When I launched Tomar Media, the mission was straightforward: make the information that WBE, MBE, DBE, VOB, and LGBTQ+ business owners need — contracts, policy, certification updates, project news — easier to find in one place. What I didn't anticipate was how quickly that mission would become more complicated by the political environment around it.

Federal DEI rollbacks, changing agency priorities, and shifting procurement landscapes mean that diverse AEC firm owners need more than a news feed. They need analysis. They need context. They need to hear from other owners who are navigating the same terrain.

That's why we're launching Voices — a platform for the people this publication serves to speak for themselves. Not just to read what happened, but to tell the industry what it means, what they've seen in the field, and what should happen next.

Each month, Voices will feature a Publisher's Note, contributor columns from firm owners and practitioners, a Business Spotlight on a certified firm doing notable work in the Northeast, and a Policy Watch piece from someone with direct knowledge of the issue at hand.

If you are a WBE, MBE, DBE, VOB, or LGBTQ+-certified business owner, an architect, engineer, CM, or attorney working in AEC across New York and New Jersey — or a public agency representative with something to say — we want to hear from you. Submission guidelines are in the sidebar.