As April comes to an end, the Spring Training Conference draws closer, with only a few weeks left before the opening date. The Coalition is excited to bring our members this two-day virtual experience on May 19-20 that includes a diverse assembly of speakers from multiple agencies, such as the General Services Administration (GSA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). We would like to thank and recognize our current sponsors for this event, including Title Sponsors: AvKARE and First Nation Group; Gold Sponsors: CACI, SheppardMullin, and The Gormley Group; and Silver Sponsor: Concordance Healthcare Solutions.
We are thrilled to confirm that the event will commence with a keynote address delivered by Michael Parrish, the VA’s Chief Acquisition Officer and Principal Executive Director of the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction. The conference is titled The Biden Administration’s Priorities and the Role of Acquisition, and we have formed an agenda of panels that will discuss the impact that these priorities have on agency operations as well as Government contractors. A few of these sessions are highlighted below:
COVID Logistics and Acquisition. This panel will address the Federal Government’s COVID-19 response and how agencies have worked to deliver care to the American people during the pandemic, and at the same time, continue critical agency missions like national security. The panel features Brigadier General David Sanford, Commander of the Defense Supply Center Richmond and Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, who serves as the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force. Also joining the panel is Joe Hamel, HHS’ Strategic Innovation and Emerging Technology Manager. Soraya Correa, Chief Procurement Officer at the Department of Homeland Security, has been invited to participate.
Sustainable Procurement. The Sustainable Procurement panel, moderated by George Washington University Law Professor Steve Schooner, includes environmental leaders from across the Government who will address the Biden Administration’s approach to sustainability as a top priority, as well as how agencies are supporting these efforts. Speakers include Holly Elwood, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Senior Advisor for the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program and Porter Glock, Procurement Analyst for the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
Buy American and Domestic Sourcing. Comprised of speakers from both Government and industry, this panel will cover domestic sourcing topics, including the factors needed to develop a secure and resilient supply chain, lessons learned from recent supply chain vulnerabilities, and the reshoring approach. We have confirmed that Kim Herrington, DoD’s Principal Director/Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy, Scott Calisti, Defense Price and Contracting’s Director of Contract Policy, and Jean Heilman Grier, Principal and Manager of Trade Practice at Djaghe LLC, will be participating. Dr. Gary Disbow, the Department of Human and Health Services’ (HHS) Director for Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, has also been invited to join the panel. The discussion will be moderated by Moshe Schwartz, President of Etherton and Associates.
Small Business Opportunities. Another important session that we will be holding in the afternoon of May 19 is a discussion of small business opportunities under the Biden Administration. Representatives from GSA’s and the VA’s Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, as well as the Small Business Administration’s Office of Government Contracting & Business Development, have been invited to share insights and updates from their respective agencies on programs assisting small businesses. Coalition Small Business Committee Chairs Ken Dodds, Government Contracting Industry Expert at Live Oak Bank, and David Black, Partner at Holland & Knight will serve as the moderators.
Numerous other must-attend panels are on the agenda, as well, covering critical issue areas, like:
- Cyber and the supply chain,
- Priorities from the Federal Acquisition Service,
- The VA and DLA Partnership,
- GSA systems and the Multiple Award Schedule,
- IT modernization, the “VA Modernization Initiative,”
- Oversight from the VA’s Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office, and
- Insights from the Senate.
All sessions will provide valuable information to those who attend.
We encourage members to please review the full agenda here. The registration page for the 2021 Spring Training Conference can be found here. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Matt Cahill at mattcahill@thecgp.org. We look forward to the conference, and hope that you will join us in May.