Amanda Andersen

I've been in government service for 20 years, counting my internship and contractor time. I'm currently a director at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where I've been for almost four years. I oversee large-scale, technically complex, multi-million and multi-billion dollar acquisitions for FEMA. I'm on the program management side of acquisition, not a contracting officer - I focus on cost, schedule, and performance. I make sure that technically complex, high-risk, cross-agency projects have good needs analysis, smart contracting, proper development according to needs and contract, proper testing, and successful launch to operations with good disposal plans. Before FEMA, I was at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DITRA) where I was a chief overseeing a team of scientists and engineers. I also worked in DITRA's Small Business Office helping to secure small business contracts, writing solicitations, reviewing solicitation packages, and interviewing small businesses. Before DITRA, I worked for the Air Force. I'm a government civil servant with a love of research and development and helping the American people. As a little girl, I wanted to be a scientist, and I got the opportunity to do that. I'm a scientist who's also a people person - very outgoing, extroverted, and collaborative. I love to work in teams and help people solve big, hard problems through science. My primary role as a leader is to cultivate other leaders and help position other people for leadership and success.