News | GTS Coalition

NOTE DATE CHANGE May 30: Insight Session with John Morton, Director, ICE

Join the Government Technology & Services Coalition for an Insight Session with John Morton, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforecement (ICE) on Monday, May 20, 2013.

Ten years ago in March, the Homeland Security Act set into motion what would be the single-largest government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense. One of the agencies in the new Department of Homeland Security was the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, now known as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE.

ICE was granted a unique combination of civil and criminal authorities to better protect national security and public safety in answer to the tragic events on 9/11. Leveraging those authorities, ICE has become a powerful and sophisticated federal law enforcement agency. Click here to learn more about ICE’s 10 year anniversary.

About Mr. Morton

John Morton was unanimously confirmed as the Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by the U.S. Senate on May 12, 2009. ICE is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the second largest investigative agency in the federal government. Created in 2003, the agency has a budget of $5.7 billion dollars and more than 20,000 employees in offices in all 50 states and 47 foreign countries. The agency’s primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of federal laws governing border control, customs, trade and immigration.

Prior to his appointment by the President, Mr. Morton spent 15 years at the Department of Justice. At the Department, Mr. Morton served in several positions including Assistant United States Attorney, Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division.

During his tenure at ICE, Mr. Morton has strengthened ICE’s investigative efforts, with a particular emphasis on border crimes, export controls, intellectual property enforcement and child exploitation. Mr. Morton has also sought to prioritize ICE’s immigration enforcement efforts around the removal of criminal offenders, recent border violators, and those who ignore orders of removal or obtain immigration status by fraud.

Promise of Tomorrow Radio show features GTSC’s Partnership with IEEE

The Promise of Tomorrow radio show today featured the partnership between the Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC) and the IEE Homeland Security conference held in Boston each year. Hear the interview and read the press release below.

Terrorists Security Focus of Conference

Boston to host new organizations with international homeland security interests meeting in November

DALLAS (April 22, 2013) – The Government Technology & Services Coalition (GTSC) has now joined as a media partner the 2013 IEEE International Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security scheduled for Boston in November.

The GTSC represents a growing list gathering at this year’s most important terrorist conference since first established shortly after 9/11. This annual symposium continues to gain prominent recognition for bringing together science and technology leaders from around the world. One of the highlights of last year’s conference was rapid DNA analysis revolutionizing forensics with profiles generated in ±80 minutes outside of a laboratory by non-experts, a tool police wished they had during the recent Boston Marathon bombing investigation.

This year the GTSC will be part of the Business Panel to bring market solutions. “What we really hope to accomplish is to make sure that our nation receives the best possible cutting edge technologies and innovations to protect the homeland,” said Kristina Tanasichuk, CEO of GTSC, located outside of Washington, D.C.

Tanasichuk spoke by phone from her home in northern Virginia on the ScienceNews Radio Network program aired today, the Promise of Tomorrow with Colonel Mason. The program originates in Dallas, Texas, and is now archived and Webcast for its world audience. On the program Tanasichuk said we must solve the challenges “to make sure that technology isn’t hampered, or companies aren’t hampered from bringing their technologies forward.” A photo of Tanasichuk can be seen at the related Examiner cover story here.

Vital to US and world security, the 2013 IEEE International Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security will be held at the Westin Waltham hotel in Waltham, Mass., USA, 12-14 November, 2013. For more information and to register, visit www.ieee-hst.org.

Last year’s conference saw representatives from nine countries including Israel, Germany, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, UK, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Canada, in addition to robust American participation. In all, over 184 difference companies, universities and government agencies were represented in Boston. Sponsors included Battelle and other major organizations such as IBM Rational Software Group, L3 Systems; and the Massachusetts Port Authority where their security administration was considered as vital in protecting Boston during this month’s recent attack.

GTSC Steering Committee Meets

GTSC’s Steering committee met April 18th to discuss the latest partnerships, engagement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the launch of GTSC’s Small Business Collaboration Group — an online virtual collaboration network for members. Robert Namejko, Industry Liaison for the DHS Office of Procurement Operations, joined the Committee to discuss opportunities with the Department, how to engage and the impact of sequestration on the contracting community for 2013.

Members also heard from GTSC’s latest strategic partner, Linden Resources, about their VETSREADY2WORK program. The Vets Ready2Work^TM program honors service disabled veterans by helping them to find and keep community jobs.

