Ms. Kimberly D. Buehler was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in August 2019. She currently serves as the Director for the Army Office of Small Business Programs, where she provides executive leadership for all aspects of the Army's small business mission, including: advocacy and outreach for all small business programs, development and dissemination of policies and procedures for execution of small business functions, and oversight over the execution of the small business program at the Army’s contracting activities, equating to over $24 billion dollars of annual spend. Ms. Buehler represents the Secretary of the Army at congressional committee and subcommittee hearings on small business matters, and leads strategic inter-agency communication with the Small Business Administration, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the Minority Business Development Agency (Department of Commerce), and other agencies and presidential commissions. Ms. Buehler holds a Master of Arts Degree from Temple University, is Level III Certified in Contracting, and Army Acquisition.

Mr. Dwight D. Deneal is the Director for the DLA Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), Headquarters, located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. In this capacity, Mr. Deneal provides executive leadership for all aspects of the DLA’s small business mission, including small business program functional operations for DLA's six Major Subordinate Commands (MSCs). Under Mr. Deneal’s leadership he supervises and directs advocacy and outreach for all of DLA’s small business programs, development and dissemination of policies and procedures for execution of small business functions, and oversight for the execution of the small business program at the DLA’s contracting activities--equating to more than $35 billion dollars of annual contract spending.

Under Mr. Deneal’s direction, he provides the vision for the DLA Small Business program and oversight of the agencies’ fiduciary responsibility to maximize small business federal procurement dollars. Mr. Deneal maintains, and grows strategic partnerships that attract traditional and non-traditional businesses into the DLA supply chain; while striving to build dynamic ecosystems that help grow the national defense industrial base. This includes representing the program to state policy, industry and federal acquisition leaders; while working collaboratively towards a common goal and vision. Additionally, Mr. Deneal is responsible for the execution and management of policies, plans and sub-programs of the congressionally mandated U.S. Department of Defense
(DoD) Procurement Technical Assistance (PTA) Cooperative Agreement Program, for which DLA is the agent; which establishes a nation-wide network of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs).

Previously, Mr. Deneal served as Director, Small Business and Industry Liaison Programs for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), an operational component of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In this capacity, Mr. Deneal served as USCG’s authority on all small business and socio-economic related guidelines, policies, regulations and was delegated the authority for planning and carrying out acquisition activities in support of the small business programs. In recognition of his professional efforts and mission impact, Mr. Deneal was awarded the 2018 U.S. DHS Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) Excellence in Industry Engagement Award and 2018 Federal Small Business Champion by Homeland Security Today, a media outlet.

Prior to joining DoD OSBP, Ms. Diaz worked in the private sector where she provided direct program management support for federal government small business policies and programs with the objective of maximizing utilization of small and disadvantaged small businesses.

Prior to providing programmatic and management support to the federal government, Ms. Diaz was instrumental in enhancing membership recruitment, retention and outreach and influential in all membership-level activities as the Assistant Director for nonprofit associations. Ms. Diaz has more than 17 years of experience in technical, programmatic, administrative and management assistance in support of DOD as a subject-matter expert on small business and acquisition policies, procedures and related matters at the major command level. She has a BS in Biology from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

As the Associate Director of Policy for the Director of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), Mr. Mack serves as the Principal Advisor to the Director on small business industrial base related policy, regulation, and legislation.

Prior to joining the DoD OSBP, Mr. Mack served as Branch Chief for the Rapid Prototyping Acquisition Branch at the Washington Headquarters Services Acquisition Directorate, where he planned and executed non-FAR based acquisitions, including Other Transactions, for several customers within the Department of Defense. Previous to his tenure at Washington Headquarters Services, Mr. Mack served in various contracting roles for the Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM).
Prior to becoming a federal civilian, Mr. Mack was a consultant, specializing in acquisition and finance, for several federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Mr. Mack earned his Bachelor of Science degree, in Business Management, from Hampton University and his MBA from the George Washington University. He is also a graduate of the University of Virginia’s Federal Procurement and Contract Management Graduate Program.

Farooq A. Mitha currently serves in the Biden administration as the Director of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP). As Director, Mr. Mitha oversees more than $140 billion of annual awards to small business. In addition, he assists the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretaries of Military Departments, Under Secretaries of Defense, Directors of Defense Agencies and Major Commands in including small business planning into the readiness of the Department. These efforts aim to modernize and restore the nation’s industrial commons through focusing on advanced manufacturing, applied research, and innovative programs that align small business capabilities with the DoD’s current and future needs.

