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GTSC’s Transportation Security Symposium – MARCH 28th

GTSC continues to bring you the people, information, and collaboration necessary to understand our government partners. For GTSC’s Transportation Security Symposium, we will host discussions around the administration’s procurement goals, IT transformation initiatives, their small business strategy, and much more.

Thank you to our Patron Sponsor, RELI Group!

Thank you to our Reception Sponsor, Acuity!

Thank you to Metaphase Consulting for their Supporting Sponsorship!

Register here, today!

Emergency Management 2022 – POSTPONED

Join GTSC and Homeland Security Today for this annual stakeholder meeting. Since 2011, GTSC and HSToday have hosted this event to recognize and support National Preparedness Month, Hurricane awareness, and the many missions of FEMA before, during and after a disaster. During this day long meeting, we will hear from top FEMA leadership about their efforts in one of the busiest and most critical components, how we have pivoted to meet the challenges of climate change, any new initiatives, and how industry can assist in achieving current missions.

CBP Procurement Update

Join the Government Technology & Services Coalition virtually on May 3rd at 11:30 AM EST for an update on CBP’s Procurement process with Head of Contracting Activity, Diane Sahakian; Deputy HCA Earl J. Lewis III, and Chief of Contracting, Patricia Kiely.

Register here.

GTSC’s 10th Anniversary Annual Meeting – AUGUST 17

The Annual Meeting  will feature an overview of GTSC’s activities, programs, and success of 2021 and a look at our priorities for 2022 on August 17th.  Register here

8:30 AM – 9:15 AM A Year in Review: 2021, A Look at the Future, & GTSC’s 10th Anniversary

Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO, Government Technology & Services Coalition

 

9:15 AM – 10:0 AM Keynote: Procurement at DHS

Paul Courtney, Chief Procurement Officer, DHS

 

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM The Future of Innovation and DHS Wide Procurements

James Lewis, Executive Director, Strategic Solutions Office, DHS

Sandra Oliver Schmidt, Acting Director, Procurement Innovation Lab, DHS

BREAK

10:45 AM – 11:30 AM Acquisition Policy at DHS 

A session/discussion on acquisition policy, including the NDAA and other legislative activity impacting DHS procurement and contractors.

Sarah Todd, Director, Acquisition Policy & Legislation, DHS

 

11:30 AM  – 12:00 PM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Action: Contracting Perspective

Diane McCain, CEO, Potomac Management Solutions

Danaiya Woo, CEO, Simon Computing

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM Lunch break

12:30 PM – 1:00 PM  TSA Opportunity Update

Bill Weinberg, Head of Contracting Activity, TSA

Keith Goll, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Requirements and Capability Analysis,

TSA, DHS

1:00 – 1:30 Customer Experience Executive Order

Keith Goll, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Requirements and Capability Analysis,

TSA, DHS

Amanda Damewood, Acting Director, User Experience, USCIS, DHS

 

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM Small Business Opportunities within DHS

Darlene Bullock, Executive Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, DHS

 

2:00 PM – 2:45 PM Contracting Opportunities Overview – HCA

Bill Weinberg, Head of Contracting Activity, TSA, DHS

Salvatore Saraceno, Head of Contracting, Procurement Division, Office of Enterprise Readiness, U.S. Secret Service, DHS

2:45 PM Corporate Citizenship at DHS

Discussion around the Corporate Citizenship plan including climate change, cyber hygiene, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Teresa Pohlman, Director, Occupational Safety and Environmental Programs, DHS

 

3:15 PM – 4:30 PM GTSC Leadership Discussion

An overview of GTSC’s activities, programs, and success of 2021 and a look at our priorities for 2022.

Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO, Government Technology & Services Coalition

Patty Todaro Bolin, Strategic Advisor, GTSC and Managing Partner at Innovation Consulting Services LLC (ICS Advisory)

Carolyn Muir, Chair, Procurement & Acquisition, GTSC and General Counsel & Sr. Vice President, Contracts at Steampunk

Tushar Garg, Chair, FITGov Summit and CEO, Excelicon

Earl Holland, Chair, Emerging Small Business Group, GTSC and President/CEO · Growth Strategy Consultants, Inc

Lyndsey Hoe, Co-Chair, Lion’s Den, GTSC and Senior Director, Business Development, Dev Technology Group

Michelle Scheuerman, Co-Chair, Lion’s Den, GTSC and Vice President, Dev Technology Group

Homeland Security Today Annual Update

Kristina Tanasichuk, Executive Editor, Homeland Security Today

GTSC’s Inaugural State Dept. Days!

The Government Technology & Services Coalition is extremely pleased to host the First Annual State Department Days to examine the missions, programs, and goals of the U.S. State Department.  Webinars feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, and subject matter discussions for approximately 1.5-2 hours daily from June 14-21st, 2021.

GTSC continues to bring you the people, information, and collaboration necessary to understand our government partners.  For our first State Department Days, we will host discussions around the Department’s procurement goals, IT transformation initiatives, their small business strategy, and much more.

See the full agenda and register at our interactive program page:

https://www.gtscdays.online/statedepartment-days-2021

Below you will find the links to the PowerPoint Presentations from the Event!

GTSC-DOS Days 1 and 2

GTSC DOS Day 3 – Keith Jones

GTSC DOS Day 3 – Jeff Johnson

GTSC DOS Day 3 – Glenn Miller

GTSC DOS Day 3 – Matthew Graviss

GTSC DOS Day 4 – Brian Merrick

GTSC DOS Day 4 – Glen Johnson

GTSC DOS Day 4 – Cybersecurity

GTSC DOS Day 5 – OSDBU

Special thanks to our Guardian sponsor:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Patrol Sponsor

 

 

 

 

 

Our supporting sponsor

 

 

 

 

 

Small Business sponsor

 

 

 

 

GTSC Releases 2019 Annual Report: Fostering Collaboration to Cast a Wider Shadow on the Homeland Security Market

The Government Technology & Services Coalition, the foremost organization for government contractors in the homeland security mission space, released its 2019 Annual Report at their Annual Meeting.

GTSC’s 2019 Annual Report: Fostering Collaboration to Cast a Wider Shadow on the Homeland Security Market, catalogs the non-profits activities and progress toward a trusted community to protect the nation.

The theme: Fostering Collaboration to Cast a Wider Shadow on the Homeland Security Market highlights the effectiveness of the over 200 contracting companies that have joined together to collaborate to bring the best solutions to the homeland security market. The organization saw 25% growth among its mid-tier members, contractors with revenue between $25 million and $1 billion, and saw over one million page views at their news site, Homeland Security Today (www.HSToday.us).  In addition to engaging to improve procurement for all contractors, the organization works to provide a level playing field, increase competition, and assure that smaller companies with innovative solutions have an opportunity to share with the public sector officials that need them.  The organization has attracted new government partners, and sustained vibrant partnerships with its traditional supporters.

“We are extremely happy that our approach to collaboration, facts, and practical solutions has been embraced by the homeland security community.  We have worked very hard to create a community of trusted relationships between the public and private sector to work together to protect our nation. We work daily to bridge the communication gap and lack of understanding between those who are accountable for the mission, and those who support them to achieve it. Our non-profit’s work, our mission, has always been to support those on the front lines, executing our nation’s laws, to keep our children, citizens, and cities safer against all threats.” said Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO & Founder, at the release.

“Our partnership with GTSC is incomparable,” said Alba M. Alemán, CEO of Citizant and GTSC’s Mid-Tier Company of the Year. “GTSC, has been paramount in developing trusted relationships between industry and agency leaders to bring forward unique perspectives, so that those agencies will be better served and able to achieve mission-critical objectives. Moreover, to be a part of such an elite network of like-minded professionals passionate about national security and core infrastructure missions, is both energizing and humbling.”

