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GovConNet Council

The GovConNet Council is formed by invitation only and is comprised of Government Contracting industry experts who develop GovConNet programs, support VIP instruction, and provide industry specific advocacy. The Council advises the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce on its government contracting initiatives. The following individuals are the members of the GovConNet Council:

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

Jackie Asencio is President and 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.

  • Joseph Buyalos, Partner, The Insurance Exchange (TIE)
    Phone: 240-876-3566
    Fax: 301-330-1270
    Email: Buyalos.J@TIE-Inc.com

Joseph Buyalos is a Partner with The Insurance Exchange. He leads the firms Employee Benefits practice and in his 16 years with the firm has tremendous experience in designing and negotiating ultra competitive fringe benefit programs for his many government contractor clients ranging from employers with around 50 employees up to 5,000 employees worldwide including several war risk countries. In addition to government contractors, Buyalos also has several large technology, association, and non-profit clients. He is also the driving force behind the GovConNet Benefits Survey which will give government contractors throughout the region and the country access to real-time high quality benefits benchmarking data at no cost to Survey participants.

Larry Davis is Managing Partner of Aronson Capital Partners. Larry leads the firms M&A advisory practice, which is focused on the Federal IT sector. He has over 20 years of M&A and corporate finance experience in the federal sector having completed over 25 transactions. As a result of his unique industry experience, he serves as a strategic advisor to middle-market companies assisting them in developing strategies to enhance shareholder value.

Mark Gossart, CPA, is an Officer in the Firm’s Tax Services Group. Mark specializes in income taxation, tax research and planning at the federal and state levels, and tax compliance, including the preparation and review of federal and state tax returns for a wide variety of individuals and business entities.

  Danya creates, delivers, and evaluates innovative behavior change strategies that empower people of all ages and from all walks of life to live healthier and better educated lives. Danya provides innovative services and solutions in the areas of public health communication, research and evaluation, information technology, education and training, program management support, and health product development. Danya helps its public- and private-sector clients develop research-based tools and campaigns that communicate clear, concise, and effective messages across all media forms. Launched in 1996, Danya is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia, and Nairobi, Kenya.

  • Alexandra "Lexy" Kessler, Officer, Aronson LLC
    Phone: (301) 231-6200
    Fax: (301) 222-8240
    Email: akessler@aronsonllc.com

Alexandra B. Kessler, CPA leads Aronson & Company’s Government and Technology Services group. Her clients include commercial and government contractors, and technology and government contracting service organizations. She specializes in assurance, tax, consulting services, government cost principles and regulations, due diligence as it relates to merger and acquisition activity, and assisting companies develop and create strategic planning objectives.

  • 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. An innovator in the area of “principle centered winning,” Mr. McCarthy is the architect of the AOC-KSI Advantage™ Proposal Process—a disciplined, yet customizable, approach to deliver the winning edge to clients. To date, this process has played a role in achieving over $100 billion in contract awards for AOC-KSI’s clients from nearly every federal agency. Clients range from start-up ventures to small businesses to Fortune 50 firms and the world’s largest aerospace and defense integrators. He is particularly adept in guiding commercial entities through the intricacies of government contracting .

  • 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.

Frank holds a BA in Business Administration with honors from Frostburg University.

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.  

  • Kevin M. Plexico, Senior Vice President of Research & Analysis Services, Deltek/INPUT
    Phone:  (703)734-8606
    Email:   kplexico@input.com

    Kevin Plexico is Senior Vice President of Research & Analysis Services at INPUT where he manages the delivery of INPUT’s information products providing essential industry information and insights to over 2,000 member companies. Mr. Plexico has responsibility for leading the industry’s largest team of analysts focused on the public sector market.
    Mr. Plexico joined INPUT in 1992 and has guided the evolution of INPUT's product and service offerings over the last 10 years where he has played an instrumental role in helping to grow the company from 15 employees to 160 employees.
    Mr. Plexico provides thought leadership and expert opinion to industry executives and is a recognized expert on the public sector market.

