Meet Our Subject Matter Experts

Larry Allen currently serves as Associate Administrator for the Office of Government-wide Policy at the General Services Administration. Larry is an expert in federal commercial contracting with more than three decades specialized experience in Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) and GSA Multiple Award Schedule contracting. His extensive career includes leadership roles such as President of Allen Federal Business Partners, Managing Director at BDO and President of the Coalition for Government Procurement, where he guided numerous businesses in navigating federal procurement compliance, enhancing business development, and effectively entering or revitalizing federal markets.

Larry is a recognized author, commentator, and educator, contributing regularly to national platforms focused on government and public sector issues. He has authored influential publications, including “Secrets of Schedule Sales Success,” and has frequently served as an expert witness on federal contracting cases. Committed to fostering efficient procurement practices that benefit agencies and taxpayers alike, Larry’s expertise ensures the advancement of strategic and compliant government-wide policies.

Lori Allen, CPA, is a director in CohnReznick’s Government Contracting Practice. She has more than 20 years of audit and industry experience. She is a former DCAA Supervisory Auditor who worked with DOD, DOE and FEMA to advise on cost allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and compliance. She is an expert in Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS). Lori is currently the audit manager for a variety of pre-award and post-award contract audits being conducted on behalf of several government agencies. In her current role, she also provides a wide-range of regulatory, business system and process improvement consultative advice to government contractors.

Edmund Amorosi represents clients in the government contracts and construction industries. He has appeared on behalf of clients in federal and state courts, before administrative agencies and boards, and in alternative dispute resolution settings including mediation and arbitration, both domestic and international.

Edmund’s government contracts practice includes procurement, regulatory, and litigation matters for government contractors in a variety of industries. Edmund has served as an interim in-house counsel for a leading private security firm working for the United States Government in a contingency contracting environment. Edmund has experience in bid protests, audits, investigations into whistleblower allegations, overseas construction contracting, preparation of requests for equitable adjustments and contract claims and disputes, small business issues (including size protests and appeals), resolution of prime-subcontract disputes, contract appeals before Boards of Contract Appeals, alternative dispute resolution, review of prime contracts and subcontracts, False Claims Act matters, contractor responsibility and integrity issues, terminations for default and terminations for convenience, debarment and suspension, task order contracting, commercial products, and schedule contracts. Edmund has represented contractors in bid protests and contract disputes before the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and various federal and state courts. Edmund has also served as an expert witness in government contract law.

Edmund’s construction practice includes the representation of owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in litigation matters on public and private projects, including acceleration, delay and disruption claims; payment and performance bond disputes including Miller Act claims; and contract formation, negotiation and administration. Edmund has prepared requests for equitable adjustments and claims, reviewed prime contracts and subcontracts, and litigated prime-subcontract disputes in court and through alternative dispute resolution.

His practice also includes commercial litigation and counseling relating to the government contracts and construction industries, including disputes between prime contractors and subcontractors, teaming and confidentiality agreements, joint ventures, and non-compete and non-disclosure agreements.

Sean Andrews is a Lead Consultant at Forvis Mazars. He is an ethical hacker and AI enthusiast on the IT Risk and Compliance Cybersecurity Technical Team and performs penetration testing on a variety of systems, focusing on Web Applications, Internal Networks, and Azure Cloud Environments. He strives to help clients understand the findings and risks that are identified from this testing, and how to fix them moving forward. With the popularization of AI, Sean aims to help leaders in the business world understand what it is, where it can used, where it should be avoided, and how to securely implement these complex systems in a secure, transparent, and ethical manner. Sean has helped create the Forvis Mazars team that develops AI Governance strategy for clients and assists them in understanding how it will affect operations.

Randy Armknecht is a Managing Director at Protiviti leading the cloud engineering practice, which provides innovative services that enable clients to move to and operate in the cloud with confidence. He has 20 years of experience in a variety of roles from developer to global director of technical architecture. Randy holds the CMMC Registered Practitioner certification, and is a frequent speaker on the topics of cybersecurity and cloud computing at industry events, including conferences, executive sessions and as a guest lecturer at multiple universities.

Randy enjoys giving back to the communities he and his family live in, and believes education holds the keys for people to unlock their desired future. He is a board member for the Arditti Center for Risk Management at DePaul University, an advisory board member for the City Colleges of Chicago, and an advisory board member for Community Unit School District 300 which includes 29 K-12 schools.

Teddie Arnold is an Partner in the Government Contracts group in the Washington, D.C. office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

Mr. Arnold focuses his practice in all areas of government procurement, including bid protests, contract claims, procurement fraud, ethics & regulatory compliance, suspension & debarment, internal investigations, small business regulations, and contract drafting. Mr. Arnold regularly represents clients prime contractors and subcontractors in litigation before the Government Accountability Office, the Boards of Contract Appeals, the Court of Federal Claims, and state and federal courts across the country. Mr. Arnold also has expertise in the False Claims Act, suspension & debarment proceedings, and other matters related to procurement fraud. He also routinely represents federal construction contractors in the defense and prosecution of claims against the Government.

Mr. Arnold is designated as a Next Generation Partner by Legal500®. He is currently pursuing is LLM in Government Procurement from George Washington University Law School.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Arnold served as law clerk to the Honorable Glen M. Williams in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia during the 2008-2009 term.

Paul Bailey is a Partner for Capital Edge Consulting. Mr. Bailey has broad experience with federal procurement rules and regulation through combined industry and public accounting experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. Over the course of his 30-year career, Paul has provided expert advice and testimony for government contractors and their counsel, government agencies including Inspector General and the Department of Justice on the administration of contracts and resolution of complex government accounting and compliance disputes. While in public accounting, Paul was responsible for the Department of Energy’s outsourced contractor audits to KPMG, including Incurred Cost and Price Proposals, CAS compliance and Business System adequacy. Paul has conducted audits for and on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice and Department of Energy, Office of Inspector General.

Paul joined Capital Edge Consulting from Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida where he was Vice President of Government Accounting and Compliance. In the accounting and compliance role, Paul was responsible for the oversight and approvals of the Business Systems to satisfy DCAA/DCMA surveillance and adequacy determinations. Paul orchestrated and directed an External Restructuring of CAS segments to align cost allocations and synergies following a major acquisition. Paul has been an industry leader in settlement of indirect rates based on past company experience foregoing the DCAA Incurred Cost Audit process. In addition to extensive accounting and compliance experience, he has held Vice President roles leading Contracts, Subcontract Administration, and Procurement functions.

Liz is a senior manager in Baker Tilly US, LLP’s Government Contractor Solutions practice and has ten years of experience working with government contractors and their counsel to identify, quantity, and manage risk through regulatory and compliance consulting. She has worked with leading Department of Defense contractors helping them to navigate the complexities of flexibly priced contract administration. She has experience supporting clients in contract closeout efforts, developing plans to clear the backlog and use innovative tools to generate invoices. She has extensive experience helping contractors through the M&A process writing compliant disclosure statements and accompanying indirect rate structures. Liz also works with commercial item contractors assisting them with VA and GSA proposals, contract modifications, disclosures and False Claims Act investigation support.

Locke is a partner in MoFo’s Government Contracts & Public Procurement practice. He has been recognized by Chambers USA for his “proficiency across the government contracts space,” with sources commending his deep experience in Intellectual Property and Data Rights.

Locke counsels clients across industries through the full lifecycle of delivering technology and licensing software to U.S. federal, state, and local governments, and performing government-funded R&D through contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and other vehicles such as other transactions (OTs/OTAs), cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. He provides strategic advice for asserting, protecting, and enforcing patents, data rights, and other intellectual property under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) and the Bayh-Dole Act, before statutory agencies such as NASA and the Department of Energy, and in engagements with OT consortia, federal laboratories, and federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs). He is a skilled negotiator of commercial and noncommercial licensing agreements, contracts and subcontracts, joint venture agreements, and teaming agreements. As a litigator, Locke represents clients in bid protests, complex contract claims, data rights challenges, patent and copyright infringement suits under 28 U.S. Code §1498, trade secrets misappropriation and reverse-FOIA disputes, and civil fraud and qui tam actions under the False Claims Act. Locke also regularly advises large and small businesses, private equity firms, and entrepreneurs on the complex government contracting and IP-related issues they face in M&A and other transactional matters.

Ryan Berry co-founded Ward & Berry with Dan Ward in 2017. Although Ryan is active in all of the firm’s practice areas, his current client work comprises investigations, corporate compliance, and general counsel representation of government contractors.

Before co-founding Ward & Berry, Ryan was an equity partner in one of the largest global law firms. He has successfully handled significant commercial litigation matters through trial for national security, technology, and sports and entertainment clients.

Ryan is experienced in handling international disputes and investigations for government contractors and multi-national corporations. His work in this area has been particularly focused on the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Ryan has skillfully guided clients through investigations brought by the Inspector General (IG) of federal agencies, Congressional investigations, suspensions and proposed debarments.

Mr. Berteau became the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Professional Services Council (PSC) on March 28, 2016. Prior to PSC, Mr. Berteau was confirmed in December 2014 as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness. He oversaw the management of the $170 billion in Department of Defense logistics funding.

Previously, Mr. Berteau served as Senior Vice President and Director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). His research and analysis covered federal budgets, national security, management, contracting, logistics, acquisition, and industrial base issues.

Mr. Berteau is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and has also served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, a Director of the Procurement Round Table, and an Associate at the Robert S. Strauss Center at the University of Texas.

Jon Bierer serves as the Compliance Services Manager for C3 Integrated Solutions, bringing over 20 years of specialized experience in cybersecurity and compliance management. With certifications including CISM, CGRC, and Lead Certified CMMC Assessor (Lead CCA), Jon has developed a comprehensive understanding of security landscapes across multiple sectors.

His career spans critical roles with the U.S. Army, Defense Security Service (DSS), NASA, ABS Quality Evaluations, and various consulting positions for the Defense Industrial Base, providing a unique perspective on security challenges across government and commercial environments. Jon has held leadership and operational roles both domestically and internationally, consistently demonstrating expertise in information assurance, personnel security, and cybersecurity.

David S. Black is co-chair of the National Government Contracts Practice. He practices in the area of government contracts counseling and dispute resolution. His practice includes representing contractors in protests, claims under the Contract Disputes Act, responding to government investigations and audits, False Claims Act investigations and litigation, terminations for default and convenience, prime-subcontractor disputes, compliance programs, and counseling on a variety of contract administration and procurement issues.

After law school, he served as judicial clerk to Judge Larry G. Elder of the Court of Appeals of Virginia in Richmond.

