Board of Directors

Our Board is made up of members who direct and oversee association activities. They serve because of their strong leadership skills and commitment to our community. Their strong focus on strategic imperatives enable members to connect to create what’s next in the profession.

Amanda Christian, Fellow, President

Amanda is the Senior Vice President of Subcontracts and Procurement at CACI International Inc., a professional services and IT solutions company with $5B in revenue. In this role, Amanda leads an organization that purchases goods and services with an approximate spend of $3B per year. Amanda is responsible for setting direction, policy, and procedures based upon corporate-level strategy, and ensure the procurement and subcontracts personnel provide value and contribute to the overall success of the company. As a key position on the Executive Leadership Team, Amanda delivers on strategic initiatives, implements industry best practices, while maintaining a DCMA Approved Purchasing System.

Wendy Masiello, CPCM, Fellow, President-Elect

Wendy Masiello is currently an independent consultant, having retired from the U.S. Air Force as a three-star general in July 2017. During her 36-year career with the Air Force, she served as director of the Defense Contract Management Agency; deputy assistant secretary (contracting), Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition; and program executive officer for the Air Force’s $30 billion service acquisition portfolio. Her medals and commendations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal, and the Bronze Star. She is currently a member of the board of directors for KBR Inc. and Board of Advisors for NCMA and the Public Spend Forum.

Melissa Starinsky, Past President

Melissa Starinsky is the director and head of the contracting activity for the Office of Acquisition & Grants Management within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). She is responsible for overseeing the execution of CMS' contracting, discretionary grant, and interagency agreement activities. She began her career as an acquisition intern in 1989 with the U.S. Department of the Navy. Since then, she has held various acquisition, policy, and programmatic leadership positions within the federal government and the private sector—including deputy director of the Office of Acquisition & Grants Management, director of the Federal Acquisition Institute at the U.S. General Services Administration, and the chancellor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy.

Denyce Carter, Director

L. Denyce Carter is Vice President of Contracts and Purchasing at General Atomics, one of the world's leading resources for high technology systems. General Atomics (“GA”) and its affiliated companies operate on five continents and are world leaders in high- technology systems ranging from innovating the nuclear fuel cycle and electromagnetic systems to pioneering remotely piloted aircraft, satellites, airborne sensors and advanced electronic, wireless and laser technologies.

GA researches, designs, and manufactures transformational technologies to support critical land, sea, air and space operations worldwide. GA continues to research, develop, and manufacture powerful first-of-kind technologies that provide military forces with the most advanced capabilities necessary to effectively respond to new mission requirements and evolving threats around the globe.

In her capacity as Vice President Contracts & Purchasing, Ms. Carter is responsible for the company’s commercial and government contracts and procurements and related systems. She also chairs the Cybersecurity Working Group for GA and its affiliates. Since taking over leadership of the company’s Contracts and Purchasing department she has elevated the acquisition organization through recruitment, training, process improvement, terms and conditions, and policy and procedures development. Ms. Carter is widely recognized and respected throughout the purchasing and contracting community for her knowledge and understanding of U.S. Government procurement laws and regulations. She supports the development of the next generation of acquisition professionals. She is a long time member of the National Contract Management Association, currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Aerospace Industries Association’s Contract Management Committee, chaired the NCMA’s 2016 Subcontract Management Forum in Tysons Corner, VA and has served as a panelist on two Government Contract Pricing Summits.

Kraig Conrad, CAE, CTP, Chief Executive Officer

Kraig Conrad joined NCMA as Chief Executive Officer in November 2018 to help the Board advance growth in service of members and the mission. He has more than 20 years of association leadership experience. Prior to NCMA, he served as CEO of Professional Risk Managers’ International Association, where he guided the PRMIA Board of Directors and its global network of more than 50,000 risk professionals. Prior to PRMIA, Kraig held many roles at the National Investor Relations Institute including Acting Co-Chief Executive Officer, Vice President for Programs and Development, and Vice President for Professional Development. He also has served as Research Lead for Strategy Practice at Corporate Executive Board, Director of Corporate Finance and Risk Management and Director of Strategic Alliances at the Association for Financial Professionals, Senior Consultant for Braun Consulting, and Financial Analyst for Credit Suisse.

