>> It's a true joy to be here.
It's a true joy to have been part of the truly astounding planning team led
by the amazing Carla Thomas, and all the rest of the amazing planning people [applause].
Very well, sir.
I have the great joy of being the last session of the day.
And, I get to work with these truly amazing people who came out of public service,
and are now on the Parkway Patriot side of the business, and are here to share their thoughts
on what they knew when they were in government.
So, if we could just advance to the next slide, please.
I'd like to start off by asking Michael to introduce himself,
and tell his story, and share his thoughts.
>> Thanks, Ann Marie.
Hi, my name's Mike Freeman.
I have about 22 years of IT experience, as an IT specialist.
Former Navy contractor and then civil servant.
The last four years of my federal service was as a deputy CIO at Intelligence and Analysis.
Some of the things I wish I would have known -- really more about the DHS acquisition vehicles,
contract types -- so, really all the things you covered today.
This has been fascinating.
And, I tell you, Chip and Soraya, from the get go --
Chip's messages on the we message, pulling together.
All those are things that I try to resonate at INA in trying
to work through the acquisition process.
So, Soraya, thank you.
This is really good.
So, you guys get a lot out of this, I hope.
I recommend this for all 2210s that are IT folks, to know more about finance, acquisition
and contract types, and then what Industry really goes through to meet those objectives.
Because it is super important to close that gap.
I spent most of my career in intelligence and counter-terrorism.
So, 18 months to get a contract in place just, you know, that window is not there.
So, you have to find ways to, you know, work on contracts, sole source
or ways to close that gap to make things happen.
So, I think the day's been really fascinating and a good experience.
I am with General Dynamics, and it's over there, so I want to make sure that I do say that.
Really, all my insights from cost to the different vehicle types,
etcetera, it was covered in every session.
I think all the groups did a great job.
So, I just -- that's kind of where I'm at.
I'm going to turn it over to Dennis.
>> Thank you, Mike.
I appreciate it.
My name's Dennis Murphy.
Spent my entire career in Homeland Security.
And, even though I've left Homeland Security, it never leaves you.
And, you'll find that, yourselves.
I mean, the mission is absolutely incredible.
So, I spend about 33 years in government, 30 of which was with US Customs,
where I was both an import specialist, learning about trade.
I was a port director.
The port director of Norfolk for 10 years.
I loved that.
And was an assistant commissioner for three commissioners, and was there for 9/11.
And so, I spend the entire day of 9/11 in the Situation Room,
trying to manage the borders on that day.
And, that flipped my life upside down.
And, two years later, turned the lights on -- literally turned the lights on,
on the first day of DHS, in January of 2003.
So, I helped to stand up DHS.
So, I've seen the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Everything that there is to offer within the Department of Homeland Security.
I would like a quick show of hands -- and I should say, when I did leave the government,
I went to work for Booz Allen for six years.
And, I'm now running my own little, small consulting business, ASM Concepts,
and I still do work back into DHS.
But, I would like a show of hands of how many
in here are program managers, non-contracting professionals.
So, it's a good number of you.
And then, the rest, I assume are contracting professionals or Industry.
I really want to talk to the program managers, just for a brief moment,
because as a senior executive, myself, who was responsible for contract --
managing and overseeing contracts, I tended to relegate a lot of the responsibility to others.
There was an evaluation board.
I delegated somebody to go sit on the evaluation board.
I did a lot of things that most program managers probably do today, still, is I relied on others
to make sure the contract -- that contracting was engaged; they were doing things right.
I didn't really understand the FAR, as a program manager.
I kind of looked at it as the fear, first [laughter] --
you know, first everything's against the rules.
And, I just wanted to avoid it like the plague.
So, I didn't learn it.
When I went to Booz Allen, I sat in meetings and said, what is the language they're talking?
I didn't understand hardly anything they were saying.
And, I thought it was only me, until other senior executives started joining Booz Allen,
and they all had the same experience.
So, he actually created a -- what we call learning circles.
It's a little mentoring group.
And, it was senior executives who had been in the government
and joined Booz Allen in senior positions.
And, I call it the safe place to ask the stupid question [laughter].
And, once a month, we'd get together.
And, we'd all scratch our heads.
You know, what language are they speaking?
You know? And, these are senior, senior people.
