Federal Advisory Committee Act, Panel on Multiple Award Schedules

The following is the list of panelist names and their bios for GSA's Multiple Award Schedules Advisory Panel:

Debra Sonderman Director, Office of Acquisition and Property Management, Department of Interior

Elliott Branch Executive Director, Contracts for Naval Sea Systems Command

Thomas Essig Chief Procurement Officer, Department of Homeland Security

Glenn Perry Senior Acquisition Executive, U.S. Department of Education

Thomas A. Sharpe, Jr. Senior Procurement Executive, Office of Procurement Executive, Department of the Treasury

Lesa Scott Director, IT Schedule Contract Operations of The Integrated Technology Service, U.S. General Services Administration

Jacqueline Jones Branch Chief and Contracting Officer, Consolidated and Language Services, U.S. General Services Administration

Judith Nelson Industry Specialist, Office of Acquisition Management, U.S. General Services Administration

Alan Chvotkin Executive Vice President and Counsel, Professional Services Council

Larry Allen President, The Coalition for Government Procurement

Don Erickson Director of Government Relations, Security Industry Association

Jeffrey Johnson Director of government Operations, International Facility Management Association (Bio unavailable)

April Stephenson Director, Defense Contract Audit Agency

Thedlus Thompson Senior Assistant General Counsel, U.S. General Services Administration

David Drabkin Acting Chief Acquisition Officer and Senior Procurement Executive, U.S. General Services Administration

Jan R. Frye Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Acquisition and Logistics, Department of Veterans Affairs

Debra Sounderman  as director, Office of Acquisition and Property Management (PAM) and agency Senior Procurement Executive, Debra Sounderman is responsible for policy development and oversight of Interior's extensive facility and property management, acquisition and financial assistance programs.  She was instrumental in establishing the Interior's assist Management Plan and Department-wide Partnerships for Acquisition, Property Management and Asset Management.  She has led several key property and acquisition automation projects, and the Department's successful integrated charge card program.  She is a Program Director and system owner for the Department's Financial and Business Management System.

Prior to her 1997 designation as Director, PAM, Ms. Sonderman was Interior’s Director of Acquisition and Property Management Systems.  Ms. Sonderman has held a variety of acquisition and business positions with the Departments of the Treasury and the Navy, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.  She was the first recipient of the Javits-Wagner-O’Day Liaison of the Year Award for her exemplary efforts on behalf of Americans with disabilities.  In 2001, Ms. Sonderman and the Interior Integrated Charge Card Team were among the winners of the Business Solutions in the Public Interest Award.  In 2002 Ms. Sonderman was honored with a Presidential Rank Award – Meritorious Executive. She received the Federal Real Property Association’s Leading People Award in 2005 and the Secretary’s Bronze Executive Leadership Award in 2005 and 2006.

A summa cum laude graduate of the Catholic University of America, Ms. Sonderman has completed the Senior Managers in Government program at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.  She is a certified Project Management Professional, and member of the National Contract Management Association, Project Management Institute, and the Senior Executives Association.

Elliott B. Branch is the Executive Director for Contracts, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). He has full authority and responsibility for one of the largest and most responsible procurement organizations in the Federal government; his duties involve the obligation and expenditure of billions of dollars annually. As the senior civilian for contracting at NAVSEA, Mr. Branch is responsible for the contractual oversight of the Nation’s most complex shipbuilding and weapons systems procurement programs.

He is a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES). Members of the SES serve in the key positions just below the top Presidential appointees. They are the major link between these appointees and the rest of the Federal work force. SES members operate and oversee nearly every government activity in approximately 75 Federal agencies.

Before returning to NAVSEA, Mr. Branch’s most recent positions have been in the private sector, where he specialized in acquisition and project management education, training and consulting for the federal workforce and its associated contractors. In this role, Mr. Branch was responsible for the design, development, delivery and maintenance for a wide variety of course material ranging from project management to contract law. Mr. Branch’s clients included Computer Sciences Corporation, QSS Group, BAE Systems, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, and the Departments of Defense, Energy and State.

Prior to that, he served as the Chief Procurement Officer for the Government of the District of Columbia, where he was the agency head who was responsible for procurement operations, policy, and for formulating legislative proposals for local and Congressional consideration. Mr. Branch led a staff of over 200 employees that supported over 40 city agencies, administered a $15 million annual operating budget, and oversaw the placement of $1.5 billion, annually, in city contracts.

