Emerging Small Business Group Meeting with Kevin Boshears, OSDBU, DHS

The Government Technology & Services Coalition is extremely please to invite you to an Emerging Small Business Group meeting
April 20
10:00 am – 11:30 am
with
Kevin Boshears

Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

ESBG Chair:

Earl Holland
CEO
Growth Strategy Consultants
Join GTSC’s Emerging Small Business Group to discuss strategic partnerships, teaming, and the work of one of the best OSDBUs around — Kevin Boshears. The ESBG is focused on companies with revenue up to $2.5 million and meetings are open to all GTSC members. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet your peers at GTSC and meet one of the foremost leaders of small business efforts in the federal government.

Insight Session: Frontis B. Wiggins, CIO, U.S. Department of State

Join the GTSC for an exclusive session with the CIO of the U.S. State Department

April 5, 2017
10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Session will discuss:

  • U.S. Department of State’s direction and goals for IT
  • Top IT challenges State is facing?
  • Toward which technologies or methodologies is State moving?
  • The plan to engage contractors going forward?
  • How can contractors help?

Join us for a special conversation with Frontis B. Wiggins, a member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, and Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Department of State. In this capacity, he is responsible for the Department’s information resources and technology initiatives which provide core information, knowledge management, and technology (IT) services to the Department of State and its 260 overseas Missions. He is directly responsible for the Information Resource Management (IRM) Bureau’s budget of $569 million, and oversees State’s total IT/ knowledge management budget of approximately one billion dollars.

Special Thanks to Susan Suskin, Chief, GTSC State Department and Senior Vice President, Abacus Technology
THIS IS A CLOSED SESSION OPEN TO GTSC MEMBERS, GUESTS AND GOVERNMENT ONLY – NO PRESS.

Capacity Building: NIST Cyber Security Framework

GTSC and the GovCon SIG of InfraGardNCR is extremely please to invite you to a Capacity Building session to focus on the NIST Cyber Security Framework and your cyber practices.
Bill Fannelli

Chief Security Officer
U.S. Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has distilled the essence of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) into a training program for small and mid-size businesses called 5 Steps to Better Business Cybersecurity.
Join GTSC to protect your clients and your enterprise through the 5-Steps approach that moves the focus from building higher fences to a comprehensive approach based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework functional areas – Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover.

GTSC Membership Information Breakfast

Ever wondered why so many companies have joined GTSC in such a short amount of time? In only 5 years, GTSC has grown to nearly 140 companies in the homeland and national security space. If you are a government contractor with interest in DHS, DOD, ODNI, State, Justice or Treasury — join us for a fun, informative breakfast to lock down your membership for 2017!

JOIN US MARCH 28

7:30 am – 9:00 am | Falls Church, VA

You will find out more about:

>>Programming — why is ours the best? Come find out

>>Members — why are GTSC members different?

>>Prices — why is GTSC the best value? How are we different from every other organization?

>>Events — why does GTSC have the best event reputation in town? What’s our secret?

Companies that join GTSC in March get some special treats — come on down and find out WHAT!!

 

REGISTER – this breakfast is for government contractors interested in learning more about the Government Technology & Services Coalition only.

NCOA-GTSC Partner to find meaningful employment for our nation’s veterans

Washington, D.C., February 8 –The Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC), the premier non-profit organization for companies in homeland and national security, and the Non Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA), the foremost organization for non commissioned officers in all branches of the military, today announced a powerful partnership to find meaningful employment for transitioning veterans and allow them to continue their commitment to the security of the nation with employers working in homeland and national security.
“We are thrilled to further our goal of matching our honored veterans with high quality, high paying positions that continue to serve the mission of securing our country.  The contractors that participate with GTSC are working with all of the federal agencies charged with this mission and understand that veterans are the ideal employees who understand mission, often have security clearances, and are committed to our nation,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO of GTSC at the announcement.
The Government Technology & Services Coalition represents nearly 140 companies that work in homeland and national security across the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Justice, State, Treasury and the Intelligence Community.  GTSC has a strategic partnership with Ability One contractor Linden Resources through their Vets Ready to Work program which supports veterans and wounded warriors with training, professional development and other employment supports to transition to meaningful, lasting employment opportunities.
“NCOA has been hosting Career Expos for our military for over 44 years.  Our partnership with GTSC supports our mission of finding the right type of employment for our transitioning military members and assuring that the agencies charged with protecting our nation have the best, most committed individuals supporting them.  The contractors working in GTSC work in this mission and would be ideal employers for veterans,” added Jon Ostrowski, Executive Director, NCOA.
The NCOA was established in 1960 to enhance and maintain the quality of life for noncommissioned and petty officers in all branches of the Armed Forces, Active Duty, National Guard, Reserves, Veterans (separated and retired), widows, and their families.  NCOA is currently a leader in Veterans and Spouse Employment, a strong voice on Capitol Hill and in the Veterans Administration.  The NCOA will be hosting 25 Career Expos across the continental U.S. and Europe in 2017. The goal of the Career Expo program is to connect America’s heroes and their dependents with profitable, meaningful employment.
NCOA and GTSC will work together to develop expos to meet the needs of transitioning veterans, find and offer training for veterans, and work with GTSC members to identify the skills needed, and jobs available.   GTSC will work with its members to identify gaps in their labor pools, strategize on future needs, and work to match appropriate transitioning military personnel with high quality employment. For more information on NCOA Career Expos, go to www.NCOACareerExpos.com and for more information on GTSC, go to www.gtscoalition.com.
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ABOUT GTSC

The Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC) is a nonprofit, non-partisan 501(c)(6) association of companies that work with government partners to achieve mission.  Our vision is to provide an ethical, effective platform to leverage the private sector to bring the best homeland and national security ideas, technologies and innovations to the mission of securing our nation.  GTSC’s mission is to provide exceptional advocacy, capacity building, partnership opportunities and marketing in the Federal security space for small and mid-sized companies and to support and assist our government partners achieve their critical missions with the highest integrity; best and most innovative technologies; and results-based, quality products and services to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from any terrorist attack or natural disaster. For more information on these mentors and the Government Technology & Services Coalition, please visit www.GTSCoalition.com.
ABOUT NCOA
The Non Commissioned Officers Association is the premier organization representing the enlisted of our military since 1960, founded to enhance and maintain the quality of life for noncommissioned and petty officers. The voice of the Active Duty, National Guard, Reserves, Veterans (separated and retired), widows, and their families, NCOA leads efforts on Veterans and Spouse Employment, Capitol Hill, and at the Veterans Administration on behalf of our nearly 60,000 members.   Learn more at www.NCOAUSA.org or www.ncoacareerexpos.org.

CAPACITY BUILDING: Annual GovCon Ethics Training 2/22

No excuses! Every business must train and remind their employees about ethics requirements under the FAR — and GTSC is here to MAKE IT EASY! Attend and send all of your employees to this training to get your annual ethics training certification.
Doing business with the federal government requires a heightened level of commitment to ethics and compliance. Though the specific FAR requirements for small and large businesses differ, the FAR requires

all businesses to conduct themselves with the highest degree of integrity and honesty. It states all businesses should have an employee business ethics and compliance training program that is suitable to the size of the company and extent of its involvement in Government contracting and that facilitates timely discovery and disclosure of improper conduct and ensures corrective measures are promptly instituted and carried out. (FAR 3.1002).

The majority of the headlines we see about non-compliance are related to weak ethical cultures and in many cases, a simple lack of training. Both can result in catastrophic business events. Proper training in ethics is not only required for certain contractors, it serves a vital preventive role. If the unthinkable does happen, a strong ethics and compliance program including effective training in critical compliance risk areas an act as a shield for your company. For example, the actions taken by Ed Snowden were every contractor’s worst nightmare. However, Booz Allen Hamilton was able to highlight in its public statement that his actions were contrary to its corporate values, internal policies, and its code of conduct – on which he had been trained.

Is your company positioned to say the same? If your company finds itself out of compliance, the training your company can show its employees completed may make the difference between no adverse action and suspension or even debarment.

This half-day training session covers risk areas common to most contractors, regardless of industry or size. Even if you have not yet landed a qualifying contract for the FAR ethics program requirements, there is no better time than now to competitively position your company to enhance your business’ reputation for compliant and ethical business practices.

Upon completing this training, GTSC will certify that you and your employees in attendance have completed annual training as required by FAR 52.203-13(c)(1). Attendees are required to attend the ENTIRE session and will sign-in and sign-out to recieve their certificate.

AGENDA

Click here for topics covered in this training.

About Amy McDougal  @EthiVenger on twitter!

Amy Hutchens

Amy McDougal is Founder and President of CLEAResources, LLC. Most recently, Amy served as General Counsel and Vice President of Compliance and Ethics Services at Watermark, LLC. Previously, Amy was a Special Assistant United States Attorney and an Air Force Judge Advocate, attaining the rank of Major, before beginning her civilian career as in-house employment law and compliance counsel to a large and diverse government contractor. Amy has a passion for helping organizations do right by their shareholders, employees, clients, customers and communities, and by doing so, mitigates the business risks associated with ethical and compliance failures.

