NCMA Boston Chapter Board of Directors

NCMA Boston is governed by a Board of Directors. Individually, the Board consists of dedicated professionals that were recommended by nominating committee and elected by majority vote. Collectively, the Board is entrusted with ensuring the Chapter acts as an effective and responsible organization. The Board has played a key role in the success of NCMA Boston and we are pleased to recognize each member. The board of directors can be reached collectively at boardofdirectors@ncmaboston.org

Marsha Cervantez – Chair – chair@ncmaboston.org

Marsha Cervantez is a federal acquisition professional with 23 years’ experience with the Government and Defense Industry. Currently, Ms. Cervantez is a Sr. Principal Contracts Manager for General Dynamics Mission Systems, responsible for the development and negotiation of domestic and international business engagements. Previously, Ms. Cervantez served 11 years as a Contracting Officer for the US Air Force. Ms. Cervantez holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Arizona. Ms. Cervantez has been an active NCMA member of both the Saguaro and Boston Chapters throughout her career. She has held the positions of Saguaro Chapter VP of Education, Boston Chapter VP of Programs, VP of Administration, and President.  In addition to her current position as Awards Chair, Ms. Cervantez is proud to service as NCMA Boston’s Chairman of the Board.  “I believe in cultivating a rich, diverse, and integrated professional contracting community equipped to devise solutions for today’s and tomorrow’s acquisition challenges—we are stronger together.”

Sheralyn Fallon | President – president@ncmaboston.org

Sheralyn Fallon is the Manager of Subcontracts at The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. in Cambridge, MA.  She has 15+ yrs. of contracts management-related experience, with a focus on acquisition in a Department of Defense environment, with direct responsibility for Contracts, Subcontracts and Procurement.

Ms. Fallon holds a BS and an MBA from Boston University and a Master Certification in Procurement & Contracting from the University of Virginia.  She has earned NCMA’s CFCM and CPCM certifications and is an Honor Graduate alumni of 2016 NCMA Contracts Leadership Development Program (CMLDP).

Russ Blaine 

Russ Blaine, CPCM, Fellow, is Chief Operating Officer with Beyond Mission Capable Solutions, a woman-owned small business specializing in cyber security engineering.  Mr. Blaine has over 30 years of defense-related experience, and has held executive positions in contract management, business development, operations and proposal development.  Prior to his current position, he served as Vice President for Program Development with Wyle Aerospace after retiring from the U.S. Air Force as Director of Contracting and Chief of Staff at Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts.  Russ served as NCMA’s National President for the 2013-14 program year.

Tim Certeras

Tim served over 25 years in the US Air Force and has more than 18 years of experience in contracting and acquisition. He’s held a variety of command and leadership positions culminating in his position as the Commander of the 66th Air Base Wing at Hanscom AFB in Massachusetts. He served in three operational contracting assignments including Chief of Contracts at Plattsburgh AFB, NY and Commander of the 99th Contracting Squadron at Nellis AFB, NV. He was a Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO) in several systems program offices to include the F‑22 program where he was the Deputy Director of Contracting. He also served as a staff officer on a Major Command staff.

Tim earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from the University of Akron, a Master of Science degree in Contracting Management from the US Air Force Institute of Technology, and a Master of Science degree in Strategic Studies from the Air War College at the Air University. As a PCO, he received his certification as a Certified Professional Contracts Manager through the National Contract Management Association.

In 2006, Tim retired from the U.S. Air Force and is currently the Major Account Manager for the US Northeast Region for Rockwell Collins Government Systems.

Ryan Connell

Ryan Connell is the Commercial Item Group (CIG) pricing supervisor for Boston and Philadelphia (Northeast). Ryan started his career as a support contractor working as a cost estimator supporting the battle management division at Hanscom AFB, MA. Ryan left MCR Federal in 2010 and joined civil service as a United States Air Force price/cost analyst. Ryan quickly became involved with incentive contracting and championed many excel models and incentive contracting classes. In 2013, Ryan left the Air Force to join DCMA, as the first Raytheon IDS pricing lead in the newly formed ICAT structure. Ryan led many cost savings initiatives, and was recognized at the pentagon by Mr. Kendall (AT&L) for The Workforce Individual Achievement Award in Contracting for 2015.  In 2016, Ryan decided to help with the Commercial Item Group initiative within the agency. Ryan holds his Masters of Business Administration from Webster University. He is currently DAWIA Level III certified in contracting, Level I certified in Program Management and is a member of the Defense Acquisition Corp, NCMA & NDIA. Ryan Lives in Boston with his wife Jennifer.

Laurie Emken

Laurie Emken, former Vice President of Education of the Boston Chapter.  Laurie currently works at LinQuest Corporation in Lexington, MA managing the contracts for the Information Systems & Solutions (ISS) Group in a senior contracts role.  Laurie has been a member of NCMA since 1996.

Rich Guzzardi

Rich is currently the Director, Contracts for the Global Integrated Sensors (GIS) Business Area of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. In his role, Rich leads a team of over 25 contracts professionals and is responsible for all proposals, negotiations and contract management in the $1.5B business area. Rich is a graduate of the Raytheon Contracts Leadership Development Program (1993) and has held several contracts leadership positions within and outside of Raytheon. Rich was a Contracts Director at Nortel Networks from 1997 – 2003 with responsibility for commercial contracts for the supply of telecom and enterprise network capabilities before to returning to Raytheon in 2003.

