Spotlight

Agenda

Biographies

U.S. Department ofVeterans Affairs (VA)May 19, 2008 * Abraham Lincoln Memorial AuditoriumVA Medical Center, 50 Irving Street, NW, Washington, DC 20422

8:00 am Registration, Networking &Continental Breakfast

8:30 am Welcome & Introduction -Margot Dorfman, CEO, U.S.Women’s Chamber ofCommerce

8:45 am Agency Overview - ScottDenniston, Director, Officeof Small and DisadvantagedBusiness Utilization(OSDBU)

9:00 am Doing Business with theDept. of Veterans Affairs -Wayne Simpson, DeputyDirector, OSDBU

10:00 am Break & Networking

10:15 am Center for VeteransEnterprise (CVE) - PatriciaGould, OptimizationProgram Manager, CVE

10:45 am Veterans Benefit andServices – Irene Trowell –Harris, Director, Centerfor Women Veterans &Carolyn Bryant, ProgramAnalyst, Veterans Services

11:15 am Information & TechnologySandi Hughes, ProgramAnalyst, Office ofInformation and Technology

11:30 am Veterans BenefitAdministration (VBA) -Ernest Williams, SeniorManagement Analyst, VBA

11:45 am Overview & Remarks

12:00 pm Lunch on your own1:00 pm One-On-One Meetings2:30 pm Break, refreshments2:45 pm One-On-One Meetings4:00 pm Adjourn

Carolyn D. BryantProgram Analyst, Outreach StaffC&P Service, Veterans Services

Carolyn Bryant began her VA career at thePhiladelphia VA Insurance Center in 1988, whereshe served as a Policy Service Technician,Insurance Phone Specialist, Lead InsurancePhone Specialist and Supervisor. In September2001, Carolyn transferred to the Philadelphia VARegional Office as a Veterans ServiceRepresentative, where she also mentored newVeterans Service Representatives and becamea member of a Special Teams Project that led toher being permanently transferred to theWilmington Regional Office. In Wilmington,Carolyn was assigned additional duties as theOperation Enduring Freedom/Operation IraqiFreedom Coordinator, Military Records Specialistand Joint Services Records ResearchCoordinator.

In December 2007, Carolyn joined the VACOCompensation and Pension Service outreach staff,where she currently serves as consultant to theWomen’s Veterans Program and Former Prisonerof War Program. She is also the designated FederalOfficer for the Advisory Committee on FormerPrisoners of War.

Scott F. DennistonDirector, Office of Small Business andCenter for Veterans EnterpriseDepartment of Veterans Affairs

Mr. Denniston was appointed to the position ofDirector, Office of Small Business in October 1987.He is a veteran, having served in the U.S. Army. Heis active in the National Contract ManagementAssociation (NCMA), the National Defense IndustryAssociation (NDIA) and is a past chair of the SmallBusiness Committee of the Armed ForcesCommunications and Electronics Association.

Cover: The cover image is fromthe 2007 Veterans Day poster

Mr. Denniston is a nationally recognized advocatefor veteran entrepreneurs. In 1998 he was appointedto the Commission on Service Members and VeteransTransition Assistance, where he developedrecommendations for enhancing and expandingsupport for veteran business owners. Most recently,he established the Center for Veterans Enterprise, aVA organization dedicated to and providing supportfor veterans and service-disabled veterans interestedin entrepreneurship.

Margot DorfmanU.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce – CEONASBC Opportunity Outreach Coordinator

Margot Dorfman is the CEO of the U.S.Women’s Chamber of Commerce. She is avisionary leader who has dedicated herself topromoting the economic and leadership interest ofwomen. Her extensive background in business,business ownership, publishing and nonprofitleadership has prepared Ms. Dorfman to set thevision for the U.S. Women’s Chamber ofCommerce. Dorfman founded Arizona Women’sNews, Hispana News and the Greater PhoenixChamber Business Connection. She holds aMaster’s Education from Lesley University and aB.S. in Education from Northeastern University.Additionally, her experience includes over ten yearsin executive positions with General Mills and otherFortune 500 firms.

Patricia GouldTraining Officer, Center for Veterans Enterprise

Ms. Patricia Gould is the Training Officer for theCenter for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) at the U.S.Department of Veterans Affairs. She also servesas the Community Liaison representative where shedevelops educational initiatives, and educatesmembers of the community and veteran smallbusiness owners about the benefits of cooperativepartnerships.

Ms. Gould is also responsible for designing thetraining programs to equip veteran small businessowners with the necessary tools and knowledge setsfor success. Ms. Gould is a member of the businessexpansion team and works closely with the businessadvisors to ensure that the training developed for theveterans meets the veterans’ needs.

Ms. Patricia Gould began her career with theBrooklyn Public Library where she was responsiblefor training the tutors and staff. She later joinedthe US Navy where she developed the trainingcurriculum for the personnel in her department.After completing her tour in the Navy she joinedthe Maryland Air National Guard where she iscurrently serving as the Non Commissioned Officerin Charge of the Squadron Medical Element.

Sandra HughesProgram Analyst, Small Business AdvocateOfficeof Information and Technology

Sandra Hughes has worked for VA since 1989when the Veterans Administration first became the

“Department” of Veterans Affairs headed by a CabinetSecretary. Previously, Ms. Hughes served as the COTRfor VA’s Procurement of Computer Hardware andSoftware Contract (PCHS-2) and was a member ofthe management team for PCHS-1 and NOAVAContracts prior to that.

Ms. Hughes participated in the management teamwhen the decision was made to use the NASA SEWPIV Contract, and currently act as a VA Liaison to thatContract under which VA is exceeding our smallbusiness utilization goals.

In the role of OI&T Small Business Advocate,Ms. Hughes encourages consideration of small firmsfor VA’s IT business needs and offers guidance tosmall businesses on marketing to VA. Last year VAOI&T nearly met or exceeded all of the Secretary’sSocioeconomic Goals in the utilization of smallbusinesses.

Wayne A. SimpsonDeputy Director, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU)U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Wayne Simpson was appointed Deputy Director,Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization(OSDBU), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)on December 4, 2000. A demonstrative small businessadvocate and seasoned acquisition professional in hisown right, Wayne joined OSDBU from the NationalCemetery Administration (NCA) Operations SupportCenter, Quantico, VA, where he served as Chief ofNCA’s Centralized Contracting Division (SupervisoryContract Specialist) and a senior level warrantedcontracting officer from March 1995 to December 2000.Before his selection to that position, Wayne served asDeputy Director, Office of Memorial Programs, VAHeadquarters. Wayne also held the positions ofcontract administrator, contract specialist andprocurement analyst with VA’s Office of Acquisition andMateriel Management, and served as a VA MedicalCenter contracting officer.

Linda F. SitneyOutreach Small Business SpecialistVA Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU)

Linda Sitney is a Senior Small BusinessSpecialist with the U.S. Department of VeteransAffairs (VA) Office of Small and DisadvantagedBusiness Utilization (OSDBU). A service-disabledveteran, Ms. Sitney joined VA’s OSDBU team five yearsago after retiring form the military with 28 years in theArmy. Ms. Sitney’s distinguished military careerincluded numerous awards and achieving the rank ofCommand Sergeant Major. Ms. Sitney enjoyed heruniformed service to this country and wanted tocontinue to serve her country by serving her fellowveterans. Ms. Sitney is a demonstrated small businessadvocate who recognizes the importance of smallbusiness to American’s economy.

A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Ms. Sitney holdsa Bachelor of Science in Business Management fromthe University of Maryland and a graduate degree in

Health Care Administration from Central MichiganUniversity. Ms. Sitney has two daughters, Natashaand Kendra and a grandson, Rasheed Jr. She residesin Brandywine, Maryland.

Irene Trowell-Harris, RN, EdDDirector, Center for Women Veterans

Irene Trowell-Harris, R.N. Ed.D., was nominatedto be Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs(VA) Center for Women Veterans in June 2001 andapproved by the White House on October 2, 2001. Inthis role, she is the primary advisor to the Secretary ofVeterans Affairs on programs and issues related towomen veterans.

Prior to her appointment, Dr. Trowell-Harris servedas Director of the VA Office of Inspector General’sWashington, D.C. Healthcare Inspections RegionalOffice. In this position, she directed a multidisciplinarystaff of inspectors responsible for conducting oversightreviews to improve the economy, effectiveness andefficiency of VA programs.

Concurrent with her position in VA’s Office ofInspector General, Dr. Trowell-Harris served 38 yearsin the U.S. Air Force/Air National Guard, retiring as aMajor General in September 2001. During her militarycareer, Dr. Trowell-Harris held numerous positions,including chief nurse executive, flight nurse examiner,commander, advisor for nursing and readiness,assistant to the director, Air National Guard (ANG),and military representative to the Defense AdvisoryCommittee on Women in the Services for the ANG.She was a 1997 Air Force representative for theCommittee on Women in the NATO ForcesConference held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Ernest WilliamsSenior Management AnalystVeterans Benefit Administration (VBA)

Ernest Williams is a Senior ManagementAnalyst for the Veteran Benefit Administration(VBA), Associate Deputy under Secretary forManagements Acquisition Liaison Staff. He servesas a senior management analyst advising programofficials on numerous areas including programacquisition strategies, and contracting andacquisition policy just to name a few. He consultsprogram managers and is responsible foroverseeing the development of acquisitiondocumentation for all Non-IT acquisitions to ensurethere are no conflicting or overlapping acquisitionsof goods and/or services.

Mr. Will iams has more than 25 yearsexperience in government business in the fields ofcontracting, acquisition management, and logistics.Among his previous assignments, he worked as aContracting Officer for the U.S Department of StateForeign Service Acquisitions Branch; SupervisoryProcurement Officer for the National MedicalResearch Institute In Bethesda Md; ContractingOfficer for the Department of the Army andGovernment bankcard program coordinator for theU.S Department of State Information ResourceManagement Bureau.

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