Many veterans with hidden service connected disabilities like traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) require significant support to find and sustain jobs in the community, especially when they are struggling to readjust to civilian life, find and retain housing and reconnect with their families. Linden’s Vets Ready2Work^TM program offers a compassionate response to the enormous unmet need for specialized employment services for this population at no cost to the veteran.

Dedicated Linden staff work individually with each veteran to identify areas of strength and career interests that will translate into sustainable, meaningful employment. Linden also engages employers in the community to develop exciting opportunities that target the veteran’s skills and talents. Additional services can include: resume development, vocational assessments, specialized accommodations supports, and job retention supports.

GTSC’s members committed to hiring disabled veterans will have direct access to qualified, trained individuals ready to reintegrate after duty. GTSC members will also work with Linden to develop requirements and identify hiring needs among their companies. Read more about this partnership here.

GTSC & IEEE partner for homeland security innovation

IEEE and the GTSC have partnered to promote and encourage innovative small businesses to submit their innovations and present at the 13th annual IEEE Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security held November 12-14 in Boston, Ma. We encourage our members and other innovative companies to attend and bring their latest technological innovations to this important conference. More information on the Call for Papers — extended until April 30, 2013 — is below.

Call For Papers, Posters & Tutorials

The 13th annual IEEE Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security (HST ’13), will be held 12 – 14 November in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. This conference brings together innovators from leading academic, industry, business, Homeland Security Centers of Excellence and government programs to provide a forum to discuss ideas, concepts, and experimental results.

Produced by IEEE with technical support from DHS S&T, IEEE Boston Section, and IEEE-USA and organizational support from MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Raytheon, Battelle, and MITRE, this year’s event will once again showcase selected technical paper and posters highlighting emerging technologies in the areas of:

We are currently seeking technical paper, poster, and tutorial session submissions in each area noted above.
Submissions should focus on technologies with applications available for implementation within five years. All areas will cover the following common topics:

Strategy and threat characterization, CONOPs, risk analysis,
Modeling, simulation, experimentation, and training, and
Testbeds, standards, and evaluations

Contact Information

For more detailed information on the Call for Papers, Posters & Tutorials, as well as Sponsorship and Exhibit opportunities, visit the website:http://ieee-hst.org or email: [email protected] . Submissions should be made at the following website:https://cmt.research.microsoft.com/HST2013/Default.aspx

Important Dates Revised

Paper Abstract Deadline: Submit Abstract Here	March 15, 2013 (Extended to April 30, 2013)
Paper Submission Invitation Issued:	April 1, 2013 (Extended to May 8, 2013)
Final Paper Submission and Tutorial Proposal Deadline:	June 3, 2013 (Extended to June 19, 2013)
Paper, Poster and Tutorial Acceptance Notification:	July 1, 2013 (Extended to July 15, 2013)
All deadlines are by midnight Eastern Time

NIST Cyber Framework Update

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Wednesday launched its series of stakeholder workshops to assist the agency in the development of a cybersecurity framework for the private sector. The voluntary framework, required by the Executive Order President Obama issued in February, is expected to provide guidelines to industry with critical infrastructure on best practices to protect their assets from cyber-attacks.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: Technology innovators can play an important role in “framing the framework” on how to address the rising number of cybersecurity intrusions within the nation’s businesses and networks. The building of the framework is a key opportunity to influence the final guidelines that the private sector, from utilities to banks, will be encouraged to use.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE: — NIST issued a Request for Information (RFI) and comments from stakeholders that are due April 8. Anyone can comment. NIST will publish those comments and an analysis of those comments in the coming weeks.http://www.nist.gov/itl/cyberframework.cfm — NIST will hold a series of private sector engagement workshops throughout the year to meet a year-end deadline for a preliminary version of these voluntary baseline standards. The next workshop will be held in late May at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg, PA. More details to come.

Questions? Contact GTSC Strategic Strategic Advisor Chani Wiggins at [email protected]

April 19: Lion’s Den Meeting with Kevin Boshears, Director, OSDBU

Lion’s Den members ($15 million in revenue +) are invited to join the Government Technology & Services Coalition for its Lion’s Den Meeting with Mr. Kevin Boshears, the Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This meeting will address the needs of midsize firms within the Coalition, discuss current initiatives on behalf of a mid-tier set-aside and provide the opportunity for Lion’s Den Members to share additional opportunites for the Coalition.

Agenda

I. Introductions

II. GTSC Activities

a. Designation of Excellence

b. Survey

c. Collaboration group for mid-tier?

d. Insurance and benefits

e. Contracting/acquisition issue with EAGLE II

f. Discussion of new challenges, suggestions

III. Discussion: Mid-Tier Set-Aside efforts

Mr. Kevin Boshears will join our meeting for a discussion of his work on behalf of the mid-tier community. In addition to being a tireless advocate on behalf of the small business community, Mr. Boshears understands, and has focused on the challenges facing mid-tier companies. His insights and efforts are outstanding, and we welcome him to share some of his work with us.

About Mr. Kevin Boshears

Mr. Boshears was named Director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) in May, 2003. He is responsible for the overall implementation of the Department’s small business procurement program. Prior to this, Mr. Boshears was named Director of the Treasury Department’s OSDBU in February, 1999 where he had served as the Acting Director since August, 1998. He previously served in the same office as a Procurement Analyst since June, 1995 and was responsible for providing guidance to the Small Business Specialists located in Treasury’s twelve bureaus. He also worked on Treasury’s small business website and represented Treasury at various governmental, congressional, and trade association outreach activities. Mr. Boshears brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the procurement field, having served as a Contracting Officer for the Justice Department prior to his small business duties at the Treasury Department. Mr. Boshears is a well known instructor in the federal small business procurement arena. On numerous occasions, he has conducted training courses, made presentations, and handled briefings on contracting with small, small disadvantaged, 8(a), women-owned small, HUBZone small, and service disabled veteran-owned small business concerns. Mr. Boshears currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization Directors’ Interagency Council, originally elected to the position for FY 2001 and re-elected for both FY 2002 and FY 2003. On May 9 -10, 2002, Mr. Boshears was presented with the Frances Perkins Vanguard Award for Exemplary Utilization of Women-Owned Small Businesses by a Federal Procurement Official and the Gold Star Award for Excellence by the U. S. Small Business Administration. He holds a BBA degree from the College of William and Mary, and earned his MBA from Liberty University.

April 18: Steering Committee Meeting

The Steering Committee Meeting will address the direction of the Coalition, provide an update of the Coalition’s activities and provide an opportunity for input for the upcoming year. All Members of the Coalition are also invited to hear Dr. Daniel Gerstein, Deputy Under Secretary, and Pete Ladowicz, Industry Liasion and Deputy Chief Commercialization Officer, both of the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), speak at the Steering Committee Meeting.

About Dr. Daniel Gerstein

Dr. Daniel M. Gerstein has served as the Deputy Under Secretary for Science & Technology in the Department of Homeland Security since August 2011. He is also an Adjunct Professor at American University in Washington, DC at the School of International Service (SIS) where he teaches graduate level courses on biological warfare and the evolution of military thought.Dr. Gerstein has extensive experience in the security and defense sectors in a variety of positions while serving as a Senior Executive Service (SES) government civilian, in uniform, and in industry. Before joining DHS, he served as the Principal Director for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) within the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy). He has served on four different continents participating in homeland security and counterterrorism, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and combat in addition to serving for over a decade in the Pentagon in various high level staff assignments. Following retirement from active duty, Dr. Gerstein joined L-3 Communications as Vice President for Homeland Security Services, leading an organization providing WMD preparedness and response, critical infrastructur

e security, emergency response capacity, and exercise support to U.S. and international customers.

Dr. Gerstein also has extensive experience in international negotiations having served on the Holbrooke Delegation that negotiated the peace settlement in Bosnia, developed and analyzed negotiating positions for the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) talks, and developed an initiative to improve cross border communications between Colombia and neighboring Andean Ridge nations. Additionally, Dr. Gerstein led an initiative to develop a comprehensive biosurveillance system for the Department of Defense (2010-2011), served on the leadership team for the Project for National Security Reform (PNSR) which was charged with developing a new national security act to reflect the changing security environment (2007-2008), co-led the Secretary of the Army’s Transition Team (2004-2005), and led the Army’s most comprehensive restructuring since World War II (2000-2001).

