# Colleen Copley

Colleen Copley is a remote worker on Himalayas, Senior Program Manager – Air Dominance Architectures at Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, based in United States.

Source: https://himalayas.app/@colleencopley

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

| Detail | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Availability | Looking for a job |
| Location | United States |
| Authorized to work in | United States |
| Salary expectations | 200k+ USD |
| Job categories | Program Manager, Business Development Manager, Finance Manager, Project Manager |
| Skills | Program Management, Federal Procurement, Government Contracting, Opportunity Shaping, Competitive Analysis, Market Analysis, Proposal Evaluation, Sourcing, Teaming Strategy, Budget Management, Cost Schedule Performance, Risk Issue Opportunity (RIO) Management, Foreign Military Sales, Modular Open Systems Approach, Scrum |

## About

```text
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

### Senior Program Manager – Air Dominance Architectures (current)

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. Aug 2025 - Present

```text
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.
```

Skills: 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

```text
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.
```

Skills: 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

```text
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.
```

Skills: Financial-Management, Budgeting, Audit, Sourcing, Proposal-Evaluation, Mentorship

### Program Manager – Propulsion System Integration

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. Jul 2018 - Aug 2021

```text
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%.
```

Skills: 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

```text
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.
```

Skills: Executive-Engagement, Event-Coordination, Communication-Skills, Stakeholder-Management

### Associate Project Manager – Foreign Military Sales

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. Sep 2016 - Jun 2017

```text
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.
```

Skills: 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

```text
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%.
```

Skills: Engineering-Change-Management, Project-Management, Software-Development, Process-Improvement

## Education

### Department of Defense

Department of Defense Financial Management Level II, Financial Management

```text
Earned the Department of Defense Financial Management Level II certification in 2023.
```

### Air Command and Staff College

Air Command and Staff College, Military Leadership

```text
Completed the Air Command and Staff College program in 2020.
```

### Project Management Institute

Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management

```text
Earned the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in 2019.
```

### Squadron Officer School

Squadron Officer School, Military Leadership

```text
Completed the Squadron Officer School program in 2018.
```

### Department of Defense

Program Management: Practitioner (APDP Level II), Program Management

```text
Earned the Program Management: Practitioner (APDP Level II) certification in 2017.
```

### Wright State University

Master of Business Administration, Business Administration

```text
Earned a Master of Business Administration from Wright State University in 2015.
```

### Central Michigan University

Bachelor of Science in Education, Education

```text
Earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Central Michigan University in 2013.
```

## Tech stack

- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint

To contact Colleen, message them from this profile with a Himalayas employer account: [Hire on Himalayas](https://himalayas.app/hire).

## People also viewed

- [Alecia McGee](https://himalayas.app/@aleciamcgee): Senior Finance System and Process Strategy Analyst, Boeing
- [Timur Tsutsuk](https://himalayas.app/@timurtsutsuk): Practice Lead, Tetra Tech
- [Rob Pena](https://himalayas.app/@robpena): Senior Program Manager, KBR
- [Deanna Deeter](https://himalayas.app/@deannadeeter): Management and Program Analyst, Federal Emergency Management Agency
- [James Dooley](https://himalayas.app/@jamesdooley): Budget Analyst, KBR
- [Jonathan Smith](https://himalayas.app/@jonathansmith2): Program Manager, The Joint Staff
- [Michael Quinn](https://himalayas.app/@michaelquinn): Program Manager, LMI
- [Charles Blades](https://himalayas.app/@charlesblades): MAJ, Distribution Integrated Branch Officer, Army Reserve
- [Nakiesha Stevens](https://himalayas.app/@nakieshastevens): Vice President, Systems Engineering, BCT LLC
- [Levana Capria](https://himalayas.app/@levanacapria): Technical Program Manager, UserTesting Technologies Inc