Prior to his appointment Mr. Mitha served on the Biden-Harris transition team as a member of the DoD Agency Review Team. Mr. Mitha also served in the Obama administration as the Senior Advisor to the Director of the DoD Office of Small Business Programs and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy.

Mr. Mitha served as the President and CEO of Imbue Group, Inc., which provided the subject matter expertise to DoD’s industrial base and innovation programs on small business programs, supply chain risk, defense procurement policy, utilization of other transactional authorities, engaging small businesses within the national security technology and industrial base, and advanced manufacturing.
In his previous time at the Department of Defense, Mr. Mitha led several programs and initiatives that have increased the visibility of small business within DoD, modernized programs to infuse small business capability into major defense acquisition programs and increased effective dialogue with industry.

Mr. Mitha has a strong background in international policy and national security. He is fluent in Arabic and published opinion-editorials offering commentary on issues concerning the Middle East and the American political system. In 2009, Mr. Mitha was a Fulbright Fellow in Amman, Jordan where he coordinated a Track II diplomacy conference and conducted research on economic reform in the Middle East. Mr. Mitha has also lectured at domestic and international universities on economic reform in the Middle East, U.S. policy in the Middle East, and civic engagement.

Mr. Mitha obtained his law degree from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and holds a B.S. degree in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from the University of South Florida.

Scott A. Kiser, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Director of Air Force Small Business Programs, located at the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He is responsible for policy, advocacy, execution and advice pertaining to Small Business Programs and personnel throughout the department.

Mr. Kiser, a Manhattan, Kansas, native, was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force in 1985 and served 27 years on active duty. He garnered extensive experience in international, major weapons system, operational and logistical contracting. Throughout his career, he held other key positions, to include Senior Contracting Official as Chief of Contracting, Headquarters Air Combat Command; Director of Contracting, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center; the Alternate Principal Assistant Responsible for Contracting and Chief, Contracts Policy, Headquarters, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command; the Director of Contracting, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass; and most recently as Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracting at Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He aided the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Contracting in leading an 8,000 military and civilian contracting organization responsible for annually executing $70 billion for acquisition of major weapon systems, logistics, special access program, operational supplies and services and resourcing worldwide contingency operations. He served as the Air Force Head of the Contracting Authority and provided policy, guidance and oversight of Air Force Acquisition and Contracting Operations. Mr. Kiser retired from active duty as a colonel in August 2012 and entered Senior Executive Service in June 2014.

Stephen Luckowski is a Competency Manager at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (CCDC-AC), Picatinny Arsenal, NJ. His primary roles are Program Manager of the Department of Defense (DoD) Revolutionary Fibers and Textiles Manufacturing Innovation Institute and providing organizational strategic planning for the Armaments Engineering and Manufacturing Directorate, CCDC-AC. As Government Program Manager for the Institute, Mr. Luckowski is working on behalf of the DoD’s Manufacturing Technology Program to provide guidance and direction on the establishment of an advanced fibers and textiles manufacturing innovation ecosystem. As Competency Manager, Mr. Luckowski’s focus is developing and demonstrating new manufacturing process technology improvements in the prototype development of armament systems and components, to help reduce system costs and enable new designs as they transition from prototype to production. Mr. Luckowski has been responsible for transformational efforts in several key manufacturing technology thrusts within the Army/DoD to include titanium material processing and joining, digital manufacturing and design, and additive manufacturing.

Prior to this, Mr. Luckowski served as Chair of the Metals Processing and Fabrication Subpanel within the Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Panel (JDMTP) and spent one year on a professional development assignment with the Defense Production Act Title III program, working in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy. He has also been a member of the Technical Advisory Committees for other DoD Institutes, including America Makes and Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT).

Mr. Luckowski holds a Bachelor of Science in materials engineering from Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and previously served in the U.S. Army, leaving service at the rank of Major. He is a member of the Army Acquisition Corps and a prior Chair/current member of the American Welding Society D1.9 Structural Welding Titanium Code Committee. Mr. Luckowski has been awarded multiple patents and has been recognized by the Army’s Greatest Invention Awards Program for inventions in titanium welding as well as armament and protection systems.