Amy has federal criminal and civil litigation experience, as well as extensive experience advising executive management on personnel and compliance and ethics matters. She has worked with companies large and small, privately held and publicly held, in the commercial and federal contractor sectors, to help them develop and mature the compliance and ethics infrastructure required by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. She has developed, implemented, audited and managed all aspects of compliance and ethics programs including assessing risk, drafting internal policies, training employees at all levels, developing employee codes of conduct, and establishing monitoring and investigative protocols to maximize value and effectiveness in compliance and ethics programs.

GTSC Ushers in New Administration

CEO of PotomacWave Emma Sopko and Tricia O’Hara from CENTRA Technology made Fox News during the Veterans Inaugural Ball – Salute to Heroes hosted by the American Legion.  The ball attracted Speaker Paul Ryan, Vice President Pence, and a number of other politicians and celebrities but most importantly, honored 31 medal of honor winners who attended the event.

GTSC Strategic Advisor Jim Williams and his lovely wife join GTSC at the Salute to Heroes Ball

GTSC members from PotomacWave join the festivities at the Salute to Heroes Inaugural ball.

INSIGHT SESSION: Strategic Sourcing with DHS 2/27

Join GTSC for the first of two roundtables with


Jaclyn Smyth

Director, Strategic Sourcing
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

February 27, 2017 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | REGISTER

The issues around strategic sourcing in the federal government have raised a lot of angst among contractors.  Efforts by the Departments of Defense (DOD), Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to strategically manage spending for information technology (IT) services, such as software design and development, have improved in recent years, currently managing between 10 and 44 percent of their IT services spending through preferred strategic sourcing contracts in fiscal year 2013. In contrast, GAO previously reported that leading companies generally strategically managed about 90 percent of their procurement spending, including services. DHS currently manages 44% of their IT services through preferred IT strategic sourcing contract vehicles.

To improve efforts to strategically source IT services, GAO recommended that each agency conduct spend analysis, monitor spending, develop savings goals and metrics, and consider the use of standardized labor categories, as appropriate for their agency. The agencies concurred with these recommendations.

Join us to learn more about how the initiative is being executed, DHS’s goals for the program, its impacts on the small business community and the plan moving forward for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at the first of two in-depth roundtables on strategic sourcing.

ABOUT JACLYN

Jaclyn Smyth is the director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Strategic Sourcing Program Office within the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, where she oversees a portfolio of over 75 DHS-wide contract vehicles valued at more than $57 billion. She has several years of experience in federal procurement and acquisition-related fields, where she has worked on a wide variety of large-scale DHS and federal procurements. She lends her expertise in sourcing strategies and category management in the federal-wide Category Management Leadership Council. She was recently named the federal-wide security and protection category manager and leads a cross-agency category team. She is responsible for developing and implementing government-wide strategies that align with established category management principles and methodologies. Prior to her federal career, she served as a principal with E3 Federal Solutions for several years during which time she consulted on DHS procurements.

INSIGHT SESSION: Diane Sahakian, Deputy Assistant Secretary, CBP

Diane Sahakian
Deputy Assistant Commissioner
Office of Acquisition
U.S. Customs and Border Protection

January 31, 2017 | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

REGISTER

Ms. Sahakian will join us to discuss CBP’s spend in 2017, priorities, challenges, and new initiatives on her agenda.

ABOUT Diane Sahakian

Ms. Sahakian was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the Office of Acquisition at CBP. Prior to that she oversaw an average annual spend of $2.7 Billion of operational contracting activities for CBP and worked closely with the Executive Director in managing the non-operational side of the house. Major CBP missions supported are for the Border Patrol, the Air and Marine Office, the Field Operations Office, and the Information Technology Office. Prior to this appointment, Mrs. Sahakian served as the CBP Chief of the Contracting Office, managing the annual CBP procurement spend which at the time was approximately $3.5 Billion. She was a contract administrator in private industry for four years prior to joining the former U.S. Customs Service in 1985. During her tenure at the legacy U.S. Customs Service and CBP, she served as the lead contract officer and manager in support of the Office of Air and Marine, the contract manager for the Seized Property program, and the Division Director for Border Patrol Contracting. She has a BA in Economics from Tufts University and Masters Certificates in both Project Management and Commercial Contracting from George Washington University. Mrs. Sahakian is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute’s Leadership for Democratic Society program and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Managers in Government program.