Honors & Awards
Chambers USA – America's Leading Business Lawyers guide, Government: Government Contracts, 2011-2018
Legal Elite, Washington SmartCEO magazine, 2011
Rising Star, Virginia Super Lawyers magazine, 2007

Derek Boyd is a partner in the government contractor advisory services practice of Baker Tilly.

Derek has more than 15 years of experience working with and for government contractors in a variety of industries, including technology, professional services, aerospace and healthcare. Derek assists government contractors on a wide range of business issues and regulatory compliance matters. Prior to joining Baker Tilly, Derek was the director of government compliance for a major government contractor.

Jamie Brabston is a Senior Legal Consultant and Director with Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. (Redstone GCI), specializing in Labor and Employment Law, with an emphasis on government contract law and compliance. Prior to joining Redstone GCI, Jamie was Senior Counsel with Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, P.C., a boutique labor and employment law firm based in Birmingham, AL. Jamie assists employers with compliance, problem prevention, the analysis of complex employment law and contract related issues, and in conducting investigations to address employee complaints.

In addition, Jamie advises federal government contractors with contract specific requirements such as affirmative action compliance, Service Contract Act issues, CoBEC, the Drug Free Workplace Act, record keeping, and in performing mock compliance assessments and other issues specific to employers working with the federal government. Jamie is a proficient trainer and speaker and is a primary instructor for Federal Publications Seminars course, “HR for Government Contractors.” Additionally, Jamie regularly conducts training and education for individual employers and their employees on non-discrimination and anti-harassment, as well as training sessions for executive and non-executive management on a wide variety of overall management leadership skills, and government contract specific topics. Jamie also specializes and advises clients on a wide range of employee benefits issues including ERISA welfare benefit plans, HIPAA, wellness plans, COBRA, the Affordable Care Act, and other federal and state laws, including related reporting requirements. In addition, Jamie works with employers in responding to complaints filed with external agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor and the Department of Industrial Relations and provides litigation support as needed.

Ryan C. Bradel represents government contractors in all aspects of federal, state, and local procurement matters including bid protests, contract disputes, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) counseling, Small Business Administration (SBA) programs, and all other interfaces between the contractor and the government. Ryan has a cross-industry practice and has represented some of the foremost companies in the defense, intelligence, contingency operations, private security/private military, base operations support (BOS), weapons manufacturing, construction, information technology, cybersecurity, healthcare, veterans’ affairs/administration, linguist/translation, and energy sectors.

Ryan focuses his practice on government contracts litigation matters. He has successfully represented both protestors and interveners/awardees in bid protests before the Court of Federal Claims, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and at the agency level including at the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ryan has also led the prosecution of multi-million-dollar claims before the Court of Federal Claims, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, and the Civilian Board of Contracts Appeals. Ryan is an accomplished trial lawyer and regularly takes bid protests and claims to hearings in these forums. When clients find themselves in disputes with their teaming partners, Ryan has effectively represented contractors in state and federal courts around the country as well as in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) proceedings where he won a number of arbitration awards or obtained favorable settlements at mediation.

Ryan has cultivated a unique expertise in the Small Business Administration (SBA) government contracting programs and has guided companies to certification and effective participation in the SBA’s programs for 8(a) socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, HUBZone small businesses, service disabled veteran owned small businesses (SDVOSB), and woman owned small businesses (WOSB), Alaska Native Corporation (ANC), Tribally-owned businesses. Ryan counsels these companies on maintaining their status as they undergo ownership changes or pursue mentor-protégé arrangements, joint ventures, teaming agreements, and strategic alliances. Ryan has extensive experience litigating size protests, size appeals, and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) appeals before the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) and has helped shape significant legal precedents in this forum.

Chad Braley is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Capital Edge Consulting, Inc. Since its inception, Capital Edge has grown into the country’s leading firm, focusing solely on serving both foreign and domestic contractors who do business with the US Government.

Chad’s areas of expertise include the Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), agency supplement regulations, Contractor Accounting, Purchasing, Estimating, MMAS, and EVM Business Systems, Truth in Negotiations Act, government accounting requirements Incurred Cost Submissions (ICS), DCAA Audits support and preparation, other regulatory non-compliance support, Terminations, Requests for Equitable Adjustment (REA), ERP systems and risk mitigation.

Moshe Broder assists government contractors in navigating diverse issues across the government contracts and grants landscape. Moshe prosecutes and defends complex and high-stakes bid protests before the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the US Court of Federal Claims (COFC). He has litigated more than 100 protests and has repeatedly obtained meaningful relief for clients in strategically important procurements.

In addition to bid protests, Moshe also counsels clients on a broad range of legal issues and represents government contractors in contract claims and disputes. Moshe conducts internal investigations and represents government contractors in all states of civil litigation. He has a special interest in issues involving national security and cybersecurity, and advises government contractors in disputes and bid protests involving classified programs.

Moshe maintains an active pro bono practice.

Sheri Buchanan is a Managing Human Resources Consultant with Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., a premier consulting firm with the most senior industry veterans which provides a comprehensive suite of services for large and small government contractors including evaluation, education and training, monitoring and audit preparation. Through our consulting and training programs, government contractors develop and learn to maintain compliance processes that help them succeed by mitigating risk and maximizing profitability.
Sheri provides human resources consulting with expertise in the compliance requirements specific to government contractors. Sheri has a breadth of experience with focus on compliance with Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (EO 11246, Section 503, VEVRAA), Service Contract Act, contract transition/onboarding, labor category mapping and benchmarking, compensation planning and reasonable assessments and training. She spends much of her time “in the weeds” with clients in the development and implementation of compliant practices and policies. She assists clients with Department of Labor Wage and Hour and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. She stays abreast of the various requirements of the Department of Labor and, of great importance to government contractors, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, as well as other federal and state regulations impacting human resources.

Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Sheri served in various roles in the HR arena in diverse industries, from government contracting to healthcare. Throughout her career, she has been involved in recruiting, affirmative action planning, contract proposal development, investigations and allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and employee disputes, new employee orientation and training.

As Co-Chair of the firm’s national Government Contracts team, Todd Canni is entrusted by government contractors to resolve their most
important “bet-the-company” government contracts matters and unexpected “crisis” events. Indeed, his success for clients earned
him national Chambers recognition, Law360’s prestigious “Most Valuable Player” for Government Contracts lawyers in 2024, a designation given to only five lawyers nationally, and Legal500 (2024) to call him “a heavyweight in crises matters, high-profile bid protests, white collar defenses and fraud allegations ….” Where others fear the U.S. Government, Todd helps his clients “triumph over the Goliaths” as recognized by Chambers (2024).

Todd is widely known as one of the nation’s preeminent suspension and debarment lawyers and one of only a few debarment lawyers who previously served as a Department of Defense debarring official (Director, Suspension & Debarment Operations). Among his accomplishments: in 2022, Todd served as lead trial counsel in successfully challenging a DoD debarment in federal court, thus saving the client’s business and the jobs of its valued workforce. Due to Todd’s two decades of experience in the government contracts and debarment spaces, including as a debarring official and as defense counsel, and his involvement in several dozen administrative agreements involving monitoring, he is well positioned to serve as an Independent Monitor under agency Administrative Agreements. Indeed, Todd served as Chair and Vice Chair of the ABA Suspension and Debarment Committee, and he authored the chapter on administrative agreements in the ABA’s Practitioner’s Guide to Suspension & Debarment.

Matt is the leader of Pillsbury’s Bid Protests team and the editor-in-chief of Pillsbury’s The Bid Protest Debrief. With nearly 100 successful bid protest outcomes, Matt has a proven track record representing clients before the Government Accountability Office, the Court of Federal Claims, and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Matt also is a leading suspension and debarment lawyer. He has successfully represented corporations and individuals before numerous civilian and defense suspension and debarment officials, including the Air Force, the Army, DLA, the EPA and the Navy, to ensure their continued eligibility to participate in federal programs. Matt is active in the ABA’s Public Contracts section and has served as a vice chair of that section’s Suspension and Debarment Committee. He has also successfully defended numerous defense contractors in False Claims Act litigation. A former Division One athlete, Matt was named a 2022 Rising Star in the government contracts field by Law360 and was recognized as a 2023 Rising Star in Government Contracts by Bloomberg Law. He has also been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star for Government Contracts in 2016 – 2018 and 2023 – 2024.

Michael is a Director at Capital Edge Consulting, Inc. and a member of the firm’s CPSR Compliance Practice. He is an expert in the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR) process.

Michael’s areas of expertise include contractor business systems compliance, with an emphasis in DCMA CPSR readiness, execution, and compliance. He is also versed in FAR and DFAR regulations, DCMA processes and procedures pertaining to purchasing system reviews and contract administration, Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS), proposal analysis and evaluation, cost modeling and estimating, forward pricing rate recommendations (FPRR) and agreements (FPRA), and he is fluent in Spanish. Michael has experience conducting CPSR-related training to DCMA CPSR Group procurement analysts as well as to dozens of Federal contractors.
As a DCMA CPSR Procurement Analyst, Michael was the “Team lead” for nearly 15 DCMA CPSRs in the last 3 years and served as the procurement analyst in nearly 15 additional reviews during the same time period. Michael was one of the few procurement analysts with experience in reviewing small business concerns and Ability One contractors. His experience covers a complete spectrum of contractors from A&E service providers to foreign manufacturing firms.

During his tenure as a DCMA CPSR Group Procurement Analyst, Michael developed a tool for use by all CPSR Group procurement analysts (for all four CPSR Teams) in performing CPSRs. Also, Michael developed a tool that all DCMA Administrative Contracting Officers (ACO) are currently required to use in their annual surveillance of contractor purchasing systems responsibilities. Michael was personally selected by the DCMA CPSR Director to represent the Phoenix CPSR Team at the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) World Congress (2015).

Prior to his time with the DCMA CPSR Group (Phoenix), he was a DCMA ACO and managed all activities related to Base Life Support on three US Military and US State Department installations in Iraq. Michael was responsible for approving or denying all work requests in accordance with US Government contracts, and managed all aspects of Government Prime Contract Administration with contracts in excess of $3.1 billion. He assisted DCMA Cost/Price Analysts in proposal analysis and evaluation cost modeling and estimating, forward pricing rate recommendations (FPRR) and agreements (FPRA), Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) allocation of allowable and accounting for unallowable costs, and administered contracts for DCMA with the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world.

