Captain Jesse H. Black, a native of South Florida, enlisted in the Navy as an electronics technician in 1990 and graduated from the naval nuclear training pipeline in 1992. He served as a reactor operator aboard USS Bainbridge (CGN 25) from 1992 to 1995.

Black graduated from the University of Idaho in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, with a focus on hydrodynamic power design and environmental engineering. He earned a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2007, publishing his thesis on solid state power systems.

As an officer, Black served four years aboard USS Cape St. George (CG 71), serving in a variety of engineering tours, including electrical officer, main propulsion assistant, and assistant chief engineer. He earned his surface warfare officer (SWO) designation, and after two years was selected to fleet up as the combat information center officer. During the surge deployment for Operation Iraqi Freedom, he also assumed the duties of the navigator.

Returning to his engineering roots, Black was selected for lateral transfer to the engineering duty officer community. As an EDO, he has served in multiple staff, engineering, maintenance, and program executive office roles including Program Executive Office for Aircraft Carriers, the Naval Systems Engineering & Logistics directorate at Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA 05), at the Norfolk and Portsmouth Naval Shipyards, and the DDG 1000 Program Office.

During these highly technical assignments, Black led teams tasked with solving complex engineering challenges such as Gerald R. Ford-class advanced weapons elevators, nuclear refueling complex overhauls and maintenance availabilities, and integrated power and propulsion systems on Zumwalt-class destroyers and Columbia-class submarines. He also served as the technical warrant holder and program manager for the conditions-based maintenance of surface combatants and large deck amphibious ships.

Additionally, he was specially selected to serve in the White House as a senior sustainability officer under two presidential administrations.

He became the executive officer of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory on June 25, 2021. He is responsible for managing day-to-day activities at the laboratory, such as maintenance and logistics.

Black’s personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards), and the Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal (three awards).

Patrice Jones is the Chief of Staff for the Department of the Navy (DON) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP). She has been with DON OSBP since November 2023. She supports the Director and Deputy Director on various tasks as well as represents DON OSBP on a number of DOD-level working groups. Ms. Jones is also the DON lead on FAR Council for Small Business matters.

Prior to joining DON OSBP, Ms. Jones performed Acquisition and Procurement Oversight functions at Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, DC.  During her eighteen months at HHS, she played a critical role in helping to stand up the acquisition & contracting organization for HHS’ Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).  Prior HHS, Ms. Jones spent fourteen years as an Action Officer and, later a Program Manager for the Deputy Assistance Secretary of the Navy ((DASN) (Procurement) (P)).  The time spent in DASN (P) enable Ms. Jones to work with and perform oversight functions for each of the DON’s 10 buying activities.

Ms. Jones started her government career by being selected into the Outstanding Scholar program and member of the Naval Acquisition Intern Program (NAIP) as a Contract Specialist. She worked for Naval Air Systems Command, (NAVAIR), in Arlington, Virginia.  She has also gained invaluable experience working in various contracting and acquisition positions for the Department of Army, Air Force and Missile Defense Agency.  

Ms. Jones is a 2017 graduate of the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy; holds a Masters of Science degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University and Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Sweet Briar College. 

Mac serves as the Director DIU’s SeniorAdvisor focused on Department of Defense (DoD), interagency interface and activities and connectivity with the commercial sector. He brings a combination of military and government service to his role with over 30 years of executive experience in strategy development, partner engagement, and operational execution. Mac is responsible to the Director DIU for coordinating and engaging with the Intelligence Community, nonuniformed DoD Activities and Agencies, International Priorities and Commercial Engagement in the midAtlantic region. Prior to his current role at DIU, Mac served as the DIU Director of Defense Engagement responsible for building DIU relationships across the US government. Before joining DIU, Mac served as a CIA Operations officer, State Department Foreign Service Officer and as a Special Project Officer for the Department of the Army with overseas assignments spanning multiple geographic areas and combat zones. Now retired from the Marine Corps, Mac served on active duty for 13 years before joining the Marine Corps Reserves. As a Marine Corps Aviator he held type ratings in multiple aircraft. He was the first Marine Aviator to undertake and pass the Force Recon Selection. He served as the Operations Officer of Task Force Recon during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Officer in Charge of Air Mission Branch Special Operations Training Group, Senior Operations Officer, Office of Technical Operations at the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Officer in Charge of IMA Det VA-01, HQMC G-2. His decorations include the Navy/Marine Commendation Medal with V device and the Combat Action Ribbon. Mac holds a MS in Global Leadership/Economics from the University of San Diego, a BA in Political Science from The Citadel, and is a graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the Air Force War College.

