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The winners will be announced at a future date in October.
Mr. Robert Abascal is the Founder and Chief Strategic Officer for AVT Simulation which is celebrating 25 years in business. He has over 40 years of experience in all aspects of development and life cycle supportability of simulator systems. He began his career performing visual systems engineering and computer programming at the advent of rapidly advancing computer graphics technology. Initial responsibilities involved engineering roles with high profile aerospace clients such as General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) and Bell Helicopter (now Bell Flight) in Ft. Worth, Texas along with contracted duties for computer graphics pioneer, Evans and Sutherland in Salt Lake City, Utah. He subsequently moved to Orlando, Florida in 1994 known throughout the industry as the epicenter of military simulation.
Upon moving to Orlando, he performed lead engineering duties for Lockheed Marting integrating various simulator subsystems for some of the most demanding military applications such as military special operations and the US Army main collective training system known as Close Combat Tactical Trainer (CCTT). Mr. Abascal has continued to support this institutional US Army combat training system for nearly 30 years with installations across the continental United States and throughout the world.
With the advent of PC graphics technology and the realization of the potential for its wide spread application, Mr. Abascal decided to launch Applied Visual Technology, Inc. in 1998. Applied Visual Technology, Inc. (also known as AVT Simulation). AVT Simulation is dedicated to the application of visual technology for man-in-the-loop applications where the primary sensory stimulus is visual. Since its inception, AVT Simulation has evolved into a full spectrum systems integration company covering the myriad of technical disciplines of engineering and technical expertise focused on simulation and training systems. Expertise includes support of legacy institutional training systems and the development of new next generation training solutions. Focus on reducing operating costs related to the logistical support and ease of use to provide long term solutions for flexible scalability and capability expansion throughout the training system life cycle.
Mr. Abascal has concentrated on the advancements in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to develop cost-effective, high fidelity training simulators and software architectures to rapidly integrate or upgrade training systems with little downtime. His leadership role as Founder and Chief Strategic Officer of AVT Simulation facilitates constant contact with the user community to understand the demands in satisfying their training requirements.
Mr. Abascal and AVT Simulation has been recognized by several leading publishers and organizations. Mr. Abascal has successfully launched several companies and continues to explore new opportunities through strategic partnerships to address emerging technology applications. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He enjoys spending time with his family and several grand children and his hobbies include restoration of classic cars and fishing when time allows.
The National Center for Simulation (NCS) is a non-profit national organization with government, academic and industry members operating as an open consortium. NCS serves as the nation’s focal point and catalyst for the development, understanding, and advancement of simulation and related technologies and strives to improve defense readiness and facilitate space exploration, to support education and training initiatives, and to extend useful applications of simulation. Additionally, NCS promotes coordination, collaboration, and public awareness for its national and international member organizations.
The modeling, simulation, and training industry has the potential to improve every aspect of life in this nation, on this planet, and beyond, but the solutions Modeling, Simulation, and Training (MS&T) can provide are only possible when the industry’s value is clearly communicated, and its members are united in collaboration. Having spent my entire career immersed in MS&T, I firmly believe that NCS is the cornerstone of our community’s growth and success. This has been continuously reinforced through firsthand experience as an active member of the NCS Board of Directors. During my tenure on the Board— which began in 2006—I have been Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Chair, and Chair of the Board as well as an active participant of the Hall of Fame, Public Relations, Workforce and Education, Development, Budget and Audit, and Executive Committees. My journey with NCS also includes chairing the inaugural NCS Hall of Fame committee, and I have actively supported STEM initiatives on behalf of NCS both personally and through my company.