A regulatory attorney who focuses his practice on a wide range of government contract matters, including bid protests, claims and disputes, and compliance and sub-prime issues, Eric has extensive experience in government contract litigation. He has successfully prosecuted and intervened in numerous bid protests before the US Court of Federal Claims (USCFC), US Government Accountability Office (GAO), boards of contract appeals, and other federal agencies. He counsels clients regarding the Service Contract Act (SCA), Davis-Bacon Act and other labor issues, domestic preferences, export controls, cybersecurity, subcontracting and teaming agreements, and compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and other agency regulatory requirements, such as the Defense Federal Acquisition Supplement (DFARS). Eric also represents contractors in investigations and suspension and debarment proceedings, as well as in federal and state courts.

Besides helping government contractors through contracting compliance and litigation issues, Eric provides strategic and practical advice with matters connected to cybersecurity and privacy in the government contracting space. Among other things, Eric counsels clients on obligations in the FAR (such as FAR 52.204-21) and on agency-specific requirements from the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and others, including the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program and Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). Eric also guides companies through cybersecurity incident responses and litigation, including potential ramifications under the False Claims Act (FCA).

Eric is a government contracting thought leader, having appeared on Government Matters and Federal News Network, and has featured at conferences to provide his insight with respect to emerging issues.

Mr. Darst specializes in legal matters involving Government construction and service contract law and has extensive experience in the areas of contract formation and administration issues, bid protests, claims preparation and litigation, internal investigations, voluntary disclosures, procurement fraud investigations, various suspension and debarment proceedings, matters related to Small Business Administration, and other issues involving the award and administration of federal and state government contracts. Mr. Darst has represented clients in various matters before the Government Accountability Office, the Postal Service, Armed Services, and General Services Administration Boards of Contract Appeals, the Court of Federal Claims, the Small Business Office of Hearing and Appeals, and various agency-level proceedings. Mr. Darst's practice includes assisting clients with matters related to the sale and acquisition of firms involved in Government contracting, software licensing issues, other corporate governance matters, and civil litigation in Virginia and District of Columbia.

Mr. Darst is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and West Virginia. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of West Virginia.

Mr. Darst earned his B.A. from Marshall University and a J.D. from West Virginia University. After graduating from law school, Mr. Darst worked as an attorney with the United States Navy's Office of General Counsel and represented the Navy in matters involving the acquisition and administration of service and supply contracts for the Naval Sea Systems Command.

Cyndi currently serves her clients in the federal contracting and grantee spaces providing consulting on a vast range of issues including accounting systems design and compliance, contract management, Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR), FAR, CAS compliance, Service Contract Act (SCA) compliance and DCAA audit issues.

She has 30 years of experience in the government contracting industry, which includes executive management, internal audit and public accounting/consulting. Her clients span across multiple business sectors, including aerospace and defense, manufacturing, bio-tech, large Pharma, professional services, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC) and International NGOs).

Prior to joining, RSM, Cyndi was a Division Vice President/Controller for large Government contractors where she was responsible for managing the accounting (G/L, A/R, A/P, payroll and financial reporting), contracts, purchasing, human resources and compliance functions (DCAA and Sarbanes-Oxley). Cyndi also spent four years as the manager of Internal Audit for a large government contractor and six years as an auditor in public accounting.

Aaron Dyer, Pillsbury’s Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense Practice Group Co-Leader, is a former federal prosecutor and experienced trial attorney focusing on complex criminal and civil litigation and regulatory enforcement actions. In addition, Aaron represents individuals and corporations in internal investigations and intellectual property litigation, emphasizing securities, health care, the False Claims Act, and intellectual property theft and piracy. He also advises clients on corporate governance issues and the implementation of corporate compliance programs. Aaron spent almost seven years as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. While in the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, he tried numerous complex fraud cases, including securities, bank, tax, investment, and insurance fraud. In addition, he spearheaded the Internet and computer crime prosecutions for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, serving as the Computer and Telecommunications Crimes Coordinator. He also served as the acting chief and deputy chief of the Major Frauds Section. During that time, he handled numerous oral arguments in the Ninth Circuit.

Courtney has extensive experience with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) compliance, evaluation and preparation of Cost Presentations, cost accounting systems setup and reviews, and policy and procedure preparation. Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, Courtney served as a financial statement auditor for large and mid-tier government contractors.

Courtney works with small and large contractors in pro-actively preparing contractors for government contracts challenges as well as resolving complex DCAA and government procurement issues. Courtney’s expertise includes establishing and/or evaluating job cost accounting structures; management and preparation of complex incurred cost and forward pricing rate proposals; evaluation of internal controls most often evaluated by DCAA to include billing and estimating systems; preparation/evaluation of policies and procedures; development of cost allowability evaluation programs, and; preparation of corrective action plans for overcoming DCAA audit findings.

Courtney is a lead instructor for the Federal Publication Seminars course, “Government Contractor Accounting System Compliance”, and provides class instruction for other compliance courses and webinars such as “Preparation of Incurred Cost Submissions”, “Cost Accounting Standards”, and “Cost and Price Analysis”.

Dan's practice focuses on a wide variety of government procurement law, including bid protests, False Claims Act and qui tam litigation, investigations of potential civil and criminal matters, ethics and compliance, contract claims and disputes, GSA schedule contracting, and small disadvantaged business contracting. Dan is also experienced in negotiating and drafting teaming agreements and subcontracts, as well as providing counseling on the interpretation of FAR clauses and solicitations. Dan's practice also focuses on state and local procurement matters, including State False Claims Act issues, lobbying and contingency payment compliance. He has been involved in bid protest litigation in six states and the District of Columbia. Dan is ranked as a Band 1 ranked attorney by Chambers USA, listed as a two-time Law360 MVP (2015, 2020), was named to Legal 500’s “Hall of Fame” for Government Contracts in their 2020 Guide, is an Acritas Star and was previously named to BTI’s list of “Client Service All-Stars.

Kirk A. Foster is an Assistant General Counsel and the Director of Compliance and Privacy for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Mission
Technologies. In this capacity, he advises the President and senior leaders of HII Mission Technologies on compliance and legal matters,
and supports the HII Mission Technologies business operations counsel and compliance managers on legal, regulatory, and strategic issues. He also supports the HII Mission Technologies Chief Information Officer on cyber and technology matters.

Prior to joining the HII Law Department in 2019, Kirk served a 28-year career with the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he served in a variety of senior legal advisor and leadership positions in the Pentagon, and at various Navy and Joint commands, including two sea deployments and deployments to Iraq and Pakistan.

Mr. David (Dave) Freeman is recently retired, closing out a what proved to be a three-track professional career. He served 23 years as an Army officer, initially starting out as a Signal Corps officer supporting the operational testing of new weapons platforms. Following his acceptance of an Army scholarship in the Funded Legal Education Program and the completion of his legal studies, Mr. Freeman completed his military career as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, working assignments both in the field and in buying commands, primarily as a Contract and Fiscal Law Attorney. He also served in a legal branch chief in the 1st Infantry Division during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and later as a Deputy General Counsel in a DoD agency in Crystal City, Virginia. From the military, Mr. Freeman spent a number of years as an in-house counsel for several defense industry companies, lastly as the Deputy General Counsel for General Dynamics Land Systems. Finally, Mr. Freeman worked several years as a Department of the Army civilian supporting the National Training Center and Fort Irwin, California, where he had once served as a Major.

Nicholas Galbraith advises domestic and international clients on a wide range of complex trade law issues. No matter how rapidly changing the regulatory environment, Nick remains focused on identifying what is important and relevant to his clients and creating a legal strategy that realizes their objectives.

Nick has a wide range of international trade experience. He counsels clients on U.S. export controls and sanctions laws, including drafting compliance policies and procedures; export classifications; licensing requirements under the International Traffic and Arms Regulations (ITAR), the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), and U.S. sanctions maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC); and the disclosure of potential violations to relevant authorities.

James (“Jim”) Goepel is the CEO and General Counsel of Fathom Cyber. Jim earned his JD and LLM degrees from George Mason University and his BSECE from Drexel University. Jim has deep knowledge of technology, cybersecurity, data privacy, compliance, and the law.

Jim has served as an expert witness in several legal matters, including: successfully overturning a federal agency’s decision to perform a sole-source acquisition of hundreds of millions of dollars in software; and, a healthcare case alleging that a large healthcare provider did not meet HIPAA and other security requirements. CMMC Career Highlights: Co-founder and former Treasurer of the CMMC Accreditation Body (The Cyber AB) Author and instructor of The Cyber AB’s first official CMMC course Co-author of CMMC CCP training course Conducted initial training of DoD’s DCMA DIBCAC on CMMC Co-founder, CMMC Information Institute CMMC Provisional Instructor (“PI”) CMMC Certified Assessor (“CCA”) CMMC Certified Professional (“CCP”) Joint Surveillance Voluntary Assessment (“JSVA”) Assessor

Zlatko “Zack” Hadzismajlovic is a partner at McCarter & English. Zack’s practice focuses on international trade, export controls and customs matters as well as global mobility issues. Zack represents clients in a wide spectrum of controlled defense, dual-use (ITAR, EAR, OFAC) and purely commercial trade matters. In addition, Zack counsels client in navigating deals through the newly reformed review and submission requirements related to foreign direct investments (CFIUS, FOCI, BEA) as well as in the pre-transaction planning and diligence and post-transaction implementation of mitigation instruments.

Matthew Haws is a partner in the Government Contracts Practice. He represents clients ranging from defense manufacturers to IT systems integrators on government contract and grant law issues, including claims, compliance, and investigations.

Mr. Haws guides contractors through complicated issues in their relationship with the government, including significant bid protests, Inspector General investigations, mandatory disclosures, False Claims Act (FCA) litigation, suspension/debarment proceedings, DCAA audits, and claims against the government. He conducts internal investigations, develops requests for equitable adjustment and claims, and provides guidance to contractors on their most complicated problems.

Eric Hayman has over 15 years of experience providing professional support to government contractors and government agencies in the areas of compliance, accounting and training. He specializes in the Federal Acquisitions Regulations, Cost Accounting Standards, Government Audits and Contract’s Finance Management. He has worked closely with Chief Financial Officers, Controllers, Vice Presidents, and General Counsels among others, and brings experience from a wide range of engagements.

Eric has provided Government Contracting Services to a wide range of Industries, including Aerospace and Defense, Pharmaceuticals and Biotech Sectors, Manufacturing and Professional Services. His clients range from small start-ups to large, publicly-held, multi-national organizations.

John Hindman has over 15 years of experience in providing government contract compliance, strategy, and advisory services.

John is an expert in federal procurement regulations and assists in resolving government contract audit issues related to cost accounting, pricing, and business systems.He has led complex engagements for federal contractors who serve a wide range of federal defense and civilian agencies.

