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Colleen Copley

@colleencopley

Senior Program Manager at Air Force Life Cycle Management Center who shaped a $3.2B contract award and attracted 63 vendors.

United States

Message

At Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, I directed a $132M annual Air Dominance Architectures portfolio and led a 38-person cross-functional team. The work culminated in a $3.2B contract award, and a first-of-its-kind Commercial Solutions Opening attracted 63 vendors.

At Air Force Research Laboratory, I managed a $100M budget across three development programs. I led technical evaluation and negotiation for two procurements totaling $78M, completed ahead of schedule and $22M under budget.

Earlier at Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, I managed a propulsion development program valued at over $1B and negotiated a $9.6M contract modification that generated $960M in projected sustainment cost savings. I bring a government-side perspective on federal procurement, proposal evaluation, and how customers define requirements and make award decisions.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Senior Program Manager – Air Dominance Architectures

Current

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

Aug 2025 - Present (1 year 1 month)

Directed full life cycle execution of a Modular Open System Approach (MOSA) portfolio, leading a 38-person cross-functional team with a $132M annual budget. Drove unified technical strategy culminating in a $3.2B contract award and defended program baseline against congressional budget cuts.

Program Management MOSA Market Research Proposal Evaluation Stakeholder Management Budget Management Team Leadership

Senior Program Manager – Air Mission Integration

Air Force Research Laboratory

Nov 2023 - Aug 2025 (1 year 9 months)

Led program management for a 70-person mission integration team, managing a $100M budget and cost/schedule/technical performance across three concurrent development programs. Restructured organization into cross-functional scrum teams and directed competitive evaluation for two procurements totaling $78M.

Program Management Agile Scrum Proposal Evaluation Budget Management Cross functional Leadership

Financial Manager (Career Broadening)

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

Aug 2021 - Nov 2023 (2 years 3 months)

Managed a $3.3B annual RDT&E appropriation, building and executing the program budget baseline ahead of OSD milestones. Led internal audit of a $2.8B program budget and authored statement of work for a $150M contract award.

Financial Management Budgeting Audit Sourcing Proposal Evaluation Mentorship

Program Manager – Propulsion System Integration

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

Jul 2018 - Aug 2021 (3 years 1 month)

Served as lead Program Manager for a propulsion development program valued at over $1B, owning cost, schedule, and technical baselines. Negotiated contract modifications and implemented Rolling Wave planning, improving milestone visibility by 200%.

Program Management Contract Negotiation Risk Management Integrated Master Schedules Rolling Wave Planning

Project Manager – Commander's Action Group

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

Jun 2017 - Jul 2018 (1 year 1 month)

Managed customer and executive engagement for a Center commander, facilitating 132 government/industry executive meetings and executing 96 tasks on schedule. Authored executive speech and coordinated conferences with SES/GO-level stakeholders.

Executive Engagement Event Coordination Communication Skills Stakeholder Management

Associate Project Manager – Foreign Military Sales

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

Sep 2016 - Jun 2017 (9 months)

Led a $9.9B Letter of Offer and Acceptance case for 36 F-15 aircraft and support equipment, coordinating waivers and approvals across five agencies. Managed contract line items, pricing, and case amendments across 160 lines.

Foreign Military Sales Contract Management Pricing Case Management Coordination

Assistant Project Manager – MQ-9 Ground Control Station

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center

Sep 2015 - Sep 2016 (1 year)

Managed engineering change proposals and modification requests for an ACAT I program, briefing at the O-6 level. Led a $12M training software development effort and established branch-wide modification request processes, improving efficiency by 50%.

Engineering Change Management Project Management Software Development Process Improvement