As our industry thrives through NCS, I consider it a personal responsibility to add as much value to the organization as my years of experience allow. My career history has equipped me to factor in the goals and perspectives of our members at every level, from support staff to board members, individual teams and departments to entire businesses large and small. As SIMETRI—the company I founded in 2009— continues to grow, I channel the professional development I’ve gained from collaboration with academia, industry, and the government back into my work with NCS. The opportunities which allow my company to succeed inspire me to give back to the communities that afford them, leading to ample non-profit Board service experience spanning numerous organizations in Central Florida. My position as Chair of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors allowed me to strengthen our region’s broad- based prosperity and advocate on behalf of the MS&T industry.
My time as an NCS Board member has allowed me to be one small part of the grand MS&T story, to help set the stage for current and future innovators to freely conceive previously unimagined solutions with the support of a boundless industry. I remain grateful for my years of service and would be honored to be re-elected so that I may continue to serve with passion, purpose, and humility.
Kyle has lived in Central Florida since 1999 and graduated from University of Central Florida in 2006. He met his wife Anna at UCF and has been married since 2006. He has 3 kids and currently lives in Ocoee.
Kyle has been in the banking industry since 2001. He worked at Bank of America for 20 years and currently has been working at Regions Bank since 2022. For the past 16 years Kyle has worked in the Business Banking / Commercial Banking segments supporting companies across Central Florida.
As a Commercial Banking Relationship Manager Kyle supports business owners and C suite to achieve their strategic business goals. This can be accomplished through Treasury Management services, Credit Facilities and partnerships with Private Wealth Management Teams, Institutional Servcies or M&A advisory.
Personally, Kyle is very active with his local church, HighPoint, where he has been a member since 2008 ; serving as an Elder, Small Group Leader and Service team leader.
Dolly Rairigh Glass is a champion of many passions, bringing her energy and advocacy to every endeavor she undertakes. Among her many commitments, she has been a steadfast advocate for the modeling, simulation & training (MS&T) industry for more than a decade. Throughout her career in the industry, Dolly has played a key role in telling the stories of MS&T through various marketing and communication channels, ensuring that the industry’s impact and innovations are effectively communicated and understood by a broader audience.
Currently serving as the director of marketing at Mass Virtual, Dolly leads the company’s strategic marketing initiatives in the rapidly evolving XR industry. Her extensive experience in brand development, social media strategy, special event coordination, and content creation is helping to enhance Mass Virtual’s presence and deepen its connection with clients across various sectors. Before joining Mass Virtual, Dolly was the VP of operations at Capital Communications & Consulting, where she oversaw comprehensive marketing and communications strategies for the firm’s clients and managed Team Orlando News.
Dolly is deeply committed to giving back to her community, which is evident in her volunteer work with the Central Florida Navy League and the I/ITSEC Serious Games Showcase & Challenge. Beyond her contributions to the MS&T industry, she also serves as a national leader for Delta Delta Delta women’s organization and is an avid supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
In all her endeavors, Dolly prioritizes building strong relationships and fostering trust. Her ability to unite diverse groups—from government and industry to community organizations—enables her to bring valuable insights and a passionate voice to every project she supports. Whether advocating for the MS&T community or championing causes close to her heart, Dolly is committed to driving innovation, fostering collaboration, and strengthening the connections that lead to success.
Brian Holmes is running for re-election for the NCS Board of Directors because since 2009, his passion has helped the NCS continue its mission to support and expand the modeling and simulation community by promoting MS&T technology expansion, supporting education and workforce development, and providing support to its members.
With over 36 years of experience in the Simulation and Training Modeling, Simulation and Training (MS&T) Industry (including both Government and Industry positions), Brian Holmes leverages a wide range of disciplines and his unique ability to “think outside the box” to develop innovative solutions for both his employer and ultimately, the Warfighter. Brian is currently the President and Managing Partner of InnoVāxion Business Consulting, LLC, a consulting firm that provides Business Development, Capture Management, Bid and Proposal Management, and growth consulting services for Modeling, Simulation and Training (MS&T), Cybersecurity, Enterprise IT Services, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Geographical Information System (GIS) markets.
Brian’s journey in MS&T began at the University of Central Florida where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1988 and accepted a position with the Naval Training Systems Center (now the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division). After 5 years at NTSC, Brian accepted a position as a Lead Systems Engineer at the former Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Command (now known as Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation), becoming Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level III certified in both Systems Engineering and Program Management. During his Government service, he earned a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Central Florida with an emphasis in Simulation and Training.
Brian’s experience includes working with entire departments, teams, small groups, and individuals, at every level in an organization, from Boards of Directors and upper management to support staff. Brian has held positions as Project Engineer, Systems Engineer, Lead Engineer, Project/Program Manager, Capture Manager, Proposal Manager, Director of Operations and Vice President during his 35+ years in the MS&T Industry. In addition to his time with the Government, Brian has worked for the MS&T industry for both small and large businesses; and has collaborated with dozens of companies to develop solutions for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.
In 2009, Brian began a campaign of “giving back” to the MS&T community, becoming a member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Simulation (NCS) in late 2009. He expanded his commitment by serving as NCS Secretary from 2011-2013, NCS Treasurer from 2013-2015, NCS Vice Chair from 2015-2017, the Chairman of the NCS Board from 2017-2019, and the NCS Hall of Fame Committee Chair from 2019-2021.
In addition to those NCS leadership roles, Brian’s commitment to helping the NCS create the MS&T workforce of the future went into high gear in 2014, when he assumed the role of Co-chairman for the annual NCS-Lou Frey Institute Golf Tournament. Under his leadership, the tournament has netted $600K for NCS Scholarships and Civics Education in the eleven years since he took the reins. This additional funding has enabled the NCS to supercharge their scholarship and STEM initiatives, expanded the NCS Scholarship program to award $30,000 in annual scholarships for both university students and high school programs that promote STEM curricula. These scholarships are integral to the NCS’ core mission to develop and promote Modeling and Simulation as an Industry, a Profession, and a Graduate Program of Study.
Brian was the Treasurer when the NCS worked with the State of Florida to procure the John Hitt Partnership Complex in the UCF Research Park (aka the Partnership IV and Partnership V buildings) – It was a privilege to co-sign a check to purchase office space that has been very effective in defending the Orlando MS&T market from future Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) actions that would negatively impact the synergy and cost-effective efficiencies created by the cooperation between Industry and “Team Orlando”.
Brian’s campaign of giving back includes being active with other professional organizations within the community, including: the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), where he was the Conference Chair of I/ITSEC 2019 and is still active as a member of the I/ITSEC Council of Chairs and Training Subcommittee; member of the Advisory Board for Fairways for Warriors; former Vice President of Programs, Association of the US Army (AUSA) Sunshine Chapter; former President of the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) Central Florida Chapter; former member of the Navy League of Central Florida Board of Directors; former member of the Lone Sailor Memorial Orlando Committee; and an active participant with Best Buddies of Central Florida (including being honored as the 2016 and 2020 Best Buddies Champion of the Year for Central Florida).
In addition to his professional and charitable endeavors, Brian relishes time with his wife Christine and their Labradoodle Lola, as well as visits to see his son and daughter-in-law in Salt Lake City. Brian is passionate about golf, but also enjoys going to Crunch Fitness, cycling, fishing, surfing, traveling, and spending quality time with his family and friends.
Frank serves as DLH’s Medical Simulation Account Executive focusing on building the DLH portfolio in the simulation and training practices. Frank has over 30 years’ experience in the medical field in multiple areas to include advancing patient care on the battlefield, direct patient care in the hospital setting, instruction, and curriculum development. Twenty-one of these years were in service to the United States Army with various assignments that included combat operations in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. During this deployment he served as the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of an Army MEDEVAC detachment that was tasked to directly support the Special Operations Command during high-risk kinetic operations involving active warfare, including lethal force. He and his unit were the first Army MEDEVAC unit to conduct in-flight blood resuscitation and he is credited with being the first flight paramedic to perform an emergency escharotomy in flight under the remote direction of a trauma surgeon. He maintains active licensure and certifications and is currently a faculty member at The George Washington University. Mr. Karluk has been invited to speak at international conferences and has been a spokesperson within the Medical/ Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and high yield Explosives (CBRNE) community before the Joint Chiefs, and other high level governmental leadership post 9/11.