John specializes in cost accounting standards compliance, indirect cost rate proposal development, cost structure design, impact analysis, cost allowability, truthful cost or pricing data compliance, termination settlement proposal preparation, subcontract cost or price analysis, and request for equitable adjustments. He has led engagements in designing multi-billion-dollar cost structures, resolving audit issues for the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency, enhancing business system processes and controls, and guiding major restructuring efforts following acquisitions.

Alex Iftimie is co-chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Global Risk and Crisis Management group and routinely advises Fortune 500 and high-growth clients on all aspects of breach preparedness and response, including counseling executives on cybersecurity governance and risk management, and responding to cyber incidents ranging from ransomware attacks to nation-state sponsored economic espionage. Drawing on his experience at the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Alex also advises global entities on legal obligations related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA); foreign investment transactions before the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS); and laws related to material support to terrorism, sanctions, and export controls.

Prior to joining Morrison & Foerster, Alex held multiple senior positions at the DOJ, including Counselor to the Attorney General, Deputy Chief of Staff and Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. Throughout his time at DOJ, he advised the Department leadership on national security, intelligence and cyber matters, including policy and legal issues arising in the National Security Council process, CFIUS matters, complex issues involving FARA, and engagements with non-U.S. officials. He also represented the Department on the Export Control Reform Initiative that sought to strengthen national security and the competitiveness of key U.S. manufacturing and technology sectors, and before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on issues involving novel questions at the intersection of law and technology. Most recently, as a prosecutor in the National Security and Cybercrime Units of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alex brought the Department’s charges against Russian efforts to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections. During his time at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he also investigated, and/or prosecuted, federal crimes ranging from espionage, trade secret theft, and national security cyber matters, to fraud, firearm, and drug offenses.

Daniel Jacobson is a Director in Protiviti’s Technology Consulting solution leading their South Florida Cybersecurity & Privacy practice with over 20 years of experience advising numerous companies and boards regarding risks related to Cybersecurity and developing programs to mitigate risk, achieve compliance, and help drive value across all industry verticals.

Daniel’s technical expertise includes cybersecurity assessments, policy development, and remediation leveraging his familiarity with various frameworks such as NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171, CMMC and others.

His experience gives him unique industry insight into the Aerospace & Defense, Telecommunications, Media, Technology, Manufacturing & Distribution, Higher Education, and Public Sector industries.

Perry Keating is the Managing Director and President of Protiviti Government Services (Pro Gov), with over 30 years of experience in business and service with the government and the Defense Industrial Base (DIB).

Perry’s technical expertise includes protecting government data, systems, and networks from cybersecurity assessments, policy development, and remediation through incident response for compliance with a variety of frameworks (FAR 52.204-21, DFARS 252.204-7012, FISMA, FedRAMP, NIST RMF, NIST 800-53; NIST 800-171, CMMC).

His experience gives him unique industry insight into the Aerospace & Defense (A&D), Government Contractors (GovCon), Defense Industrial Base (DIB), and Public Sector (US Federal, State & Local) as well as the Telecommunications and High-Tech industries.

Perry earned his MBA from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Tulane University. He proudly served as a Commissioned Officer in the US Army Corps of Engineers.

He is a member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM); the Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA); the Army Engineer Association (AEA); the Association of the United States Army (AUSA); the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA); and the Reserve Officers Association (ROA)

Michael A. Killham is a California attorney specializing in U.S. Government procurement and subcontracting support. He provides legal advice, training, and assistance concerning all aspects of federal and commercial contracting and fiscal law, including but not limited to subjects relating to Contract Formation and Administration, Legal Compliance, Subcontracting, Negotiations, Bid Protests, Contract Disputes, Commercial Item Contracting, Contract Terminations, Export/Import Compliance, and Source Selection.

Mr. Killham served as corporate counsel for major U.S. government contractors following his military career as a U.S. Army Judge Advocate. These assignments included Director, Legal Operations, for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Advanced Development Programs (a.k.a. “Skunkworks”) in Palmdale, California; General Counsel for a U.S./French joint venture - Thales-Raytheon Systems Company, LLC - and MD Helicopters, Inc., in Fullerton, California and Mesa, Arizona, respectively; Senior Business Counsel for Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems in El Segundo, California; and Division Counsel for two operating divisions of Litton Industries, Inc. While in these positions, he was responsible for identifying, advising on, and resolving a wide variety of legal and business-related issues, including those relating to government and commercial contracting and subcontracting, export/import compliance, corporate governance, labor/employment law, government cost accounting, intellectual property rights, litigation management, and more.

Stephen Knight has practiced government contract law for more than 40 years, counseling and litigating on behalf of clients in all aspects of that practice. He has significant experience in claims and disputes, with special emphasis on costing and pricing issues involving cost allocability and allowability, Cost Accounting Standards, defective pricing under the Truth in Negotiations Act, and government audits. Stephen has substantial experience in compliance issues pertaining to government contractors and frequently assists clients in evaluating the requirement and manner of making disclosures to the government. He has conducted compliance reviews for clients, assisting in reviewing and evaluating internal controls, conducting training and evaluating specific compliance issues such as business systems and socio-economic requirements in government contracts. Stephen represents prime contractors as well as subcontractors in the manufacturing and services sectors and is experienced in ascertaining the necessary government contract requirements for inclusion in subcontracts.

Ryan Koenitzer, CPA, leads RKI, a specialized accounting and consulting firm dedicated exclusively to U.S. Government contractors on their accounting and compliance needs. Mr. Koenitzer has over 20 years’ experience in government contract cost accounting, pricing, interpretation and application of federal contract regulatory compliance requirements including the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) support, USG business system design and implementation, and internal audit services. His experience is sourced from over 20 years in the advisory space, and 4 years of operational accounting leadership as CFO of a high-growth P/E backed U.S. Government contractor.

Jonathan H. Kosarin, Associate Counsel, Special Projects Division, is assigned to the Department of Defense Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate. He has over 42 years’ experience in acquisition, government contracting, and fiscal law. Mr. Kosarin previously served as Assistant General Counsel at the National Reconnaissance Office; Deputy Counsel, Special Projects Division; and, Associate Counsel, Naval Supply Systems Command. While on active duty as a JAG with the Army, he served as European Trial Attorney and Attorney Advisor at the U.S. Army Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany, and as Trial Attorney, U.S. Army Contract Appeals Division.

As an Army Reserve JAG, Mr. Kosarin served as Adjunct Professor of Contract Law/Chairman Contract and Fiscal Law Department at the Army Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, VA; Acting Chief, Contract Law Division, U.S. Army Headquarters in Heidelberg Germany, and as Deputy General Counsel, Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office. He retired from the Army Reserve as a Colonel.

Mr. Kosarin is an Adjunct Instructor of Procurement and Contracting at the University of Virginia and also teaches at the joint UVA/Virginia State Police’s National Criminal Justice Command College. He is an instructor with Federal Publication Seminars teaching courses in contracting, procurement and negotiations.

Stephen “Chase” Kunk is a Managing Partner at Capital Edge Consulting. Chase specializes in U.S. Government contract and subcontract negotiations, administration, management and purchasing system compliance. His expertise stems from his legal education, former certification as a National Football League contract advisor to professional athletes, and in-depth experience as a contracts and procurement administration manager for an international contractor serving Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community (IC) and civilian agency customers. Chase’s support to Capital Edge Consulting clients is predominantly in the areas of contract and subcontract administration, purchasing system compliance and Contractor Purchasing System Review (CPSR) readiness and risk mitigation. He also leads all contract and subcontract negotiation and administration for Capital Edge Consulting’s internal business operations.

Mike LaCorte has more than 20 years of experience in government contracts, accounting, auditing, and management consulting. Mike has led a variety of consulting engagements, including regulatory compliance and business system assessments, investigations and litigation support, cost and damage analyses, organizational restructurings, bid protests, due diligence related to mergers and acquisitions, management consulting, and other similar assignments. Mike has also provided expert deposition testimony on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and government contracting issues.

Paul Lalonde is a partner and lead of the Regulatory practice group. He focuses on government contracting law, international trade, anti-corruption and international arbitration. Mr. Lalonde is a recognized expert on government procurement and international trade law, with deep experience in anti-dumping and countervail investigations, customs, appeals, import and export controls, international sanctions, anti-corruption compliance and investigations, and international business. He regularly advises clients on Canada’s international investment treaty commitments and has played a key role in some of Canada’s highest profile trade disputes and negotiations including those on softwood lumber, steel and agricultural products.

His government procurement practice encompasses all aspects of the procurement lifecycle, from pre-tender activities, the bidding process and contract award, through contract administration and termination and the inevitable disputes that occasionally arise. His track record of appearances in bid protest procedures before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal and the courts is second to none in Canada.

Mr. Lalonde has received numerous accolades for his expertise in international trade and government procurement law including from Lexpert, Chambers Global (Band 1 for government procurement, Band 2 for trade law), the Legal 500, Who’s Who, the Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers (Legal Media Group / Euromoney Institutional Investor) and The Best Lawyers in Canada (Woodward/White). The Who’s Who Legal Government Contracts recognized Mr. Lalonde as a Global Thought Leader for North America. He also received in 2020 a global Client Choice Award in Government Contracts for Canada.

Mr. Lalonde has been involved in the area of anti-corruption law since Canada adopted the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act in the 90’s and was counsel on the first court-approved Remediation Agreement on charges under the CFPOA. He has assisted clients with respect to anti-corruption compliance through the entire spectrum of issues in this area, including developing compliance policies and programs, advising on business conduct issues, anti-corruption due diligence in transactions, internal investigations related to employee and third party conduct, RCMP and other enforcement authority investigations, dawn raids and negotiations. He has been involved in extensive thought leadership in this area including on topics such as whistle blower protections, victim reparations, deferred prosecution agreements, beneficial ownership transparency, money laundering, failure to prevent offences and facilitation payments.

Mr. Lalonde was appointed panelist on the fourth and fifth dispute resolution panels created under the Agreement on Internal Trade (now the Canadian Free Trade Agreement). He is also a listed arbitrator on the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) Canada Panel of Arbitrators and has been involved in several arbitrations, both as counsel and party-appointed arbitration.

Mr. Lalonde has held numerous leadership positions in the Bar, including as chair of various committees of the International Bar Association, the Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association, and the American Bar Association International Law Section. Mr. Lalonde is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, has been named a Trustee of the International Bar Association Foundation and is former Chair and President of Transparency International - Canada. Mr. Lalonde has been nominated to a number of industry advisory committees and corporate boards, including TVOntario, TFO, la télévision éducative et culturelle de l’Ontario français, and was former Secretary and Legal Counsel of I.E. Canada, the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters.

