APG Senior Leadership Cohort’s 12th class graduates

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. —The 12th class of APG’s s

enior leadership cohort came to a close with a graduation ceremony held Thursday, May 20, at the Myer Auditorium and broadcasted virtually via MS Teams.

The APG Senior Leadership Cohort program was established in 2009 with the goal of developing and sustaining a cohesive cadre of high-impact leaders within the APG community. With a curriculum based on a foundation of action science and action learning, the program challenges participants to examine the effectiveness of their leadership abilities and provides them with opportunities and experiences designed to develop the skills practiced by successful leaders.

This year’s cohort of 35 graduating members from a variety of commands and organizations across APG faced a unique situation provided by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in some of the program taking place virtually while taking care of other obligations such as childcare or healthcare.

Despite the challenges, Claire Meany, cohort program director, called this group the “show up” class because it had the best attendance record of any cohort. Showing up results in a better sense of community within the group, she said.

“In showing up in that way, you showed up for each other,” she said.

During the ceremony, graduates of the current class shared stories of how they overcame personal struggles and applied them to success in the cohort program.

Joe Frederick, branch chief for Fabrication and Integration at the C5ISR Center Prototyping and Integration Facility, said the cohort program helped him learn the power of empathy and establish a sense of community.

“Those bonds, friendships and connections we made will continue to endure,” he said. “We conquer challenges every day and I know, like me, there isn’t a single one of us that is ever going to stop fighting to be better.”

Kim Dankulich, deputy director of the Force Projection Directorate at the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency, said the program helped relearn and reinforce how she uses certain tools personally, such as personal energy and active listening, and apply them professionally to build a better team.

“How we show up truly makes a big difference,” she said. “Using these tools takes conscious effort.”

The ceremony’s keynote speaker was Brig Gen. Robert Collins, Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical, who congratulated the cohort class and said they should be extremely proud of what they accomplished.

“Our people are our greatest strength and our most important weapons system and certainly a national treasure,” he said. “As I look across the room to each and every one of you I see a strength in a very well rounded group of emerging leaders.”

Cohort 12 graduates

• Thomas Aitken, program officer for Joint Battle Command-Platform Integration within Project Manager Mission Command, PEO C3T;
• Christopher “Chris” Appelt, chief of the Manufacturing Readiness and Industrial Base Branch within the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center;
• James U. Cazamias, branch chief of the Impact Physics Branch of the Terminal Effects Division of the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate of the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory;
• Crystal Chadwick, capability support management division chief under the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) Software Engineering Center Army Shared Services Center;
• Dana N. Chatman currently serves as the division dhief for the Enterprise Information Systems and Tactical Aviation, Enterprise Soldier Aviation Directorate at CECOM;
• Jennifer Chipman, division chief for the Ground Robotics and Maneuver Support Division for the Army Test and Evaluation Command’s Army Evaluation Center;
• Frank Crisafulli Jr., strategic planning officer for the U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center;
• Jennifer C. Dabisch, deputy for the senior medical regulatory director under the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Defense;
• Kimberly S. Dankulich, deputy director of the Force Projection Directorate at the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency;
• John Franklin, chief of the Physical Layer Signal Processing Branch within DEVCOM’s C5ISR Center;
• Brian Frech, product support manager/chief of Readiness Management Division for Product Manager Mission Network, Project Manager Tactical Network (PMTN), Program Executive Office Command, Control, and Communications;
• Joe Frederick, branch chief for fabrication and integration at the C5ISR Center Prototyping and Integration Facility;
• Darshan Goswami, chief of maintenance manufacturing and finance branch for the CECOM Software Engineering Center Army Shared Service Center;
• Asha Hall, branch chief for the Vehicle Structures and Dynamics Branch in the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate at DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory;
• Patricia Henderson-Betton, information resource management division chief for the CECOM CIO/G6.
• Bill Hersey, branch chief for the Air Mission Requirements Branch of the Army Reprogramming Analysis Team Program Office.
• Pamela Lamb, chief of the Integrated Product Support Branch for the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command.
• Joe Leadore, deputy product lead for the Mission Command Support Center under PEO C3T;
• Mark Magenheimer, information systems security manager with PM Electronic Warfare & Cyber;
• Shawn McElheny, acting assistant chief of staff/G-6 under the DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center;
• Brian McFadden, supervisory computer scientist, C5ISR Center, Software Engineering Directorate, Force Protection & Countermeasure Systems Branch.
• Heather McMahon-Puhalla, executive officer to the commanding general at DEVCOM HQ;
• Christopher Myers, cybersecurity division chief, CECOM Software Engineering Center (SEC) Technical Services directorate;
• Faraz Nathaniel, technical director for Product Manager Mounted Positioning, Navigation, and Timing;
• Pina Patel, branch chief for CECOM Software Engineering Center in IEW&S Directorate;
• Melissa A. Rhoads, senior test and safety manager in the Chemical, Biological, Nuclear, and Radiological Defense Division at the Army Evaluation Center;
• Matthew Robert Schumacher, acting technical director for the Mounted Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, aligned under Project Manager Positioning, Navigation, and Timing;
• John L. Schwarz, analytical chemistry manager for the Environmental Monitoring Laboratory;
• Alex Simon, mission network branch chief within the Software Engineering Center at CECOM;
• Theresa M. Straut, human protections director for the Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory;
• Preechaya “Jay” Suebsingh, chief of the Test Engineering and Certification Branch within PM Mission Command;
• Wyatt Ulrich, director, CBRN Analytics with the JPEO-CBRND;
• Abby West, associate director, plans and programs for the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate within the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory;
• Brian Wojtysiak currently serves as the chief, Ground Maneuver Branch within the Soldier and Ground Analysis Division, DEVCOM Data and Analysis Center; and
• Matthew Zalfa, technical policy and programs branch chief under the CECOM Integrated Logistics Support Center Logistics and Technical Support Directorate.