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GTSC Expands Steering Committee to Accommodate Growth
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GTSC Expands Steering Committee to Accommodate Growth

GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY & SERVICES COALITION
EXPANDS STEERING COMMITTEE
GTSC expands Steering Committee to accommodate Coalition’s growth
Washington, D.C. April 8 — The Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC), the premier non-profit organization for small and mid-sized companies in homeland and national security, today announced that it has expanded its Steering Committee to serve the mission more effectively by representing the increasing number, and diversity, of companies in the Coalition.
“US-CERT last month told electric utilities to disengage from the internet as much as possible.  The Office of Personnel Management suffered a breach that affected over 22 million people.  In 2015 we lost approximately $800 million to hostile countries, nation states, and criminals.  ISIL uses Twitter to plan attacks quickly and effectively across the globe.  As we approach our 5th anniversary, we have expanded our Steering Committee because we need more mission-oriented people and companies engaged in providing the government the best ideas and execution,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, founder and CEO of the Coalition.
“While GTSC works to parse through the challenges in Federal procurement, the mission marches on.  We want to assure that the most successful small, mid-tier and large companies committed to the homeland and national security mission have a voice.  It was natural to reach out to some of our best and brightest to inform our path,” she continued.
“The key to successfully delivering against our most pressing homeland and national security challenges is a strong partnership between private sector companies with innovative approaches to delivering real capability and this in government who understand the challenges.  GTSC is providing significant value to both my firm and our federal partners through dedicated focus on bringing us together to advance the mission of homeland and national security,” said Frank Landefeld, managing director & public sector market leader at MorganFranklin Consulting.
Members of the GTSC Steering Committee contribute to the direction and priorities of the Coalition, identify mission needs, and work with federal partners to find innovative mechanisms to bring cutting-edge ideas and technologies to the homeland and national security mission.
Additions to the Steering Committee include:
  • Robert Aguilera, Garud Technology Services, Inc.
  • Elizabeth El-Nattar, CEO, TRI-COR Industries, Inc.
  • Diana Francois, Senior Vice President, WBB, Inc.
  • Josh Kussman, CEO, Sentinel Strategy and Policy Consulting
  • Frank Landefeld, Managing Director & Public Sector Market Leader, MorganFranklin Consulting
  • Suzanne Liscouski, Vice President, NCI, Inc.
  • Tim May, Chief Marketing Officer, Salient CRGT
  • Dennis Murphy, PMP, President, ASM Concepts
  • Michael P. Stabolepszy, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, INTEGRITYOne Partners
  • Wayne Willis, Managing Partner, HWC
They join existing Steering Committee members Dr. Sheri Dougherty, president, DAI; Elaine Kapetanakis, CEO, Kapstone Technology; Lisa Martin, CEO, LeapFrog Solutions; Carolyn Muir, executive vice president, SE Solutions; Brian Nault, president, BlueWater Federal; Kathy Pherson, CEO, Pherson Associates; and Andrea Stone, CEO, Dynamic Pro, Inc.
“As a small business in homeland security we are thrilled with how GTSC provides a forum where small and mid-tier firms can forge trusted relationships to collectively pursue opportunities.  Nowhere is there such a strong voice with the attention and focus on the continuing success and extremely high ROI to member companies as at GTSC – we are excited to be part of an organization bringing the best of breed to our government partners,” added Michael Stabolepszy, co-founder and managing director, INTEGRITYOne Partners.
“I am honored to have had the privilege not only to serve the first two secretaries of DHS, but also now to assist GTSC in defining their strategic path forward in engaging DHS in productive industry dialogue.  Their work on behalf of mid-tier companies is unique and extremely relevant in today’s market,” said Suzanne Petrie Liscouski, vice president, federal civilian agencies, NCI, Inc.
GTSC works on behalf of its members with the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, Justice, Treasury, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Founding Strategic Advisor Michelle Mrdeza on GTSC’s Accomplishments
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Founding Strategic Advisor Michelle Mrdeza on GTSC’s Accomplishments

During our March Membership Madness promotion we asked a number of our Strategic Advisors to share with our community why they joined, how they see us impacting the homeland and national security agenda, and what the ROI for joining the Coalition is for small, mid, and large companies.  In our latest video, Michelle Mrdeza, one of the most respected homeland security professionals in Washington, D.C. discusses the Coalition’s role in educating members of Congress, their staff, and our Federal partners.  Michelle has more than twenty-three years in public service on Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch, including four years as Majority Staff Director of the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security.  At Cornerstone, Michelle contributes to the firm’s homeland security practice group.

See the video here.