Before joining the District government, Mr. Branch held various positions in the SES with the Department of the Navy (DON). In 1993, he became a member of the SES as the Director, Shipbuilding Contracts Division, at NAVSEA. He next served as Executive Director, Acquisition and Business Management for DON, responsible for policy and oversight of contract operations throughout the entire Navy. While in this position, he also served as Project Executive Officer, Acquisition Related Business Systems. In this role, he was responsible for the formulation and execution of a multi-year effort transforming the Navy’s acquisition system from a paper-based system into one that made use of electronic technologies and methods. In this role, Mr. Branch was directly responsible for a portfolio of projects worth more than $200 million.

Mr. Branch graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and completed the Executive Program at the University of Virginia, Colgate-Darden School. He has received the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award, the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive, and the Vice Presidential Hammer Award for Reinventing Government.

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Thomas W. Essig is the Chief Procurement Officer for the Department of Homeland Security, providing leadership over the department's $17 billion in annual acquisitions. Mr. Essig is designated as the agency's Senior Procurement Executive and the lead executive responsible for the management, administration and oversight of the department's acquisition, financial assistance, strategic sourcing and competitive sourcing programs. Mr. Essig came to DHS in May 2006 as the Deputy Chief Procurement officer. He transitioned to DHS from the Department of the Navy, where he reported to office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition and served as the director of the Program Analysis and Business Transformation Division. He was responsible for overseeing analysis and support of contracting and the business aspect of the Department of the Navy's acquisition and procurement programs. He also managed the development and support of business transformation initiatives within the department.

Mr. Essig began his federal career in 1976 when he entered the Navy's Contracting Intern Development Program and was assigned to Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) as a contract specialist, supporting various Naval weapon systems programs. He was selected as a member of the Senior Executive Service in 1995 and served as the Director of the Surface Systems Contracts Division of NAVSEA. He has also held positions as the Executive Director of the U.S. Navy Office of Special Projects and Director of the Navy Engineering Logistics Office.

Mr. Essig earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in 1976 and graduated, with distinction, from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1991. He also graduated from the Advanced Program Management Course at the Defense Systems Management College and is certified at career level III in both program management and contracting. He is a 1997 recipient of Vice President Gore's Hammer Award, a 1999 recipient of the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award, and a 2004 recipient of the Secretary of the Navy's Distinguished Civilian Service Award.

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Glenn Perry as Senior Acquisition Executive for the Department of Education, Mr. Perry is also the co-chair of the federal Chief Acquisition Officers Council's (CAOC) Acquisition Committee for E-Government which is the governance body for the Integrated Acquisition Environment e-Gov initiative, and the Council's liaison to the federal Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council. He was the first Vice Chair of the CAOC and served in that capacity until April 2008. He is leading efforts focused on improved performance of the Department's acquired resources through greater emphasis on the capability of the agency's combined acquisition workforce, increased utilization of strategic enterprise-wide acquisition capabilities including current implementation of a Department wide shared IT services solution, improved performance based contract requirements in support of and linked to program strategic results, increasing integrated electronic acquisition and financial management capability both internally and externally, improved utilization of small and small disadvantaged businesses, and responsible for continued improvement of competitive sourcing as a tool to improve agency performance and determine the appropriate resources for agency activities. Mr. Perry has led extensive efforts at Education to convert its existing contracts for information technology, customer service, publication distribution, loan servicing, etc. to performance-based contracts including incorporating this initiative in the Department's Strategic Plan and exceeding OMB's goals for several years. He is also responsible for the Department's competitive sourcing initiative and A-76 requirements. The Department of Education led early efforts, with Mr. Perry playing a key role, to develop information technology investment policies and contract provisions for incorporating accessibility requirements into all acquired technology solutions.

Mr. Perry holds degrees from Brown University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Political Science and Business Administration

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Thomas A. Sharpe, Jr.  has over twenty years of leadership and business management experience in the private and public sectors. He is currently the Department of the Treasury's Senior Procurement Executive. Mr. Sharpe is responsible for Treasury-wide procurement policy, e-procurement initiatives, procurement career management, oversight and continuous improvement of bureau procurement operations as well as management responsibility for Treasury's headquarters procurement operations. Prior to joining Treasury, Mr. Sharpe was a consulting principal with IBM Business Consulting Services responsible for the marketing, sales and delivery of procurement reengineering initiatives for IBM's commercial and government customers. His responsibilities included thought leadership, direction and management of staff, procurement offering development and engagement oversight and delivery. His prior operational experience includes strategically sourcing IBM's $1.5 billion annual technical service requirements that generated $150 million savings/competitive advantage to IBM. Mr. Sharpe has held senior procurement and managerial roles with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Defense.

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Lesa Scott ,  is a senior procurement official and has excelled in the most challenging roles in Government acquisition. She has lead some of the most high profile Information Technology acquisitions for Army, Navy, and other DoD agencies, as well as, in GSA, Treasury, Justice and other civilian agencies including procurements with Congressional interest and oversight.