He has been awarded numerous military and civilian awards includ

ing an award from the Government of Colombia, the Department of State’s Distinguished Service Award, and the U.S. Army Soldiers Medal for heroism. He has published numerous books and articles on national security, biological warfare, and information technology including Bioterror in the 21st Century (Naval Institute Press, October 2009), ICMA Report: Planning for a Pandemic (ICMA Press, Volume 39/Number 3 2007), Securing America’s Future: National Strategy in the Information Age (Praeger Security International, September 2005); Leading at the Speed of Light (Potomac Books, November 2006); Assignment Pentagon (Potomac Books, May 2007). He has also served as a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and is a current member.

Dr. Gerstein graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and has masters degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology in Operations Research, the National Defense University in National Security & Strategic Studies and the Command & General Staff College in National Security Strategy & Policy, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from George Mason University in Biodefense. He resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife Kathy. They have two daughters.

April 5: Insight Session with Beth Anne Killoran, Executive Director, PARM, DHS

Join the GTSC for an Insight Session with Beth Anne Killoran, the Acting Executive Director of the Office of Program Accountability and Risk Management (PARM) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She plans to give an overview of PARM and talk about some of its current initiatives.

About Ms. Killoran

Acting Executive Director, Office of Program Accountability and Risk Management

Mrs. Beth Anne Killoran became Acting Executive Director of the Office of Program Accountability and Risk Management (PARM) within the U. S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Management Directorate on May 1, 2012. She had served as PARM’s Deputy Director of Risk Management prior to assuming the Acting Executive Director position. Mrs. Killoran joined PARM in December 2010 serving as the Risk Analysis Division Director where she was responsible for maturing acquisition risk management and business intelligence to improve accountability of DHS acquisition investments.

Prior to joining PARM, Mrs. Killoran served as the Director of the Program Management and Integration Division within the United States Citizenship and Immigration Serves (USCIS) Transformation Program. At USCIS, she established a program management office to oversee a DHS Level 1 program estimated to be $2 billion including oversight of the $500 million system integration contract. Mrs. Killoran brings over 18 years experience in a variety of programmatic disciplines including program management, budget, acquisition, contract management, and information technology. Mrs. Killoran has applied these skills through her leadership of several major Department of Homeland Security (DHS) major acquisition investments: USCIS Transformation, DHS Infrastructure Transformation Program, DHS Homeland Security Data Network, and US-VISIT.

Mrs. Killoran served in various management and technical positions within DHS Chief Information Office and Customs and Border Protection. Mrs. Killoran holds a Master of Science in Technology Management from University of Maryland. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a certificate in Personnel Management from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

April 3: Insight Session with Claire Grady, Head of Contracting, USCG

CANCELLED

Join the Government Technology & Services Coalition for an Insight Session with Claire Grady, the Head of Contracting Activitiy (HCA) and Director of Contracting & Procurement for the United States Coast Guard Acquistion Directorate (CG-9) on Wednesday, April 3.

About Ms. Grady

Ms. Grady is the Senior Procurement Executive and Head of Contracting Activity for the U.S. Coast Guard, providing procurement operations and policy development leadership supporting the diverse portfolio of Coast Guard missions. She is the principal business advisor to Coast Guard senior leadership and is the community leader for the Coast Guard’s civilian and military procurement professionals. Prior to assuming this position in July 2007, Ms. Grady was the Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of Chief Procurement Officer for the Department of Homeland Security. In this position she provided strategic direction impacting DHS’ multi‐billion dollar contracting and financial assistance programs through a broad portfolio of acquisition initiatives, including Acquisition Policy, Grants Policy and Oversight, Strategic Sourcing, Competitive Sourcing, and Acquisition Systems.

Ms. Grady began her professional career with the Department of the Navy as a contracting career intern and progressed to a number of critical acquisition positions at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), one of the Federal Government’s largest and most complex contracting organizations. She has over 20 years experience in major systems acquisition, including serving as the contracting officer for the San Antonio Class Amphibious Assault Combat Ship and for the Standard Missile Program. Ms. Grady was program manager for the multi‐billion dollar Navy‐wide acquisition of contractor support services (SeaPort), Director of Strategic Initiatives for the NAVSEA Contracts Directorate and Deputy Division Director for Surface Weapon Systems.

Ms. Grady received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity University, a Master in Business Administration degree from the University of Maryland and a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University, Industrial College of the Armed Forces. She is a certified acquisition professional and holds Level III certifications in Contracting and Program Management. In 2010, Ms. Grady was recognized with the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive.