Page 9 - The MILConnection Spring 2022

Earning a black belt in quality

MIL is pleased to announce that on Control (ASQ), a Six Sigma black belt denotes an individual
February 12th, MIL team member is prepared to lead problem-solving projects and to train and
Jeff Suhanick, a Senior AVP and coach project teams.
Operations Manager at NIST, received
With the skills developed through Six Sigma, Jeff is better able
a Six Sigma Black Belt in Government
to analyze, develop, and improve client operations. Six Sigma’s
certification from the Avent Business
different techniques help establish a model for continual
Institute. Jeff’s certification denotes
improvement of the products and services MIL provides. These
his proficiency in the Council for Six
enhancements help result in uniform and consistent processes
Sigma’s curriculum—the Council is the
(which results in time and cost savings to the client), a greater
organization that establishes official industry standards for Six
quality of deliverables (less defects), and a higher level of
Sigma accreditation.
customer satisfaction (and happy customers always return for
If you’re asking yourself, what exactly is Six Sigma? The more!) The actual certification and training help Jeff to foster a
Council for Six Sigma defines it as a set of “business tools, culture for improvement and shows current and potential new
statistical theory, and quality control knowledge that helps customers that he is dedicated to that effort.
improve your business procedures,” with the goal to eliminate
Congratulations to Jeff for achieving this milestone
“inconsistency, waste, and defects that challenge customer
certification!
loyalty.” And according to the American Society for Quality

Promotions

At MIL, we offer each team member an individualized career path to professional growth and development within the company.
This year, we recognize the achievements of a number of highly accomplished staff members. We are pleased to announce the
following promotions:

Corporate – Recruiting Global Financial Services - DC

Isabelle Ardelean is promoted to Assistant Vice President. Alex LaPiana is promoted to Quality Assurance, Associate.
Isabelle recently celebrated her fifth anniversary with MIL. Upon joining the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic
Initially hired as a Sourcer to MIL’s Recruiting team, Isabelle Security (DS) project, Alex was a key asset supporting DS
was rapidly promoted to Recruiter where she primarily Reimbursements. Alex took the opportunity to learn more
supported DC/MD/VA project teams. Over the subsequent about the client and their business processes, earning the trust
years, Isabelle has demonstrated her leadership acumen, of the client very quickly. He was than able to take his skill
expanding her support to all business areas as recruiting sets and apply them to the reporting team, quickly showing
needs expanded. Isabelle’s promotion to AVP provides her he could once again provide the high level support the client
the opportunity to lead MIL’s recruiting team to exceptional was looking for. In the short amount time he has been on the
service for all project teams through extensive collaboration. DS project, he has proven himself time and time again taking
on more responsibilities. Alex has also been instrumental
in supporting MIL team leads so they can focus on more
Federal Financial Services functional leadership, while he continues to support the
reporting team and other technologies.
Benjamin Bejune is promoted to Grants Analysis, Analyst.
Joyce Tavares is promoted to Financial Consulting, Analyst. Ben joined MIL in 2020 as a Grants Analysis, Junior Analyst
Joyce joined MIL full-time in 2020, after serving as a summer supporting the State Department’s Bureau of Population,
intern in 2019. After joining our financial system testing team Refugees, and Migration, Office of the Comptroller. Ben
supporting the Legislative Branch, Joyce quickly became a key understands the closeout process and its importance to the
resource for the client. She has taken on testing responsibilities Bureau, and he does an excellent job of following up. Being
for core aspects of the financial system and identified multiple the most senior (timewise), Ben assists other members of
issues to be addressed by the vendor. Her initiative and the team, explaining issues that he has already dealt with or
preparation have demonstrated the ability to deliver results
and insights for our client. winter 2022 | the MIL connection | 9