Frank Kendall is the 26th Secretary of the Air Force responsible for organizing, training, and equipping the U.S. Air and Space Forces. In this capacity, he directs the Department of the Air Force’s annual budget exceeding $173 billion, provides Air and Space forces to combatant commanders for global military operations, and is accountable for the welfare of nearly 700,000 active duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian Airmen and Guardians and their families.

Mr. Kendall has more than 50 years of experience in engineering, management, defense acquisition, and national security affairs across private industry, government, and the military. He was a consultant to defense industry firms, non-profit research organizations, and the Department of Defense in the areas of strategic planning, engineering management, and technology assessment. Additionally, he is an attorney and was active in the field of human rights, working primarily on a pro bono basis.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Kendall was Vice President of Engineering for Raytheon Company, providing management and direction to the engineering functions throughout the company and for internal research and development. He also served as a Managing Partner at Renaissance Strategic Advisors, a Virginia-based aerospace and defense sector consulting firm.

Within government, Mr. Kendall held numerous posts including Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics as well as Deputy Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Tactical Warfare Programs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is a former member of the Army Science Board and the Defense Intelligence Agency Science and Technology Advisory Board, and was a consultant to the Defense Science Board.

Mr. Kendall is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He served 11 years as an active duty Army officer, including assignments in Germany, teaching Engineering at West Point, and in research and development positions.

As the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Nicole Evans serves as Senior Procurement Executive, Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer, Suspension and Debarment Official, and Senior Accountable Official for Domestic Sourcing for the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She oversees more than $10 billion in annual spend and 600 members of the acquisition workforce in Treasury bureaus, and serves as the Department's key spokesperson and official representative on matters involving procurement and contracting. 

Ms. Evans is an advocate for advancing equity in procurement across government. She chartered the Treasury Procurement Equity Council, regularly engages with industry to lower barriers to entry, and represents Treasury in cross-agency efforts to advance equity.

Prior to joining the Treasury Department in 2021, Ms. Evans served as the Senior Procurement Executive of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, and previously served in executive positions with the Office of Personnel Management and the National Background Investigations Bureau. She began her federal career over 20 years ago as a Contract Specialist at the U.S. Department of Education, where she worked in several procurement-related roles before being appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2017. Ms. Evans completed her undergraduate studies at Ithaca College and earned the Key Executive Graduate Certificate in Leadership from American University. 

Ms. Dorice Kenely has over 20 years of experience in Federal Government acquisitions as an Agency Program Coordinator for the Purchase Card Program, Contract Specialist, Grants Officer, Contracting Officer and Procurement Analyst. 

During her career, Dorice has awarded contracts, grants and cooperative agreements for a variety of goods and services to include research and development efforts. Dorice’s career has afforded her the opportunity to utilize all contract types and participate in every phase of contracting from pre-solicitation to close out. Ms. Kenely has written, implemented and assessed agency- and branch-level procurement policy in the Executive and Judiciary branches, respectively. As an active participant on the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) and a contributor on multiple Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) teams, Dorice has also written policy for the FAR.

Dorice has worked in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration, the Department of Navy’s Office of Naval Research, the Department of State, the Administrative Office of US Courts, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration before joining Amazon Web Services as a Policy Manager.

Dorice received a Master’s in Public Communications from American University, a Master’s Certificate in Federal Government Contracting from the George Washington University School of Business and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Marymount University.

Dorice believes that continuous learning is the key to perpetual growth, which is why she has chosen a career in Acquisitions Management. 

Over 40 years of Federal government leadership and experience, with proven success in building new organizations, shaping efficient business practices, and growing a strong acquisition workforce. Ashley is currently a Specialist Executive with Deloitte Consulting LLC and provides subject matter expertise to clients across the Federal enterprise.

Prior to retirement from Federal service in June 2015, Ashley was appointed Head of Contracting Activity (HCA) for the United States Coast Guard (USCG). In this capacity, she was responsible for over 1700 civilian and military personnel executing 40,000 transactions valued at $3 billion dollars annually.

During Ashley’s previous role as the Executive Director, Acquisition Policy and Workforce, DHS Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO), she developed and published DHS-wide acquisition policies and procedures in support of all DHS components. She managed the DHS acquisition intern program that serves as the cornerstone for the DHS acquisition workforce. Under her direction, OCPO established the Homeland Security Acquisition Institute (HSAI), supporting over 9000 students annually.