GTSC Chair Michael Jackson discusses GTSC’s role in GOVCON
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GTSC Chair Michael Jackson discusses GTSC’s role in GOVCON

Why join GTSC?  Here, Michael Jackson, former Deputy Secretary for both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Transportation discusses why the Government Technology & Services Coalition’s network is so critical to the success of a small or mid-tier government contracting company.  His experience both inside and outside of the government informs of how GTSC can take your business to the next level through the right partners, information, and impact.

Part II: Implementing Agile at USCIS
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Part II: Implementing Agile at USCIS

PART II

In part II of our interview with Josh Seckel, Sara Kindsfater-Yerkes, Chair of the GTSC Business Development Exchange, was able to sit down with USCIS’ Chief of the Applied Technology Division (ATD) to discuss the agile transformation at U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Among ATD’s chief responsibilities are driving the adoption of agile across the USCIS enterprise, brought about in part by providing agile coaching services – experts across the technical, process and organizational change domains who help clients shift their culture and mindset to lean/agile thinking. This is a sea change in Federal IT – moving away from the lengthy, and staged waterfall methods to continuous activities for developing software. By doing them continuously quality improves because testing starts day one, visibility improves through collaboration and increased visibility, and risk is reduced through continuous feedback and prioritization of work.  

GTSC: You’ve been through some of the best agile coaching training out there – for those who aren’t coaches what does “being a good mirror” mean?

Josh: Yes. They are able to point out to the team what is engrained that they are doing and can’t see for themselves, and get them to question, “is there a better way” versus accepting “we’ve always done it this way”. That takes a special relationship – one built on trust, honesty but without being a snitch, not judging but helping and not being oversight.

GTSC: So how are coaches typically different than scrum masters?

Josh: Again, really good scrum masters can be agile coaches, as long as they’ve had experience helping teams grow and get better. It’s a really small number of people that can do that though – be scrum masters AND agile coaches. Biggest differences between scrum masters and agile coaches is their area of engagement – scrum masters focus on team, coaches focus on project or program, and multiple teams of developers, scrum masters and stakeholders. At USCIS we have agile coaches that focus on divisions and entire portfolios of systems.

GTSC: This is somewhat self-serving given my background but how is agile driving culture change in the government?

Josh: Agile is helping the government breakdown silos, slowly. People are talking – maybe not collaborating to the fullest extent but we’re realizing why it’s important to talk to other parts of the organization. Within USCIS the IT people are engaging the business side more than they used to. Speed is also a big driver of change – there’s a new expectation for delivery on the order of months not years. The pace of change in government is increasing – I know it’s been that way in industry – but in government we are really pushing to think about what comes next. Agile is also changing the way we think about quality – we’ve got to deliver quicker, with less resources and keep focused on quality while maintaining that pace. Next, we’ve got to focus on understanding MVP (minimum viable product) on the business side – that’s coming.

GTSC: It’s a consistent pain point – how do you procure agile services?  

Josh: We’ve got to focus on agile acquisition, not acquisition for agile. What I mean is we need look at what we need to change in the acquisition process. We’ve also got to keep contractual requirements in contracts and leave business requirements out of them. Come to Agile 2016 to hear me talk about this – I have a lot to say on this topic!

GTSC:  As you know, GTSC’s “tag line” is, It’s All About Mission.  How do you think agile impacts the mission of USCIS? 

Josh:  Agile impacts the mission of USCIS by providing more immediate responses to changes in direction, both large and small.  When the executive order for Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) came down, we were able to start working on the changes much faster than history would indicate.  And when the court stayed the order, we were able to switch back very rapidly as well.  Or on the small level, we are fixing and changing items on a rapid basis because of user feedback. This enables the officers to be much more responsive to the applicants rather than having to deal with a long wait and many work arounds.

GTSC: So last question, how do we work together (government and industry) to continue to bring things like agile, to the government to improve government?

Josh: Neither can do it alone – agile, devops, etc. – it has to be a partnership. We’re going to put out RFPs for agile delivery, and we’re going to expect that those bidding can do things like test driven development (TDD). If companies bidding don’t have the skills they won’t win. It’s a different world. Companies need to keep the skills of their teams up to date and growing; we’ve all got to focus on the work and the mission.

JOIN US to hear Josh in person discussing best practices in agile at USCIS, March 10, 2016.  REGISTER here.

Sara Kindsfater Yerkes


Sara Kindsfater-Yerkes, leader of GTSC’s DHS Business Development Exchange and member since 2012, is an Organizational Change Strategist with expertise in guiding large-scale transformations, Sara is passionate about helping individuals and teams to become high performing and creating cultures in which all can thrive. She currently supports Josh and USCIS in the cultural adoption of lean/agile practices.

