Page 6 - The MIL Connection_ Summer 2017

The Patuxent Partnership Conference Salesforce World Tour

The Cyber Sector’s Ken Wang and Rick Miller represented MIL The Salesforce World Tour made a pit stop in Washington DC on
at a recent Patuxent Partnership conference, which took place April 4th. MIL attendees like Alex Tzavellas, Practice Marketing
in Solomons, MD on June 28th. MIL was one of only seven Manager, had the opportunity to network and attend Breakout
organizations exhibiting at the conference whose program’s (“Building and Better World”) Sessions to learn how customers,
theme, Identifying Solutions to Warfighter Challenges through partners, and product experts are using Salesforce to connect to
Technology and Innovation, focused primarily on warfighter their customers in a whole new way. The event’s speakers included
technologies and products. The Patuxent Partnership was honored Marc Benioff, Chairman & CEO, Salesforce, and Parker Harris,
to present two highly accomplished keynote speakers, Dr. David Co-Founder, Salesforce, as well as other special guest speakers.
E. Walker, Director of Technology for the Office of Naval Research
and Dr. Robert Caret, Chancellor of the University System of
Maryland, as well as closing remarks by NAVAIR’s Rear Admiral
Mark Darrah of the Program Executive Officer for Unmanned
Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO(U&W)). The program also
featured four moderated panels for discussions among industry,
academia, and government attendees. The panelists discussed
views on fostering innovation at Pax River, moving technology to
commercialization, government/industry/academic collaboration,
as well as ways to cultivate “outside the box” thinking.
According to The Patuxent Partnership, a non-profit member
organization combining government, industry, and academia,
its members work collaboratively on its mission to “advance
education through STEM based initiatives, to advance technology
through speaker programs and networking, to advance science
and technology transfer through the exchange of ideas,
information and data related to technologies, and to foster
workforce development through an array of initiatives.”

EMployee stories

Autumn Banks to serve as NAF her passion and experience as Program Manager of the ITA
Workforce Development program and as a NAF Alum. Autumn
IT Advisory Board Co-Chair for will embark on her third year of managing the ITA Workforce
Development program this summer. This year ITA will host 23
D.C. Chapter students from McKinley Tech High School and the University
of District Columbia. Autumn will serve as Co-chair for the
MIL staffer Autumn Banks has 2017/2018 school term.
accepted the position of Co-
chairperson of the National Masters of the scrum universe!
Academy Foundation (NAF),
Information Technology (IT) Several members of MIL’s Department of Commerce,
Industry Advisory board International Trade Administration staff were recently certified
Washington, DC chapter. NAF as Certified Scrum Masters (CSM), among them Emily Ford and
advisory boards provide an essential Natalie Robinson. For those not in-the-know, Scrum Masters
bridge between schools and the serve as facilitators for agile development teams. As in rugby, a
workplace. Businesspeople and scrummage (scrum for short!) is a method of restarting game
community leaders volunteer on local advisory boards to play play where team members pack closely together with their heads
an active role in developing their future workforce by shaping down and attempt to gain possession of the ball. In the agile
talent in high school. Advisory board members collaborate with development world, developers are the participants that put their
educators to inform curricula and help organize work-based heads together (instead of down) to try and advance the project
learning activities. Advisory boards give students the opportunity forward as quickly as possible. Scrum teams “restart” play every
to build relationships with mentors early and learn from day at the guidance of the Scrum Master who huddles the team
successful adults. together every morning to recap and review progress and set the
agenda and goals for the day.
Currently serving as a board member alongside Joe Paiva, CIO of
International Trade Administration (ITA), Autumn has worked Congratulations and well done to MIL’s newest Certified Scrum
with the NAF IT DC Chapter for the past two years bringing Masters!

6 | The mil connection | summer 2017