The IT and management projects in her portfolio of experience exceed $10B, and range in complexity from simple acquisitions to full and open procurements over $1B.

Presently, Ms. Scott is the Director, IT Schedule Contract Operations of the Integrated Technology Service for the Federal Acquisition Service.

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Jacqueline Jones has developed two multiple award schedules, Contracting Officer of the Year 1998 and Manager of the year 2003. GSA national program lead for the Consolidated Schedule which encompasses 14 different multiple award schedules into a single schedule.

A native of Miami, Florida, Ms. Jones holds degrees from the Community College of the Air Force, Pierce College and Strayer University. Twenty eight years experience in the field of Contracting as a veteran of the Air Force; and in civilian service with the Defense Logistics Agency, the Department of the Air Force at the Boeing Company and with GSA. Fourteen years experience as a Contracting Officer in the GSA Schedules program.

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Judith Nelson serves as an Industry Specialist and Program Analyst in the Office of Acquisition Management. She is responsible for developing innovative approaches to transforming Federal Acquisition Services, FAS's acquisition processes. Judith manages the FAS Lean Six Sigma project to improve the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program contract administration processes.

Ms. Nelson reviews and helps to implement FAS acquisition policy. She works with GSA's agency customers and industry partners providing guidance on procurement policies and processes. Ms. Nelson was part of the team to implement the Administrator's 30 day challenge -- MAS Express.

Judith draws on eighteen years of expertise as a commercial consultant in government contracting and business processes.   She advised government contractors on successful approaches to integrate commercial business practices and goals with the government’s regulations and procurement processes. Judith is an accomplished author and international speaker. Judith studied Business Administration at the University of Maryland. She holds a diploma from Georgetown University Institute of Comparative Political and Economic Systems and is a Harriet S. Truman Scholar for Government Service.

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Alan Chvotkin, as one of the most knowledgeable and respected experts on federal acquisition policy, legislation, and regulation. At PSC, he is responsible for the association’s legislative and regulatory policy affecting PSC's membership. Mr. Chvotkin is an active and founding member of industry's Acquisition Reform Working Group, which was established in 1993.

In his early career, Mr. Chvotkin served as professional staff to the Senate Budget Committee and to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. He became counsel and staff director to the Senate Small Business Committee, and then counsel to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Prior to joining PSC, he was a vice president of AT&T Government Services where he was responsible for managing key AT&T programs and opportunities; earlier at AT&T, he was the vice president responsible for the government contracts, pricing, compliance, and proposal development organizations. From 1986 to 1995, he was corporate director of government relations and senior counsel at Sundstrand Corporation.

Mr. Chvotkin is a member of the Supreme Court, American and District of Columbia Bar Associations. He is also a member of the National Contract Management Association and serves on its national board of advisors and as a "Fellow" of the organization. Mr. Chvotkin is also a two-time "Fed 100" winner. He has a law degree from The American University's Washington College of Law, a master's in public administration and a bachelor's in political science.

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Larry Allen as President of the Coalition for Government Procurement, an association representing over 370 companies selling commercial solutions to the U.S. Government. Included among the Coalition's members are small businesses as well as most major companies supplying commercial items to the federal government today.

Larry has represented the interests of association members before senior officials of the legislative and executive branches. He has testified before Congress as well as state legislatures. Larry has worked with officials in and out of government to help the Federal Supply Schedules program grow into a program with over $38 billion in sales.

Larry is recognized as an expert in federal commercial item acquisition. He has spoken and taught through out the world on US government procurement. His articles have appeared in numerous trade publications. He is a contributing author to two books, "Multiple Award Schedule Contracting" and "Business 2 Government". His latest book, titled "The Secrets of Schedules Sales Success" was released in 2006.

Larry is a recipient of the "Fed 100" award and was appointed by Governor Jim Gilmore to the Virginia Procurement Assessment Task Force. He is a current member of the "Federal Contracts Report" Advisory Board.

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Don Erickson as director of Government Relations for The Security Industry Association (SIA). In this capacity he oversees the development of the association's public policy agenda and serves as the association's chief strategist before Congress and Executive Branch agencies and staff liaison to the SIA GSA Policy Working Group.

Previously, Erickson served as manager of Legislative Affairs for Alcatel, a multinational manufacturer of telecommunications equipment. As their lead legislative lobbyist, he successfully secured federal government support for policies spurring nationwide deployment of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and broadband band services. Erickson also served as vice chairman of the Electronic Industry Association's tax committee.

In addition, he served as the legislative director for the Organization for the Advancement and Promotion of Small Telecommunication Companies, a national trade association of more than 500 rural telecommunications business. In this position, Erickson raised the organization's profile on Capitol Hill and influenced the development of business-friendly telecommunication policies by the FCC and Congress.

