Our Volunteer Leaders and
How They Serve You
2010 APMP NCA Board Executive Board
President, Brenda Crist
Vice President, Chris Simmons
Secretary, Colleen Jolly
Treasurer, Eric Schwarz
Directors At Large:
Annual Conference Chairperson, Briana Coleman
Boot Camp Chairperson, Maryann Lesnick
Chief Technology Officer, Michael Scruggs
Corporate Partner Program Chairperson, Alex Brown
Event Logistics Chairperson, Bob Miller
eZine Chairperson, Olessia Smotrova- Taylor
Marketing & Web Site Chairperson, Jay Schiavo
Membership Chairperson, Jan Butorac
Networking Chairperson, Alex Brown
Roundtable Chairperson, Hélène Courard
Executive Board Bios:
President, Brenda Crist
Brenda Crist has 25 years of experience providing
capture, proposal, and program management support for information technology
companies serving the Federal market. She is currently the Managing Director,
Strategic Solutions at the Lohfeld Consulting Group. Prior to becoming a full-time
proposal professional, she served as a Group Manager for OAO Corporation and
Project Manager for Harris Corporation. She has provided system, application,
and network management solutions for civilian and military clients. She
is the Vice President of the APMP National Capital Area Chapter and was a speaker
at the APMP National Conference in June 2009. Brenda holds a Masters Degree in
Public Administration from American University and is ITIL and PPM.APMP certified.
Job Duties
- Provides the vision and direction for the Chapter.
- Has general charge, supervision, and authority over the property, affairs, and business of the Chapter and its officers.
- Conducts monthly board meetings. Initiates the meeting agendas. Establishes and communicates the meeting location and time. Ensures all board members and committees routinely report on activities. Tracks action items from each meeting.
- Prepares Chapter business announcements for each Roundtable including introducing new members, announcing upcoming events, and conducting special recognition.
- Writes email broadcast announcements to promote Chapter’s education and networking events.
- Writes a column for the NCA newsletter and ensures that all important events and association business are reported in the newsletter.
- Maintains co-signature check-signing responsibility with Secretary/Treasurer and serves in his/her absence to ensure bills are promptly paid.
- Serves as a point of contact with Regional Chapters, Regional Directors, and the International Association for Chapter communication.
- Provides marketing and membership information to potential new members.
- Responds promptly to inquiries from members and non-members.
- Works with the Chapter Liaison to encourage interaction with other associations and coordinate co-sponsored events.
Vice President, Chris Simmons
Chris has been on the NCA board as the Membership
Committee Chair since 2007 and has been instrumental in helping to grow local
chapter membership by almost 300 members (approximately 1,000 total members).
He is regular contributor to the NCA Executive Summary e-zine, and a contributing
author to the APMP Journal.
Chris has presented at the NCA Proposal Basics Boot Camp for the past two years
and presented at the APMP International 20th Anniversary Conference. He has 24
years’ experience as a consultant and business development executive for
CGI (formerly American Management Systems), Deloitte Consulting, and most recently
as the principal member of Rainmakerz Consulting LLC. Chris founded
Rainmakerz Consulting in 2002 as a business development services company specializing
in all aspects of proposal development. He earned his MBA in Information Technology
from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and was elected MBA Program President.
He earned his BA from Boston College in Psychology.
Job Duties
- Works closely with the NCA President to participate and/or lead NCA initiatives.
- Attends monthly board meetings, contributes constructive ideas to improve the NCA Chapter, and reports on activities.
- Provides strategic direction and participates in various NCA committee activities.
- Provides marketing and membership information to potential new members.
- Responds promptly to inquiries from members and non-members.
- Develops the slate of officers and presents them to the membership at the November Roundtable.
- Assumes NCA President duties (in the absence of the President).NCA Secretary
- Provides minutes of Board meetings to the Board of Directors and submits a copy to the national organization.