Mr. Jimmy D. Smith assumed the responsibilities of the Director for Small Business Program in June of 2019. He serves as the chief advisor to the Secretary on all small business matters. Mr. Smith has been charged with overseeing small business acquisition policy; strengthening government and private sector partnerships; and fostering opportunities to leverage small businesses as strategic advantage for the benefit of our warfighters.

In March 2017, Mr. Smith served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Expeditionary Programs & L ogistics Management. He served as the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition on matters related to the Navy’s Expeditionary Force, delivering upon urgent warfighter needs, and overseeing acquisition logistics policy.

In 2013, Mr. Smith served as the Director for Integrated Nuclear Weapons Safety and Security within the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs. In this capacity, he was charged with the safekeeping of nearly 70% of this Nation’s nuclear arsenal. He executed the Director of Strategic Systems Programs technical authority by providing nuclear safety and security policies and direction tomore than 4,500 government and industry personnel. He also oversaw the U.S. Navy’s nuclear weapon inspection and nuclear personnel readiness program. During his tenure, Mr. Smith delivered theU.S. Navy’s first and only underground nuclear weapon production and storage facility and awarded the first life cycle support contract for the nuclear weapon safety and security program.

Prior to the above mentioned assignment, starting in 2010, Mr. Smith served as the Director for the Above Water Sensors Directorate within the Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems. There he led efforts focused on planning, developing, acquiring, testing, and sustaining cost effective warfare systems for U.S. Navy surface ships and submarines. Those systems include: the AEGIS combat system; a full-spectrum of shipboard sensors including sonar, radar, and electronic warfare systems; missiles; guns; ammunition; and countermeasures. In addition, Mr. Smith served as the Chief Technology Officer and oversaw the transition of newnaval capabilities and technologies into more than 150 Programs of Record. In a collateral capacity, he served as the lead for the Naval Sea Systems Command’s Student Engagement and Outreach Program. Those efforts focused on promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) for grade school students and furthering academic pursuits of college students through scholarships and student employment opportunities.

Mr. Smith was selected for Senior Executive Service in March 2010, after 19 years of federal service.

Prior to his senior executive-level selection, Mr. Smith served as the Deputy Executive Director for Undersea Technology. He was responsible for transitioning numerous science and technology projects and initiatives from industry, academia, the Office of Naval Research, and the Defense Applied Research Projects Agency into submarine acquisition programs for current-day and future operational use. In a collateral capacity to this role, he served as both the Deputy Program Manager and Research & Development Manager for the COLUMBIA Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program. There he developed the program’s initial research and development plan, long range budget, and the acquisition strategy.

In 2005, he served as the Director for Submarines and Strategic Systems Programs, in a dual capacity, on the Secretary of the Navy’s staff.

In years prior, Mr. Smith held several technical and managerial positions within the Naval Sea Systems Command and the Program Executive Office for Submarines with distinction. Most notably, while serving as the Construction Manager for the first seven submarines of the VIRGINIA Class, Mr. Smith led all submarine construction and acceptance testing efforts. Achievements included the satisfactory completion of the first submarine’s construction phase, four highly successful at-sea tests were conducted, and in October 2004 the first submarine of the class - USS VIRGINIA (SSN 774) - was delivered to the U.S. Navy under Mr. Smith’s leadership.

Mr. Smith received a bachelor’s of science degree in mechanical engineering, in 1990, from Tuskegee University. Graduate-level studies included Environmental Engineering, Marine Engineering, and Business Management. He also possesses four executive leadership certificates from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations and two other business-related certificates from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Awards include: Two Navy Superior Civilian Service Awards, Three Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, the 2016 Black Engineer of the Year Award -“Stars and Stripes Award Winner”,and the Blacks-In-Government Department of Defense Civilian Meritorious Service Award.

Other achievements include: Department of Defense David Packard Acquisition Excellence Award and thirty-two other awards and recognitions for outstanding performance and leadership over his esteem career.

Along with being a member of the Department of Defense Acquisition Professional Community, Mr. Smith possesses three Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Level III certifications. Those certifications are held in the areas of Program Management, Test & Evaluation, and System Planning, Research Development & Engineering.