Fernand Lavallee's practice focuses on litigation of, and counseling on, public procurements, and he is a recognized leader in intellectual property rights in government contracts. Fern is a trusted advisor on the public procurement of artificial intelligence (AI) and AI enhanced or augmented products and services, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, contract and subcontract formation, administration, compliance, cybersecurity, suspension and debarment, due diligence, internal investigations, rights in patents (Bayh-Dole Act), rights in technical data and computer software, and dispute matters to clients in the aerospace, high-technology, information technology, and life sciences sectors. He litigates government contracts cases and prime contractor/subcontractor disputes before federal and state courts and brings, or intervenes and defends against bid protests before federal agencies, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC). Fern also brings claims before the Civilian and Defense Boards of Contract Appeals and COFC and size protests before the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Fern's clients engage in R&D and provide products and services to federal civilian and defense agencies, including the intelligence community, under contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA), and Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements.

Fern has taught, written, and spoken on government contracts topics including Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) issues and due diligence in M&As involving government contractors. He presented a paper on socio-economic programs in U.S. federal procurements at the 1st Interdisciplinary Symposium on Public Procurement held in Italy and co-sponsored by the University of Rome Tor Vergata and the Faculty of Law of the University of Copenhagen. He is a vice chair of the ABA's Public Contract Law Section's IP Committee.

Noah Leiden has been with Baker Tilly since 2010. He has worked in government contracting consulting since 1991 serving manufacturing, engineering, professional services, information and communications, healthcare, higher education, and not-for-profit organizations. Noah has extensive experience providing a range of government contract accounting, pricing, business system and internal control oversight, and regulatory and contract compliance to his clients.

Jake Leishman is an experienced government contracts attorney who develops and delivers instruction, legal consultation on legal, contract administration, acquisitions, policy implementation, and compliance issues.

Jake began as a social worker then moved to education, serving as the Director of Continuing Education at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and Community Planning. In addition to continuing education, Jake taught graduate and undergraduate courses in social policy and social administration.

After receiving her Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland, Jake spent a few years in private practice but made the decision that corporate law, focusing on government contracts was her preferred arena. She worked at Federal Data Corporation as Corporate Counsel and at Electronic Data Systems (now HP Enterprise Services) as Senior Counsel for EDS’ Contracts with the United States Government. In addition Jake developed and delivered training to all EDS contract professionals who handled federal procurement, subcontracts under the FAR, and state and local contracts.

Jake's instructional approach focuses on two elements; the need for common sense and a good sense of humor when addressing problem solving, policy analysis and implementation, all aspects of contracting, and working in the Federal arena.

Drew is a director in Baker Tilly’s Government Contractor Solutions practice. He has been with the firm since early 2012 and began his career with the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) working primarily with a multibillion-dollar contractor and providing various types of audit functions throughout the contracting lifecycle. He also has broad knowledge of rules and regulations surrounding the FAR, DFARS, CAS, and TINA. Drew is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a licensed Certified Fraud Examiner through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Christine Livingston is a Managing Director and global leader of Protiviti’s Artificial Intelligence practice. She has spent over 18 years in technology consulting and applies her engineering background with advances in technology to unlock enterprise innovation. With over a decade of experience in AI-ML deployment, she has delivered hundreds of successful AI solutions, including numerous first-in-class AI-enabled applications. She has helped many Fortune 500 clients develop practical strategies for enterprise adoption of AI, and has won several awards for AI solutions delivered for clients.

Mary is a Manager in Baker Tilly US, LLP’s Government Contractor Solutions practice. Mary brings more than 7 years of experience to the practice and assists clients with a broad range of government contract matters, including cost accounting and compliance issues. She has worked extensively in indirect cost rate structuring and modeling, Incurred Cost Proposal preparation and audit support, price proposal support, contract closeout, policy and procedure review, and reviewing contractor business systems for compliance with regulatory criteria. Prior to joining Baker Tilly, Mary worked for a major government contractor, primarily supporting their regulatory compliance and indirect rates organizations.

Based in our Washington, DC office, Lenee is a Principal in the firm’s Government Contractors group. She has over 18 years of experience in Accounting. She services clients across a broad range of industries such as Government Contracting, Banking and Financial Services, and Manufacturing industries.

Lenee’s role includes Internal Audit, SOX Compliance, FAR/DFARS Compliance, General Ledger Accounting, and SEC Financial Reporting responsibilities. She has implemented ERP and Financial Systems using SDLC best practices which included documenting business and data requirements, system integration testing, and user acceptance testing.

Mr. Major is a partner and co-leader of the firm’s Government Contracts & Export Controls Practice Group. Mr. Major focuses his practice on federal procurement, cybersecurity liability and risk management, and litigation. A prolific author and thought leader in the area of cybersecurity, his professional experience involves a wide variety of litigation and counseling matters dealing with procurement laws and federal regulations and standards . His diverse experience includes complex litigation in federal court under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act and bid protest actions. He counsels all sizes of companies on issues relating to compliance with government regulations including, among other things, cybersecurity (NIST, FIPS, FedRAMP, and DFARS) requirements, multiple award schedule compliance, Section 508 issues, country of origin requirements under the Buy American and Trade Agreements Acts, cost accounting, and small business requirements. He also regularly conducts internal investigations to assist companies ensure that they are in full compliance with the law.

Mr. Major is a retired U.S. Air Force intelligence officer and remains a U.S. Air Force Academy Admissions Liaison Officer for the state of Maryland.

Rex Marks is an accomplished, professional law enforcement leader with over 30 years’ experience in public sector leadership, having served in municipalities across the country at various ranks including Chief of Police. Prior to his most recent appointment as Chief of Police in Texas, Chief Marks also served as Director of Norwich University’s Leadership & Change Institute as well as Program Director and Professor for the Master of Science in Leadership programs. His specialties include leadership development and team building, effective problem- solving and decision-making processes, project/fiscal management, emergency management and disaster preparedness, strategic communications, and organizational development. In addition, Mr. Marks provides consultant services for national and international organizations to extend opportunities for lifelong learning and progressive change management practices.

He began his career in government contracting in 1973 as a government auditor performing regulatory compliance and operational audits. He transitioned into the private sector in 1980 as a member of negotiation teams representing major government contractors such as United Technologies, Ford Motor Company, and other Fortune 500 companies. He has spent 24 years as a government contract negotiator working on major weapon systems and negotiating multi-million dollar contracts. He retired from government service in 2003 as the Reserve Deputy Director of Contracting at Ogden Air Logistics Center. Mr. Mason has also been in private practice providing consulting services to small to medium size government contractors in the areas of contract compliance, proposal estimation, and contract pricing and negotiations.

Mr. Mason’s 39-year career includes positions as an Adjunct Professor of Government Procurement and Negotiations at Webster University where he instructs contract pricing and negotiation courses and as an Associate Professor of management, ethics, and critical thinking courses with University of Phoenix. He is currently a member of the National Contracts Management Association (NCMA) and is a retired Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). He holds a current Certified information Systems Auditor (CISA) from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)

Matthew McKelvey has over twenty-five years’ experience in Finance/Accounting, Government Contracting, Business Valuations, Process Optimization, and Training. Matt is President and CEO of The McKelvey Group and is widely respected as a subject matter expert in both commercial and Federal marketplaces. He brings his extensive experience working with large, medium, and small companies to help his clients achieve the growth objectives of their owners.

As a consultant and CFO, he is well known for his expertise in working with organizations as they seek to create or improve their relationships with the Federal Government through price and proposal strategies, compliance, accounting, and training. In addition to direct client consulting in these areas, Matt demonstrates his comprehensive expertise through various speaking engagements and the Government contracting courses he instructs, including Cost/Price Proposal Workshops, DCAA Audit Preparation, Earned Value Management Systems, and Incurred Cost Submissions. Matt teaches his courses through several venues including training companies, conferences, and for individual clients. The McKelvey Group is a National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) recognized Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program sponsor providing CPE credits in accordance with nationally recognized standards.

Bobby is a former Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) attorney where specialized in federal procurement law and contract litigation. After leaving the military, he served as General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer, and Senior Vice President for several small businesses in Texas and Virginia. He enjoys working with start-ups and entrepreneurs – helping them realize commercial success in both the commercial and government sector. He has a unique understanding of the practical aspects of federal procurement, having helped build and successfully operate three software companies, two DoD manufacturing, and technical services companies, a research company, and an internet-based logis¬tics/supply company – all centered around new technology arising out of public and/or private research pro¬grams. His extensive background in federal and commercial contracting (both domestic and international), regulatory compliance, and IP portfolio management enables him to present complex concepts in an easy-to-understand manner. He currently resides in College Station, Texas where he continues to assist entrepreneurs and researchers to build technology-based companies.

Lynne is a Director with Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. providing government contract consulting services to our clients primarily related to Commercial Items, Cost Accounting Standards, DFARS Business System Audits, Proposals, and Incurred Cost. Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, Lynne served in several capacities with DCAA and DCMA for over 35 years.

James Newland is a partner in Dentons US LLP, a licensed architect, and his law practice focuses on major construction and public works projects and includes a mix of non-contentious and contentious matters. He is ranked by Chambers USA which describes him as “very well versed in construction law and construction related issues.” He began practice in 1998.

In his practice, James drafts and negotiates construction contracts and procurement documents and helps clients resolve major complex claims involving construction and design issues on domestic and international projects. He represents national and international contractors and project owners in transactional work, mediation, arbitration and litigation. He has significant experience in vertical construction, power and heavy civil contracting and claims, as well as in design-build, P3, alliance contracting and traditional design-bid build delivery formats. Government construction contracting is a major focus of his work.

Prior to practicing law, James practiced architecture and worked as a project manager on development projects. Given this experience, James is frequently called upon to counsel clients on risk management and allocation, advising on troubled projects during the construction phase, project work-outs and project closeout strategies.

Deb Nixon will be our instructor for this 3-part webinar series. With over 30 years of experience as a career dedicated Government contracts practitioner, Deborah is the founder of Crosshair Advisors, and a retired Partner with Ernst & Young’s Government Contract Services practice, where she worked for 25 years. Before joining EY, she held management positions with both large and emerging growth contractors, including Motorola and General Dynamics.

As a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Florida, Washington, DC, and Virginia, she was elected to two terms on the GWSCPA Board of Governors, where she chaired the Government Contracts Council. Currently, Deborah serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for Federal Publications Seminars.

Robert Noblit is a seasoned Director in Protiviti’s Technology Consulting practice, specializing in Data Security & Privacy. With over fifteen years of extensive IT consulting, security, and audit experience, Robert has established himself as an expert in managing large-scale information security engagements across diverse industries. His expertise spans program development, advisory, and validation.