Secretary, Colleen Jolly
Colleen Jolly, PPF.APMP, a 10 year proposal veteran, manages a global professional proposal graphic company – 24 Hour Company. Colleen is very active in the APMP including Layout Editor for the APMP Journal and regularly contributes articles. She is a frequent worldwide speaker on creative and general business topics, and has spoken at many APMP conferences. In 2010 she was named an APMP Fellow. Additionally, she manages the online SIG/COI on information graphics, a joint effort between NCA and UK chapters. She holds a BA from Georgetown University, and is active in leadership roles and Board positions in arts and women’s non-profit organizations, including being a South East of England Woman’s Enterprise Ambassador. Colleen is an award-winning artist and business professional—most recently as a finalist for the Stevie Awards Creative Professional of the Year, 2009. Her company won entry into Inc. 5,000’s Fast Growing Companies, 2007 and she has been published three times in a women’s entrepreneurial calendar.
Job Duties
- Generates mailing list as required for meeting fliers and promotional materials.
- Coordinates with Treasurer to ensure membership status of meeting attendees.
- Coordinates activities for Membership Appreciation night. This includes identification and purchase of handouts/gifts for attendees.
- Prepares annual article for the newsletter on the status of activities and plans for upcoming events.
- Ensures speakers are notified of time and location of event and sends them directions if required.
Treasurer, Eric Schwarz
Eric has more than 16 years’ experience
as an analyst, program manager, and business developer, with exposure to all
aspects of proposal development and management. Since 2004, he has been working
as the capture/proposal manager for Information Builders’ Federal Systems
Group. Prior to his business development career, he served for over 13 years
in the U.S. Army. Eric currently serves as the finance committee chair of the
Northern Virginia chapter of AFCEA with over 7,000 members. Eric holds BA and
MBA degrees. He has been an active member of APMP since September 2007 and currently
serves as a Director at Large of the NCA Board of Directors.
Job Duties
- Maintains all financial records for Chapter.
- Prepares and delivers financial reports to the Board of Directors.
- Reviews bills for accuracy and pays bills in a timely manner.
- Reimburses Board members for expenses such as supplies, printing, etc.
- Provides Board of Directors and national organization with an annual report and a semiannual report and list of meeting attendees for affiliation credits.
At Large Director Bios (in alphabetical order)
Annual Conference Chairperson (formerly Professional Day), Briana Coleman
Briana
provides proposal management service to clients. Highly skilled in proposal strategy
development, proposal coordination, writing, copy editing, desktop publishing,
and project management. She holds a BA in Psychology and Criminology/Criminal
Justice from the University of Maryland (Cum Laude), as well as a Master’s
Certificate in Project Management from the George Washington University. Briana
is an active member of APMP, serving as a National Capital Area Chapter (NCA)
Roundtable Committee Member and chairing two Roundtable Events. She also serves
on NCA’s Professional Day Committee and authored the Professional Day Event
Planning Guide.
Job Duties
- Plans/organizes the Chapter’s Annual Conference event.
- Regularly attends Board meetings and reports on activities.
- Regularly attends and support Chapter events.
- Participates in planning and decision-making.
- Solicits support for all programs from the members and colleagues of the organization.
- Meets and welcomes new members and colleagues and provides information about the organization and events, answers questions, and makes introductions to other members and colleagues.
Boot Camp Chairperson, Maryann Lesnick
Maryann Lesnick, APM.APMP, PMP,
serves as Vice President of Proposals for Base Technologies, Inc., in McLean,
Virginia. She has over thirty years of technical,
managerial, and business development experience in a diverse range of information
technology areas, for federal agencies, and the private sector (public utilities
and telecommunications companies). She has prepared hundreds of proposals
for contracts and task orders, both written and oral, and has delivered several
oral proposals. Maryann has served on the Committee for the APMP-NCA Boot
Camp the past two years, and is Chair of that Committee for 2010. She is a certified
Practitioner Level APMP, and also a Program Management Professional (PMP).
Job Duties
- Plans/organizes the Proposal Basics Boot Camp event.
- Regularly attends Board meetings and reports on activities.
- Regularly attends and support Chapter events.
- Participates in planning and decision-making.
- Solicits support for all programs from the members and colleagues of the organization.