Part I: Implementing Agile at USCIS with Josh Seckel, Chief, ATD, USCIS
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Part I: Implementing Agile at USCIS with Josh Seckel, Chief, ATD, USCIS

We’ve also got to create a culture of partnership. We recognize companies are in business to make money, but we’ve got to create alignment towards a bigger purpose – like changing the way federal IT works.

Sara Kindsfater-Yerkes, Chair of the GTSC Business Development Exchange, was able to sit down with Josh Seckel, Chief of the Applied Technology Division (ATD) at USCIS. In this two-part interview, they discuss the agile transformation at U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Among ATD’s chief responsibilities are driving the adoption of agile across the USCIS enterprise, brought about in part by providing agile coaching services – experts across the technical, process and organizational change domains who help clients shift their culture and mindset to lean/agile thinking. This is a sea change in Federal IT – moving away from the lengthy, and staged waterfall methods to continuous activities for developing software. By doing them continuously quality improves because testing starts day one, visibility improves through collaboration and increased visibility, and risk is reduced through continuous feedback and prioritization of work.  

GTSC: So Josh, we’ve known each other for a while now, but I’d like to give people insight into your background. Where should we start?

Josh: Where to start? So the dinosaurs roamed. No, just kidding! The short version is that after getting my Computer Science degree I went to work for IBM and got to participate in all aspects of the software development process – but come 2001 I was still programming in Cobol. I decided to go back to school and get my MBA which obviously taught be a great deal about the business-side of organizations. I get accounting, P&L, all that good stuff. After that, I came to DC and worked for a few federal contractors, which gave me the experience to support programs with the United States Marine Corps, the Joint Strike Fighter, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office where I was part of a team introducing agile concepts and then to the Homeland Security Information Network coaching on agile. Then I came to USCIS, as a government employee. I’ve been around DHS since it’s inception and working with agile concepts like rapid application development before agile became mainstream.

GTSC: What has your role been at USCIS?

Josh: I came to USCIS to help CIO Mark Schwartz advise the organization on the adoption of agile and to be a federal coaching leading contractor coaches.

GTSC: What made the job as a “Govie” appealing to you?

Josh: The ability to say “yes” enticed me. I’d worked as a contractor and was told “great idea, but no” and wanted to listen to great ideas from both government and industry and be able to say “yes – let’s try that.” I also wanted the opportunity to really execute on this idea of agile adoption and improving federal IT more fully.

GTSC: You’ve been very mission focused from that perspective. Very cool. Your response made me think, and this a bit tangential, about the fed/contractor relationship. How do we change and improve that dynamic?

Josh: Good question. The government needs to do its part – we need to improve federal employee education and what I mean by that is putting someone in charge of overseeing an agile program with skills and experience in agile. We hire contractors because they have specific expertise that we don’t, but then we get unfriendly because they know things we don’t. The flipside of that is the perceptions that contractors think the government employees don’t know anything and that too causes tension.

GTSC: It’s definitely a vicious cycle that we’ve got to collectively break. There’s nothing more gratifying as a consultant then to work with a customer who needs your expertise and allows you to work with them to solve real problems.

Josh: Yes, so we’ve also got to create a culture of partnership. We recognize companies are in business to make money, but we’ve got to create alignment towards a bigger purpose – like changing the way federal IT works.

GTSC: You’ve been spearheading agile coaching internally at USCIS, what’s the value agile coaches provide? How are they different from Scrum Masters?

Josh: Well, I would start by saying that they don’t necessarily have to be different then scrum masters; really good, experienced scrum masters can be coaches. Agile coaches provide knowledge on how to do this new thing through their experiences not a 2-day course. Good coaches offer a broader perspective and are a good mirror – they are a reflection of the team back to itself, an objective 3rd party reflection. And they not only coach the development team, they coach management too.

STAY TUNED to next week when Sara and Josh discuss being a good “mirror,” coaches versus scrum masters, and how agile is driving culture change in the government.

Sara Kindsfater YerkesSara Kindsfater-Yerkes, leader of GTSC’s DHS Business Development Exchange and member since 2012, is an Organizational Change Strategist with expertise in guiding large-scale transformations, Sara is passionate about helping individuals and teams to become high performing and creating cultures in which all can thrive. She currently supports Josh and USCIS in the cultural adoption of lean/agile practices.

