Leadership
The Applied Development Difference
At Applied Development, we know that the right people make all the difference. From our innovative founders to our dedicated leadership team to our highly skilled staff, our people are the key to driving transformative change and ensuring customer satisfaction. Their passion, experience, and commitment fuel the solutions that help our clients thrive.
Applied Development’s core values of Delight the Customer, Serve Enthusiastically, Relationships Matter, Yearn to Learn, and Accountable are more than just ideas, they are guiding principles for everything we do, helping to inform the decisions our leadership team makes every day.
Our core values
Embrace the customers’ mission as your own. Understand & anticipate their wants & needs. Go above & beyond.
Finding joy in what we do. Bringing purposeful energy & positivity to every task, going above & beyond enthusiastically.
Building confidence through genuine care, consistent communication, & mutual respect.
Opening our minds
to new opportunities.
Embracing curiosity from all sources. Fostering growth by removing barriers from our mindset.
Follow through. Take ownership with integrity. Deliver on intentions & commitments while learning from every outcome.
Meet our leadership Team
Kimberly leads Applied Development as Co-Founder and CEO, guiding strategic planning, financial performance, and overall operations. As Cultural Ambassador, she ensures company values remain at the center of every initiative while building strong partnerships and fostering sustainable growth.
Kimberly’s professional journey is characterized by a strong dedication to service and leadership. Her career began with service in the United States Army, where she earned numerous awards, including a National Citation from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. After transitioning to civilian roles and spending many years with large consulting firms, she often felt depersonalized and undervalued. This experience motivated her to establish a company that genuinely appreciated and recognized its employees. In 2011, she co-founded Applied Development with Biffrey Braxton, focusing on creating a supportive and inclusive culture within the government contracting sector.
A seasoned sailor, avid reader, and enthusiastic tennis player, she embodies the principles of teamwork, continuous learning, and strategic thinking—values that she champions at Applied Development. Her hobbies not only offer relaxation and enjoyment, but also complement her professional life, providing balance and reinforcing her commitment to living a rich, purpose-driven life.
Kimberly’s vision for Applied Development is to continue its trajectory as a leading provider of equitable communication access and strategic communication services in the government contracting industry. Her personal values of putting people first, a zeal for learning, fostering a human connection, ethical conduct, and customer satisfaction are deeply embedded in the company’s culture. Kimberly is dedicated to deepening the firm’s impact on the community and the industry, focusing on belonging and lifelong learning. Her leadership is aimed not just at achieving business goals but at forging a sustainable and ethical future where every team member thrives and contributes to the greater good of Applied Development’s collective community.
As Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, Biffrey provides strategic direction and governance for Applied Development. He ensures compliance, financial oversight, and productive collaboration between the Board and executive team, driving growth while fostering a socially conscious, people-centered culture.
Biffrey’s journey to Applied Development is a narrative of continuous growth and adaptation. After earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management of Information Systems with a concentration in Software Design from The University of Alabama, Culverhouse School of Commerce & Business Administration, Biffrey embarked on a career that included working under IBM at the Mercedes Benz plant and consulting with prestigious firms like Mercer. These experiences shaped his entrepreneurial spirit, leading him to found several small businesses in the technology and fintech sectors.
In 2011, driven by a shared vision with his partner Kimberly Citizen, Biffrey co-founded Applied Development. Since its inception, Applied Development has experienced explosive growth and received numerous accolades, including multiple Inc Magazine and Baltimore Business Journal awards. Under Biffrey’s leadership, Applied Development has become a beacon of excellence, recognized for its innovative approach and commitment to its core values.
Outside of the professional sphere, Biffrey is an avid sailor, a passion ignited in 2000 aboard his friend’s Pearson 30. He has since participated in numerous races and cruises, including the Annapolis to Bermuda Race and Block Island Race Week. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Biffrey and Kimberly sailed to Georgetown, Bahamas, aboard Ananda, their third sailing vessel.
In addition to sailing, Biffrey earned his private pilot license in 2024 and continually seeks to improve as an aviator. His dedication to fitness is evident through his commitment to tennis and calisthenics, activities he enjoys with Kimberly. These pursuits reflect his belief in balance, health, and continuous learning.
