MILWAUKEE –
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, Amy Zook shares her story.
My name is Amy Zook, and this is “My DCMA.”
I am a contract administrator with DCMA Chicago, and I am a member of the DCMA Milwaukee/South Bend, Indiana geosite team.
My job duties include contract administration responsibilities ranging from contract receipt and review, post award orientations, monitoring contractor performance, progress payment reviews, problem solving issues and making sure all administrative actions are complete in order to close out contracts.
I have been a part of the DCMA team for three years. I like working for the agency because I feel like I’m part of a team where everyone works together toward one goal – ensuring warfighters receive the best quality products on schedule and at a reasonable cost to the taxpayer.
One of the great things about working at my location is how well our team works together cross-functionally. The quality, contracting and manufacturing teams all work cohesively and receive great support from our administrative contracting officer, Radames “Ray” Gandia, along with Bill DeNolf, a quality supervisor.
DCMA is important to America’s warfighters because DCMA employees are the “boots on the ground,” serving as the eyes and ears of the government. Agency employees serves as the first line of defense against fraud, waste and abuse, and ensure a superior product is provided to the warfighter. In line with our new mission statement, I believe DCMA will continue to be a strong team of trusted professionals who really do deliver value to our warfighters with integrity, service and excellence.
I have seen the agency evolve over time. Even though I have only been with DCMA for three years, the pandemic changed many things; training classes moving to a virtual setting, maximum telework policies were put in place, and the workforce became more remote. The pandemic challenges created new opportunities and we have been able to connect more using Microsoft Teams for virtual meetings.
My current goal is to continue to learn and improve my job skills while staying informed of current trends and information in order to be as efficient as possible at my job. I would also like to learn more about non-procurement instruments, grants and other transactions’ agreements products in order to provide better contract administration services for these initiatives. My future career goals include working toward becoming a warranted administrative contracting officer and gaining more knowledge about the tools, products and instruments available.
My favorite hobbies include spending time with my husband, specifically camping with him and our dog. We adopted a rescue dog in December 2020 and decided to buy a travel trailer so that we could take him with us while we traveled.
Something unique about me is that my husband and I often dress up as pirates, and we enjoy going to renaissance festivals in Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio. We started a renaissance festival of our own in South Bend, Indiana in 2011, which still continues. We just celebrated the 10th anniversary of the festival in August.