Mr. Plexico earned an MBA in Information Systems from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland and a B.B.A. in Economics from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia. 

  • Ori Reiss, President & CEO, GlobalNet Services, Inc.
    Phone: (301) 770-9610
    Fax: (301) 770-9611
    Email: oreiss@gnsi.com

Ori Reiss is the President and CEO of GlobalNet Services, Inc. (GNSI), an award-winning Information Technology firm he founded in 1995. Under his leadership, GNSI has grown in both staff and revenue, and has received numerous industry and client awards in recognition for its technical excellence and growth. Mr. Reiss has a strong background in program management, quality assurance, web application development, systems integration, networking, business intelligence, and search solutions. Mr. Reiss spearheaded Internet/intranet development efforts for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other organizations. He has established partnerships with leading solutions companies including Google, Microsoft, and Oracle. He also forged relationships with leading IT services organizations including Booz Allen Hamilton, SRA International, and Northrop Grumman IT.

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.

Keith Romanowski, Senior Manager, WATKINS MEEGAN has more than 19 years of experience in the Government Contracting sector. He has handled SEC reporting and FAR, CAS, and GAAP compliance. Keith provides consulting to companies that use Deltek GCS Premier and Deltek Time & Expense. Keith also advises clients on financial and operational issues, including indirect rate structures, general ledger chart of accounts, account reconciliations, monthly and year end closings, and financial statement reporting. Keith is a graduate of the University of Wyoming with a B.S. in Accounting.

Michael J. Schrier serves as Counsel in Jackson Kelly PLLC’s Washington, D.C., office where he focuses his practice in the areas of government contracts, commercial litigation and labor and employment. Mr. Schrier has experience representing government contractors in Contract Disputes Act, Miller Act, Little Miller Act and breach of contract claims in federal and state trial courts, as well as advising government contractors on Federal Acquisition Regulations, facilities and security clearances, False Claims Act, Buy American Act, Davis-Bacon Act, Service Contract Act and debarment/suspension matters.  
 
Jackson Kelly PLLC is a national law firm representing leading global corporations, national companies, entrepreneurs and individuals in areas of law such as government contracts, environmental, business, labor and employment, federal and state workers’ compensation, civil litigation and occupational safety and health. The firm has offices in the District of Columbia, Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
 
  • DeVance Walker Jr., Manager, Small and Minority Business Services, Montgomery County Department of Economic Development
    Phone: (240) 777-2010
    Fax: (240) 777-2001
    Email: devance.walker@montgomerycountymd.gov

DeVance Walker is the Manager of Small and Minority Business Services for the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development. Several of his initiatives, such as the Business Mentorship Program and the Procurement Fair, have received national recognition. He develops programs, coordinates business conferences and seminars and serves as a contract administrator for the County government. Recently, he served as the manager for the County’s acclaimed Business Resource Center. During his twenty years with the County, he has received more than 100 business and community service awards.

Mitchell Weintraub is a Certified Public Accountant and a founding partner of Cordia Partners and has been instrumental in assisting clients with management and staffing of their accounting departments. Mitch has over 18 years of professional experience in accounting department development for new organizations, process and organizational reorganization, reengineering and management of existing departments. He also has experience in personnel and corporate policies and procedures, management reporting and financial statement preparation and review as well as extensive experience in audit, tax and consulting services.

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) 240-6202
    Fax: (301) 240-7341
    Email: john.zuccaro@lmco.com

John Zuccaro is Senior Manager, Procurement, for 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.

  • Georgette "Gigi" Godwin, President and CEO, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce
    Phone: (301) 738-0015 x208
    Fax: (301) 738-8792
    Email: ggodwin@mcccmd.com

View Gigi's Bio.

  • Barbara Ashe, Executive Vice President, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce
    Phone: (301) 738-0015
    Fax: (301) 738-8792
    Email: bashe@mcccmd.com

View Barbara's Bio.