GTSC was founded in 2011 by small business CEOs in the homeland security market to find ways to improve procurement and acquisition of innovative technologies, give small businesses a voice in the federal market, and provide a trusted community for those tasked with securing the country.  The organization has evolved to represent the ecosystem of the homeland security market with small, mid-tier, and large companies engaged to collaborate, mentor, and network to achieve mission. In 2017, the non-profit purchased the Homeland Security Today media platform.

“As a fairly new business having started in 2012, I have been a part of various organizations and associations.  GTSC has been the ONLY one that has consistently supported businesses and government entities with a passion for both sides. I can proudly say that Potomac Management Solution’s growth and success has been directly contributed to the programs, guidance and overall structure of GTSC!” said Diane McCain, CEO of Potomac Management Solutions and GTSC’s Small Business of the Year.

GTSC and Homeland Security Today also hosts the Annual Holiday Hero Awards recognizing those on the front-lines on watch every single day to protect our country from threats to homeland security.  The awards recognize private citizens and public sector officials doing exceptional work on behalf of the homeland.

The 2019 Annual Report catalogs the numerous programs, meetings, networking opportunities, charitable events, and workgroups supported by the organization and the leaders and members shaping those activities.

A Case Study on the Power of Partnership: How Federal Agencies Can Find Qualified Small Businesses, Faster

When the Government Technology and Services Coalition (GTSC) was formed a little over 5 years ago, one of our primary missions was to improve and assist our federal partners in performing their market research. We immediately formed a “Market Research” workgroup, chaired by Brian Nault, President of BlueWater Federal to identify how the government could find the best providers, and reach the largest number of competitors, possible to meet the demands of their mission at the best price and highest quality.

We met with procurement officials and contracting officers to discuss some of the challenges of “being noticed,” by federal agencies, particularly for small businesses. We conveyed the shortcomings of the “Requests for Information” from a small business’s perspective, described how the lack of response from some agencies to the information provided in an RFI hindered a robust response from industry, and explained how the value of responding often was not high enough given the need for companies to spend time staying afloat chasing real opportunities. All of these shortcomings held true for any size business.

We are still working on improving the RFI process but recently we were able to provide some tangible assistance to a partner in the government – and were successful in showing that with the proper partnership, the government can get better, and faster access to qualified providers.

It began with a call from GTSC member and GTSC Small Business Member of the Year 2016 Kathy Pherson, CEO of Pherson Associates, a Woman-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB), who was concerned that a partner agency found no Woman-Owned Small Businesses in a certain NAICs code. The member connected us with the agency and to their credit, they were very interested in hearing from us! GTSC put out a call for firms qualifying for the requirements. In less than 48 business hours we had amassed over 25 qualified WOSBs and submitted them to the agency.

With that, they altered their initial track structure for the intended procurement to reflect this market research.

Why am I writing about this? This is obviously an “ideal” scenario!

I wanted to provide a real life example of how our government partners can leverage their industry partners to find their most qualified providers and best solutions competitively. We encourage all of our government partners to consider:

  1. Go to where the small businesses live.  There are very few organizations that really represent small businesses in the federal market. Why? Simply because they do not have tremendous marketing dollars. Small companies look for the most resources for the least outlay of the capital they use to grow. Federal agencies should forge close ties with non-profits that work with, and actively represent small businesses.
  2. Develop and Leverage relationships.Every market is a series of relationships – healthy markets are composed of those you trust and those you do not. That is why “industry relations” are so important to a vibrant federal market. Good relationships with industry allow an agency to reach and get assistance to find the small businesses they need. It also saves a tremendous amount of time and leg-work to try and find new communities around every procurement.
  1. Be strategic.  Different organizations are good at different things. The best federal industry liaisons, procurement officers, and leadership understand their market’s industry partners, who represents what, the organization’s mission, and the efficacy of the organization. Developing these relationships with industry allows them to understand how to best leverage existing resources and find active, engaged businesses.
  1. Talk to your industry partners.  We may finally be coming out of a period where many in the federal government were reluctant to talk to industry. The message we’ve been hearing more than ever – from nearly every component within the Department of Homeland Security – is that acquisition and procurement leaders are encouraging their staff to get out more and talk to, and learn from, industry. As a matter of fact, under the leadership of DHS CPO Soraya Correa the Department has undertaken “Reverse Industry Days” – devised by industry – to provide their contracting staff an opportunity to learn about industry and how it operates. GTSC’s Acquisition & Procurement Workgroup lead, Carolyn Muir from SE Solutions and a former contracting officer with the Navy has been instrumental in crafting and adding tremendous value to the topics and lessons provided in these “Master Classes” on government contracting.