Chief Technology Officer, Michael Scruggs
Michael is a PPM.APMP with
more than 20 years of capture management and proposal management experience in
the government marketplace. He currently directs
a proposal center for McLean-based Pragmatics, an information technology service
provider that supports DoS, DISA, and other federal agencies. He formerly
worked for Microsoft, SAIC, and other IT firms where he led capture and proposal
teams pursuing government opportunities. He earned his master’s and bachelor’s
degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. In
2007, he received his Professional Proposal Manager accreditation from the London-based
APM Group, a leading international accreditation, certification, and examination
body. He’s been active with APMP-NCA since 1999, serving as the chapter’s
chair for two terms (2006-2007). During this time, he worked with other NCA directors
to refresh the www.apmpnca.org Web site. In 2007, APMP leadership awarded Mr.
Scruggs the Steven Shipley Award for Best Chapter Leadership.
Job Duties
- Is the lead technology strategist for the NCA Chapter.
- Works with the APMP national organization to help optimize the membership database.
- Optimizes the current registration system and website.
- Implements and maintains a searchable knowledge base.
- Makes recommendations to replace existing applications with improved technology.
- Supervises contractors or vendors the Board hires to implement new and maintain existing technology.
Corporate Partner Program Chairperson, Alex Brown
Alex Brown is a Relationship Manager
with Proposal Development Consultants, specializing in helping federal contractors
source and staff proposal talent needed to win business. He has extensive experience
with full lifecycle recruiting for 1099 contractors and direct hire proposal
candidates at experience levels appropriate for both the federal contracting
and private sector arenas. Alex is a skilled
relationship builder and has established a large personal network of proposal
professionals in the DC marketplace. He has held a board position with the National
Capital Area chapter of APMP (Association of Proposal Manager Professionals)
in the past and is excited to be involved again. Alex brings a successful track
record of sourcing and placing proposal professionals for sister company The
BOSS Group, a creative staffing agency that had a division that worked with Federal
Contractors in the proposal arena, before spinning it off as Proposal Development
Consultants. He also has experience in business development for Vedior North
America, servicing Fortune500 clients in the metro Boston area.
Event Logistics Chairperson, Bob Miller
Bob is the sole proprietor and
consultant of Miller Consulting, providing capture and proposal management support
for clients pursuing opportunities across the Federal Government sector. He has
over nine years’ as a business process
engineer, line manager, and business area manager with TRW and Northrop Grumman
and has extensive experience in all phases of business development. Bob is a
retired Army officer with 21 years of active duty experience.
Job Duties
- Coordinates all meeting arrangements with hotel including menu selection, room setup, minimum meeting attendees, billing rates, AV equipment, etc.
- Reviews and approvals all catering requirements in advance of meeting.
- Regularly attends board meetings and reports on activities.
- Prepares nametags for meeting attendees that include name and organization.
- Prepares meeting registration lists that reflect attendees in alphabetical order by last name, organization, payment status, menu selection, and membership status. Ensures a copy of this list (with walk-in information) is forwarded to the Secretary/Treasurer.
- Collects and distributes communications, promotional items, or other items for each Roundtable meeting.
- Advises other Directors of the arrival of new first-time members at a function so that they may extend a special greeting to the new member and introduce that member to other members of the Board and other members of the Chapter.
eZine Chairperson, Olessia Smotrova- Taylor
Olessia has 14 years of
professional experience in a variety of industries, focused on proposal and capture
management, marketing, and communications. Her company, OST Global Solutions,
Inc., specializes in capture and proposal management and training. Olessia is
also a member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). Prior to founding
her company, Olessia worked as a business developer for Raytheon and Lockheed
Martin and wrote for the Financial Times of London. She has a BA in International
Affairs from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Job Duties
- Edits, produces, and mails the Chapter’s Executive Summary eZine.
- Coordinates written communication for the Chapter and maintains a record of previous newsletters and articles about the Chapter.
Marketing & Web Site Chairperson, Jay Schiavo
Jay has served on
the NCA Board since 2005. After a career in association management, specializing
in membership, marketing, and customer service, Jay set up his own consulting
business in 2002—All Media Creative Integrated Marketing Communications
located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Since 2003, Jay has served as Marketing
Communications Specialist for Falls Church-based 24 Hour Company, a firm specializing
in proposal graphics. He completed his bachelor’s degree from Marietta
College in Marietta, Ohio.