Kraig earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Southern California and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a Certified Association Executive and member of the American Society of Association Executives, and a Certified Treasury Professional and member of the Association for Financial Professionals.

Iris Cooper, CPCM, Fellow, Director

Iris serves as the Assistant Secretary for Procurement

Throughout her career, Iris has been committed to excellence in customer service, integrity and transparency in the acquisition process; and the development of the acquisition workforce. She is passionate about acquisition transformation, leveraging the strengths of the entire acquisition team across functional lines and throughout the acquisition life cycle.t, Contracts, and Grants at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) in Raleigh, NC. In this role, she is responsible for contracts and grants valued at over $18B spanning the entire spectrum of NC DHHS mission across the State of North Carolina.

Heather Dallara, CFCM, Fellow, Director

Heather Dallara has over 14 years of federal services contracting experience spanning a variety of defense and civilian customers. She joined General Dynamics in 2010 and at that time has supported defense, civilian, national security, and commercial customers. In her current role, she is Staff, VP Contracts for General Dynamics Information Technology, Inc., where she leads the contracts team for the company's Defense Division. She previously worked at L-3 Technologies, Inc. and Harris Technical Services Corporation. She is a graduate of NCMA's Contract Management Leadership Development Program (CMLDP) and continues to support the CMLDP as a mentor for current students. She was recognized as one of NCMA's Advancing Professionals in 2014 and has held numerous leadership positions in the Dulles Corridor Chapter.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Director

Pat Fitzgerald is a Director in Baker Tilly’s government contractor advisory services group. He joined the firm in 2015, bringing with him over 35 years of experience in government auditing and acquisition. Previously, he served for five years as the director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency. He also served as the Auditor General for the U.S. Army, where he led the U.S. Army Audit Agency and reported directly to the Secretary of the Army.

Ted Harrison, Director

Ted Harrison joins the board of NCMA from his current position as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Technical and Project Engineering, LLC. (TAPE). A 37-year U.S. Army veteran, he retired at the rank of Major General. He previously served at the Pentagon as Director of Operations for the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management. He also served as Commanding General for the Expeditionary Contracting Command and Director of Contracting for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Earlier in his career, Mr. Harrison served in tactical assignments in Air Defense and Army Aviation.

Major General Cameron G. Holt, Director

Major General Cameron G. Holt is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracting, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Washington, D.C. He is responsible for all aspects of contracting relating to the acquisition of weapon systems, logistics, and operational support for the Air Force and provides contingency contracting support to the geographic combatant commanders. He leads a highly skilled staff of mission-focused business leaders supporting warfighters through $825 billion of Space, Global Power/Reach, and Information Dominance programs. He also oversees the training, organizing, and equipping of a workforce of some 8,000 Contracting professionals that execute programs worth more than $65 billion annually.

Prior to this assignment, General Holt served as the Commander, Air Force Installation Contracting Agency (AFICA), Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He led an over 700 personnel agency with a total contract portfolio of $55 billion. In this capacity, he directed enterprise-wide installation strategic sourcing efforts for the Air Force and oversaw $9.1 billion in annual obligations for mission and installation requirements.

General Holt received his commission through the ROTC at the University of Georgia in 1990. He has experience in the full spectrum of acquisition and contract management across four major commands, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air Forces Central Command and the Joint Staff. General Holt is a joint qualified officer with multiple deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

John G. Horan, General Counsel

Jack Horan is a seasoned trial lawyer and litigator who has been lead counsel in over 30 jury trials and hundreds of criminal, civil, administrative, and arbitration hearings. He has also presented oral arguments on eight appeals before federal and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. He has represented contractors and employees before both federal and state grand juries and in criminal proceedings in federal and state courts.

Jeffrey L. Napier, CPCM, Director

Jeffrey Napier is currently the Director for Acquisition Services in the Office of Financial Resources of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He is responsible for oversight of all CDC contracts, including quality assurance, compliance, and development of policies and procedures. He began his federal acquisition career with the U.S. Air Force in the F-15 program and has progressed through leadership positions at the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior before coming to CDC. In 2013, he was confirmed into the federal Senior Executive Service (SES). He has been an active member of NCMA for over 30 years, serving in various roles, including president of the Atlanta Chapter.