He holds a master’s degree in emergency and disaster management and graduated with high honors. He continues to share is experiences in the development of future medical simulation and training efforts and has been cited in multiple efforts that have expanded the abilities of a multidisciplinary practitioner community that includes medical providers both inside and outside the military. Most recently he managed the over $190M efforts within the Defense Health Agency, Medical Simulation portfolio, and designed and implemented curriculum within the U.S. Department of State, Special Agent training that was based on recent lessons learned during worldwide deployments into austere locations of conflict.
Christopher Kendall serves in the role of a Commercial Relationship Manager at Valley Bank in the Central Florida Market where he works with clients of all sizes, and at any stage in their development, with a focus on the MS&T and Technology space. With over 35 years of experience in the Central Florida market, he possesses a deep understanding of various industries and their financial requirements.
In addition to his professional achievements, he is actively involved in several non-profit organizations including Second Harvest Food Bank, Special Olympics, and Jobs Partnership of Florida where he volunteers as a Coach. He also serves as a missionary and the Treasurer for Partners 4 Global Health, a non-profit organization that provides short term medical trips to the Caribbean. He has held the position of President in his HOA for the past 8 years. Furthermore, his commitment to community service is evident through his role as the Chairman of the Deacons at Lake Baldwin Church. His dedication to fitness is evident in the 16 marathons he has run around the world. Chris and his wife Elizabeth live in East Orlando with their two Bernese Mountain Dogs.
Mr. Kenney services as Senior Vice President and Corporate Chief of Staff for DLH. He brings an extensive background with Department of Defense and Federal Government Program Management, Test & Evaluationand BusinessDevelopment projects and leads the company Emerging Technology initiatives.
Mr. Kenney’s U.S. Air Force career included assignments as a test engineer for air combat training systems, program manager for military simulation systems and Program Element Monitor at HQ. USAF for Command, Control, Communications Advanced Systems and advanced radar research and development.
Mr. Kenney brings more than 35 years of industry experience in leadership roles of engineering services organizations in both domestic and international markets for Fortune 100 Companies, mid-size and small businesses. He has served as the chairman of Research and Development committees and the corporate leader for modeling and simulation market initiatives in Fortune 100 companies in addition to special assignments in industry as the Associate Director of the Maui High Performance Computing Center in Hawaii. Prior to joining DLH Mr. Kenney served as President of a commercial energy engineering group that provided specialized modeling, simulations, control room simulators and engineering services for commercial Power Generation customers around the world. His extensive experience brings innovative business perspectives and a broad technology base.
Mr. Kenney has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology with over 50 hours of graduate study. In addition, he has attended numerous industry executive courses in leadership, project management and quality processes. Kenney served as a member of the Board for the Center for Advanced Engineering and Research in Virginia, as well as, a member of the Board for Central Virginia Community College. He was appointed to the Governor’s Modeling and Simulation Advisory Council for the Commonwealth of Virginia and elected as Chairman of the Advisory Council working for the Secretary of Technology.
Dan Ketchen is a Modeling, Simulation, and Training business growth professional with decades of experience selling and supporting technology solutions. In 2015, Mr. Ketchen founded Technology Associates and Products, LLC (TAP) to apply his experience in customer-focused, consultative sales and sales enablement to the unique technology furnace that is Orlando. Mr. Ketchen has built a steady career of increasing achievement, distinguishing himself as a business development manager, account executive, capture manager, technical writer, proposal manager, project manager, staff manager, analyst, and management consultant, with success in Government and commercial contracting.