And, it struck me that there is a huge knowledge gap between program managers
and contracting officers, and both with Industry.
And really understanding Industry.
So, I really applaud what Soraya's trying to do, is to bridge the gap here.
Bring program managers, contracting officers, Industry together.
But, I think it really needs to go further than that.
I really think there needs to be an education.
To understand from the program manager perspective,
what is a contracting officer doing?
Now I understand acquisition strategy.
I understand small business set asides.
I understand contract vehicles and the importance of teaming.
And, today's teaming partner's tomorrow's competitor.
So, it's a very interesting, delicate balance.
But, I really think that gap needs to be tightened.
It will be a better product.
A faster procurement.
And, the result to the mission will be a greater impact.
So, kind of some of my thoughts.
I'm also available for career counseling after [laughter].
And, that's free!
I do have a lot of people -- I have to tell you, from a personal experience --
you feel like you're jumping off the cliff.
And, when you retire from 33 years in government, that's all you've known --
your career, I -- you're jumping off a cliff -- what is going to happen?
You know? The safety net of your career isn't there anymore.
And, what happens next?
I got to tell you, I've been -- I retired from government in 2005.
There's been a lot of ups and downs.
But, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
I wouldn't trade my government career for the world.
I would trade my private sector career.
It's been a truly enriching experience.
So, happy to share that experience with anybody who's thinking about going out, just to say,
here's what it's like on the other side.
Not necessarily the dark side [laughter].
I made a mistake.
I did refer to it once in a Booz Allen meeting as a "dark side."
I got A LOT of dirty looks.
But, anyway.
But, it is a great experience.
And, I'm just happy to be here today and give you some insights.
>> Hi. My name is Cheryl Tyler.
And, I had 28-plus years in the federal government from a very different side.
I was an operational person all of my entire career.
Seeing the opening of today's session, flashed back for me, walking down Pennsylvania Avenue,
side-by-side to the president's motor tag.
I served two details on the president of the United States detail.
I've learned a lot today.
I learned a lot working for the US Secret Service.
After leaving there, I went over to TSA.
And, as Dennis, I was there at the startup.
I started in an office with five people.
And, we sat and looked at each other, and said, what are we going to do?
We started writing policies.
I worked on the corporate testing operation team.
I did covert testing for almost 10 years for TSA.
In every airport in the United States, and taught people internationally.
So, the horrible testings that you go through the airport to be screened,
I'll take responsibility for [laughter].
You have no idea the kind of machines we use to test people with their put out [laughter].
Those are scary.
Things that I wish I had learned and had known.
As an operational person, as I shared with the gentleman before we came up here,
being on the President's team -- everything's done behind the scenes.
To make our life do what we need to do faster.
We don't know what goes on behind the scenes.
And, what has been talked about today is -- I commend you, Soraya, for saying,
you know, we want to know what you need.
Because, as an agent, we had to tell people what we needed, and we needed it then.
The people who were behind us were making our lives easier.
So, that Industry and the government were working together to give us what we needed.
Throughout those years, I started thinking about having a business after I got out.
And, I say it like that -- after I got out.
It was -- you got out [laughter].
Whoa! Okay.
Now, what do I do?
And so, I, too, as Dennis said, I sat on the couch a couple of times
and said, what the heck have I done?
>> -- done, yeah.
>> And then, I said, well, you've done it.
So, keep doing it.
You don't realize how many skill sets that you leave with,
until you're out there in the private industry.
The government -- and I know everybody --
there are comments that are made, I shouldn't say everybody.
There are comments that are made that, you know, government workers are lazy.
They don't do anything.
They don't do this.
They don't do that.
Let me tell you, you, as a government worker, no matter what level, what grade, what series --
you contribute an awful lot to your country, and to working with the industry.
You have -- a lot of people have no idea how much skill, and how many skill sets you have
when you leave, that you need to pat yourself on the back.
Because, when you leave, and you go work for a private industry --
and nothing against private industries, I'm one myself --
you will realize that you have done more than you ever thought you did.
You can contribute more.
And, you take it for granted that everybody else just does it too.
And, you got paid less.
You don't realize this until you're gone.
You talk about acronyms.
Let me tell you, the Secret Service has more acronyms
than the alphabet can ever [laughing] -- it took me a long time to learn.
