NEVER STOP ASKING QUESTIONS
Learning a new job is challenging, especially in the field of contracting—with a lot of new information to take in and process in a short amount of time. Much of what’s learned is applied gradually, but it takes years of practice to achieve proficiency. After more than a decade in the field, Evangelina Tillyros can finally say she is completely comfortable navigating all the processes and finding solutions to complex contracting issues.
EVANGELINA TILLYROS
COMMAND/ORGANIZATION: Project Director Joint Services, Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition
TITLE: Acquisition manager ACQUISITION CAREER FIELD: Contracting YEARS OF SERVICE IN WORKFORCE: 13
DAWIA CERTIFICATIONS: DOD contracting professional
EDUCATION: B.S. in business management with a concentration in finance, Monmouth University
AWARDS: 2020 Gold Eagle Award for Contracting Excellence; Secretary of the Army Exceptional Support of AbilityOne Program award (2017); Civilian Service Achievement Medal (2015)
“A close friend of mine worked for the Army and often expressed how contracting was the most complex and sometimes painful aspect interfacing his job,” she said. “I couldn’t be more intrigued that my friend, who I think of as a genius, found a career field ‘complex.’ ” She then applied for a contract specialist position at Army Contracting Command – New Jersey (ACC-NJ) at Picatinny Arsenal and joined the Army Acquisi- tion Workforce in May 2010. “I didn’t agree [with my friend] about the pain, but it was much more difficult than I thought,” she said. “Once I started getting a feel for how to navigate through policy, I was hooked.”
As acquisition manager for the Project Director Joint Services (PD JS) Business Divi- sion within the Joint Program Executive Office for Armaments and Ammunition (JPEO A&A), Tillyros is responsible for directing, developing and controlling the acquisition activities for a portfolio of over 150 active projects valued at $3 billion in fiscal year 2023, and an estimated $6 billion in programming activities through fiscal year 2028.
She also manages a team of four acquisition analysts, along with specialists deployed within multiple PD JS integrated teams, and ensures that they achieve the highest degree of effectiveness and efficiency for PD JS contracts. Tis, she said, enables the office to meet cost, schedule and performance goals in support of JPEO A&A as the single manager for conventional ammunition.
“I love that my work contributes to the sustainment and success of the AAPs [Army ammunition plants],” she said. “To me, it doesn’t get more critical than that. My great- est satisfaction in being part of the Army Acquisition Workforce is that there are endless opportunities to grow and learn.”
Tillyros said JPEO A&A offers a variety of lunch and learn training sessions that can be accessed at any time. “As our world changes, the laws and practices applied to federal contracting have to keep up. We are not in danger of running out of new things to learn anytime soon.”
“People think I have the coolest job, and I do! I get to visit Army ammunition plants to see our projects in development and in completion,” she said. “It’s one thing to prepare documents discussing why a new acid facility is needed, but the experience becomes meaningful when you step inside a particular facility to experience actual conditions workers use to operate within. At Project Director Joint Services, we are blessed with the task to make those AAPs better. Better is safer for workers and much more efficient. I am genuinely so proud of the work my team executes at PD JS.”
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Army AL&T Magazine
Spring 2024
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