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Minerva Chandler
Experienced  Business Consultant and Program Manager

About Me

(240)538-1550

Job.Inquiry@minervachandler.com

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/minervapmp/    

I have over 20 years of experience in project management, business development, and emergency communications with proven success leading teams into exceptional results in alignment with organizational goals and compliance with industry best practices. I am passionate about connecting the right people with the right opportunities and empowering them to achieve their full potential. I have spent my career managing the technical, financial, and operational aspects of projects across multiple domains and geographies centered on a primary mission of enhancing the safety, security, and efficiency of communications systems and networks for critical applications and missions.

Key Achievements

  • As a new PM, grew a $2M/yr. program to $14M/yr. in less than three years and negotiated an added 3-year extension on ManTech’s Networked Communications Resources (NCR) contract.

 

  • Led team to win $1.5M incentive award for the development of an enhanced waveform for software defined tactical radios. Project delivered on time and 18% under budget.

 

  • Improved on-time-delivery of air traffic management equipment by 32% in four months.

 

  • Led a cross-functional team of engineers and technicians in the successful design and implementation of a $100M unique multi-site, indoor/outdoor Motorola Land Mobile Radio system for the U.S. Capitol Police (USCP). Recognized by the USCP Chief for this achievement.

 

  • Developed the $500M cost estimate for the Oregon Wireless Interoperability Network (OWIN) and $100M USCP cost estimate in compliance with U.S. GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment standards; successful audits performed  in both cases.

 

  • Administered the response of a small business (Federal Engineering) to the U.S. Government Services Agency (GSA) Professional Engineering Services (PES) and general-purpose commercial information technology equipment, software, and services schedules resulting in inclusion in overall GSA schedules.

 

  • Shepherded a small business (Federal Engineering) into a corporate mentee relationship with a large business (Booz Allen Hamilton), growing the company’s federal presence by 200%.

 

  • Successful technical and administrative management of multi-vendor team in the on-time delivery of the €20M Motorola Terrestrial Trunk Radio (TETRA) and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) systems used in support of the Athens 2004 Olympics security. 

 

  • Continuing to provide project management training to students seeking certification level knowledge.

Work History

November 2021 until Present

Senior Program Manager at Thales Defense & Security Inc

Role responsibilities include business development support, financial and cost management, scope management, project controls and product owner for multiple tactical communications’ development and production projects. Specifically, assumed overall responsibility for creating and reviewing basis for project estimation, project initiation requests, funding requests, program management reviews, estimates at completion and customer communications. Responsible for setting engineering team’s priorities and closely coordinating all aspects of program to ensure timely submission deliverables that meet Thales’ strict quality standards.

 

March 2017 until Present

Adjunct Professor at University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC)

Teaching position at Undergraduate School of Business and Management with primary academic focus in project management principles, concepts, and tools.

September 2010 until Present

Owner and President of Minerva Chandler & Associates, LLC

April 2014 until June 2021

Program Manager at ManTech International

Role responsibilities included business development, technical management, financial and procurement management, scope management, contract management project controls and recruiting and staff development; and the development of marketing plan, business plan and consortium guiding policies in support of a newly formed consortium. As the Program Manager of a Navy IT contract, assumed overall profit and loss responsibility on the contract-creating basis for project estimation, funding requests, financial reports, and budget revisions. Managed and developed a cross-functional team and was responsible for resource utilization, workload projection, staff hiring, and other project activities. Led meetings with executives, customers, Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer Representative on a regular basis. Approved subcontractor assignments, timesheets, expense reports, and purchase orders. Coordinated various staffing activities such as personnel requests, development of job descriptions, interviews, mentoring and coaching staff, creating staffing plans, and managing staff utilization. Managed production of monthly contractual deliverables and invoices to ensure timely and accurate submission. Enforced compliance with all contractual requirements and clauses.

