Leadership
Chris Bennethum
Assistant Commissioner, AAS
Chris Bennethum is the Assistant Commissioner for GSA’s Office of Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS) within the Federal Acquisition Service (FAS). In this position, Mr. Bennethum is responsible for overseeing AAS’ delivery of over $9 billion in custom acquisition, project and financial management services, enabling customers’ missions worldwide. AAS specializes in complex, sensitive and mission-critical projects that are offered to federal clients on a fee-for-service basis through twelve nationally-located Client Support Centers (CSCs).
Previously, Mr. Bennethum served as the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for AAS. As Deputy Assistant Commissioner, he oversaw the AAS Portfolio’s business strategy and operations, systems development, acquisition policy, communications, financial management and workforce recruitment, development and engagement.
In his more than 25 years of service with various GSA components, Mr. Bennethum has held roles in several regional, central office and overseas locations. Some of his previous roles include serving as FAS Chief of Staff, Deputy Regional Commissioner for the National Capital Region, Director for GSA’s Travel and Transportation Northeast Zone, and Director for Marketing and Business Development in GSA’s European office.
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Corey Nickens
Deputy Assistant Commissioner, AAS
Corey Nickens is the Deputy Assistant Commissioner for GSA’s Assisted Acquisition Services (AAS) organization in the Federal Acquisition Service. Corey previously served as FEDSIM's Acquisition Quality Director overseeing acquisition lifecycle activities. Corey is a member of various professional organizations seeking to maximize collaboration and success among the public and private sectors, including the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC), the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), and the National Contract Management Association (NCMA). He has participated in and held leadership roles in ACT-IAC’s professional development programs as well as the Executive Leadership Conference (ELC). He was a recipient of the inaugural Federal Computer Week (FCW) Rising Star award.
Corey earned a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Drexel University and a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).
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Chris Hamm
FEDSIM Director
Chris Hamm is the Director for GSA FEDSIM where he oversees information technology and professional service contracts worth $7 billion. Mr. Hamm has over 15 years of experience in managing complex acquisitions and project delivery. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and panels on subjects including performance-based contracting, information technology service level agreements, and agile acquisition. He has been recognized as one of the "FED100" by Federal Computer Week and was Government Chair for the 2013 ACT IAC Partners Program.
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Michael Attachi
Region 1 Director
Michael Attachi is the AAS Director and Deputy Regional Commissioner for Region 1 (New England). Mr. Attachi advises on the strategic leadership direction for AAS and cultivates long term relationships with stakeholders to manage and grow a portfolio of over $380M. Previously, he was the Director of Contracting/Deputy Regional Commissioner for Region 1 Federal Acquisition Service and was responsible for the management of day-to-day operations for award lifecycle services. In the past, he was the Deputy Chief of Contracting for Cyber/Integration Division at Hanscom Air Force Base, an organization that delivers net-centric capabilities. He has also been part of the leadership team managing the Advisory and Assistance Services portfolio. Mr. Attachi began his federal career over 20 years ago at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) where he eventually became a warranted Contracting Officer before transferring to the U.S. Air Force.
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Theresa Ramos
Region 2 Director
Theresa Ramos is the AAS Director for Region 2 (Northeast and Caribbean). She has extensive acquisition experience spanning over 20 years. Ms. Ramos began her career in GSA as a Contract Specialist Trainee, before rising to positions of more responsibility including Director of Operations for both the Multiple Award Schedules program and the Global Supply program, and the Center Director of the Northeast Supply Operations Center. Currently Ms. Ramos is serving in a dual capacity as both the Region 2 Director of the Acquisition Oversight Division and Director of the Assisted Acquisition Services Division. She also serves as the FAS R2 Competition Advocate and Chairperson of the Regional Acquisition Board. Ms. Ramos holds a master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Management from Long Island University.
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Kari Santoro
Region 3 Director
Kari Santoro is the AAS Director for Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic). For nearly twenty years, Ms. Santoro has delivered high-impact acquisition solutions for IT and professional services from inception to completion. In her role as Director, she works with a team of specialists and the Director of the Acquisition Operations Division in support of multiple programs for the Department of Defense, defense agencies, and civilian agencies. Kari oversees 110 active orders with an aggregate ceiling of $4.16 Billion and total funded value of $1.93 billion at over 44 client organizations. In addition to GSA Region 3 and FEDSIM, Ms. Santoro’s career has included time with the FAA and TSA-OLE/FAMS contracting offices as well as developing contracts, designs, plans and specifications for engineering & infrastructure improvement projects for the USAF and the private sector.
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Teresa Carrington
Region 4 Director
Teresa Carrington is the AAS Director for Region 4 (Southeast Sunbelt), where she is responsible for full-service consulting and acquisition support for multiple federal agencies and contracts valued at over $3 billion. In her over 30 years of Federal and military service, Ms. Carrington has held a number of roles including AAS Deputy Director for Region 4 and Director of GSA National IT Commodity Program. She began her career through the Air Force Stay in School Program and Contracting Cooperative Internship Program, and upon graduation became a full-time public servant in the Air Force Contracting Copper Cap and Palace Acquire Leadership Programs. Ms. Carrington also served in the U.S. Army Reserve and Air Force Reserve where she quickly excelled in ranks to Technical Sergeant.