Adanna is an Associate Director in Protiviti’s IT Security & Data Privacy practice, with over 20 years of doing business and serving the government and the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). Adanna brings extensive experience in helping both commercial and government clients realize sustained and resilient outcomes through the transformation of people, processes and technology.

She uses her deep IT Infrastructure technical expertise in systems and networks to bear in protecting government data. Serving Federal Government Agencies, gives her unique industry insight into Government Contractors (GovCon), the Defense Industrial Base (DIB), and Public Sector (US Federal, State & Local) as well as the Healthcare and Life Sciences industries.

Outside of work Adanna cares for her community by offering free mentoring and career advice to Young Professionals and volunteering in local K-12th grade schools.

Adanna and her husband Ozuo, reside in the D.C Metro area and enjoy traveling, visiting their three adult children and hosting art-centered parties.

Adetayo “Tayo” Osuntogun advises business and institutional clients on international trade law, including export controls, economic sanctions, trade remedies, trade policy and customs and import regulations. He helps clients realize their distinct objectives surrounding their global commerce initiatives by working regularly, on their behalf, with government agencies that regulate international trade.

Tayo represents clients before various federal agencies such as the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB), U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) and the International Trade Administration (ITA). His experience in export controls and economic sanctions includes assisting clients with commodity jurisdictions, licensing, drafting and revising compliance policies and procedures to meet the demands of an ever-shifting regulatory environment, as well as assisting clients with export classifications. Additionally, Tayo counsels clients regarding licensing services and enforcement issues with respect to U.S. economic sanctions, anti-boycott regulation and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

Katarina is an intellectual property lawyer focusing on patent preparation and prosecution relating to technologies involving physics, and mechanical and electrical engineering. Katarina has experience in matters involving medical device technology, control systems, and computer software. She is also a member of our Data Privacy team where she is engaged in legal issues surrounding data collection, use, retention, selling and sharing. Katarina earned her JD The University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, where she was Notes Editor for IDEA: The Law Review of the Franklin Pierce Center for Intellectual Property and active in the UNH Patent Law Forum.

Mauricio Paez advises Fortune 100 companies on legal issues related to digital transformations, virtual data services, global e-commerce, digital marketing, data protection, cybersecurity, technology sourcing and outsourcing, and emerging technology matters, such as IoT (Internet of Things), AI, blockchain and Web3, the industrial internet, and autonomous machines. A regular speaker and publisher, he is a recognized leader in these fields.

Mauricio assists clients with legal issues impacting their digital business, including industrial internet applications, consumer IoT protections, cloud services, big data analytics, AI and cognitive technologies, terrestrial and space-based commercial data services, data privacy, cybersecurity breach response and investigations, and global compliance. He helps clients develop and implement worldwide B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) digital strategies; compliance programs for addressing new legal risks; strategies and programs for generating and safeguarding digital assets; cross-border data transfers; and cybersecurity risk management. He also helps clients address these issues in commercial agreements and corporate transactions, such as joint ventures, contractual ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and investments.

In addition, Mauricio assists clients with data breach response and conducts data privacy assessments, information security compliance audits, and cyber investigations on a worldwide scale, including overseeing third-party forensic investigations. He defends clients against state and federal governmental agency cybersecurity and data protection compliance enforcement and investigations.

Mauricio's clients are in a variety of industries, such as the internet, technology, retail, financial services, communications, health care, utilities, automotive, aviation, satellite, and marketing.

He is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), the American Bar Association, and the New York State Bar Association.

Maria L. Panichelli, Esq. is a partner in McCarter & English LLP’s Government Contracts and Global Trade group. Maria’s practice includes: bid protest litigation; contract interpretation and performance counseling; the preparation and negotiation of REAs and CDA claims, as well as related litigation before the Boards of Contract Appeals, the Court of Federal Claims, and the Federal Circuit; statutory and regulatory compliance counseling; federal subcontracting (including the negotiation of FAR-compliant subcontracts, liquidating agreements, and the litigation of pass-through claims, Miller Act claims, and sub/prime disputes); contract terminations; and suspension and debarment. Having acquired substantial experience with the government’s small business programs in particular, Maria provides effective assistance to clients applying for small business certification, or competing for small business program set-aside contracts. She routinely assists clients with eligibility analyses and size and status protests, and has considerable experience drafting teaming and joint venture agreements, as well as helping clients navigate the SBA Mentor-protégé program. Maria also has substantial experience with issues particular to infrastructure contracts, such as defective designs and specifications, express and constructive changes, differing site conditions, delays and disruption; suspensions; and liquidated damages. Her clients include both prime and subcontractors, performing work for a variety of federal agencies, across a wide breath of industries, all over the nation and abroad. Maria is active in a number of industry-related professional associations is a frequent lecturer and author on government contracting and small business procurement topics.

Mr. Perfilio concentrates his practice in government, public, and business contracts and dispute resolution. His principal practice areas include contract solicitation and proposal requirements, competition, award selections and bid protests, contract technical data and intellectual property matters, organizational conflicts of interest, contract interpretation, dispute resolution, and terminations for convenience and default. A retired member of the Senior Executive Service, he has over 31 years of practice experience as an attorney and legal services manager for the Department of the Air Force. Prior to retiring as Director, Air Force Materiel Command Law Office, he supervised all Air Force contract dispute resolution before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and all legal services in connection with acquisition of major weapon systems by the Aeronautical Systems Center, research and development by the Air Force Research Laboratory, and foreign military sales by the Air Force Security Assistance Center.

Mr. Perfilio is admitted to practice in Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as before the U. S. Supreme Court and several Federal trial and appellate courts. He is an active member of the Federal Bar Association, having served as past president of the Association's Dayton, Ohio Chapter and serving currently as a Council Member of the Federal Bar Association's Government Contracts Section. Also active in the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, Mr. Perfilio serves on the Board of Directors of the association's Dayton-Wright Chapter, and is a past Chairman of the Board. Mr. Perfilio is a Fellow of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association.

Ashley Powers* advises a broad range of government clients on compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and FAR supplement requirements, with specific expertise in supply chain and cybersecurity. She regularly advises clients on complex data rights issues, with a focus on clients in the new and emerging technology space. In addition to her counseling practice, Ms. Powers maintains an active government contracts litigation practice, representing clients in investigations, bid protests, and contract claims.

Ms. Powers has extensive government experience, having most recently served as Senior Counsel in the Contract Law Division, Office of General Counsel, at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In that role, she developed CIA-wide supply chain and cybersecurity compliance programs and served as the agency's legal expert on these issues, including Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Ms. Powers was also the primary legal advisor with regard to the CIA's relationship with In-Q-Tel (IQT) and the agency's relationships with new and emerging technology companies more generally. Her practice included regularly advising on all aspects of the federal procurement process, focusing on data rights, organizational conflicts of interest, and Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigations. Finally, Ms. Powers served as lead counsel defending the CIA in bid protests and contract claims before the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Court of Federal Claims (COFC), and the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA). She also spent several years as an Attorney-Advisor in the Contract Law Division of the Office of General Counsel at the Department of Commerce (DOC) where she represented the Department in all aspects of government contracts-related litigation, assisted in the redevelopment of the Department's Suspension and Debarment program, and served as a legal advisor to the Department's Suspension and Debarment Official (SDO).

Zach Prince’s practice encompasses all areas of government contract law. Zach counsels domestic and international clients on a wide range of issues, including compliance with federal and state regulations and statutes, bid protests, contract and subcontract drafting and negotiations, contract changes, claim preparation and disputes, cost allowability and cost accounting standards, price and cost reasonableness, export controls, government audits, subcontractor management and disputes, due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, cybersecurity, grants and cooperative agreements, and protecting intellectual property rights when contracting with the government. His clients range from the largest traditional defense contractors, to small businesses, to non-traditional government contractors including commercial technology companies.

Zach is regularly engaged to support acquisitions. He has conducted diligence relating to Federal, state, and international government contracts, export controls, and national security risks in support of a variety of transactions. Such acquisitions include technology companies, service-providers, electronics manufacturers, and aerospace companies. The size of these deals has ranged from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars and include public companies.

Dan Ramish’s practice encompasses all aspects of government contracts, grants, and construction law, with particular focus on claims and disputes, cost accounting, intellectual property, cybersecurity, supply chain, and small business issues. Mr. Ramish is a frequent writer and speaker on government contracts and grants and assistance agreements. He is a co-author, with Jonathan Shaffer, of Federal Grant Practice (Thomson Reuters). Prior to going into private practice, Mr. Ramish was in-house government contracts counsel for an environmental remediation and military munitions response contractor. Before that he was a Contract Specialist at the U.S. General Services Administration, administering Federal Supply Schedule contracts for the Office of IT Acquisition (former Schedule 70).

Ms. Reed’s practice focuses on advising domestic and international clients on all aspects of government contracting law, including prime contracts, subcontracts and other related agreements, drafting requests for equitable adjustments and claims; drafting Contractor Performance Assessment Report System responses; reviewing, drafting, evaluating and revising ethics compliance programs; evaluation and submission of Mandatory Disclosures; Cost Accounting Standards and accounting systems/cost principles; contract and solicitation review and risk assessment; protection of intellectual property rights related to government contracts; Organizational Conflicts of Interests issues and mitigation plans; Freedom of Information Act requests and defenses; export controls compliance and training programs; and cyber security issues. She is experienced and skilled in negotiating both international and domestic contracts including subcontracts, teaming agreements, intellectual property licenses, agent agreements, and proprietary information agreements for numerous million- and billion-dollar programs. She has represented clients of all sizes in bid protests before the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims.

Ms. Reed lectures for Federal Publications Seminars on Data Rights in Government Contracts, Cooperative Agreements, CRADAs, Other Transaction Agreements, the FAR, DFARS, Cyber Security and Government Cloud Computing initiatives.

Ms. Reed is a “second-career” lawyer who brings together over twenty years of experience as an attorney with over 15 years of experience as a Business Finance Manager at a major defense contractor and as a Contracts Manager at several defense contractors. She also worked under a contract with the FAA to provide contracts management support.

Tom Reynolds is a Partner in HKA’s Government Contracts Practice in Washington, D.C. Tom is a forensic accountant and CPA with 20 years of experience helping government contractors navigate the complex government contracting compliance rules and regulations. Tom has provided government contract accounting, auditing and advisory support to government contractors across numerous industries, including aerospace and defense, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, engineering, and professional services. Tom has presented contractors’ positions and facilitated negotiations with contracting officers, DCAA, DCMA, and other regulatory bodies.

