VIP Instructors

The following individuals are the instructors for the Veteran Institute for Procurement:

Isaias "Cy" Alba IV, Senior Associate, PilieroMazza PLLC
Phone: 202-857-1000
Email: ialba@pilieromazza.com 

Mr. Alba counsels clients in a broad range of government contracting matters and general corporate law, including regulatory compliance, small business issues, size protests, suspensions, drafting and reviewing contracts and subcontracts, teaming agreements, preparing and pursuing claims and requests for equitable agreements defending against proposed disbarment's and litigation bid protests to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  Mr. Alba also assists PilieroMazza clients with general litigation matters and contract negotiations. 

Jackie Asencio, President/CEO, C2 Essentials, Inc.
Phone: 703-444-0096
Fax: 703-433-9014
Email: jackiea@c2portfolio.com

Jackie Asencio is President/CEO of C2 Essentials, Inc., one of the region’s leading human capital management service providers. With more than 27 years experience, Ms. Asencio has been a major influence in helping small government contractors grow and compete in the federal market place. As a seasoned trainer and coach, Ms. Asencio works closely with business owners ensuring their human capital management strategies are aligned to their business goals. She has extensive experience of full life cycle recruiting, talent management, succession planning, career development, reward and recognition strategies, performance management, regulatory compliance, compensation, benefits, risk management, and outplacement services. Prior to founding C2 Portfolio, Ms. Asencio provided human capital management support to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of State, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of the Treasury Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the World Bank Group.

Lynn Iffland, Quality Assurance Sr. Manager, L-3 STRATIS
Phone: (703) 434-4916  
Email: Lynn.Iffland@L-3Com.com

Lynn Iffland is a Quality Assurance Senior Manager in the L-3 Delivery Excellence group.   She has worked at L-3 for nine years and has over 20 years experience in process improvement and quality assurance primarily in the area of systems and software engineering.  Lynn is a Project Management Professional (PMP) and certified in ITIL V3 Foundations.   She holda a masters degree from the University of Maryland in Computer Systems Management and a masters certificate from George Washington University in Project Management.   She enjoys helping groups identify their quality requirements/goals and working with them to implement an effective quality management system. 

Barry Kane, President, Catapult Technology
Phone: 240-482-2172
Email: barry.kane@catapulttechnology.com

Barry Kane is president of Catapult Technology and has nearly 40 years of experience in the public and private sectors, with a background in engineering, telecommunications, and information technology. As a senior manager, he has a track record of acquiring new work, expanding existing contracts, building and running an efficient organization, and exceeding revenue and profit estimates. Prior to joining Catapult, Kane was senior vice president at CACI and executive vice president and chief operating officer of AlphaInsight, where he was responsible for all aspects of operations, business development, and proposal development. He has also managed government contracts for SIGNAL Corporation and Synetics Corporation.

Gloria Larkin, President, TargetGov
Phone: 410-579-1346 
Fax: 410-579-1347 
Email: glorialarkin@targetgov.com 

Gloria Larkin, President of TargetGov, is a nationally-recognized government contracting marketing and business development expert.  She is the author of “The Veterans Business Guide: How to Build a Successful Government Contracting Business” and speaks nationwide to business owners who are veterans regarding practical, bottom-line focused business development best practices. She has been quoted in USAToday, Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur Start-ups Magazine, and Government Executive magazine. Among other honors, she was named the 2010 Maryland Women in Business Champion of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the 2010 Enterprising Women of the Year Awardee. 

Pamela Mazza, Managing Partner, PilieroMazza PLLC
Phone: 202-857-1000
Fax: 202-857-0200
Email: pmazza@pilieromazza.com

Pamela J. Mazza, managing partner at PilieroMazza PLLC, practices in the areas of corporate counseling, government contracts, government relations, Native American law and association law. Within her government contracts practice, Mazza advises on all aspects of government contracting, with a specialty in issues pertaining to small and disadvantaged businesses. She counsels clients on a variety of corporate issues including corporate formation and restructuring, shareholder agreements, and trade secrets protection. Mazza also represents trade associations, coalitions and corporations before Congress and the Administration. She sits on the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors and acts as General Counsel to the Chamber.