He spent six years on Senator. Grams (R-MN) staff where he facilitated the enactment of legislation pertaining to criminal justice, broadcasting, and satellite television issues. Erickson was also the lead Senate staffer responsible for facilitating ratification of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) treaty, a major international telecommunications treaty.

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April G. Stephenson director, DCAA, and is responsible for all matters related to the management of the Agency and its resources. Ms. Stephenson began her career with DCAA in 1987 as an auditor trainee in Mountain View, California. Ms. Stephenson progressed through DCAA holding various positions such as supervisory auditor, program manager, branch manager, various positions in the policy directorate at DCAA Headquarters, the Director, Field Detachment, and the Agency Deputy Director from June 2005 through January 2008. Ms. Stephenson assumed the responsibilities of Director in February 2008. She also serves as the Secretary's appointee on the Cost Accounting Standards Board.

Ms. Stephenson has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Chico, and has a Masters Degree in Administration from Central Michigan University. Ms. Stephenson is a licensed CPA in the State of North Carolina. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Management Accountants. Ms. Stephenson has received numerous awards and recognition throughout her DCAA career.

Ms. Stephenson resides in Alexandria, Virginia. In her spare time, she enjoys bird watching, gardening, and reading.

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Thedlus Thompson  joined GSA in 1991. She currently working as a Senior Assistant General Counsel, providing counsel to FSS regarding procurement policies. Additionally, she advises Office Equipment Branch, the Office of the Chief Acquisition Officer, and the Office of Small Business Utilization. Thompson holds degrees from Pomona College (B.A, Botany/Biology); University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law (1991).

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David Drabkin  as Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer, was named Acting Chief Acquisition Officer and Senior Procurement Executive effective January 20, 2008.

The Office of the Chief Acquisition Officer is responsible for developing and reviewing acquisition policies, procedures and related training for both GSA and federal acquisition professionals through the Federal Acquisition Institute, Civilian Acquisition Advisory Committee, Federal Acquisition Regulation, and GSA’s acquisition manual and training programs.

With extensive senior positions, Mr. Drabkin served as the Deputy Program Manager, Pentagon Renovation Program; the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Acquisition Process and Policies, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense-Acquisition Reform (ODUSD(AR)); and the Director, Regulatory Reform and Implementation ODUSD(AR), where he served as the Project Manager for FASA Implementation.

Mr. Drabkin is a member of the bar of the Commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia and a member of the Board of Directors, Council of Fellows, Board of Advisors and chairs the Advocacy Committee of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA). He also chairs the Advocacy Committees of both the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and the National Contracting and Public Procurement Council. He is a Vice-Chair of the Acquisition Reform and Experimental Processes Committee of the Public Contact Law Section of the American Bar Association. He served as Co Chairman of the Acquisition Reform subcommittee and served as the Vice Chairman of two other committees, Government Procurement and Alternative Dispute Resolution, of the American Bar Association. David was appointed by the President and served as a member of the Section 1423 (SARA) Panel. He chaired NCMA's Board of Advisors for two years. He also chaired an interagency working group under the auspices of the Administrative Conference of the United States on the implementation of Alternative Dispute Resolution within the federal government.

David is a Distinguished Military Graduate of Washington and Jefferson College and a graduate of the Cumberland School of Law.

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Jan R. Frye  as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Acquisition and Logistics, Department of Veterans Affairs

Jan R. Frye was appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Logistics, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, on September 4, 2005. As the Deputy Assistant Secretary of one of the largest acquisition and logistics programs in the federal government, he manages and oversees the development and implementation of policies and procedures for department-wide acquisition and logistics programs supporting all VA facilities. His responsibilities include management of VA's National Acquisition Center in Hines, Illinois, and the Denver Acquisition and Logistics Center in Denver, Colorado. He also serves as the VA Senior Procurement Executive.

Prior to his current appointment as the Deputy Assistant Secretary, he served as the Chief of Contracting, Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

A retired U.S. Army Colonel, he served in senior acquisition and logistics positions during his 30-year career. He served as the Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting in Eighth U.S. Army/U.S. Forces Korea and in the U.S. Army Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. He was also assigned as the Deputy Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He commanded three Department of Defense acquisition commands located in the United Kingdom; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Republic of Korea. He also served as the Deputy Commander, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois.

A native of Chester, Nebraska, he entered the Army in l973 as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of Nebraska-Kearney Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He holds a bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Nebraska, a master's degree in Contracting and Acquisition Management from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a master's degree in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Defense Systems Management College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He holds the Acquisition Professional Development Program's highest certification in program management and contracting.

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