Ashley also led a workforce of over 240 employees as the Head of Contracting Activity (HCA) for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), overseeing an annual spend of $2.6 billion dollars. Ashley re-engineered ICE’s policies and processes used to acquire detention and removal services for the agency.

As the first acquisition professional assigned to DHS prior to its inception, she was the driving force behind the organization and establishment of the DHS-wide contracting infrastructure. As Director of Acquisition Policy and Oversight at DHS, she created the foundation for the Department’s Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) and component acquisition offices by establishing its operating policies and procedures.

Ashley began her contracting career with the United States Navy at Patuxent River, Maryland as a Contracting Officer supporting the Naval Aviation community for over 10 years, and she served 12 years with the USCG in operational contracting and policy positions prior to her appointment with DHS Headquarters.

Udaya Patnaik is the Chief Innovation Strategist for the Office of Information Technology Category (ITC), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) in the U.S. General Services Administration. The Federal Acquisition Service provides buying platforms and acquisition services to Federal, DoD, State, Local and Tribal governments for a broad range of items from information technology and telecommunications products and services to motor vehicles and office supplies. As an organization within FAS, ITC facilitates nearly $34 billion in annual government spending and nearly $2 billion in savings to the government across commercial and custom IT products, services, and solutions.

Udaya helps drive ITC’s long term growth by building our capabilities, decoding customer agencies’ needs and collaborating with industry partners. Udaya oversees a broad portfolio that includes emerging technology, innovation, growth strategy and leadership.

Before joining GSA, Udaya was the Director of the Office of Digital Innovation for the State of California. He was appointed by Governor Newsom and led a team focused on digital services including the state’s COVID-19 response site and several social benefits initiatives. Udaya also cofounded Jump Associates, a consultancy recognized by The Wall Street Journal as one of the Top Small Workplaces in America. At Jump, he led innovation and growth projects for large enterprises across more than 15 verticals including pharmaceuticals, retail, digital services, logistics and philanthropy. He started and grew Jump’s healthcare practice advising biotechs, device makers, hospitals and health plans and sat on the Editorial Advisory board for the TEDMED conference. Udaya also built a government and social sector portfolio helping improve the impact of philanthropies, NGOs and government agencies like USDA, NIH and GSA.

Udaya has been a board member of several nonprofits including KABOOM!, the leading organization dedicated to building playgrounds and giving kids access to play, and Just Human Productions, the medical information and media company that created the award-winning podcasts “American Diagnosis” and “Epidemic.” Udaya has guest lectured at several academic institutions including Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and School of Engineering. Over the years he has co-authored several guidebooks and courses on innovation, new product development, local community development, infrastructure financing and project management. Udaya holds a B.Sc. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from  Stanford University.

Jaclyn Rubino serves as the Executive Director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Strategic Programs Division (SPD) within the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO) where she oversees the Department’s Category Management and Industry Engagement efforts. Ms. Rubino is a recognized leader in Category Management across the Government where she is widely sought after for her strategies and accomplishments in driving more efficient buying behaviors. In February 2016, Ms. Rubino was named by the Office of Management and Budget as the first Government-wide Security and Protection Category Manager responsible for developing and implementing government-wide strategies that align with established category management principles and methodologies.

Ms. Rubino previously served in numerous positions at DHS, most recently serving as the Director of the Strategic Sourcing Program Office. Prior to her Federal Career, Ms. Rubino served as a Principal with E3 Federal Solutions for several years, during which time she consulted on DHS procurements.,

Ms. Rubino holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the George Washington University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management with a concentration in Political Science from Roger Williams University. Ms. Rubino was co-author of an article published in the Fall 2005 Journal of Organizational Ethics: Healthcare, Business and Policy. She has received numerous awards for her professional efforts while at DHS, including the Federal 100, DHS Management Directorate Partner of the Year Award, and the Multiple-Award in Government and Industry Conference (MAGIC) Small Business Engagement Award.

Geoffrey Sage is the Director of the Enterprise Service and Analysis Division within the NASA Office of Procurement.  As the Director, Mr. Sage is responsible for senior executive leadership and oversight of the NASA Acquisition Innovation Launchpad (NAIL), Office of Procurement enterprise E-Business systems and initiatives, the Enterprise Pricing Office, and special acquisition initiatives supporting the Chief Acquisition Officer, Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer, and Chief Program Management Officer.