James K. McCarthy, CEO, AOC Key Solutions
Phone: 703-868-8263
Fax: 703-953-3877
Email: jmccarthy@aoc-ksi.com

Mr. McCarthy’s career spans 26 years of marketing and proposal development support to government contractors.  As CEO and co-founder of AOC Key Solutions, Inc (AOCKSI),his leadership has forged an organization that seeks to be the first consulting firm of its kind that a senior executive turns to when faced with a “must win” government contract opportunity, or when failure is not an option.

Mark Melton, Partner, Cordia Partners
Phone: 703-462-6211
Fax: 703-462-6235
Email: mmelton@cordiapartners.com

Mark Melton is a Certified Public Accountant and a founding partner of Cordia Partners. Mark has a specific focus on helping clients identify and manage accounting, and reporting processes on an outsourced basis.

Mark has over twenty years of professional experience in the areas of accounting and financial services while serving government contractors, professional service firms and other commercial enterprises. He assists Cordia's clients in developing financial reporting and control procedures that address the most important business and control issues, while ensuring that information is delivered efficiently and effectively.

Mark has extensive experience in the organization of the financial accounting function where he has an excellent understanding of the integration of business process, information technology, and personnel management. Mark has worked on numerous complex projects involving the reorganization and/or establishment of effective accounting procedures in order to generate consistent and meaningful results.

 Frank Merendino, SVP & Team Leader, Sandy Spring Bank Government Contractor Lending Group
Phone: 703– 255-4632
Fax: 703-319-7912
Email: FMerendino@SandySpringBank.com

Frank Merendino has more than 30 years of commercial banking experience, including the last 12 years specializing in the Government Contracting (GC) Industry.  As Team Leader for Sandy Spring Bank’s Government Contractor Lending Group, Frank is directly responsible for achieving the Bank’s objective to significantly grow this specialized business line.  He is also responsible for the management of the Bank’s 6-person Government Contractor Lending Group.  Currently, Frank serves as a member of the GovConNet Council of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, is an active member of the Professional Services Council, the Association of Corporate Growth and the Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards.  Frank is a past Vice President and Treasurer of the Corvette Club of America and is an active current member.

 Nicole Mitchell, Director, Aronson LLC
Phone: 301-222-8231 
Fax: 301-231-7630
Email: NMitchell@aronsonllc.com 

Nicole M. Mitchell joined Aronson LLC in January 1998 and serves as a Director in the Government Contract Services Group.  She specializes in accounting and financial issues impacting government contractors.  She has a broad based background in generally accepted accounting principles and cost principles related to government contractors including the Federal Acquisition Regulations and Cost Accounting Standards. 

Nicole has been a guest speaker on various financial and government contracting topics for such organizations as the AICPA, MACPA, NCMA, Deltek , Howard County Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, as well as Aronson, LLC.  She co-authored a Thompson RIA reference manual for controllers “Doing Business with the Federal Government.”  Nicole actively participates in the Veterans Institute for Procurement and  Professional Service Council, where she is a member of the Cash Flow and Finance Committee.

Nicole received a Bachelor of Science majoring in accounting from Frostburg State University and a Masters in Business Administration from Mount Saint Mary’s College with a concentration in leadership.  She received an award from the state of Maryland for one of the highest scores on the CPA exam and currently holds an active CPA license in the State of Maryland.

Wayne Pizer, VP, Small Business Programs, L-3 STRATIS    
Phone: 703-434-4693
Fax: 703-434-6693
Email: wayne.pizer@L-3Com.com 

Wayne Pizer is the Vice President for Small Business Programs at L-3 STRATIS, a Division of L-3 Communications. As Vice President for Small Business Programs, he is responsible for developing and executing the small business strategy for L-3 STRATIS.  In 2007 and 2008, his office received the highest award given by OSD for working with Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business:  The Department of Defense Prime Subcontractor of the year award. This Award recognized L-3 STRATIS for its performance in supporting increased subcontracting opportunities for SDVOSBs. This award has only been in existence for 2 years and his office has won this award twice.

