ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md — Cassandra “Casi” Boyer, a human resources specialist with the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command’s G1 - Human Resources, Human Capital Division, aims to make a difference in CECOM and her community.
Boyer has a wealth of experience and an extensive background in human resources, marketing, communications, advocacy, management and program analysis. In her current position, which she has held since 2019, she manages multiple roles and responsibilities.
“A requirement for me is that I have to be in a job where I know I am making my world a better place,” she said. “It has been that way throughout my career.”
P-TECH coordinator
Boyer plays a part in developing the future CECOM workforce as a coordinator for the Pathways in Technology Early College High School program, which is in its fifth year, and 115 students are currently enrolled. This science, technology, engineering and mathematics-focused program, offered at Joppatowne High School, is in partnership with Harford Community College and CECOM. This program gives students the opportunity to take college courses while working in paid internships, including at CECOM, during their educational journey.
“The ultimate goal of this program is to create this pipeline of a future workforce, where these students naturally sift to the top because of their experience, their skills, and abilities so they can work alongside us as our peers,” Boyer explained. “We tell them [the students] all the time that we look forward to the day that you are our colleague.”
As a P-TECH coordinator, Boyer recruits and trains mentors from Team APG. The mentors are critical to the P-TECH program, she said, and especially motivated the students when they were learning remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I don’t think we would have been as successful in getting those students through the program during a pandemic if it weren’t for the dedication of the mentors who truly cared about each one of them,” Boyer said.
A highlight of her job, she said, is seeing the students grow. This past spring, the first class of 16 P-TECH students from JHS graduated. The valedictorian and the salutatorian were both P-TECH students.
“I felt like a proud mom,” she said.
This school year there are 56 mentors from Team APG who are working with P-TECH students. More volunteers from the APG workforce will be needed to conduct mock interviews with the students on March 13, 2025. Conducting the mock interviews on the installation “steps it up a level,” Boyer explained.
“We get just as much as we give; we are also training people how to give interviews, how to provide feedback, how to mentor,” she said. “And I must say, we cannot do programs like this [P-TECH] without the support of leadership.”
Promoting FEVS
Another aspect of Boyer’s job is engaging the workforce to improve participation in the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey at CECOM. Boyer said FEVS is a tool employees can use to make their voices heard.
“You can impact the world around you by just being engaged,” Boyer said. “If you choose not to be engaged, then you just get what you get.”
According to Boyer, FEVS can also be used as a barometer to gauge CECOM's correlation to other organizations within the Department of the Army, the Army Materiel Command, or the federal workforce. The Army’s goal is to have 50% participation, she said. Based on FEVS results, CECOM has improved supervisor training, revised the interview process, and started the Health and Wellness Program.
Serving the workforce
Boyer started working as a federal employee with CECOM in 2010. Her other positions include serving as an executive officer for CECOM Software Engineering Center twice and as a management analyst.
Prior to 2010, Boyer was a contractor, serving as a communications specialist, providing strategic communications and marketing expertise to the CECOM SEC’s Operations Directorate.
One of the key projects that she worked on was helping employees with the transition as they moved from Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, to APG, Maryland, due to the Base Realignment and Closure.
“I love living in Harford County, and I had the opportunity to tell how wonderful of an experience it can be,” she said.
Boyer also supported the U.S. Army Environmental Center as a public affairs contractor. In this position, she analyzed issues and developed campaign and communications plans on various environmental problems, including contaminant chemicals, unexploded ordnance, and endangered/protected species.
Other organizations Boyer worked for include Johns Hopkins University, the American Lung Association, the American Diabetes Association, and Jhpiego, a non-profit organization that aims to make lifesaving services available and accessible to the people who need them. In this position, she had the opportunity to travel to South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.
Giving back
Boyer grew up on the Eastern Shore, originally from Snow Hill, Maryland. She attended Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and earned a Bachelor of Arts in politics with an emphasis in economics and business administration. While in college, she participated in the Washington Semester Program in Washington, D.C., and worked as an intern for a non-profit organization.
“It was an awesome experience; during the program, I got to talk to now-President Biden while he was a congressman,” Boyer said.
Outside of work, Boyer is drawn to serving her local community and is involved in multiple community service endeavors throughout the year.
One way she gives back is by serving on the planning committee of the Community Thanksgiving Project. This program provides 1,500 healthy, homecooked meals for residents of Havre de Grace and the surrounding area. Boyer said from a team-building point of view, it is incredible to watch how people can gel and accomplish a task quickly, without knowing each other. Volunteers are always needed, she added. The goal is not only to provide a meal, but also to build connections, to let people know they are valued.
“It gives a community a way to get involved with others in their community,” Boyer said.
As the daughter of a priest and a public health nurse, Boyer observed that “regular” people can make a big difference in their local communities.
“Serving my community, in whatever way that is needed, just balances me,” she said.
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