Steve Sarris, CPCM, Director

As Director of Contracts for Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Steve Sarris is responsible for all aspects of the contracts function, including the evaluation, development, and implementation of the contracts department's long-term strategic goals and short-term tactical plans that support the business objectives of the company. Previously, he served in the Subcontracts Department of Lockheed Martin (formerly Martin Marietta) Denver Aerospace to include roles with increased levels of responsibility from cost analysis to department chief, and subcontract administrator.

Heidi Timmerman, CPCM, Fellow, Director

Heidi Timmerman is an independent consultant supporting commercial and government contractor clients; as well as a lecturer for the University of Tennessee’s Aerospace & Defense Programs within the Haslam College of Business. She has over 20 years’ experience in procurement, contracts, operations, and supply chain management. For close to a decade, Heidi served as the director of Procurement & Contracts Administration (PCA) at Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU); where she was responsible for customer contracting, strategic partnership projects, real estate, purchase-card administration, all procurement services, contracting systems, and ORAU’s small business program. In the private sector, she served as vice president of supply chain operations of IdleAire; where she was responsible for product and service support of 131 nationwide locations for this technology service start-up. Heidi also served as director of procurement, store services, and contracts management, for Goody’s Family Clothing. Prior to that, she was a commodity champion and senior buyer/planner for the manufacturer Chatsworth Products, Inc. In addition to her government contracting and commercial experience, Heid served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a military police officer (Captain). She is a past president and active leader in the East Tennessee Chapter of NCMA. Heidi has her MBA, C.P.M., and Masters Certificate in Government Contracting from George Washington University in addition to CPCM and Fellow with NCMA.

Joy M. White, Director

Joy M. White is the Executive Director, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. In this role, she oversees a $9B annual portfolio of major acquisition space programs that deliver agile, integrated and resilient capabilities to meet national defense imperatives. SMC is responsible for space capabilities from the spark of an idea to the launch of the satellite and sustainment of the systems. SMC’s portfolio includes the Global Position System (GPS), strategic and tactical satellite communications, missile warning, space domain awareness, weather, and launch services for the nation. SMC also executes a robust development program that delivers prototypes and commercial technologies for use in the overarching space architecture.

As the Executive Director, Joy orchestrates SMC’s business operations including talent management, business innovation, financial management, and strategic communications. She also serves as the Head of the Contracting Activity for the United States Space Force, which gives her overall responsibility and authority over acquisition and Space Force contracts execution. She currently leads a workforce of 6,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel that is expected to grow significantly as SMC is established as a Field Command within the USSF this summer.

Prior to her current position, Joy was the SMC Director of Contracts where she led her workforce in the implementation of Better Buying Power initiatives, better utilizing government funds and enabling increased mission capabilities. Before SMC, she gained joint experience as the Deputy Director of Contracting for the Missile Defense Agency.

Joy entered the federal service as a Copper Cap contracting intern at SMC. Her first Contracting Officer position was in the GPS program, where she led the contracting effort to develop the first single-handed GPS device for the warfighter. To broaden her career, Joy took a job in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, serving an eight-year tenure where she performed legal and regulatory analysis, spearheaded two joint service committees, and advised senior leaders on a wide range of acquisition strategies for programs like Global Hawk, Predator, F-15, Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle, and GPS.

When she’s not leading space efforts, Joy enjoys spending time with her husband and three grown sons in the perpetually-sunny California weather or traveling to other just as warm, but not as perfect places.

Dr. Michael Wooten, Director

The Honorable Michael Eric Wooten is the Vice President for Strategic Direction at the National Industries for the Blind. Dr. Wooten recently served as the 15th Administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and has over 33 years of acquisition and supply chain management experience. As OFPP Administrator, he oversaw the regulations, systems, and the acquisition workforce for the federal government enterprise, which manages over $3 trillion in total contract value. Dr. Wooten has previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education; Deputy Chief Procurement Officer of the District of Columbia; Professor of Contract Management, Defense Acquisition University; and Chairman of the Board for Northern Virginia Community College. He holds an earned doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science degree in contract management from the Naval Postgraduate School, master’s degrees from The George Washington University and Norwich University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Chapman University. He was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2019. He is a retired Marine Corps Major and veteran of Afghanistan.