Prior to his current assignment, Mr. Sage served as the NASA Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Supplement (NFS) Manager and Performance Management Lead for the NASA Office of Procurement.  In his role as the NFS Manager, Mr. Sage served as the Agency’s principal point of contact for agency procurement policy and guidance as promulgated in the NFS and related policy and guidance resources. He oversaw and managed the process for creating, maintaining, and ensuring the quality of the NFS and its related documents in addition to developing, maintaining, and implementing agency-wide procurement guidance, procedures, and regulations. In his role as the Performance Management Lead, Mr. Sage had oversight of the Office of Procurement E-Business systems and tools, which included enterprise-wide E-Business systems, data, and the development and maintenance of metrics and goals.

Prior to joining the Headquarters staff, Mr. Sage served at the operational field level at NASA’s Langley Research Center, Kennedy Space Center, and Goddard Space Flight Center, supporting a wide range of major space systems and associated commodities from construction to space communications and satellite development programs and projects.  Mr. Sage began his NASA career in 2003 as a member of the NASA Contracting Intern Program (NCIP).

Mr. Sage earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and his Master of Art degree in International Commerce and Policy from the George Mason University School of Public Policy in Arlington, Virginia.  He holds a Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Level III Certification. 

Mr. Sage has received numerous awards and is a recipient of the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and the Elmer B. Staats Contracting Professional Excellence Award.  Mr. Sage is married and has a son and a daughter.

Trevor joined the Department of Commerce in early 2023 as the Director of The Lab, the Department’s Acquisition Innovation Advocate, and the Department-level Industry Liaison. The Lab’s mission is to inspire, connect, and empower the acquisition workforce to improve mission outcomes by embedding the proficiencies of innovative acquisition techniques into the foundation of acquisition teams throughout the Department by working with acquisition teams who volunteer to work with The Lab.

Aside from sharing lessons learned and best practices of teams through customized training, The Lab looks to infuse the concepts of being a coach and mentor into supervisors, branch chiefs, and division directors throughout the Department in both the procurement and program management lines of business.

Trevor spent the prior 6.5 years at DHS with the Procurement Innovation Lab helping DHS and other federal agencies foster a culture of innovation by testing innovative procurement techniques and sharing those stories with the DHS acquisition community and across other federal agencies/councils. The work included coaching and consulting with acquisition teams, hosting webinars, launching the PIL’s YouTube channel and PILCasts, and creating/instructing governmentwide trainings like the PIL Boot Camps and Coaching Clinics. Trevor also spent time working on DHS’s classified requirements and in industry as a corporate contract administrator.

Trevor has two beautiful little girls, Finigan and Emery, and his soulmate, Rebecca, who keep him plenty busy at home working on projects. When not at work you can find him biking, hiking, and playing basketball, golf, and lacrosse across the DC metro area.

Mr. Berteau became the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Professional Services Council (PSC) on March 28, 2016. With more than 400 members, PSC is the premier advocate of and resource for the federal services industry. As CEO, Mr. Berteau focuses on legislative and regulatory issues related to government acquisition, budgets, and requirements by helping to shape public policy, leading strategic coalitions, and working to improve communications between government and industry, focusing on outcomes and results for the government.

Prior to PSC, Mr. Berteau was confirmed in December 2014 as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness. He oversaw the management of the $170 billion in Department of Defense logistics funding.

Previously, Mr. Berteau served as Senior Vice President at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where his research and analysis covered federal budgets, national security, management, contracting, logistics, acquisition, and industrial base issues.

Mr. Berteau is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a Director of the Procurement Round Table.  He also served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School.

Sebastian Herrick serves as Director, Public Policy, where he provides cross-association support for the Professional Services Council and its member organizations.  

Sebastian was previously Policy and Program Analyst for the Government Relations department of AECOM, a leading engineering and infrastructure firm. Prior to AECOM, Sebastian served as Chief Analyst for ASC Echo, a boutique political and media data firm in the Washington, D.C. area. Sebastian interned for two congressional offices and graduated from Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. He is proudly from Golden, Colorado.