Job Duties
- Creates marketing communications strategies and tactics to promote chapter programs, services, and events
- Develops web site features, concepts, and copy
- Coordinates web site maintenance with webmaster
- Coordinates market research activities
- Regularly attends board meetings and reports on activities
- Participates in chapter planning and decision-making
- Solicits support for all programs from the members and colleagues of the organization.
Membership Chairperson, Jan Butorac
Jan has 25+ years’ experience
in the proposal field, and has served as Chapter Secretary for four years. Jan
is an independent proposal consultant and president of Proposal Management, LLC,
providing proposal writing and management consulting from her Haymarket office.
She previously worked for Northrop Grumman IT and other federal contractors around
the Beltway. Jan received a Master’s
degree from The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor’s degree from the
University of Maryland.
Job Duties
- Encourages and promotes membership in the Association and Chapter through various functions.
- Maintains and updates the Chapter roster of all current members.
- Coordinates membership rosters with the national organization each month.
- Provides an up-to-date membership mailing list to other Directors or fulfillment personnel on a recurring basis for mailings such as the newsletter, special invitations, etc.
- Identifies all new members from the national organization listing, newsletter, or other sources. Sends (or causes to be sent) an individual welcoming message to each new member. Provides new member list to Roundtable Coordinator to ensure that new members are especially welcomed and identified at the first Roundtable they attend.
- Coordinates all activities with other Directors to ensure retention of existing members and promotion of new membership.
Networking Chairperson, Alex Brown
Alex Brown is a Relationship Manager
with Proposal Development Consultants, specializing in helping federal contractors
source and staff proposal talent needed to win business. He has extensive experience
with full lifecycle recruiting for 1099 contractors and direct hire proposal
candidates at experience levels appropriate for both the federal contracting
and private sector arenas. Alex is a skilled
relationship builder and has established a large personal network of proposal
professionals in the DC marketplace. He has held a board position with the National
Capital Area chapter of APMP (Association of Proposal Manager Professionals)
in the past and is excited to be involved again. Alex brings a successful track
record of sourcing and placing proposal professionals for sister company The
BOSS Group, a creative staffing agency that had a division that worked with Federal
Contractors in the proposal arena, before spinning it off as Proposal Development
Consultants. He also has experience in business development for Vedior North
America, servicing Fortune500 clients in the metro Boston area.
Job Duties
- Leads networking activities at all Chapter functions.
- Regularly attends Board meetings and reports on activities.
- Regularly attends and support Chapter events.
- Participates in planning and decision-making.
- Solicits support for all programs from the members and colleagues of the organization.
- Meets and welcomes new members and colleagues and provides them with information about the organization and events, answers questions, and makes introductions to other members and colleagues.
Roundtable Chairperson, Hélène Courard
Hélène
is the Managing Director of the Proposal Process and Infrastructure Solutions
Division, Hélène works with clients to develop and implement
defined, repeatable, managed, measured, and optimized proposal infrastructures
and processes. Hélène brings over 10 years’ experience in
capture and proposal infrastructure and proposal operations to assist clients
in raising their win probability and reducing effort required to create winning
proposals. Prior to joining Lohfeld Consulting Group, Hélène spent
over 8 years within CSC’s Defense Group in various roles, including establishing
and running two Proposal Operations teams—at the Division and Group levels—within
the organization. Hélène is an active member of the Association
of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), National Capital Area (NCA) Chapter
Roundtable Committee (2008 and 2009) and has attained her Foundational Accreditation
with APMP. Hélène has a bachelor’s degree from Saint Joseph’s
University and a law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law.
Job Duties
- Plans and obtains program presentations and speakers for Roundtables.
- Identifies speakers for upcoming events and collect biographical information for introductions and descriptions of presentation(s) for meeting announcements.
- Prepares Roundtable meeting announcements and info-blasts.
- Coordinates with speakers and the event chairperson prior to event to ensure all plans are in place (including handouts).
- Prepares Chapter meeting announcements for each Roundtable.
- Communicates upcoming events to membership through e-mails, e-Zine, and Web site and other Chapter communication paths.
- Regularly attends monthly Board meetings.
- Coordinates the contribution to the NCA eZine, reporting the roundtable events.
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