “Corporate Health Marketing Agency” category for the “Talk. They Hear You.”^® Campaign. The awards are named after Donald A. Berreth, founder of NPHIC and former director of the Office of Public Affairs for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Videographer Awards – The Videographer Award selection committee awarded SAMHSA an Award of Distinction in the “Public Service Announcement” category for the “Talk. They Hear You.”^® Campaign Public Service Announcement, Dads.
• The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) MarCom Awards – The AMCP awarded SAMHSA three awards in 2018. The “Talk. They Hear You.”^® Campaign as whole won a Platinum Award in the “Communication Program” category. The “Talk. They Hear You.”^® Campaign Public Service Announcement, Reminiscing, won a Gold Award in the “Public Service Announcement” category. Lastly, the “Talk. They Hear You.”^® Campaign Discussion Starter Video received an Honorable Mention in the “Government Video” category.

We are pleased to announce that Synergy’s paper proposal entitled "Multiple partners, multiple goals: Researchers, school staff and a not-for-profit partnering to examine the effects of a teacher home visiting program" has been accepted for inclusion in the program for the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE) Spring 2019 Conference. The paper was written while working on a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education. The teacher home visiting program is called HomeWorks!, The Teacher Home Visit Program. The paper consists of a controlled trial of the program and studied the impacts of students in grades 1-3 in St. Louis Public Schools.

The spring 2019 conference brings the tensions and tradeoffs among the questions practitioners and researchers study - and the decisions and constraints practitioners and researchers face - to the forefront of conversation. The Conference, Tensions and Tradeoffs: Responding to Diverse Demands for Evidence, will take place in Washington, DC from March 6-9, 2019.

Since fall 2017, several serious and consequential emergency events have raised conversations at the national, state, and local levels to new heights concerning preparedness and school safety. Whether it was the active shooter incidents in places like Las Vegas, Nevada, or Parkland, Florida; the hurricanes affecting areas of Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; wildfires in places like California and Montana; winter storms in the Northeast; or child fatalities across the country from influenza, those entrusted with caring for some of the most vulnerable members of our population—children and youth—have been prompted to consider strategies implemented, to date, and new approaches to the question of how to keep children and youth safe, especially when they are at school.

Synergy has administered the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Healthy Students since 2012, with the aim of fulfilling this exact charge—to help keep the K-16 population, along with staff, administrators, and all other parts of the school community, safe. During this time, the REMS TA Center has provided support to thousands of schools, school districts, and school personnel, including their stakeholder partners, in the form of training and technical assistance to improve overall school preparedness in school safety, security, and emergency management programs.

Synergy has long-supported several non-profits that focus on the mental, social-emotional, and physical wellbeing of children and families. We have collectively donated thousands of volunteer hours to prepare meals; provide monetary and material goods; and organize outings for various non-profit organizations in the community. Specifically, Synergy has worked with the NIH Children’s Inn, a residential “Place Like Home’’ for families with children participating in leading-edge research studies at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. In 2018, our support will continue to grow as CEO Prachee J. Devadas has been selected to serve on the board of directors for the Children’s Inn. She also serves on the advisory board at SOME.

In fall 2017, Synergy employee Leika Inniss participated in an international mission trip to the country of Uganda (Africa), organized by Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a nonprofit organization that provides training and technical assistance to Christian churches and clergy in Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Uganda is home to more than 1 million registered refugees and asylum seekers from several countries in crisis including Congo, Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea.

The mission team worked with a nonprofit organization, Refuge and Hope International. Located in the Kampala, the capital of Uganda, this organization empowers refugees with educational, professional and personal development opportunities. Ms. Inniss provided technical assistance to the staff and the students on substance abuse prevention. She will continue to work with program staff in developing a substance abuse prevention program to be added to their programing.