ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Terrence M. O’Connor, LL.M., is director of government contracts for the law firm of Berenzweig Leonard, LLP, in McLean, Virginia. He has practiced government contract law for more than 40 years. After graduating from Notre Dame Law School, he began practicing law at the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington, D.C., and later moved to the Appalachian Regional Commission.

After 15 years as a federal government attorney, Mr. O’Connor went into private practice as a government contract litigation attorney. He has tried government contract cases before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and various boards of contract appeals (BCAs), including the ASBCA and the CBCA as well as some of its predecessors: the GSBCA, DOTBCA, AGBCA, IBCA, and VABCA. Mr. O’Connor has also litigated government contract protests before the Government Accountability Office (GAO). He received his Master of Laws (Government Procurement) degree from The George Washington University Law Center.

His publications include Understanding Government Contract Law and Federal Procurement Ethics: The Complete Legal Guide. He also writes a monthly column on recent court, GAO, and BCA decisions for the Federal Acquisition Report. Since 1985, he has been an instructor for Management Concepts, Inc., teaching classes such as Advanced Federal Contract Law, Construction Contracting, and Federal Real Property Lease Law. He also conducts training sessions for the National Contract Management Association (NCMA).

Dr. Mary Ann P. Wangemann, CPCM, PMP, has worked in the government marketplace for the last 25 years. She runs her own training and consulting practice to help companies navigate the federal marketplace. In addition, she is on the faculty of several universities. Prior to that, she was responsible for the Management Concepts, Inc., Federal Acquisition Certification–Project/Program Management product line. Previously, she started up mySBX to help connect small businesses together to work on federal business opportunities (now operating under GovWin). She spent 20 years with Electronic Data Systems (EDS), managing programs and working in every aspect of federal procurement and contract performance: strategic planning, marketing, sales support, proposal development, business management, contracts administration, technical and management solution development and delivery, and contract startup and shutdown. As an EDS Fellow, she evaluated technology and business trends, set strategic direction, evaluated intellectual property, and provided thought leadership at EDS.

Dr. Wangemann holds a doctoral degree in human resource management from The George Washington University. Her dissertation, Executive Decision Making in an Organizational Learning Context, has been published internationally. She also holds a master’s degree in information systems and business administration from the Johns Hopkins University, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County, and a contract management certificate from the University of Virginia.

She received the National Contract Management Association’s National Education Award in 1996 and the Blanche Witte Award for Excellence in the field of contract management in 2000. She was named Outstanding Woman of Loudoun County in 2000 and an NCMA Fellow and Center for Excellence in Government Principal.