 

 

GTSC Awarded “Excellence in Partnership” by U.S. Department of Treasury
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GTSC Awarded “Excellence in Partnership” by U.S. Department of Treasury

The U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization, presented the Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC) with the Excellence in Partnership award for “Moving Treasury’s Small Business Program Forward” through its work to develop a robust program for small businesses interested in working with the Department.
treasury award photo

“GTSC leadership worked with us to develop and execute an extensive program to help small companies understand the Department of the Treasury, our needs, and where small businesses could help our mission in both every day execution and in how they invest in their business. Their leadership and members participated with us in a number of projects to educate our contracting workforce and to improve the market research around how Treasury finds new vendors. We are extremely pleased to present GTSC with this award.”

Treasury assists, counsels, and advises small businesses of all types (small businesses, small disadvantaged business, women-owned small businesses, economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses, veteran owned small businesses, service disabled veteran owned small businesses, and small businesses located in historically underutilized business zones) on procedures for contracting with Treasury.

In 2015, the Department greatly expanded its small business program hosting its first Small Business Roundtable with leadership from Treasury and small business organizations, hosted its first Small Business Industry Day, and worked with the U.S. General Services Administration to develop a video-training tool for Contracting Officers (COs) used government-wide.

“A debriefing is one of the most impactful communications that takes place during the acquisition process, because of the of the various implications it has to both parties. Delivering a debriefing is a skill, and like most things worth doing, it is best executed with practice. My colleagues from GTSC and I were honored to be a part of the Department of Treasury’s mock debriefing training. Knowing our efforts will be used to train hundreds of procurement professionals is very rewarding,” said Carolyn Muir, Executive Vice President of SE Solutions and GTSC’s Chair of Acquisition & Procurement Initiatives. Companies that participated included SE Solutions, Keep It Simple Technology Solutions, McMenamin (MCG) Consulting, LeapFrog Solutions, and Rigil.

“We are extremely grateful and honored by this award,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, Founder & CEO of the Coalition. “In response to Treasury’s commitment to small business, GTSC added the Department as one of our partner agencies this year. They recognized the value of small business and have made a tremendous contribution to the small business community by engaging deeply, understanding the strengths of what these innovators have to offer, and educating their workforce on the benefits of this community. We are proud to work with them to find the innovation, creativity, and professionalism needed to execute their mission while supporting the small business community.”

See the release here.

The GSA-DHS OASIS MOU: A Game-Changer at DHS
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The GSA-DHS OASIS MOU: A Game-Changer at DHS

In July, DHS and GSA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) enabling greater use of GSA’s OASIS contract vehicle across all of DHS. DHS expects to increase its contract awards under OASIS from $11 million in 2015 to $250 million in 2016. This agreement is a game-changer for the DHS contracting community.

Under terms of the MOU, GSA agreed to lower the contract access fee for DHS from 0.75% to 0.25%, and DHS in turn agreed to include OASIS as one of its “Strategic Sourcing” contract vehicles covered under its “Mandatory for Use” Management Directive. This means that current DHS contractors, particularly those under TABSS and EAGLE II, will need to work harder to shape opportunities onto their respective contract vehicles, and OASIS contractors (at least many of them), will have to figure out how to navigate the world of DHS acquisitions.

This sets up a new contracting environment at DHS that could have broad ramifications for industry. GSA’s OASIS is being promoted at DHS as the replacement for TABSS, and the Program Management contract vehicle of choice. This is a body blow to TABSS contract holders and an immediate opportunity for OASIS contractors. With TABSS sun-setting in two years, DHS contracting officers will immediately see OASIS as a preferred contract vehicle, fully endorsed by acquisition leadership. With its wide variety of available NAICS Codes, 21 in Pool 1 alone, this is a huge boon for OASIS contract holders.

Many OASIS contract holders focus on DoD and have less experience at DHS. This may be a partnering opportunity for experienced DHS firms with complementary skills. Small businesses in disadvantaged socio-economic categories with DHS experience are in especially good position to take advantage of partnering.

EAGLE II contract holders should also take notice of the OASIS MOU, even with more than five years remaining in EAGLE II’s full period of performance. IT-focused Program Management requirements are still supposed to be released under EAGLE II. Because of the decentralized acquisition model used by DHS, exactly what constitutes “IT Services” under EAGLE II may be interpreted in a variety of ways by different Components. EAGLE II contract holders must continue to educate Component contracting officers and demonstrate how upcoming requirements fit on the NAICS codes in EAGLE II while being aware of the new latitude offered for Program Management services under OASIS.

The net result: Understanding the unique terms of these contract vehicles, as well as the tendencies of contracting officers in each DHS Component will be more important than ever in 2016.