And, each division I was in, there are a whole new set of acronyms.
I think if the government can help teach people those acronyms -- to understand the processes.
I wish, as an operational person, I knew where to go before I left, to understand acquisitions.
To understand procurement.
I did have the opportunity to, when I was a TSA,
to work in procurement, and the Legal Counsel Division.
So, I saw it then.
I saw rules.
I saw regulations.
I saw laws that needed to be changed.
I was part of implementing new changes.
TSA was struggling in the very -- in the beginning.
A lot in understanding policies and putting things together.
But, because of my past, it helped me facilitate through those processes a lot easier.
As a small business, it's a daunting task.
Can it be done?
Yes. As we say, I wish I had only known it 10 years, or 20 years ago, what I know now.
But, I think I learned it when I was supposed to learn it.
You have a gift.
If you want to go to start your own business, go for it.
If you have the contract vehicles, and you feel you can do it, go for it.
Don't ever stop, because that's what keeps Industry going.
It's new people coming into Industry.
Yes, you left the government.
You left the safety net.
But, you have a lot to contribute, and don't let anyone stop you from it.
You may not be the billionaire.
But, you're going to be happy doing what you want to do.
And, you can give back.
And, for me, it's giving back to my country again.
So.
>> Thank you very much.
And, thank you so much for your service.
[ Applause ]
I'm the daughter of a civil servant.
I started my career in civil service.
I got some of the best first-year training out there, from federal government.
And, I went into private sector.
But, to the point that Cheryl made, I learned so much from the federal government.
I'd like to open the floor to questions.
There were some great questions last session.
Questions for our former feds, now Parkway Patriots.
>> So, we have no script for you, so we don't ask.
>>Yeah, we don't
>> No script.
>> We're your improv crew up here.
>> We are the improv crew, you're right.
So, I've got a question.
I'm a plan "B" kind of gal [laughter].
This morning Chip noted that all of us are part of the mission of Homeland Security.
Even we, the Parkway Patriots.
And, my question to each of you, or whoever wants to take the question is,
how has your perspective changed or remained the same from when you were a civil servant to now,
being on the Parkway Patriot side?
>> It hasn't changed for me, basically.
I change T-shirts, right?
For me, it's -- what I mean by that is whether I'm a blue badge or a green badge,
the mission and the requirements come first.
So, now I just have a little more knowledge.
I was a contractor before I became a federal employee, before I became a contractor again.
But, I've never, you know, strayed away from the fat cat.
I want to be with the requirements in the mission.
I actually took a small stent as a COO for about five months.
And, you know what I learned?
I'm not a good COO.
[Laughter] What I'm good at is mission and requirements.
And, I belong on that side.
And so, I was able to make a transition back into the mission and with the people.
And, that's where I want to be.
So, that's -- for me, it doesn't matter either way.
It's all about the country, the mission, and protecting the United States.
So, that's where I'm at.
>> For me, it's the same.
It's the mission.
I think it was stated earlier, once you're in it --
and, all of us have been in it for collectively a long time, it doesn't leave you.
You still have that passion.
You still have that drive.
You still have that need to share.
You still have that need to get out and make it work.
And, all in the name of the country.
So, it doesn't leave, no matter what title you have, what badge you wear,
what uniform you wear or you don't wear.
You still want to do the same job.
>> Part of the we concept, right?
>> That's it.
>> I think, for me, I mean, again, I mentioned, you know, the mission never leaves you.
But, I think when you go into the contracting world, the -- one of the hardest things --
I heard this from every single person that I engaged with, who had came out of government
as a senior executive is, okay, you're supposed to go back and try to build business
and help sell the capabilities that your company has.
Because you think that those capabilities are going to help the mission.
But, everyone has had the same experience.
How do you go back to your old organization without feeling like you're just selling soap?
You know? Like, you're just -- I mean, you know.
It's like -- I'm just here to sell, and sell, and sell.
And, there's a sincerity that I think we have that somebody who hasn't worked
in the organization, you know, in DHS and the mission, brings to the table.
And -- but, you know, I made a very conscious effort, for 10 years,
I did not go back to my old organization at CBP on any business to build an activity.
I worked at TSA, and did some work there.
I did some work at CIS on transformation.