Mr. Joshua Reiter is the Department of the Navy Deputy Principal Cyber Advisor (PCA). In this role, he is responsible for supporting the PCA in advising the Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, and Commandant of the Marine Corps, and implementing the Department of Defense Cyber Strategy within the Department of the Navy. Mr. Reiter also serves in the additional capacity as the Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer’s (DON CIO) Chief Workforce Officer. He was originally appointed to Defense Intelligence Senior Level (DISL) in December 2018 as the Director of Cyber Workforce Policy and Planning under the
Cybersecurity Directorate of OPNAV N2N6.
A former U.S. Coast Guard licensed merchant mariner, for the first several years of his career, Mr. Reiter served as a DoD civilian mariner with the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command as Third Officer aboard USNS Saturn (T-AFS-10), USNS John McDonnell (T-AGS 51), USNS Apache (T-ATF 172), USNS Hayes (T-AG-195) and as Second Officer/Navigator aboard USNS Sirius (T-AFS-8).
Mr. Reiter spent three years as the Manager of Maritime Information Systems for the Massachusetts Port Authority, overseeing the information technology infrastructure for the Port of Boston. He spent one year working in private sector information technology, prior to 9/11. After 9/11, Mr. Reiter spent over 17 years serving in a variety of roles at the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) in Washington, DC, including Executive Director of the Nimitz Operational Intelligence Center, the U.S. Navy’s pre-eminent center of excellence for operational and strategic analysis of events associated with the maritime domain.
Mr. Reiter is also a retired Navy Reserve Information Warfare officer whose assignments included the Office of Naval Intelligence, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
Mr. Reiter earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science/Mathematics from the State University of New York Maritime College at Fort Schuyler, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Society for Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) and a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute.

Currently, John is the VP of Business Development for METS BU. He is responsible for leading and managing METS business development activities and initiatives. His focus is on Navy business. John began his career at Technology, Management and Analysis (TMA) Corporation, where over a span of twenty years, he acquired knowledge and insight into Government contracting. He worked on-site with Navy clients for many years where he managed engineering issues associated with ship construction and modernization. At TMA, John progressed into several leadership positions before being selected as TMA’s Chief Operating Officer. In 2002, he helped manage the sale of TMA to L-3 Communications and ensured a smooth transition before stepping up to serve as a Deputy Business Group General Manager and VP of Operations. After ten years with L-3, he ventured out on his own, founding SurveySpec LLC, where he provided oil rig surveys, audits, commissioning, and inspections. After several years in the oil and gas business, John accepted a position with Alion in their Business Development organization. In this position, he focused on large business capture initiatives, and in June 2018, he was promoted to Vice President Business Development. John has maintained this position since the sale of Alion’s Naval Systems Business Unit to Serco Inc in 2019. John holds a BS, Marine Engineering, from Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Didier “DJ” LeGoff is the Leidos Navy & Marine Corps IT Business Area Leader. Under DJ’s direction, Leidos delivers secure, mission-focused IT solutions to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps – including the Navy Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) Service Management, Integration and Transport (SMIT) program. Prior to his current role, DJ was the program manager for the NGEN SMIT contract, the largest IT services program for the Department of the Navy. LeGoff retired from the U.S. Navy at the rank of captain in 2016, following a 29-year career that included significant experience in command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) and space resourcing, engineering, and acquisitions. His shore duty assignments in San Diego and Washington focused on managing some of the Navy largest IT programs. As the first program manager for the Navy ACAT 1 CANES program, LeGoff led the Navy’s flagship IT acquisition program from initial concept to development and deployment. He concluded his active duty military service as the Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant for Commander Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. After retirement, LeGoff joined Booz Allen Hamilton in a senior management role focused on Department of Defense acquisition. In 2017, he joined Leidos as a vice president in the Enterprise & Cyber Solutions division. LeGoff holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Northwestern University and Master of Science in computer science from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Jerry Parker serves as Executive Vice President of Business Development for CACI International Inc, a global provider of expertise and technology serving defense, intelligence, and federal civilian government customers.

Since taking the role in 2024, Mr. Parker is responsible for leading the company’s business development functions overseeing efforts to drive business growth and strategy. He also oversees CACI’s government and industry relations, and corporate initiatives to expand and scale the company.

Mr. Parker previously served as Senior Vice President of CACI‘s National Security and Innovative Solutions (NSIS) business group, where he led a team that developed cutting edge advanced solutions for intelligence, electronic warfare, and cyber technologies for major weapon systems. He has served in several other business development and operational leadership roles of increasing responsibility since joining CACI in 2006.

A 40-year veteran of the defense industry, Mr. Parker served as a division manager at Bell Labs prior to joining CACI. There, he provided technical solutions and services to Bell operating companies for more than eight years. He began his career at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), where he spent 13 years as a civilian project manager and lead system engineer for all aircraft electrical support equipment and aircraft launch and recovery equipment.

Mr. Parker has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Drexel University. He currently sits on the board of the Global SOF Foundation.

Ross Wilkers covers the business of government contracting, companies and trends that shape the market. He joined WT in 2017 and works with Editor-in-Chief Nick Wakeman to host and produce our WT 360 podcast that features discussions with the market's leading executives and voices. Ross is a native of Northern Virginia and is an alumnus of George Mason University.

Nick Wakeman is the editor-in-chief of Washington Technology and joined the publication in 1996 as a staff writer. He's a graduate of Bridgewater College and earned a masters degree from American University. When he isn't writing about government contractors, he's thinking of cooking large pieces of meat over fire and dreaming of ways to embarrass his two sons.