Rich has developed a broad business background and contracting capability through his various assignments in multiple industries and businesses. His experiences include working on programs and contracts with the DoD and other agency Federal agencies, states and municipalities, commercial and international customers, turnkey engineering and construction, technology licensing and medical sales. Rich has participated in contract risk assessment of acquisition targets and has led contract and legal integration post acquisition.

Rich holds a Masters in Business Administration from Bentley University in Waltham, MA and a Bachelors of Arts from St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH. Rich is currently a Board Member for the Boston Chapter of NCMA and is the President of Acton Boxborough Student Activities Fund, Inc. Rich lives with his wife Karen and two children in Boxborough, MA.

Dan Kelley 

Dan chairs the Government Contracts group at the law firm of McCarter & English, LLP in Boston. His practice combines both counseling and acting as an advocate on behalf of clients doing business in the commercial and government marketplaces. Dan has extensive experience in the fields of business and intellectual property litigation, commercial contracting, licensing, and federal and state procurement law. He counsels businesses when disputes arise and defends them in court and arbitration proceedings. He has knowledge of the government contracting process both on a federal and state level, and the specific laws, regulations, contract clauses and dispute resolution mechanisms in this specialized area. He is Chair of the Boston Lawyers Division of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies and is an adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School where he teaches Government Contracts. Dan received his J.D. from George Washington School, The National Law Center, and is admitted into practice in Massachusetts, District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and the Court of Federal Claims.

Ellen Kelley | CPCM 

Ellen is currently the Contracts Training Manager at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and specializes in Research and Development contracts, major acquisitions, and high stakes negotiations.  She previously held the positions of Manager of Security and Transportation Systems at Raytheon Company, and International Contracts and Procurement Manager at Metcalf & Eddy.  Ellen graduated with a BA in Economics from the University of Delaware and an MBA (Acquisition and Contracts) from Western New England University.  She has earned a CPCM certification from NCMA.  She has been an active member of the Boston Chapter throughout her career, serving as Vice President of Programs and Chair of the Advancing Professionals Committee. Contract Management Magazine published her article “Getting Out Alive: How Hostage Negotiation Tactics in Contract Negotiations Can Help Your Deal ‘Survive’ ” in the February 2016 issue, as well as her interview in the “President’s Corner” in the September 2017 issue. Ellen was honored to serve as President of the Boston Chapter for the 2016-2018 Program Years.

Bob Marshall | Director, Contracts Operations for the BAE Systems Electronic Systems Sector

Allie Stanzione | CFCM | CPCM | Fellow

Allie Stanzione is a Senior Principal Contracts Manager at General Dynamics Cyber Systems. Throughout her career, she served in contracting, procurement, and subcontracts positions in academia, international, commercial, state and federal government contracts fields, taking positions with increasing levels of leadership and professional responsibility. Ms. Stanzione is a graduate of NCMA’s Contract Management Leadership Development Program and is a long standing Boston Chapter member.  Ms. Stanzione served 2 consequent terms on NCMA Board of Directors; is a frequent author and contributor to NCMA Publications, Contract Management Magazine and the Journal of Contract Management. She holds an MBA from the New York Institute of Technology and is a practicing Alternative Dispute Resolution professional. She is a past recipient of the Boston Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 Award; NCMA James E. Cravens Membership Award and Honorable Mention in the Sixth Annual Macfarlan Excellence in Contract Management Research and Writing Program.

Steven J. Tremblay

Steven Tremblay is an Executive Director in the Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services, Government Contract Services practice of Ernst & Young LLP (EY). He has more than 28 years of experience in government contracting, over 14 of which were spent at EY while the other14 were spent working directly for government contractors. Before joining EY, Steven was a Chief Contracts Administrator with Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International, Inc. (Hamilton Sundstrand). During his tenure with Hamilton Sundstrand, Steven gained extensive experience in dealing with complex government contract issues pertaining to both Commercial Customers and Government Agencies (e.g., NASA and DOD). His experience includes advising on how to implement effective and compliant internal control systems and operations, and on the forensic and remediation activities necessary to respond to government investigations and audits. Steven also has extensive experience in advising clients on matters involving accounting (e.g., FAR and CAS), DFARS business systems, transaction due diligence, contract administration and termination, procurement, and cost allocation.

Dan Ward

Dan is a senior principal systems engineer and innovation catalyst at the MITRE Corporation. His current projects include working to improve defense acquisition policy and enable greater flexibility, speed, & innovation. He is one of the creators of MITRE’s Innovation Toolkit, which aims to democratize innovation and help teams “go beyond brainstorming.”

Dan previously served for more than 20 years as an acquisition officer in the US Air Force, where he specialized in leading high-speed, low-cost technology development programs and retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. While on active duty, he helped establish the Air Force Research Laboratory’s rapid innovation process. His assignments included two tours in the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Pentagon, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, several Program Offices, and ISAF Headquarters in Kabul.

Dan is the author of three books LIFT: Innovation Lessons From Flying Machines That NEARLY Worked and the People Who ALMOST Flew Them (2019) The Simplicity Cycle: A Field Guide To Making Things Better Without Making Them Worse (2015) and F.I.R.E.: How Fast, Inexpensive, Restrained and Elegant Methods Ignite Innovation (2014). He also contributed a chapter to an anthology titled Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict (Potomac Books, 2018). His writings have appeared in a variety of outlets including Fast Company, Forbes, The Boston Globe, Small Wars Journal, and Armed Forces Journal.

Dan has testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the British House of Commons. He regularly speaks at tech conferences, including South By Southwest and the Lean Startup Conference. His expertise on defense acquisition reform has been featured in publications from the White House, the US Senate and the British Parliament.