I mean, I did things around DHS --
worked on OPO, and helped out Soraya with Eagle Two, and getting that launched.
And, things like that.
So, I went in different parts of the organization,
where I still could bring some value.
I'm currently doing some work right now at ICE, you know, and helping on some things,
and bringing governments to big organizations and that experience that I had.
So, it's, how to do you leverage that wealth of experience that you gained,
but bring it with sincerity back into the organization
without necessarily going back to your home, if you will?
And, that's a hard thing for people to do.
So, I'll say that was something that was very difficult for me.
But, I solved that by just not going back to my --
I went back to the Christmas party, the holiday parties.
And, I went back to, you know, I still kept in touch.
But, even Diane Sahakian, who was my go-to contracting officer when I was
with Custom -- if Diane said it, it was gospel.
And, I'm really glad she's the HCA there, right now.
But, when she said it, I trusted it.
And, she even made a comment at a GTSC function that, Dennis never came back to me.
And, I really respected that.
So, I mean, I think that's a really important lesson learned is, go back and help the mission.
But, maybe not necessarily where you had your greatest contribution for the mission.
>> One way -- I've not gone back, either.
But, one way I've gone back is, I have very active internship program.
And, one of my interns is here, today.
I think it's important that they really understand what we did.
And what we still do.
And, my interns can tell you, they're not going to get coffee --
I don't drink coffee, they're not going to do -- to answer the phone, they're not copying.
I make them work.
I make them a part of what I'm trying to do.
And, I've introduced them to people I used to work.
I've taken them to meet people in the Intelligence arena.
I've taken them to meet people who are agents.
I've taken them to roundtable discussion.
I learn from them, as much as they learn from me.
And, I think it is starting back and reaching back,
as someone did to me while I was in college and grad school.
That's our future.
And, I think if start with them early, so that they can see all the paper work you have to do,
and all the rules and regulations [laughing] you got to go through, they may change their mind
and say, you know, this is not for me but they found something else to do.
That's okay.
But, I think it is incumbent upon us who have been there --
who have had the privilege of working for the badge,
to bring others into it at a very early age.
And, I stay connected that way.
I went back to a retirement party last week.
Made a connection for somebody already.
They wrote me already to say, bring your student over here --
here's a program we want to see them to get into.
That's how we start teaching them.
That's how we engage them.
And, that's how we stay engaged with you, and helps us in our business to move forward.
>> Yeah, I've got a question.
I guess I could direct this to Dennis, because I was talking to you earlier,
and you said you've been around DHS since kind of day one.
Can you talk a little bit about some of the -- as you've seen the kind of the management doors,
sort of, you know, acquisition environment evolve at DHS -- some of the --
like what you saw kind of in the early days and now, and sort of where some
of our greatest strengths and weaknesses are, maybe as contrasted with the early days,
as we've grown as a department very rapidly?
>> Well, I think my first impression is, today it's much more sophisticated.
The -- it was a bit of the wild west.
Now, Greg Rothwell came in, and -- great, great, you know, contracting expert.
You know, set it all up in the beginning.
Helped bringing the experience of IRS -- I think some very senior people, like a Jim Williams.
I mean, they attracted some really good talent in the beginning that understood contracting,
and they were embedded in some of the program areas.
You know? And, that was a real success story, to see, you know, an announcement on March of 2003,
that we're going to implement the first biometric order processing system in the world.
And, between Greg and Jim being brought in the day after that announcement,
and six months later -- nine months later, in December,
the first phase was implemented, which was incredible.
And, then I checked my facts.
And, then the -- and in June of 2014 the following year, a $10 billion contract was led
to Accenture, to build out the entire system.
Ten billion in less -- in just a little over a year.
To do that was absolutely amazing.
So, big things could get done.
There was huge push from leadership Congress, you know?
And that -- those, you know, early, early days -- a lot could get done.
So, there's a great -- I think there's a great foundation set.
But, all the lessons learned along the way.
Each of the secretary's and staff brought their own little flavor.
But, I think the innovation, the openness, the transparency, and right now, the sophistication
of some of the contracting going on today with the PIL and experimentation like that.
Don't let Flash let you down, you know?
It's -- I mean, you got to fail forward, as we've heard.
You have to fail forward.