Tom has supported government contractors in connection with business systems compliance assessments, DCAA/DCMA audit support, False Claims Act disputes, merger and acquisition due diligence and post-merger integration, and indirect rate modelling and analysis. Tom deals extensively with critical government contracting regulations and requirements, including the FAR, DFARS, and CAS.

Michael Rizzo, Pillsbury’s Government Contracts & Disputes practice co-leader, has represented defense contractors, design/build firms, transportation and technology companies in multimillion-dollar, precedent-setting cases.

A government contracts lawyer in Los Angeles, Michael prepares Contract Disputes Act certified claims; resolves contract disputes before the ASBCA, the CBCA, California federal and state courts, and in arbitration; and handles termination disputes at the federal, state and local government levels. He defends lawsuits filed under the Civil False Claims Act. He crafts comprehensive government contracts compliance programs designed to reduce clients' future exposure and legal expenditures. Additionally, Michael is experienced in handling internal investigations into quality assurance and pricing issues.

Ryan Roberts is a partner in the Governmental Practice in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. He is also a member of the firm's Aerospace and Defense and Retail Industry Teams.

Areas of Expertise
Ryan regularly represents government contractors ranging from small businesses to the largest defense contractors in matters that include: Civil False Claims Act litigation defense Internal investigations Civil and criminal subpoena responses to both federal and state enforcement agencies Mandatory disclosures to the Department of Defense and General Services Administration (GSA) Offices of Inspector General Audits, including GSA pre- and post-award audits and defense contract audit agency audits Compliance programs, including drafting policies and implementing comprehensive compliance programs Contract Disputes Act (CDA) claims and appeals before the Boards of Contract Appeals and the Court of Federal Claims Bid protests before the Government Accountability Office Subcontracts, teaming agreements, joint ventures, and related disputes Small business issues under the Small Business Administration regulations Labor qualifications under service contracts Bribery, gratuities, and kickbacks Trade Agreements Act compliance Personal and organizational conflicts of interest Revolving door and other post-government employment restrictions Procurement Integrity Act Compliance As part of his internal investigation practice, Ryan serves as a member of the team appointed in 2013 by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana as the federal monitor over the New Orleans Police Department responsible for reviewing, assessing, and reporting publicly on the department’s compliance with a far-reaching Consent Decree.

Bill has significant Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) experience gained through positions held in both the public and private sectors, including being the industry representative to the CAS Board.

Most recently, Bill was a CAS specialist with the Defense Contract Management Agency. He developed CAS training modules that he then used to train the Agency’s Cognizant Federal Agency Officials (“CFAOs”). He also served the role as an advisor to the CFAOs on their specific CAS issues.

Previously, Bill was an Industry leader in Federal procurement issues, while holding various positions at The Boeing Company. He has significant experience with earnings improvement and business process reengineering initiatives, with in-depth experience in cost accounting, variance analysis, performance improvement, budgeting, and forecasting. While at Boeing he also developed robust internal control processes in general, with a focus in the area of International Business Compliance.

Prior to starting his almost twenty-eight year career at Boeing, Bill was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica.

Michael J. Schaengold focuses his practice on government contracts litigation, investigations and counseling, and on litigation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. From 2014 to 2024, he was Chair or Co-Chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Government Contracts Group.

Mike's substantial government contracts dispute and bid protest experience includes litigation of major cases before the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Court of Federal Claims, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Boards of Contract Appeals. He has represented clients in disputes involving most major departments and agencies of the U.S. government and, in recent years, has focused on procurements involving the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, the Department of Energy, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of State, among others. He has substantial experience in False Claims Act (including qui tam) and Inspector General investigations and litigation, including negotiating Settlement and Administrative Agreements related thereto; suspension and debarment matters; and drafting and implementing compliance programs.

Phillip Seckman represents clients concerning government and commercial contract matters. His practice spans a broad range of subjects related to federal procurement law, state and local procurement law, and complex federal regulatory issues. He concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial item acquisitions, GSA schedule contracting, cybersecurity, compliance, internal investigations, and bid protests (both federal and state). A significant component of his practice involves government contract cost allowability, proper cost accounting, and contract cost and pricing issues.

Phil has significant experience in the assessment, presentation, and litigation of complex contract claims. He also has significant experience assisting clients in establishing policies and procedures to ensure compliance with government contract requirements. When potential non-compliances have been identified, Phil has assisted in the internal review and assessment of these issues and has aided clients in the preparation of appropriate disclosures when required. He frequently assists DOD contractor clients regarding business systems issues, including preparing for, responding to, and remediating issues associated with reviews conducted by the Defense Contract Management Agency and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.

Phil frequently writes and lectures regarding commercial item acquisitions, GSA schedule contracting, cybersecurity, business systems, FAR Mandatory Disclosure Rule, and cost accounting issues.

Phil was recently named a Fellow of the National Contract Management Association. Phil also has been repeatedly recognized as a "Rising Star" by Colorado Super Lawyers.

Ben is a leader of Capital Edge’s Federal Grants Compliance Practice and is based out of the company’s Pittsburgh, PA office. Ben has over 9 years of experience supporting both Federal contractors and award recipients with the compliant and efficient management of their federally funded programs. Ben’s expertise includes, but is not limited to, methods of indirect cost recovery, financial modeling, Federal award administration, Federal Acquisition Regulation ("FAR"), and the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal awards to non-Federal entities (aka. “Uniform Guidance”) as well as applicable Federal agency regulatory supplements such as DOE, HHS, DoD, etc.

Ben's industry experience includes defense, nonprofit, and public sector. Ben has assisted clients with Business Systems Compliance, Policy and Procedure Development, In-House Training, Indirect Cost Rate Proposal Development, Indirect Rate Structure Assessment, Subrecipient Monitoring Support, Audit Support and Risk Assessment, Audit Finding Remediation, Procurement System Compliance, Internal Controls Assessment, Forensic Investigations, and other regulatory compliance matters.

Laura A. Semple serves as Assistant General Counsel for Amentum, where she provides advice on Government contracting, employment, and corporate law issues. Ms. Semple previously worked as an associate at Smith Pachter McWhorter, PLC, where she counseled Government contractors on cost and pricing issues and resolved claims relating to disallowed costs, CAS noncompliances, and accounting change cost impacts. Ms. Semple counseled Government contractors on compliance with mandatory disclosure obligations, incurred cost submissions, and other Government reporting requirements. Ms. Semple co-teaches the Cost & Pricing Course for the Masters in Procurement Law Program at the George Washington University Law School. She is an active member of the ABA Section of Public Contract Law and currently serves as Vice-Chair for the ABA Accounting, Cost, and Pricing Committee. Ms. Semple also serves as President of the Boards of Contract Appeals Bar Association.

Derek Shaw is a Managing Director in the Industry Specialty Services Group at BDO with a focus on Government Contracts. This group of over 200 professionals provides unique business solutions to organizations across a wide array of industries including government contracting, life sciences, not-for-profit, manufacturing, technology, and construction among others.

He brings to BDO over 3 decades of Finance experience with focus on Government Finance & Compliance in the Aerospace & Defense sectors. This includes a broad range of Government contracting & compliance matters, including Federal Acquisition Regulations, Cost Accounting Standards, TINA, Government Business Systems controls, and Restructuring. Derek has held senior management positions with large corporations, and also has extensive hands-on experience with small and mid-sized contractors, including SDB/8a firms.

Derek has extensive experience in mergers & acquisitions focusing on government contracting aspects, including due diligence, integration support, and restructuring proposal development.

He has also been a frequent speaker at training conferences and has developed and delivered training programs covering various government contracting topics.

Leveraging nearly two decades of federal contracting experience, Randy Shelby supports J.A. White & Associates, LLC in delivering compliance-based strategies that strengthen client readiness and operational efficiency. He identifies and recommends the professional services best suited to achieve each client ’s compliance and regulatory objectives.

CPSR Subject Matter Expert
While at DCMA in a supervisory role, Shelby co-created the “New CPSR Process” which encourages contractors to correct their deficiencies in the early stages of the purchasing system process, develop policies, standard operating procedures, templates, and data collection tools used in every CPSR conducted by the agency.

Featured Speaker
Shelby offers extensive expertise and hands-on insight in Contractor Purchasing System Reviews (CPSRs), Federal Contracting and Compliance. Recognized for simplifying complex regulatory frameworks into actionable solutions, he has presented on CPSR and government contracting topics across multiple industry forums. SubCon NAVSEA The Army and Air Force NCMA’s World Congress Government Contract Symposiums Federal Publications Seminars (FedPubs)
Under the leadership of Jeffery White, CEO and Founder of J.A. White & Associates, LLC, Shelby has established a strong reputation in procurement compliance. He has played a key role in developing proprietary platforms that help government contractors, agencies, and subcontractors automate and strengthen their purchasing system workflows. CPSR ProDocs - Compliance automation designed to eliminate manual documentation requirements and strengthen audit readiness. FARegVision+ - Automated FAR surveillance providing real-time visibility into regulatory changes for contractors and acquisition professionals. ClauseSync A compliance-driven automation tool that manages clause flowdowns in Award, Subcontract, and Procurement documents. Pricing+ - AI-enabled cost and price analysis solution built for CPSR compliance.?

John is a Director with Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. providing government contract consulting services to our clients primarily related to the DFARS business systems, CAS Disclosure Statements, and DCAA/DCMA compliance preparation, advisory, and defense. Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, John served in a number of capacities with DCAA/DCMA for more than 30 years. Upon his retirement, he was based in Texas as an SES-level Corporate Audit Director for DCAA, managing a staff of 300 auditors at one of the largest DOD programs.
John began his career in the late 80s working in the Clearwater, FL audit office and over the next three decades he progressed through a number of positions within both DCAA and DCMA with career highlights as DCAA Program Manager at Ft. Belvoir, Chief of Technical Programs Division, Deputy Assistant Director-Policy, Director of the DCMA Cost and Pricing Center, the SES-level Lockheed Martin Corporate Audit Director, and Director of Integrity and Quality Assurance.
John’s three decades of experience in performing and leading DCAA auditors and DCMA reviewers provides a wealth of expertise to our clients. John’s role, not only in the performance of audits, but also in the development of audit policy affords him unique insights into the defense of audit findings and the linkage of audit program steps to the underlying regulatory framework. He is an expert in FAR, DFARS, and other agency acquisition regulation, as well as a subject matter expert in the Cost Accounting Standards having reviewed and provided audit feedback on many of the largest and most complex cost accounting practices during his tenure with the DCAA.

