Monthly Meeting: 3 June 2010

DINNER SPEAKER: Jeffrey Parsons, Executive Director, U.S. Army Contracting Command
WORKSHOP SPEAKER: Sterling Whitehead, Contract Specialist U.S. Navy, speaking on Transparency in Contracting

For reservations, please contact: Pat Maxson (703) 767-0110 Patricia.maxson@dtra.mil

For Electronic Registration with the ability to pay by credit card go on-line at http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=204233
Cost of a meal for members who pre-register is $35 and $40 for walk-ins and non-members.
Cancellations must be emailed or called in to Pat Maxson no later than Tuesday June 1.

DINNER SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY: Jeffrey P. Parsons, Executive Director, U.S. Army Contracting Command

Mr. Jeffrey P. Parsons is the Executive Director of the U.S. Army Contracting Command (ACC), a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC). The ACC provides global contracting support to Warfighters through the full spectrum of military operations. Mr. Parsons commands over 5,500 military and civilian personnel worldwide, who award and manage over 245,000 contractual actions valued at more than $100 billion per fiscal year. He exercises command and procurement authority over two subordinate commands, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command and the Expeditionary Contracting Command; and also leads seven major Contracting Centers which support AMC’s other major subordinate commands and Life Cycle Management Commands.

Mr. Parsons was appointed to the Senior Executive Service on December 15, 2003. Prior to assuming his current position, Mr. Parsons served as the Director of Contracting, Office of Command Contracting, Headquarters, AMC, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Responsibilities from the Office of Command Contracting transitioned into the Army Contracting Command. Mr. Parsons continues to serve as the Principal Advisor to the Commanding General of AMC and her staff on all contracting matters and as the AMC Career Program Manager for the Contracting and Acquisition Career Program, with responsibility for the recruitment, training, education, and professional development of the civilian and military contracting professionals who are part of the acquisition workforce.

Prior to his appointment to the Senior Executive Service, Mr. Parsons was the Director of Contracting, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where he retired from active duty as an Air Force Colonel after 26 years of service. He was responsible for developing and implementing contracting policies and processes to annually acquire $34 billion in research and development, production, test, and logistics support for Air Force weapon systems. He was directly responsible for the training, organizing, and equipping of more than 3,000 contracting professionals.

Mr. Parsons’ contracting career began in 1977 as a base procurement officer supporting the 90th Strategic Missile Wing at F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. He held a variety of positions as a contracting officer with a wide range of experience touching on all aspects of systems, logistics, and operational contracting. He was the Director of Contracting for a multi-billion dollar classified satellite program operated by the National Reconnaissance Office and served twice as a plant commander in the Defense Contract Management Agency. Mr. Parsons also held several key staff positions at Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, the Air Force Secretariat, and with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, in which he was responsible for the development, implementation, and management of integrated, coordinated, and uniform policies and programs to govern DoD procurement worldwide.

Mr. Parsons received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and holds two masters degrees – one in Administration with a concentration in Procurement and Contracting from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and the other in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. He is a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the Defense Systems Management College Executive Program Management Course. Mr. Parsons holds the Acquisition Professional Development Program’s highest certifications in contracting and program manage-ment. He also is a Certified Professional Contracts Manager, National Contract Management Association.

WORKSHOP SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY: Sterling Whitehead, Contract Specialist, U.S. Navy

Sterling Whitehead is a 1102 Contract Specialist with the US Navy. He is also an advocate for greater use of Web 2.0 tech in contracting and maintains a blog called All Things Sterling at http://AllThingsSterling.com. He is the founder of a group for Young Acquisition Professionals, http://youngacq.weebly.com/