At TAP, Mr. Ketchen leads the company’s mission to provide on-demand growth services, including marketing, strategic communications, sales, business development, capture, and proposal support to Modeling, Simulation, and Training companies. He has a special passion for working with small businesses and start-ups, enabling them to focus on developing their technologies instead of sales and marketing. By outsourcing growth functions to TAP, these companies stay focused on enhancing the thriving technology community in Orlando and beyond, to the world’s benefit.
NCS Board Candidacy
NCS plays a critical role in maintaining Orlando’s status as the global epicenter of the modeling and simulation world, as well as promoting Modeling, Simulation, and Training generally, providing tremendous value to members globally. I wish to continue serving on the NCS Board to build on NCS’ legacy. I have been an active Board Member, serving on the Golf Tournament, Education and Workforce, Strategic Planning, and Hall of Fame Committees. I assumed the role of Committee Chair for the B2B event in 2024, where our community gathered for a successful discussion on space exploration and how simulation can support it. I attend most Board Meetings and official NCS events, as I feel it is important to be an active member of the Board. I wish to expand my contribution and have an even greater impact on NCS’s success. Perhaps most importantly, I have used my current role as a consultant and NCS Board Member in our great industry to bring new members into NCS, including companies outside of Orlando (and even OCONUS) that wish to do business here. I believe we must continuously inject new membership into NCS to keep it thriving—on pace with the incredible technology our community produces. As a Board Member, this will continue to be my passion. I ask for your vote to continue serving this organization and our community.
As the Director of Business Development and Innovative Projects, Rachelle Khoury is committed to advancing our community through strategic initiatives in business and community engagement. Her primary objective is to build a robust network of individuals and businesses, fostering mutual growth while driving both economic and social progress within the community.
Rachelle’s dedication to supporting community and small businesses has significantly contributed to her influence in the Central Florida business landscape. She is actively engaged with the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, the Oviedo Winter Springs Chamber of Commerce, and The National Center for Simulation. Together with the Managing Partner of Edwards Financial Services, Jason Edwards, Rachelle takes pride in continuing their ongoing support for the Central Florida Criminal Justice Association and its vital efforts to ensure the safety of our community.
Rachelle brings a unique blend of experience and innovation. She combines professionalism and a relentless pursuit of excellence with the fresh perspectives of a young woman navigating a new era of business and leadership.
Bill “Roto” Reuter grew up in Key West, Florida, and graduated from the University of Florida in 1984 where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering and was commissioned through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Program.
Roto dreamed of flying in space since witnessing first-hand the Apollo 11 moonshot, but instead become a Navy strike-fighter pilot and lead test pilot having commanded the Strike Flight Test Squadron (VX-23) before his assignment in 2008. Roto then reported to the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division’s Executive Officer and subsequently the Commanding Officer from 2010-2012. During his tenure, Roto led the 1200-personnel this command through the most transformational change in its 65-year history, from a fixed-funding fiscal model to a working capital fund model while leading and instituting the Four Disciplines of Execution and the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership as part of a holistic strategy to develop people in order to scale the organization’s execution and its mission accomplishment.
Upon his retirement in June 2012 after 28 years of Naval service, Roto founded R-Squared Solutions LLC, a full-spectrum consulting firm specializing in leadership and executive coaching, high-performing organizational development, and DoD/federal industry business development.
Leveraging his partnerships with world-renowned authors and speakers such as John Maxwell and Patrick Lencioni, Roto has successfully coached leadership teams in dynamic organizations in the fields of leadership, execution and organizational health with clients that include both small and large businesses in defense, federal and commercial sectors.