November 2011 until April 2014

Senior Technical Manager and Project Manager at ManTech International

Directed a full-scale project to install and test the $100M United States Capital Police (USCP) public safety radio system including defining project timeline and deliverables. Managed a team of more than ten engineers and technicians. Produced and conducted executive-level presentations pertaining to project status updates. Compiled technical, programmatic, and cost data supporting Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) decision-making. Conducted various business development tasks such as proposal development, capture strategies, and relationship building with prospective partners, agents, clients, and other key stakeholders. Administered market analysis and strategy implementation for the emerging markets team. 

July 2010 until August  2011

Federal Markets Account Executive at Federal Engineering, Inc.

Developed a multi-faceted strategy for federal engineering consisting of identifying and tracking key federal contracts, fostering relationships with existing and prospective contract holders, as well as potential federal clients, and creating a federal market cost structure. Established a variety of business development tools inclusive of contact lists, call plans, labor rate guidelines, capability presentations, and competitive analysis. Performed numerous tasks supporting opportunity analysis, relationship building, and proposal preparation on contracts and task orders for multiple departments.   

September 2005 until June 2010

Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton

Orchestrated all aspects of multiple mission-critical wireless communications projects for key security and civil federal government agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice. Evolved the intellectual capital management system providing support for the wireless team. Supported Booz Allen Hamilton’s commercial entity by providing business process management consulting services in support of Motorola and the World Bank. Established client strategies and requirement baselines based upon detailed analysis of stakeholders needs. Introduced innovative system design process in alignment with design life-cycle best practices. Delivered projects on time and under-budget, as well as delivered and implemented program management strategies and processes.   

February 1998 until June 2003

Technical Lead & Deputy Project Manager at Science Applications International Corp (SAIC)

In addition to supporting the Athens 2004 Olympics, managed and developed a team of five (5) FTEs to provide technical assistance to the DHS Interoperable Communications Technical Assistant Program (ICTAP) with a focus to enhance interoperable communications between local, State, and Federal emergency responders and public safety officials. Provided engineering thought leadership, developed engineering best practices for this newly formed organization and managed the team assignments. Supervised the development of work products such as the development of spectrum analysis and feasibility reports (i.e. Idaho 700 MHz Feasibility Study), development of Tactical Interoperable Communications Plans (TICP), development and conduction of tabletop exercises, and development of site survey best practices.

February 1998 until June 2003

Radio Systems Engineer at Motorola US Federal Government Market Division (USFGMD)

Responsible for the design and implementation of land mobile radio (LMR) systems, mobile data networks and paging systems for the United States Federal Government's departments and agencies. Proposal Support - Provided input to capture strategies; developed technical response on multiple proposals. Project Support - Delivered technical presentations to clients at multiple levels; created design, proposal, and presentation documentation. Requirements Gathering - Conducted site visits and interviews to assess user requirements, determine adequacy of customers' facilities and gather system specification data. System Design and Analysis - Included intermodulation frequency analysis, analysis of environmental factors, signal strength levels or BER analysis, determination of noise floor levels, calculation of launch delays for simulcast systems and signal propagation prediction for indoor and outdoor coverage analysis. Conducted channel loading and Grade of Service analysis for trunked voice systems and conventional data systems; performed coverage analysis. Developed equipment configuration, and proposal supporting documentation. System Tests - Development and conduction of in-plant and field acceptance test plans.


 

 

Education and Certifications

2009 

The George Washington University | Master in Business Administration (MBA)

1997

University of Maryland| Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE)

Since 2010

Project Management Institute| Project Management Professional (PMP)

Since 2024

Project Management Institute| Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master® (DASSM)

Let's connect!

English (fluent)

Spanish (fluent)

 

In addition to being a key player in any organization, I am the president of MCA, a consulting firm that supports small businesses in capturing and executing opportunities in the government and private sectors. I leverage my expertise in land mobile radio engineering, procurement, and proposal management to provide technical and strategic guidance, facilitate teaming, and mentor emerging leaders. 

Minerva Chandler

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