Kareem A. Sykes currently serves as Program Manager for Project Spectrum, a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recognized cybersecurity awareness initiative that offer resources, training and tools toward increasing cybersecurity awareness and hygiene for small businesses in particular. Mr. Sykes provides strategic leadership for a dynamic team of cybersecurity and outreach professionals whose collective aim centers around providing the educational resources and tools small businesses and institutions need to develop, implement, and maintain cybersecurity compliance. He oversees and directs the daily execution of multiple projects within the large-scale program and assures that the initiative adheres to government regulatory guidance. Mr. Sykes also manages contractual requirements to assure that Project Spectrum meets the cost, schedule, and performance goals required by the DoD Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP).

Prior to joining Project Spectrum, Mr. Sykes served as a dynamic and ITIL v4-certified Program Manager. He amassed more than 15 years of organizational thought leadership experience and leveraged proven Program and Project Management principles, rooted in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) methodology. Mr. Sykes is particularly adept at implementing enhanced business processes that result in an economy of scale. He is a proven rapport and relationship cultivator who focuses on the three Cs: Customer Service, Collaboration, and Communication. Mr. Sykes has a hallmark for motivating, mentoring, and coaching high-performance teams that deliver scalable results that drive productivity.

Mr. Sykes has a strong track record of successful matrix management of large teams (100+ FTEs), primes, subcontractors, and third-party vendors. He has managed various personnel levels, including Project Managers, Business Process Engineers, IAT II & III Cyber Systems Analysts, Network Engineers, Dev Ops, Application Support Specialists, Help Desk Technicians (Tier 1-3), Information Assurance Managers, Quality Managers, Sr. Business Analysts, Project Administrators, and Training Analysts, and Supervisors.

Mr. Sykes obtained his Bachelors degree from the University of Baltimore, having studied Jurisprudence-Pre law and holds a A.A. degree in Interdisciplinary Studies as well.

Dr. Bryson Reynolds oversees OSBP efforts to expand market intelligence including the Market Research Center of Excellence (MRCOE), develop of digital platforms to streamline workflow including the Mentor Protégé Program (MPP) Portal, and mitigate risk to small businesses in the defense industrial base posed by foreign, ownership, control, and influence (FOCI). Prior to joining OSBP, Dr. Reynolds worked in neuroscience research at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University focused primarily on neuroimaging and the biomechanics of head impact, and in STEM education at the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach.

Prior to joining OSBP, Dr. Reynolds worked in neuroscience research at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University focused primarily on neuroimaging and the biomechanics of head impact, and in STEM education at the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach.

Dr. Reynolds earned his BS degree in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University, and his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Virginia.

Mr. Wright has held various positions of increasing responsibility throughout his 12 years in federal government. Mr. Wright started his career within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Industrial Base Policy (OSD IBP) in 2015. During his tenure, he has assumed various roles including Business Intelligence Analyst, Deputy Director of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Deputy Director of Foreign Investment Review Non-Notified. He now assumes the role of Associate Director, for the Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP).

Effective March 2022, Mr. Wright's role as the Associate Director of Performance Management includes collaborating with the Small Business Administration to meet and exceed small business goaling and monitor, analyze, report, and communicate the small business goals across the Department. Mr. Wright will focus on collaborating with the inter-agencies and DoD small business offices to share best practices with the purpose of exceeding the federal government's small business goals. He also serves as the Program Manager for the Indian Incentive Program, which is designed to encourage the use of Native American Organizations and Native Hawaiian Small Business Concerns by providing incentives to prime and sub-tier contractors who subcontract with such eligible firms.

In his role as Deputy Director of M&A, he served as the principle adviser to Senior DoD leadership including the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition on anti-competitive impacts resulting from proposed merger, acquisition, joint venture, strategic alliance, or investments involving defense companies. He led a team in conducting fact based assessments and business intelligence that informed the Department’s position and served as the liaison between the Department of Defense and the antitrust agencies on all M&A matters.

Mr. Wright also led Foreign Investment Review's Non-Notifed team, which focuses on identifying, assessing, and referring proposed and consummated foreign acquisitions of, or investments in, U.S. businesses that do not voluntarily notify the Committed of Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) authorities.

Mr. Wright has more than 20 years of corporate finance, investment management, and financial analysis experience within private industry and government organizations. Mr. Wright started his career working as an investment banker on Wall Street focusing on M&A within the consumer retail industry. Mr. Wright also served in a variety of capacities at Northrop Grumman and for Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) as a business intelligence analyst.

Mr. Wright is an alumnus of Hampton University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He also holds an Executive MBA from the University of Maryland, Smith School of Business where he graduated top of his class.