Roto has over 3,000 hours of flight time in 33 different aircraft, of which more than 2,100 are in the F/A-18. He has been awarded two Legion of Merits, two Meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medals and the Navy Achievement Medal. His degrees include a Master’s and Post-Master’s (Engineer’s Degree) in Aerospace Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Master’s in Business Administration from IMPAC University. He is a member of The Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
Roto is very committed to the serving the Central Florida community and is involved in a variety of organizations, which focus on the community’s growth, veteran well-being, and support of the Navy to name a few. He serves on several Boards of Directors including the Navy League Council of Central Florida while serving as Past President of the Samaritan Resource Center for the homeless and the Past President of Florida Defense Contractors Association. In 2018, he was honored to be inducted into the Florida Veteran’s Hall of Fame.
Skilled in strategy development, cross-functional team leadership, evaluating operative accomplishments, and training. I have a background in working with federal programs as well as cybersecurity inspections and compliance. I have a demonstrated history of process improvement and performance to drive revenue and achieve program and operational goals. I am a CMMC-AB Registered Practitioner (RP) and earned a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) focused in Management and Leadership from Rollins College – Crummer Graduate School of Business.
EDUCATION
Bachelors Degree
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
8/2020 – Current • Fortress Information Security
Director, Federal Partnerships & Programs
6/2013 – 8/2020 • Rollins College
Associate Director of Admission
(Interim Director, Graduate Admission 9/2018-6/2019)
6/2012 – 6/2013 • US Navy (Contractor)
Research Psychologist – Training Division
NCS Vision:
Marni is a tax principal with more than 30 years of tax experience in public accounting, focusing on closely held businesses and their individual owner’s tax returns. She is also a certified Exit Planner, working with business owner to strategize their transition of leadership and/or ownership. Marni’s background includes directly overseeing the planning, performance, and review of tax engagements. She works throughout the year with her clients for tax consultation, cash flow planning and innovative tax solutions. Marni has strong working knowledge of federal and local tax methods specific to the manufacturing industry.
Experience Serving Clients:
Marni’s primary focus is serving owners of privately held businesses and their individual tax returns. She often advises on multi-state and municipality tax issues and strategies. She is the research and development tax credit liaison for the Orlando office, working to actively identify clients that will benefit from CLA research and development tax credit studies. Her industry focus has been with the CLA manufacturing and distribution team.
Professional Associations:
Board Memberships:
Education:
Awards Received:
NCS Vision:
I have been in Central Florida since 1985, attending and then graduating from the University of Central Florida. In my professional career, I have become involved in the modeling, simulation, and training industry as I began to have more clients in this realm. I have been an active member of the NCS Board of directors since 2012 and, although my profession is not specifically in MS&T, I have become an advocate and ambassador for the MS&T community because I recognize the impact this capability has for both our national defense and our regional economy. During my tenure on the NCS Board I have been an active participant of the Budget and Audit Committee, offering my assistance as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a strategic leader. I consider NCS to be an important part of our community and am immensely proud of our accomplishments since joining the NCS Board of Directors. I leverage my service across our community through involvement with the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, UCF Incubator, and the Manufacturing of Central Florida board, all to broaden the NCS role and impact in our community at large. NCS has me as a standing executive board member to bring my unbiased business acumen to this association.
I serve many clients in the MS&T industry and continue to commit to leverage my professional, unbiased experience in support of NCS initiatives such as education and workforce development, economic diversification, outreach efforts, and growth. We have already accomplished so much at NCS, and I look forward to working further with fellow board members to make our strategic vision a reality.
Ms. Janet Spruill is Executive Vice President at Aptima, Inc., a small business that specializes in human performance research and engineering. In her role, Ms. Spruill guides the transition of mature and high-impact technologies into government programs, guides business strategy planning and execution, and leads Aptima’s Orlando operations. She excels at opening new markets, maintaining keen competitive awareness and posture, and transitioning innovations from lab to field. She brings over 25 years’ experience serving as a trusted advisor to government and commercial leaders and growing and leading modeling, simulation, training (MS&T) and human capital programs across DoD, Intelligence, Federal, and Commercial sectors. Janet has particular expertise in conceptualizing and operationalizing a range of AI-based learning solutions to provide time and cost efficiencies and to considerably accelerate time to competency for the federal and defense workforce.