Take those lumps.
Learn from them.
And, then keep innovating the process.
I think the key for everybody that I've worked with in the contracting industry is,
how can we figure out how to shrink the time to market
from the requirement to the kick-off meeting?
How do you do that?
I think one way, as I mentioned, really close understanding of each other's responsibilities.
So, you can have collaboration teams, rather than somebody just sending a document
over -- hey, review this and approve it.
But, finding ways to really shrink that time to market helps the mission,
helps the industry, it helps you -- more efficient.
But, I think we're getting there.
I see those steps already starting in place.
So, it's the sophistication of some of the processes that I see starting to emerge now.
>> Any other questions?
>> Hi, good afternoon.
I'm asking this question from the perspective of somebody who's responsible for training.
I had a sense, before today, that we needed more training in this area.
And, all of you have only reinforced that ten-fold.
I'm looking for some language that might help me support having more participation
in the acquisition training.
What do you think you could have told your younger self, who didn't know about acquisition,
that would have convinced you, man, I need to know more about this?
>> If you're not engaged, you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit.
That's what I told my kids, you know [laughter].
If you don't like it, get engaged.
And, I think the number one thing is, I made the mistake --
and, nearly everybody I've talked to made the same mistake --
they trusted the whole process to contracting officers.
And, they didn't get engaged as program managers,
to help not just review documents, but really get immersed.
And, this is your contracting support.
And, I mean, I -- the biggest one I dealt with building a contact center.
Today it's the call center or contact center for CBP, you know?
And, we didn't even know where to start.
I mean, to start with the East Coast.
How many people?
We had no skills.
And, I had somebody very, very heavily engaged in starting that.
She did a great job.
I wish I had been more engaged in it at the beginning.
There were things I did engage in.
But, to me, as a program manager, I don't feel I engaged enough to really --
with the contracting officer, to really understand what I was buying.
So, that's my lesson learned.
And, going back and redoing it, I wouldn't delegate that.
I would be in the middle of those discussions as much as I could be.
>> I probably would have attended more training.
I think I focused more on the mission, and didn't go to events that were held, and now,
when I look back, would have been very beneficial.
Like today, an industry day like this, would have been super beneficial
to the things we were trying to get accomplished.
So. Yes, ma'am?
What would convinced you to go to training then?
What could I have said to you then, that would have made you say, OK, maybe I should go.
Wow. I don't know [chuckle].
You can take this back to the staff that you have and show them what's going
on here, and encourage them to attend.
I think this is good for really any series, but especially your 2210s, your acquisition,
and your budget and finance folks.
One of the keys -- at least as my experience at INA was to make sure that I talked with the CFO
and the contracting -- I mean, every day practically, as much as possible,
communicating with folks that were there.
And, that was super beneficial.
And, I think, also, re-encouraging branch chiefs, managers --
to encourage their folks to attend, and the value there.
Sometimes you got to, you know, encourage people to attend for all the right reasons.
Because it's the benefit afterwards.
So.
>> For me, once I got into working with procurement, that opened the door for me
to start asking more and more questions.
And, I think if you have a staff that doesn't know the different divisions and their purpose,
and how they contribute to the whole, that's where the siloes come.
And, for me, it was a personal thing.
Because I needed to be more astute in what I was talking about,
and to understand the processes along the way.
Because I was working with people who this was their livelihood.
I didn't come from that world.
So, I had to go back and start like I was in kindergarten
and say, okay, how do you get to here?
Well, who does that?
And, why do they do that?
And, who does that before that?
And, so, I think if you have people, that you want to engage them.
I agree. Talk about what's going on here.
If you're the supervisor, I think it's incumbent upon you to really push it in an energetic way,
to get people to want to go to training.
Training is like the dead word in the government to say.
So, whenever we would have training, it was like, oh no, please,
let me find something else to do.
But, I think you have to figure out how to work with your staff.
What makes them tick?
What makes them move?
How do you engage them in something?
Bribe them.
Whatever. [Laughter] You got to, you know -- I'll give you pizza for the day.
Let's go do that.
You know? Those are things -- it's under you.
Unless you've got somebody who's -- just wants to learn.
>> Bribing does work really well, by the way.
Food -- and food is a good bribe.
>> Food is a big one.