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Rodney Couick
Region 5 Director
Rodney Couick is the AAS Director for Region 5 (Great Lakes). He became Director in 2011 and manages a portfolio of more than 700 contracts with an annual obligated value of approximately $1 billion. He has been recognized with a Small Business Technology Council Champion of Small Business Commercialization Award and the Small Business Administration Tibbetts Award for his Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Program accomplishments. Previously, Mr. Couick served as Deputy Director of Engineering and Technical Management at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center and served for 29 years in the United States Air Force. He holds bachelor’s degrees in mathematics from High Point College and aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. At AFIT he also earned a master’s degree and doctorate in aeronautical engineering. He is certified at the highest level in four different defense acquisition DAWIA fields.
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Mark Johnson
Region 6 Director
Mark Johnson is the AAS Director for Region 6 (Heartland). He has over 20 years of experience as an acquisition professional. Prior to taking on the Director role, he served as a Supply Acquisition Branch Chief for GSA and Supply Branch Chief for the Veterans Administration. He has extensive experience supporting the needs of military clients, including from time in the United States Army. In addition to his professional accomplishments, he holds a master’s degree in Procurement and Acquisition Management.
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Latasha Goines
Region 7 Acting Director
Latasha M. Goines is currently serving as the Acting Director for AAS Region 7 (Greater Southwest). She has over 14 years of Federal experience as an acquisition professional and when not serving as Acting Director holds the role of Branch Chief. She is also a Major in the Louisiana Air National Guard with over 24 years of experience as a Personnel Management Officer with specialties in Staffing, Classification, and Organizational Structure. Ms. Goines's branch provides acquisition services to the Air Education and Training Command, Air Force Personnel Operations Agency, and the 502d Trainer Developer Squadron. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a minor Management from the University of New Orleans.
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Eric Loveridge
Region 8 Director
Eric Loveridge is the Director for GSA AAS Region 8 (Rocky Mountain). Mr. Loveridge comes to GSA AAS from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where he served as Director for the Western Field Contracting Operations office. He began his Federal career as an intern with the United States Navy, where he rotated through multiple naval R&D programs working primarily on cost type contracts. Later, he was an initial member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Selective Acquisition, where he supported the National Cyber Security Division. In 2012, Eric joined the Department of the Interior’s Acquisition Service Directorate as a Division Chief. He has also worked in the private sector at MITRE Corporation, a Federally Funded Research and Development Corporation, where he supported the DHS Intelligence & Analysis office and the FBI. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and a Master of Business Administration from Virginia Tech.
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B.J. Eldien
Region 9 Director
Ms. Eldien is the Director of the Assisted Acquisition Service (AAS) of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) in the Pacific Rim Region. She has extensive acquisition experience covering a multitude of roles, with multiple agencies, spanning 30 years. She supported multiple deployments to Iraq, Qatar, and Afghanistan as the Deputy Director of Policy for the Combined-Joint Theater Support Contracting Command. She also served as the Director of Policy for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supporting operations in more than 20 contracting offices supporting operations in 133 countries. She joined the GSA team as the Director of Contracting for the Pacific Rim in 2016 to support the Assisted Acquisition Service function. In 2018 she went on to become the Director of Assisted Acquisition Service for GSA Region 9.
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Kimberly McFall
Region 10 Director
Kimberly McFall is the AAS Director for Region 10 (Northwest Arctic). She has more than 27 years of contracting experience starting as a Contract Specialist with the Department of Defense and continuing to numerous contracting officer and supervisory contracting officer positions at GSA. Her wide-ranging expertise includes serving as a subject matter expert on professional services for federal agencies and experience leading complex negotiations. Ms. McFall received a FAS Excellence in Performance Award, a Coalition for Government Procurement Special Achievement Award and a Seattle Federal Executive Board Public Service Recognition Award for her work in consolidating eight Professional Services Schedules into a single Schedule. She holds a degree in Business Management and Marketing from St. Martins College and lives in Puyallup, Washington, with her husband, two kids, dog and cat.
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Tonya Butler
Region 11 Director
Tonya Butler serves as the Director for GSA AAS Region 11 (National Capital), enabling client agencies to meet their mission with IT and professional services acquisition support. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Butler served as the Director of Customer and Stakeholder Engagement for Region 11. She also served as the Federal Acquisition Service Deputy Director of the GSA Presidential Transition Support and Inaugural Support Teams. In this role, she managed an integrated team of logistics and contracting professionals the 2016-17 Presidential election season. Her team also provided onboarding and IT support for candidate teams and the President-Elect’s staff. Tonya earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Towson University and a Master of Arts in Administration from Bowie State University. She earned FAC-P/PM Senior Level and FAC-COR Level II certifications and holds membership in the National Contract Management Association and Project Management Institute.
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