Why I want to continue to serve on the NCS Board: I am excited at the prospect of continuing my tenure on the NCS Board. I have just completed my second 3-year term, and for the past three years I have served on the NCS Executive Committee as Treasurer and now Vice Chair. When I first ran for an NCS Board seat in 2018, it was with the goal of applying my work experience to help promote and increase the transition and transfer of MS&T technologies into areas where they can have the greatest impact. Within my first few months on the Board, I stood up a new committee to review and refresh the NCS Strategic Plan, where we worked with key stakeholders to define a new long-term vision and goals aligned with helping NCS to increase support to the community and its value to NCS members. That NCS Strategic Plan 2021-2026 continues to guide and focus Board activities and priorities for facilitating MS&T innovation, supporting public policies that promote the development and growth of MS&T, and developing and growing both the MS&T workforce and the industrial base.
In 2021, I stood up a new Technology Transfer and Transition Committee to address the strategic goal of aggressively promoting and supporting MS&T technology transition through interdisciplinary and business-to-business events. Our committee organized, and I moderated, a live panel and Business-to-Business (B2B) networking event as one of our industry’s first “back to business” events. This event has continued each year, with growing participation and is helping to directly supported the goal of increasing ways for small and disadvantaged businesses to be introduced to large companies for teaming and mentoring. Planning for this year’s event is well underway.
In January 2024, I took the position of NCS Board Vice Chair. In that role, I am also chairing the NCS Membership Committee, where we continue to explore how we can return value to our members and increase the visibility and impact of NCS across our industry. I conducted outreach activities, and we have initiated no-fee events for member companies, as well as continuing to explore how to better communicate the NCS member value.
My career has been spent supporting training and simulation programs across DoD, as well as in the Civilian government and Commercial sectors, providing me a rich set of experience and insights about policy, operational priorities and requirements. In my EVP role at Aptima, I am squarely focused on ensuring our research-based technologies and capabilities make their way into the hands of our warfighters, medical personnel, and first responders – those who need it most. This experience has equipped me well to serve our MS&T stakeholders by helping to improve how we bridge the research-operations gap. My interest has never been to simply sit on a Board; instead, I hope to continue to actively use my experience and passion for MS&T to further the mission of the NCS.
Dan Ward, APR, CPRC, is president of Curley & Pynn, leading a team of talented professionals providing advice and counsel to a wide range of clients, and offering experience in issues management, strategic communications, publicity and community relations.
An accredited member of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) – whose Orlando Chapter named him the 2013 PR Professional of the Year for Career Excellence – and Public Relations Society of America, for which he served as president of the Orlando Regional Chapter in 2004, Dan has practiced public relations in Florida for more than 30 years. He earned FPRA’s highest designation as a Certified Public Relations Counselor (CPRC) in 2014.
Dan has been with Curley & Pynn since 1995, and today directs the firm’s strategic communications and marketing programs and the teams that implement them, supervising programs for clients in the electric and natural gas utility, higher education, economic development, and insurance industries.
Dan came to Curley & Pynn from the public relations division of Ypartnership (now MMGY Global), where he managed publicity programs for such clients as the SSC Radisson Diamond cruise ship, Radisson Hotels International, Disney Institute, Hotel del Coronado, the Island of Saint Maarten and Premier Cruise Lines’ Big Red Boat.
He is a proud graduate of the University of Central Florida, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with honors in Journalism in 1992. He remains actively involved with the university, serving on the advisory board for the Nicholson School of Communication and Media, which inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2011. He also serves on the board of directors for Jonathan’s Landing, which is building the most comprehensive intentional community for adults with autism. Dan is a former board chair of UCF ALUMNI.
Dan and his wife, Rae, have two children: Megan and Makenna.