We continue to applaud these changes to our procurement and acquisition process and look forward to continue leading both industry and government as we navigate a market environment moving faster than conventional procurement can handle.

 

Kristina Tanasichuk is CEO & Founder of the Government Technology & Services Coalition, a non-profit, non-partisan organization of small and imd-sized companies working in homeland and national security.  She is also the president of InfraGardNCR, a public private partnership between the private sector and the FBI to share information to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure, and the president and founder of Women in Homeland Security.

GTSC 5th Anniversary Awards Spectacular December 7

Join GTSC to celebrate 5 years of serving the homeland and national security community at our 5th Anniversary Holiday Awards Spectacular!  With special guests galore and our usual line-up of stellar supporters — this will be the year to remember — and the YEARS to be thankful to all for their support!

We will announce our:

Small Business Member of the Year

Mid-Tier Company of the Year

Mentor of the Year

Federal Small Business Champion of the Year

Market Maven Award

Federal MVP

Strategic Advisor of the Year

Strategic Partner of the Year

and include a special new 5th anniversary recognition for supporters from our 5 years!

CONTACT US TO NOMINATE A PEER, CLIENT OR ADVISOR FOR OUR AWARDS (nominations accepted until November 15!)

Support and sponsorships of our holiday event are welcome — please contact us to help make this our best event ever!

GTSC Partners with Intelligence Community News to Bring Innovation to the IC

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES COALITION PARTNERS WITH INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY NEWS TO PROMOTE INNOVATION
Organizations collaborate to forward innovative ideas to advance national security

Washington, D.C., October 5 – Intelligence Community News, an online publication for the U.S. Intelligence community, and the Government Technology & Services Coalition announced today a partnership to help U.S. intelligence agencies with businesses that have innovative ideas to advance national security.

“We are excited at the opportunity to bring some innovation and opportunity to non-traditional government interested in helping the intelligence community. While historically more difficult to tackle, since the events of September 11th, the intelligence community has realized the potential of technologies and services in the small and mid-sized business community and made significant efforts to include their innovations. We look forward to helping them continue to facilitate the appropriate collaboration and market research to stay ahead of our enemies,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO & Founder of the Government Technology & Services Coalition.

Intelligence Community News readers who become members of GTSC will gain access to numerous benefits and ICN will also work with GTSC to promote private sector innovation through a number of initiatives, including “Smashing the Box” events, which connect U.S. intelligence agencies with businesses that have innovative ideas to advance national security. Through a subscription to Intelligence Community News, you’ll be the first to know.

“Getting ‘in’ to the intelligence community is and should be difficult, however, some of the collaboration, crowdsourcing, and information collection tools developed outside the community can be extremely useful to predict terrorist attacks, find bad actors, and help the nation stop the next major attack. We are excited at the opportunity to find ways to bring these ideas and companies to the IC community,” said Loren Blinde, PhD and Editor of Intelligence Community News.

Intelligence Community News and GTSC will work on “Smashing the Box” events, which connect U.S. Intelligence agencies with businesses that have innovative ideas to advance national security, jointly develop collaboration points, and provide input to challenges before the IC community.  Learn more about ICN at www.IntelligenceCommunityNews.com