Kevin Jans started Skyway Acquisition after 16 years as a Department of Defense contracting officer. He founded the company with the vision of sharing his experience from the Government side to help people thrive in GovCon.

Starting with his experience as an Air Force and SOCOM Contracting Officer, since 2011 he continues to build a diverse team of Contracting Officers to expand that vision. He now leads a team that provides a robust combination of pre-award, post award and strategic consulting as well as training from the Contracting Officers perspective. In his free time he also hosts the Contracting Officer Podcast with Paul Schauer.

I have the greatest job in the world! I get to help clients decode the mystery of Government contracting every day. I work with all size business to help them thrive in the government market. I retired with over 32 years of government contracting experience. For most of that time I held an unlimited contracting officer’s warrant.

I’ve pretty much done it all in contracting – small purchases to large dollar, technically complex acquisitions; supplies and services; commercial and non-commercial; systems and operational; and foreign military sales.

Skyway really does help you understand all the things you need to know to win government contracts. My superpower is post-award consulting. My specialty is challenging CPARS ratings!

Amber is an enthusiastic and driven professional with an inherent variety of skills used to help businesses succeed. With a background in digital marketing, Amber has become highly competent in executing various initiatives. She currently applies this knowledge in an consorted effort to contribute to the continued growth and success of the Contacting Officer Podcast and Skyway Acquisition on multiple fronts.

Amber thrives on communication with others and her execution of strong customer service which ensures advancement in a positive direction. Mostly she enjoys having a role in a company that truly makes a difference.

Troy Small is a retired United States Marine who served fifteen of his 20 years of active-duty service as a Contingency Contracting Officer. Troy has 28 years’ experience in the Acquisition Career Field and served in several roles during his tenure with the Department of Defense to include Purchasing Agent, Contract Specialist, Contracting Officer, Simplified Acquisition Branch Supervisor, Procurement Chief, Chief of Contracting for Regional Contracting Center- Fallujah, and Assistant Program Manager for Contracting-Program Executive Office-C4I.

Troy holds an MBA from National University and is DAWIA Level-III certified in Contracting and Level-II certified in Program Management. Troy’s passion is using his military mindset, contracting expertise, and business acumen to help businesses execute and move their needle.

Vicky has nearly 20 years of Contracting Officer experience for the Department of Defense (DOD). Since leaving the DOD, she has worked as a proposal manager/writer in the federal, state, and local government market. She has developed winning proposals worth billions in government contracts in her career.

Former Contracting Officer, Technical Industrial Liaison Officer, and Procurement Analyst for DoD. Agency experience in Government contracting positions: US Army and Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Experience in successful federal agency proposals: DoD (including US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Special Operations Command; VA, NASA, GSA, DLA, BLM, DOT, DHS, FEMA, DOJ, EPA, IRS, FAA, DOS, USAID, United Nations, and many more.

She also held an unlimited Contracting Officer’s warrant for over 16 years. She is Level III certified and hold both CFCM and CPCM certifications. She enjoys reading and interpreting federal acquisition regulations, policies, and procedures. Angela retired in March 2020 and is dedicated to helping businesses better understand the federal acquisition process so they can become successful government contractors who ultimately provide quality products/services to the government. Angela holds an MBA from University of Phoenix and an MHS from Liberty University.

Steve worked for DoD for 32 years as a contracting officer. Steve started out buying the nuts and bolts for DoD systems and at the end of his career was buying the whole system. He retired in 2014 after serving as the Procuring Contracting Officer at Naval Air System Command for major weapon systems procured by Naval aviation for 7 years.

His brings experience in R&D, service, performance-based logistics, and hardware acquisitions.

An accomplished sales and marketing leader, program builder, and serial entrepreneur, Raymond Kahre is passionate about helping his clients and partners create value. With over a decade of experience helping clients navigate the complexities of federal procurement through finance and go-to-market strategy to capture, proposal and program management, Raymond has led business development and capture programs to over $1B in federal sales. Raymond holds a BA in Economic Geography from the University of Tennessee and an MBA with concentrations in finance and marketing from the Debusk School of Business at Lincoln Memorial University.

Joseph “Joe” is retired from the US Air Force, where he spent 16 years, of his 22 years of service at different levels in Air Force Contracting. He has been a contract specialist, contracting officer, and has transformed organization’s function and flow. He has worked procurements state-side and overseas. He is DAWIA III-certified in Contracting. He brings a positive attitude and “can do” spirit to any project. He likes to create order out of chaos.

Joe Eversole worked in government contracting for over 30 years. His agency experience includes USAF and NASA, and he has worked in private industry. Contracts administered and managed include major weapons systems, services and construction for the USAF and space flight hardware and engineering services for NASA.

He has pre-award experience as a voting member of two large source evaluations at NASA, including defending a GAO protest. His post-award experience includes management of large dollar aircraft, satellite, and rocket propulsion contracts. Post award experience also includes adjudication of construction claims and negotiating large dollar modifications.

He has managed contracts covering the full spectrum from Firm Fixed Price, Cost Plus Incentive Fee, Cost Plus Award Fee and Time and Materials. He has also developed and taught acquisition certification classes. He is a retired USAF officer and a retired NASA civil servant.

Katie is a seasoned leader in the acquisition world, bringing 14 years of diverse experience to the table. Her journey spans the entire spectrum of government acquisition, from planning and administering multimillion-dollar contracts to translating program budgets into real-world capabilities. With 8 years as a Contracting Officer and previous roles in Budget, Logistics, and Program Management, Katie has a comprehensive understanding of the government acquisition process from multiple perspectives.

Throughout her career, she’s been the go-to advisor for programmatic, contractual, and business compliance matters. Katie knows the ins and outs of government regulations and is dedicated setting the bar high for technical excellence, fostering leadership growth, and driving team success.

David Geary has over 10 years of contract management experience, including health care IOT&A related activities, including the purchase of medical equipment, furniture, and support services; quality control of contract- and purchasing-related activities, interfacing with military and government personnel at multiple levels, and communicating effectively. David has held a Level III limited $50 Million Warrant for over seven years, and a secret security clearance for ten years. Mr. Geary has a working knowledge of project management theory and processes within the VHA environment.

Paul Schauer is the co-founder and co-host of the Contracting Officer Podcast. The Contracting Officer Podcast was created to help both government and industry acquisition professionals understand how the other side thinks and operates by providing context on the similarities and differences between the roles.

Paul’s 25 years of federal acquisition experience include service as a civilian contracting officer supporting the United States Air Force (USAF), director of contracts and business operations for a small-to-mid size defense contractor, and vice president for a major defense contractor in both contracts and operations (P&L responsible) roles.

He is well versed in all facets of the government acquisition process from both a government and contractor perspective; including acquisition strategy, source selection, bid strategy, proposal pricing, acquisition policy, negotiation, and cradle-to-grave management of complex contracts.