ARLINGTON, Va. –
My DCMA showcases the Defense Contract Management Agency’s experienced and diverse workforce and highlights what being a part of the national defense team means to them. Today we meet Ebony Barnes, one of the agency’s COVID Response Task Force volunteers.
My name is Ebony Barnes, and this is “My DCMA.”
I am the portfolio manager for the Air Force Team, which is a part of the Portfolio Management and Business Integration division out of the National Capital Region.
I conduct key interface duties at the strategic level with the Air Force Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, as well as Acquisition and Sustainment customers. This provides agency insight across a portfolio containing high-priority Air Force Programs. My main duties supporting this mission consist of providing data utilized for addressing risks, issues and gaining corporation insight. This information is then used in briefings for assessing acquisition strategies, as well as completing assessments and out-briefs for decision execution.
I also consult with my Air Force customers on their program’s health based on collective DCMA analyses and recommendations, which results in becoming a member of reoccurring working groups with those customers.
I have been with the agency for over five years, but have more than 15 years of acquisition experience. I began my government career in 2005 with the Air Force and held program management and logistics management positions on high- visible Acquisition Category designation programs and subsets. I have a Master’s of Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. I have also achieved Program Management and Logistics Management Level III certification.
I entered DCMA in 2015 after completing a Career Broadening opportunity with the Air Force.
Earlier this year, I volunteered for the Joint Acquisition Task Force to assist with Department of Defense COVID-19 response. I was one of 10 DCMA employees selected to serve on the task force and I was assigned as lead action officer for ventilator support. Our specific team was responsible for helping shape DoD’s response to the global pandemic emergency. We support the mission by ensuring the point of need for ventilators, masks, pharmaceuticals, syringes, screening and diagnostic equipment. We also provide data analytics to support the research of availability, functionality and usage of medical equipment and personal protective equipment.
This mission has been very humbling. Many have lost their lives and the offset of those results has been challenging. Supporting this mission with my teammates and working with Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Health and Human Services personnel has been intense and rewarding.
We stepped outside of our comfort zone and provided tangible results by laying out the foundation for this real-time response, mitigation and recovery to life-threatening challenges COVID-19 presented.