Sept. 12, 2019 —
Katie Powers, center, was recognized as Contracting Officer of the Year. Pictured with her are, from left, former DHS Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke, Deputy Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) Paul Courtney, CPO Soraya Correa, and Coast Guard Head of Contracting Activity Mike Derrios.
Twelve members of the Coast Guard acquisition community were recognized for their achievements at the inaugural Chief Procurement Officer Excellence Awards held at the Homeland Security Acquisition Institute in Washington, D.C., Aug. 21, 2019. Soraya Correa, chief procurement officer (CPO) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), established the CPO Excellence Awards to recognize DHS employees, teams, acquisition programs and contracting activities who further the DHS mission through a procurement or procurement-related achievement.
Katherine Powers, Formal Contracts Division V chief, was recognized as Contracting Officer of the Year for her work in support of the Offshore Patrol Cutter Program. The award recognizes an individual for accomplishments such as using innovative procurement practices; outstanding customer collaboration; improvements in contract quality; improvements in contract compliance; or quantifiable improvements such as dollars saved, costs avoided or increased competition.
Dwight Deneal, director of small business and industry liaison programs, received the Excellence in Industry Engagement award. The award recognizes an individual’s success engaging in meaningful industry outreach either through mission or program focused activities, or outreach focused on a particular acquisition or procurement.
The Coast Guard Facility Design and Construction Center was recognized with the Excellence in Strategic Sourcing and Category Management award. The award recognizes an individual or team for efforts in the development, adoption, and implementation of DHS strategic sourcing and category management initiatives resulting in measurable value to the Department. Those recognized include: Mark Snell, Pamela Argilan, Danyiele Peterson, Michele Williams, Alex Holmes, Gabriel Perez and Kristina Meabon of the Shore Infrastructure Logistics Center.
Three Coast Guard personnel received recognition as part of DHS-wide teams that received Excellence in Strategic Sourcing and Category Management awards. Christopher Stine and Elizabeth Huggins received recognition as part of the Financial Systems Modernization – Systems Deployment Agent Team while Tracy Tenwalde represented the Coast Guard on the Specialized Cost Services Blanket Purchase Order.
Michael Derrios, head of contracting activity for the Coast Guard, spoke to the accomplishments of the those recognized at the awards saying, “an important element of our vision for the Coast Guard Contracting and Procurement Enterprise is to be known as a center of excellence for contracting and procurement professionals and these distinguished accolades from DHS CPO illustrate that we are making great strides in that direction.”
Dwight Deneal, center, was recognized for Excellence in Industry Engagement. Celebrating his award are Duke, Courtney, Correa, and Derrios.
Chris Stine (third from left) and Elizabeth Huggins (not pictured) are members of the Financial Systems Modernization Systems Deployment Team honored for Excellence in Strategic Sourcing and Category Management. Pictured from left are Correa; Larry Allen, DHS; Stine; Austin McCrerey and Christine Rodriguez, DHS; Victoria Short, head of contracting activity for the Office of Procurement Operations; and Duke.