Biffrey envisions a future where Applied Development continues to thrive as a leader in the government contracting sector, driven by a culture of excellence, belonging, and continuous improvement. His personal values of putting people first, a relentless pursuit of knowledge, fostering relationships, being accountable, and delighting the customer are deeply embedded in the company’s ethos.
Biffrey’s aspiration for Applied Development is to champion the rights of people of all abilities, ensuring they can share their brilliance in the workplace through superior accessible communication services. By aligning his personal values with the company’s mission, Biffrey leads Applied Development toward a future of expanded federal agency penetration, innovative work products, and enduring relationships. His leadership not only shapes the company’s trajectory but also ensures that it remains a place where employees feel valued, engaged, and empowered to contribute their best.
interpreting, coordination, and community engagement. She strengthens communication access and inclusion while guiding innovative solutions that align with Applied Development’s mission.
Katie’s career path has been shaped by a relentless commitment to social justice and the effective integration of ethical leadership within business operations. She honed her skills in strategic planning and execution across various roles, leading to significant social entrepreneurship ventures. Katie’s role as a founder of a social impact organization further underlined her commitment to creating sustainable changes in local communities.
After selling that organization in 2019, she relocated and embarked on a transformative journey, devoting a year to volunteer work, including actively supporting organizations such as Deaf in Government (DIG), the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), and the General Services Administration (GSA). Simultaneously, she began her tenure as Board Treasurer at the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), guiding financial strategies to foster organizational transformational growth and sustainability.
Through her work as an interpreter with Applied Development, she developed a deep appreciation for the company’s values and felt fully recognized, valued, seen, heard, and appreciated. This was a pivotal experience, allowing her to maintain a balance between professional responsibilities and volunteer leadership roles and reinforcing her dedication to both her career development and community advocacy.
Outside of professional commitments, Katie is deeply rooted in family life, residing in rural Maryland with her spouse and children. Embracing the challenges and joys of parenting, she leans into all aspects of family as a foundational value. Katie is passionate about gardening and engaging in natural art projects, activities that not only beautify her surroundings, but also instill a sense of creativity and connection to nature in her family. The tranquility of the countryside complements her passion for continuous learning and enriches the community-focused initiatives she undertakes. This balance sustains her energy and deepens her commitment to enriching the community around her.
Katie’s vision is rooted in the belief that organizations must not only aim for excellence in service delivery but also act as catalysts for social change. As a volunteer leader, she commits significant time to nurturing initiatives that expand communication access and belonging, believing that true leadership means lifting others as we climb. She advocates for a leadership style that is collaborative and adaptive, ensuring that Applied Development’s teams are equipped to meet challenges dynamically and ethically. She is committed to maintaining high standards and building stronger, more effective teams and relationships.
Kay leads People Operations at Applied Development, specializing in recruitment, onboarding, retention, and employee development. With over a decade of HR expertise, she strengthens workplace culture and provides data-driven strategies that support team growth and organizational success.
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Arthur brings a detail-driven, mission-aligned finance and operations mindset to Applied Development LLC, supporting sustainable growth through strong financial controls, clear reporting, and practical process improvement. As Controller, he partners with leadership and teams across the business to strengthen budgeting and forecasting, improve visibility into performance, and ensure day-to-day finance operations run cleanly and on time. His focus is simple: protect the business, support the people, and keep the numbers actionable so Applied Development can keep delivering for clients and communities.
Outside of work, Arthur enjoys getting outdoors across Colorado and unplugging with hands-on adventures. He’s an avid rockhound who loves exploring new spots, learning the geology behind what he finds, and building a collection along the way. He also values time in the mountains and around the state hiking, road-tripping, and chasing fresh air and big views whenever he can.
Arthur believes finance should be a service function that empowers the mission, not a barrier to it. His priorities are strengthening controls without slowing teams down, improving reporting so leaders can move faster with better information, and building repeatable processes that support compliance, consistency, and long-term stability. He aims to help Applied Development stay agile while operating with the kind of financial discipline that wins trust with clients, partners, and employees.