LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Aug. 14, 2019—Small businesses across Northern New Mexico will benefit this year from an injection of capital through loans and a tribal diversity fund under a $500,000 grant from Los Alamos National Laboratory operator Triad National Security, LLC to the Regional Development Corporation (RDC).
“The Laboratory boosts the region’s economy through employment and procurement, and we are always looking for direct ways to increase that impact,” said Thom Mason, director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and president of Triad. “Triad’s partnership with the RDC helps businesses provide jobs across all of Northern New Mexico.”
RDC, a local economic development nonprofit based in Española, N.M., works to boost economic diversity with a focus on native-owned, technology and manufacturing businesses. Triad’s investment will fund a range of RDC activities including micro-loans for technology-based and manufacturing businesses and a tribal economic diversity fund that makes awards to native-owned companies.
The funding was announced at an event at the National Center for Genome Resources in Santa Fe Aug. 14, which coincided with an RDC workshop for entrepreneurs giving information on its loan programs.
“The funding from Triad will help us provide capital to businesses across Northern New Mexico, allowing them to grow, add jobs, and contribute to the economy,” said Val Alonzo, executive director of the RDC.
The RDC provides private investment opportunities and technical assistance to facilitate job growth and diversify the economies of communities in the following seven counties: Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Taos and the Native American Pueblos within those counties. In addition to Triad, RDC’s current funders include the City of Española, the City of Santa Fe, Los Alamos County, New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership and Santa Fe County.
Triad’s investment forms part of its Community Commitment Plan approved by the National Nuclear Security Administration. The plan outlines the company’s support for economic development, education and community giving in the region around the Laboratory.
About Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.