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  • Program Manager, NASA

    Q: How long have you been involved with The Open Group?

    Since its inception as The Open Group.  My program first associated with X/Open in 1992.

    Q. What do you do, and how long have you been doing it? 

    I am the Program Manager for an ICT (Information Communication and Technology) US Federal Government Contract vehicle that is used by the entire US Government to purchase ICT products and services. The program is called SEWP (pronounced “soup”) which stands for Solutions for Enterprise Wide procurement.  We handle 30,000 orders a year from every Federal Agency with a total usage of about $3 Billion per year.  While a Government Agency, we operate like a small non-profit business with the goal of making Government Acquisition easier and faster for Government and Industry. I have been the Program Manager since 1999.

    Q: Why did your organization become a member and what does your involvement look like?  What forum did your organization join? 

    NASA SEWP initially associated with The Open Group’s predecessor, X/Open, through the UNIX standard.  In the initial iterations of the program, UNIX was our standard bearer so I attended meetings to be involved in that area.  More recently I have been an active member of the Open Trusted Technology Forum.  I also support through my program participation by other staff in the Security related forums.

    NASA SEWP has been a Gold member since 1996.

    Q: How has membership in The Open Group benefited you, your organization and the industry at large?

    Over the past few years my participation in the Trusted Technology Forum has been a benefit to me personally and to my program.  From a personal perspective I have learned a lot about how Industry operates in general and more specifically in terms of supply chain issues.  From an organizational point of view, I have used the knowledge gained to help shape our requirements surrounding supply chain risk management in a manner that is appropriate for both Industry and Government. Beyond my own program, I have advocated for and been able to have at least some minor influence  on Government policies and procedures related to the Supply Chain.


    Q: What contributions do you hope to bring to The Open Group?

    I hopefully already contribute through my membership. As a Board Member I would hope to bring my perspective as a Customer involved in both Technology and Government Acquisition.  On a more personal level, I try to be a pragmatists and feel my greatest strength is being able to envision solutions to problems sometimes even before they are known problems.

    Q: Why is it important for other organizations to join The Open Group?

    The Open Group is a unique organization where high level, dedicated personnel primarily from Industry with some Government involvement come together as a Team to work out problems while maintaining their own individual/company perspectives.  This leads to collaboration on solutions that move forward through a consensus derived from varying opinions.  The output from The Open Group in areas such as Supply Chain risk Management, System Architecture, IT Security, etc. is impressive. But lack of participation from a multiplicity of Government Agencies and Private Companies could on the one hand lessen the impact and relevance of that output and/or result in an unforeseen impact because of missing input.  That relates to what participation can bring to The Open Group.  In terms of what participation can provide a participant – the exchange of information can help better shape an organization by understanding issues that others are having and how they are working to solve those issues. 

    Q: What are your hobbies? 

    Golfing, spending time with my dog – Midas (Golden Retriever), huge soccer fan – my son is the reason I got involved in soccer.  A few years ago we made it to England to attend a Chelsea game.

    Q: What book are you currently reading? 

    The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan and The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke

     

    Ms. Joanne Woytek is the Program Manager for the NASA SEWP Program.   Ms. Woytek manages the strategic direction, planning and day-to-day operations of SEWP - a premier Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) providing Federal Agencies access to the latest in Information & Communication Technology product solutions.   Ms. Woytek, a 37-year veteran to Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt Maryland, has served in her current Program Management role for the past fifteen years.  She has been a key figure in the continual evolution of SEWP since its inception more than twenty years ago.  In this capacity, she has received more than ten performance awards from NASA including: The Acquisition Improvement Award, Customer Service Excellence Award, Group Achievement Award and The Productivity Improvement and Quality Enhancement Award, as well as the Coalition for Government Procurement’s 2014 Lifetime Acquisition Excellence Award, and MAGIC 2013 Acquisition Excellence Government and Industry Cooperation Award.  Prior to SEWP, Ms. Woytek served as a NASA mathematician focused on systems administration, database management and user application programming.  Ms. Woytek is an ACT/IAC Fellow and an active member of both the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) and The Open Group.