>> But, I think fear is a great motivator, as well.
So, you know, it's -- I heard a comment earlier that kind of resonated with me, where they said,
well, if the program manager meets with a contractor, will they say the wrong thing?
And, that's the fear coming from the contracting community
that a program manager isn't informed enough
to understand what they -- he or she can or cannot say.
And, so, if you don't come to the training, you're potentially putting it at risk
for a protest, and you may not get the requirement you want or need for your mission.
So, come to the training.
Learn what you can and cannot say.
Educate yourself, so when you have meetings, or you're just out and you bump into somebody,
and they ask you a question, you know, don't clinch and say, I can't talk to you.
What can you say?
And, is it RFP on the street?
If it's not, fine.
Talk about -- here's some of the things we're trying to accomplish.
But, I think educating about what you can and cannot say, so you don't fall into trouble,
and make it the FAR and not the fear.
You know? So.
>> Sir, I have a quick question.
Given that now you're on the industry side and working with the government,
as you engage with the government, and you think back of when you were in the role
as the government, what would you do differently?
What have you learned about how you engage with Industry that you wish --
now that you're sitting on that side and watch us do it to you, you're going,
man, I think I did that back then?
Give us a couple of examples of things
that you think you did well or didn't do well with Industry.
>> I didn't work a lot with Industry, and that was my problem [laughing].
>> That's fair.
>> I mean, I kind of took whatever the contracting officer said, you know,
here's a company, and we're going to do an orals.
Okay. You know?
I mean -- and so, I didn't take the time to do that -- due diligence with Industry.
And, that was a big mistake.
I think I should have taken more time.
I mean, that was really -- I mean, I didn't engage.
I let somebody else do it.
>> I think it was communication, right.
More communication with the procurement acquisition side of it.
You know, spending more time working on the requirement and statement of work.
I've noticed now that I'm in Industry, right?
And, you have to ask those questions, wow, what kind of a --
what is the government really asking us to do?
You know, some of us have that insight or know that knowledge -- been on the other side.
So, I think I've, you know, would have learned anything,
it would have been to kind of communicate better.
And come to concessions, also, with those types of groups.
>> I look at it real different [laugh].
I think sometimes we slip back into the checkbox mentality.
And, I think, sometimes government -- and that's all government,
believes that everybody really understands them.
And, I think Industry really thinks the government understands them.
And the two don't.
Every day, Industry is changing.
Tomorrow you could have this same session, and I guarantee you each
of us would tell you something completely different, simply because of the work
that we do has changed overnight.
And, I think government could try more to understand some of the new industries that are
out here, that are able to assist with them.
And, I go back to the statement that we had earlier is, what did I learn today?
Or, what were some of the things I picked up on today?
What I picked up is that big businesses, government, mid-tier,
and small businesses need to always work together.
Because each of them has something that can contribute to the whole of the we.
I think sometimes government gets a little sidelined and doesn't want to reach
out to understand who the industry really is.
And maybe if they had a -- not an industry day, but a meet-and-greet with new companies --
and maybe it's doing the big ones, and then have a separate one for the mid-tier,
and then another one for the small.
Because, the small -- I will say, are very intimidated in those atmospheres sometimes.
And, they have a lot to contribute.
So, I think if government made you -- you're going to do your five, do a new one.
Do a 1A. That 1A is going to be, we're going to start talking to Industry.
>> So, one of the things -- just so you can tell your Industry friends out there,
that we've been doing at DHS and doing quite well --
I think many of you have heard of the Silicon Valley innovation program that we have going on.
But, we actually go out as a team, as well as individually.
I actually go out and meet with nontraditional companies --
companies who do not normally do business with the government for whatever reason --
because they're new, they're startup, or fear.
They don't understand the government processes.
Because I do think there is a lot of fear instilled in companies
about how cumbersome the process is.
So, I think it is an educational process.
But, I appreciate your comments and thoughts.
>> So, we're out of questions.
I want to just do a real quick wrap-up.
Themes I heard -- acquisition is a team sport.
And, one of the super players, MVPs, and that is Soraya Correa, in the community.
It's about the mission, whether you're a Parkway Patriot or a civil servant,
it's definitely about the mission.
The mission is protecting the homeland.
And, the homeland is, we the people.
Thank you all.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
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