Dennis Murphy President Applied Social Media

About Dennis Murphy, President, ASM Concepts
Dennis Murphy is a former senior executive with DHS and U.S. Customs Service and was a principal with Booz Allen Hamilton. He also served as Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs and as the first Communications Director for DHS Border and Transportation Security. He is now president of ASM Concepts, a management consulting company offering clients unique ways to merge marketing with business development to differentiate them from their competitors to both grow and scale their business.
Read the full ASM Concepts analysis of the OASIS MOU on the ASM Concepts website . For questions or further information, contact Dennis Murphy at [email protected].

 

GTSC Featured in MorganFranklin’s Core Confidence Blog
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GTSC Featured in MorganFranklin’s Core Confidence Blog

Q&A | Building a Bridge Between Business & Government

by MorganFranklin Consulting in Public Sector Market

MorganFranklin Consulting is an international services firm that delivers business consulting and technology solutions to public companies, fast-growing private companies, and government clients.

An interview with Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO & Founder, GTSC

What would our world look like if leaders from the U.S. government and private businesses worked together to learn from one another? What if they combined efforts to innovate and attain their shared goals? Would you believe that this vision is already reality?

MorganFranklin Consulting sat down with Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO and founder of the Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC), to discuss how her organization is bridging the divide between business and government. GTSC is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association that was formed to help CEOs from small and midsized companies band together to work with their federal partners to bring innovation, creativity, and exceptionalism from successful businesses to the homeland and national security missions.

In this exclusive Q&A, Tanasichuk shares her insights into how GTSC helps its members overcome challenges to work together with federal partners—and she highlights the coalition’s greatest success stories and top priorities. From cybersecurity and protecting critical infrastructure to implementing the DATA Act, the challenges are many but the potential payoff is huge.

Where some may see hurdles, Tanasichuk sees opportunity. Such an ambitious undertaking may sound daunting, but GTSC’s founder boils it down to three simple priorities:

  1. Focus on the mission
  2. Serve our government partners and our members
  3. Be a voice for innovation

“Something ‘innovative’—whether it’s a process, product, or service—may not work on the first try. You have to nurture innovation and be committed to it,” Tanasichuk says.

 

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MorganFranklinConsulting_QA_GTSC_Kristina_Tanasichuk_Article

RESCHEDULED 6/29: Francis X. Taylor, Under Secretary for I&A, DHS
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RESCHEDULED 6/29: Francis X. Taylor, Under Secretary for I&A, DHS

GTSC is excited to host Francis X. Taylor, Under Secretary for Intelligence & Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for an insight session to explore the information gathering and sharing challenges of I&A.  Charged with providing the Secretary, DHS senior leadership, the DHS components, and state, local, tribal and private sector partners with the homeland security intelligence and information they need to keep the country safe, secure and resilient, join us to learn the progress and remaining challenges to that mission.  I&A is a member of, and the Department’s liaison to, the National Intelligence Community.

REGISTER

About Francis X. Taylor

francis x taylorFrancis X. Taylor became the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security, on April 14, 2014.  He is charged with providing the Secretary, DHS senior leadership, the DHS components, and state, local, tribal and private sector partners with the homeland security intelligence and information they need to keep the country safe, secure and resilient. I&A is a member of, and the Department’s liaison to, the National Intelligence Community.

Immediately prior to this assignment, Mr. Taylor was Vice President and Chief Security Officer for the General Electric Company in Fairfield, Conn. At GE, he was responsible for managing the security operations and crisis management processes designed to ensure the security of GE employees and operations globally.

Before GE, Mr. Taylor had a distinguished 35-year career in government service, where he held several senior positions managing investigations, security and counterterrorism issues.

Most recently, he served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security and Director of the Office of Foreign Missions, with the rank of Ambassador. He was responsible for the global security of all U.S. diplomatic personnel and facilities. Ambassador Taylor also served as the U.S. Ambassador at Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism for the Department of State from July 2001 to November 2002. In this role, he was responsible for implementing U.S. counterterrorism policy overseas and coordinating the U.S. government response to international terrorist activities.

During his 31 years of military service, Ambassador Taylor served with distinction in numerous command and staff positions, rising to the rank of Brigadier General in September 1996. In his final active duty assignment, Brigadier General Taylor was the Commander, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and was responsible for providing Air Force leaders with comprehensive criminal, fraud, counterintelligence and security investigation and operations to protect global Air Force operations.

Mr. Taylor has received numerous awards and decorations, including the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Superior Service Medal and the U.S. Department of State Honor Award.

Mr. Taylor holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Government and International Studies from the University of Notre Dame. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the Notre Dame Air Force ROTC program.