Heather Bahrami, PMP, CF APMP

I attribute my success to a combination of intentional growth, resilience, and the willingness to step into opportunities before I feel fully ready. Throughout my career in high-pressure, high-stakes environments, I’ve learned to balance a relentless drive for results with the self-awareness needed to sustain performance over time. I approach challenges with confidence and adaptability, trusting not only my experience but my ability to learn and lead through complexity. Equally important to me is elevating those around me—I strive to create environments where teams feel empowered, valued, and inspired to do their best work. At my core, my success comes down to a hard-earned confidence. The choice, again and again, to show up with purpose and impact.

The best career advice I’ve received is to be intentional about making time for self-care and protecting it on your calendar like it truly matters, because it does. In the world of government contracting, the pace is relentless: high pressure, high stakes, and very easy to let your day fill up with nothing but urgent demands. Without boundaries, that environment can quickly turn into a pressure cooker. Taking even small moments like stepping out for a walk at lunch or easing into your morning with coffee and a few quiet minutes can make a meaningful difference in your ability to reset and stay grounded. Early in my career, this advice was a gamechanger. I needed to hear that it was not only okay, but necessary to step away midday and recharge. Giving myself that permission for self-care didn’t make me less committed; it made me more effective, resilient, and ultimately better at what I do.

My advice to young women entering this industry is simple: claim your space and trust that you belong there. In my experience, it’s still a male-dominated field, and finding your voice in the room can feel harder than it should. But that doesn’t make it any less important. Too often, women sit at the table quietly wondering if they’ve earned their seat, while their male counterparts rarely pause to ask that same question. So, apply for the role you think you're only mostly qualified for—because chances are, someone else already sees your potential more clearly than you do. When you have an idea, give it a voice—don’t keep it in draft mode. Show up, take up space, and remember: what you bring to the table is not only valid, but also valuable (and yes, sometimes you may have to remind yourself of that more than once).

And while self-care was a hard-earned lesson for many of us Gen Xers, I have to admit—this next generation is doing a pretty impressive job setting boundaries and protecting their time. Honestly, they might be the ones mentoring us on that front.

The biggest challenges right now are tied to the shifts happening in the government space, including recent consolidation efforts and evolving dynamics that are reshaping the workforce. We’re seeing more government professionals transition into the private sector, which is making an already competitive job market even more crowded. So breaking into the industry can feel tougher than it has in years. At the same time, there’s a tremendous opportunity emerging with the growing role of AI, which is becoming more deeply embedded in our work every day. For those entering the field, it’s critical to not only understand the industry, but also how AI can be applied in meaningful, practical ways.

What’s especially encouraging is that in the proposals and capture space, demand still outweighs supply. There are more opportunities than there are people with the skills to execute them well. That creates a unique opening for those who are interested and willing to invest in learning the craft. If you can connect the dots between traditional proposal work and innovative tools like AI, you position yourself with a distinct advantage as you enter the field.

The values that matter most to me are integrity and authenticity—boring on paper, maybe, but absolutely everything in practice. In the work I do, trust isn’t optional; it’s the foundation for everything, which means I have to show up every day and model that integrity myself. I expect it from my teams in every direction (down, across, and up) because at the end of the day, I want to know we can rely on each other and do what we say we’ll do (no crossed fingers behind backs). Just as important is authenticity: saying what you mean, meaning what you say, and standing by it, even when it’s not the most popular opinion in the room.

I learned this in a really lasting way from one of my mentors, Julie Vida, who showed me what it looks like to have a true voice of integrity. She taught me that when you know something is right, you don’t adjust your values based on the “temperature” of the room. You don’t bend just because the conversation gets uncomfortable. You hold steady, stay grounded in what you believe, and speak with clarity and conviction. It’s not always the easiest path, but it’s the one that builds real trust. And, in the long run, the kind of impact that actually matters.