John’s tenure with DCAA and DCMA came at a critical time during each agency’s history where a number of changes were occurring such as the response to the ICS backlog, development of audit approaches to the DFARS Business Systems and implementation of new audit initiatives as a result of Congressional oversight through the NDAA process. John’s leadership at the DCMA Cost & Pricing center saw oversight of all major DOD pricing actions, leadership of should cost review teams, the Commercial Pricing group and many other areas of strategic value to our clients. His involvement in these and other Agency initiatives is of great value to our clients due to his in depth understanding of DCAA and DCMA’s internal policy directives.

As a first generation American, Christine Sohar Henter exemplifies a passionate commitment to the practice of international trade law. She represents companies, trade associations, and governments on international trade matters including import trade remedies, customs compliance, export controls, sanction laws, and international business transactions, based on her public and private sector experience.

Christine started her legal career in public service. She was a senior attorney with the Office of the Chief Counsel for Import Administration (now the Office of Enforcement & Compliance) at the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). There, she advised U.S. government officials on compliance with U.S. trade laws and represented the U.S. in judicial appeals domestically before courts and internationally before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panels. Christine was also the lead attorney for Commerce's Office of Textiles and Apparel, drafting implementation regulations, counseling on the application and negotiation of international textile and free trade agreements. Prior to DOC, Christine served as a legal adviser for a Commissioner and Chairperson at the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), assisting with trade remedy decisions, responding to inquiries from Congressional members, and overseeing 337 reviews. Before pursuing her government legal service in Washington, D.C., she assisted numerous companies with their export business through the Denver US Export Assistance Center.

Leslie Stout-Tabackman regularly counsels and represents clients with matters before the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division, including Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) issues and prevailing wage and benefits issues arising under the Service Contract Act (SCA), the Davis-Bacon Act (DBA), and requirements under related Executive Orders and the FAR. Her prevailing wage practice includes counseling federal contractors and providing comprehensive training on SCA and DBA prevailing wages and benefits requirements, coverage, exemption and worker classification issues, and related contracting procedures from the solicitation and bid stage through completion of the contract. Conducting voluntary FLSA compliance audits. She regularly works with contractors to conduct internal compliance audits and provides education and training
sessions for clients on these topics. Her practice also includes prevailing wage and related laws and Executive Orders due diligence reviews in buy/sell transactions. She is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences on wage and hour and prevailing wage law matters, including presentations for the AGC of America, the National Contractor Management Association, the Practicing Law Institute, the Power & Communications Contractors Association, and LCPTracker.

Steven N. Tomanelli is the owner of Steven N. Tomanelli & Associates and is an attorney specializing in government contract law in the Washington DC area. Steven N. Tomanelli & Associates provide legal services, training and consulting services in all aspects of government contracting and federal appropriations law. Courses include: COR Certification, COR Refresher, Buy American & Trade Agreements Acts, Cost Realism, Justifications & Approvals, Intellectual Property, How to Avoid Bid Protests, Negotiating Software Licenses, Performance-Based Contracting, Small Business Contracting, IDIQ Contracting, Source Selection, FAR Workshop, Advanced FAR Workshop, FAR Update, Contract Disputes and Terminations, Introduction to Government Contracting, Procurement Ethics, Past Performance Evaluations, Federal Appropriations Law, Commercial Item Acquisition, as well as courses tailored for the specific customer.

Mr. Tomanelli is a retired Air Force Judge Advocate and has held numerous high-level procurement law positions, including Chief of Acquisition and Fiscal Law for the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command and Senior DoD Counsel for the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Virginia. He has provided consulting services and legal advice in support of highly classified major system acquisitions and has been a member of many source selection boards, advisory councils and “red teams.” He served as a Professor of Contract and Fiscal Law at the Army Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Virginia. While in the Air Force, he was selected as “The Outstanding Career Judge Advocate of the Air Force.”

Mr. Tomanelli received his B.A. and J.D. at Hofstra University, and his Master of Laws in Federal Procurement Law at George Washington University. While earning his Master of Laws degree, Mr. Tomanelli worked as an Intern at the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals.

Since 1995, Mr. Tomanelli has consistently been one of the highest rated acquisition trainers in the country according to student evaluations. He has authored over forty course books and written numerous articles on federal procurement and fiscal law topics. Mr. Tomanelli authored a comprehensive textbook titled, A Practical Guide to Federal Appropriations Law (MCI); is currently the Lead Editor of the FAR and the Annotated FAR for Thomson-West Publishing Company; and has received “Small Business Achievement Awards” for two consecutive years from the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Tomanelli is an attorney in good standing of the Virginia Bar; and serves on the Advisory Board of the Government Contractor (West Publishing). He has been retained as an expert witness in numerous federal, state and international court cases on federal procurement law matters. Mr. Tomanelli has a current TS/SCI security clearance.

Kristin Torcasi is the Senior Vice President of Government Compliance and Internal Audit for CACI International Inc. Kristin is responsible for ensuring compliance with Government contract requirements and serves as the company’s liaison for Government inquires and audits. Kristin has a wide range of experience in government contract accounting, including business system compliance; preparation of incurred cost proposals and forward pricing rates; application of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and Cost Accounting Standards (CAS); CASB Disclosure Statement preparation; cost allowability matters; cost accounting structure evaluation; and cost impact preparation. Additionally, Kristin also oversees the Internal Audit department at CACI and is responsible for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) 404 testing, coordination with external auditors, conducting operational and risk reviews and reporting to the Audit Committee on a quarterly basis. Kristin is a CPA in the state of Virginia.

Mr. Turner is a Partner and Co-Leader of the Government Contracts & Export Controls Practice Group. He is an innovative business lawyer with significant experience resolving complex government contracts issues for a broad array of companies – ranging from multinational Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and small businesses. Mr. Turner routinely represents clients in the aerospace, defense, information technology, health care and industrial supply sectors.

Mr. Turner is a prolific author and lecturer and is routinely called upon by national and international news organizations to offer his insight regarding developments in the federal procurement industry.

Bob’s law practice focuses on the application of international trade, government procurement and national security law and regulations. He regularly advises both U.S. and foreign clients on international trade matters including: the application of export controls such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), the sanctions regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and U.S. and foreign anti-corruption controls including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

In the government contracts area, Bob advises and assists clients in the defense, aerospace, technology, software, telecommunications, health care, energy, and manufacturing sectors with claims, bid protests, and counselling. In his national security law practice, Bob leverages experience as a retired naval intelligence officer (with command and combat experience) to assist U.S. and foreign clients with reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), as well as security clearances and compliance with the National Industrial Security Program (NISP), nuclear and naval nuclear technology controls, and the DoD technology release processes.

Bill has four decades of experience in the government contracting industry. Prior to joining the firm, Bill was an auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency and also held executive-level positions with ono of the largest service providers to the U.S. Department of Defense. Bill’s extensive background is in the application and interpretation of rules, regulations, and standards applicable to government contractors including the Federal Acquisition Regulation, individual agency supplements, and the Cost Accounting Standards. Bill’s work includes helping clients understand the requirements associated with development and implementing pricing strategies, indirect cost allocation solutions, developing accounting, estimating, procurement, project management, and integrated system requirements for clients in various industries including aerospace and defense, contingency contracting, logistics, oil and gas, energy, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, and professional services.

He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, National Contract Management Association, Professional Services Council, and National Defense Industrial Association Procurement Committee. He is an associate member of The American Bar Association Section of Public Contract Law.

Linda Weinberg provides practical advice to business and institutional clients on international trade law, including export controls, foreign assets control and customs. She works regularly with the U.S. and foreign government agencies that regulate international trade to help clients realize their distinct objectives surrounding their global commerce initiatives.

J.A. White & Associates, LLC deliver specialized federal contracting and compliance solutions designed to optimize procurement performance and ensure regulatory alignment across Defense, Aerospace, and commercial sectors.

With over 40 years of extensive experience in both the private and public sectors, White's expertise has led his firm to have an unprecedented 100% approval rate for Contractor Purchasing System Reviews (CPSR’s) and other Business System assessments.
Compliance Visionary

White has introduced proprietary solutions that assist government contractors streamline procurement workflows. Together, these platforms form an end-to-end automated compliance and procurement intelligence ecosystem.
• CPSR ProDocs IQ - Documentation Creation and Workflow Automation
• FARegVision+ - Regulatory Monitoring and Intelligence
• ClauseSync - Clause Extraction and Flowdown Automation
• Pricing+ - Pricing Analysis and Validation
• Lynx Business Systems - Enterprise Compliance & Audit Management
• Tariff-IQ - Intelligent Trade Compliance for Defense & Aerospace
• NCSJ Flow - Simplified Procurement Justifications

All platforms automate compliance-related procurement documentation and eliminate inefficiencies of manual tasks by providing a guided, regulation-based process that ensures consistency, accuracy, and audit readiness. A company's benefits may include financial savings, mitigating company risk, and improved position for future awards.

Noted Speaker and Author
National Contract Management Association (NCMA), Federal Publications Seminars (FedPubs), Public Contracting Institute (PCI), Institute for Supply Management (formerly NAPM) and National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP).
Published articles include Pricing Magazine, Contract Management, NAPM Insight, Electronic Buyer’s News, Purchasing Today, and NAPM InfoEdge.

Christine Williamson, CPA, PMP, is a Partner in CohnReznick’s Government Contracting Industry Practice which she led for 15 years. She provides financial and accounting consulting services that offer solutions to such complex issues as indirect rate structure development, executive compensation analysis, and mergers & acquisitions. Christine has a deep breadth of knowledge in GAAP, FAR, CAS, DCAA and DCMA. Additionally, she advises government contractors with their tax strategies and operational issues, including: financial statement reporting, disclosures, incurred cost submissions, proposals, forward pricing rates, and federal and state tax preparation.

Bill Wootton is the Founder and President of C3 Integrated Solutions, a full-service IT provider that specializes in securing our nation’s Defense Industrial Base through cloud-based solutions and industry leading partners. C3 is a provider of Microsoft Government Cloud solutions including Microsoft 365 GCC, GCC High and AzureGov, and specializes in helping clients achieve CMMC and NIST 800-171 compliance by providing MSP, security and Microsoft 365 integration services. With over 100 migrations to GCC High already completed, C3 offers an award-winning, tailored approach to helping DoD clients move to the GCC High cloud.

Cara Wulf is a leading government contracts and regulation lawyer with more than 15 years of experience counseling clients regarding compliance with federal, state, and local public procurement requirements. She also assists in litigation involving bid protests, claims, and other disputes before federal agencies, courts, and the US Government Accountability Office (GAO). Cara works with prime and subcontractors to navigate their contract obligations with the government, to include advising on routine issues of contract drafting, interpretation and administration, as well as negotiating resolutions to formal and informal contract disputes with the government and/or prime contractors.