Kwesi Rogers, President, Federal National Payables
Phone: 301) 961-6450
Fax: (301) 961-6460
Email: krogers@federalnational.com

Kwesi Rogers joined Federal National Payables as Sales Director when it opened its doors in 1992. In January of 2006, Mr. Rogers was promoted to the position of President. Mr. Rogers holds a BA from the University of the District of Columbia and an MBA from George Mason University. He is an owner and a Director of Federal National Payables.

Tobin Seven, Employee Benefits Consultant, The Insurance Exchange, Inc.
Phone: 703-738-4861
Fax: 301-330-1270
Email: seven.t@tie-inc.com

Tobin Seven was a Major in the US Army Reserve and is a Broker with The Insurance Exchange. Tobin worked for a number of government contractors for 20 years and headed up the IT departments for several local defense contractors. Tobin specializes in working with government contractors in designing and negotiating ultra competitive fringe benefit programs for his many government contractor clients ranging from employers with around 20 employees up to 500 employees worldwide including several war risk countries. In addition to government contractors, Mr. Seven also has several large technology, association, college and non-profit clients. Tobin is licensed in all 50 States and with all Insurance Carriers. Tobin is an expert in finding cost competitive group Health, Dental, International, Long Term Care, Life, Disability, Voluntary, and War Risk AD&D (accidental death and dismemberment) policies for government contractors. 

John Slye, Senior Principal Analyst, Deltek
Phone :  (703) 707-3599
Email :  johnslye@deltek.com
Website : www.input.com

John Slye brings more than 15 years of analyst experience in federal, state, and local markets. He delivers focused research and analysis on trends and procurement opportunities in order to provide actionable market intelligence to vendors competing for government business.
Prior to joining Deltek, Slye was a federal account manager with CDW Government (CDW-G) Computer Centers, developing IT solutions, including a wide range of hardware, software, and services, for government agencies and corporate customers. His solutions aided a wide range of clients spanning both federal civilian and defense agencies and state and local governments.
Previously, Slye held several positions in consulting, business analysis, and systems integration in the telecommunications industry with Verizon, UUNet, and American Management Systems. His experience in public procurement and industry analysis began in the early 1990s as a research associate at the Heritage Foundation, where he pioneered the use of data mining to analyze federal funding trends. 

Jeremy Welsh, CLCS, Vice President, The Insurance Exchange, Inc.
Phone: 301-279-5500
Fax: 301-330-1270
Email: welsh.j@tie-inc.com

Jeremy Welsh is a Vice President in the Commercial lines division of The Insurance Exchange, Inc.  Jeremy has 11 years of industry experience and specializes in risk transfer for the Government Contractor community ranging from IT Contractors to Janitorial Service companies.  Jeremy provides property-casualty consulting and brokerage services for over 300 clients in VA, MD, and DC.  His services include identifying risks, managing costs, coordinating strategies to prevent injuries, improving safety and claims management systems, reviewing contract insurance requirements and providing international coverages.  Jeremy has an excellent understanding of the exposures Government Contractors face and has the expertise, capabilities and partnerships to insure those risks.

Christine Williamson, Member, Government Contractors & Technology Group, WATKINS MEEGAN
Phone: 703-761-4848
Fax: 703-761-4815
Email: christine.williamson@watkinsmeegan.com

Christine Williamson serves as a Member of the Government Contracting and Technology Industry Group. From her experience in working on engagements involving the closing and management of acquired financial institutions, she has been able to adapt to various organizational sizes and levels of accounting personnel. She has performed financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations for construction, professional services firms, retail, and not-for-profit clients.

John A. Zuccaro, Senior Manager, Procurement, Lockheed Martin Corporation
Phone: 301-640-3336
Fax: 301-640-3416
Email: john.zuccaro@lmco.com

John Zuccaro is Senior Manager, Procurement, Lockheed Martin Corporation. John has over 30 years contracting/procurement experience in the federal prime contractor sector. He has earned "lifetime" Certified Purchasing Manager status from the Institute of Supply Chain Management. His current responsibilities include procurement operations and the Small Business/Supplier Diversity program for Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Services business area headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD.