New contracting director's career an incredible journey from intern to SES

  • Published
  • By Kevin Gilmartin
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Electronic Systems Center is the latest stop in a government career that has been "an incredible journey" for the center's new director of Contracting, taking her from a GS-02 clerk to the Senior Executive Service. 

Nancy K. Andrews, a Salt Lake City, Utah native, came to ESC from the Pentagon, where she was deputy of the Contract Mission Support Division in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. In her 20 years with the Air Force, Ms. Andrews has served in a wide variety of contracting assignments, ranging from the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, Calif., to the National Reconnaissance Office. 

Ms. Andrews began her career at one of the lowest civilian ranks -- a GS-02 accounting intern for the Army at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah -and has risen to the civilian equivalent of a general officer with her recent appointment to the Senior Executive Service. 

Serving as an Army GS-02 accounting intern while a student at nearby Weber State University in Utah, she never imagined a career in government service, but when civilian recruiters visited her campus during her senior year, she gave the notion of working for the Air Force serious consideration. 

"Working as an intern, I never really thought about a government career. It was just nice to have a job," she said. "But, when Air Force members came and talked about contracting and the Copper Cap program, I thought it sounded interesting." 

Copper Cap is an intensive, fast-track program designed to train college graduates and place them as civilians within the Air Force working as contract specialists, with specialized training that will prepare participants to become leaders in the contacting career field. Ms. Andrews entered the program immediately after graduating from Weber State in 1989. 

"Although I lived near Ogden, Utah, really close to Hill Air Force Base, I was recruited to go to L.A., so I was mobile for my first assignment," Ms. Andrews said. "It was a huge change for me, going from living in a small town and moving to Los Angeles. At first, my father didn't want me to take the job, but he ultimately drove with me as I made that first career move." 

It didn't take long for Ms. Andrews to see the benefits of an Air Force career.
"Once I started working the mission, I realized, this is my way of giving back," she said. "I was grateful to be able to support the warfighter." 

Before long, she impressed her supervisors and was assigned to a new and challenging position as negotiator for the Range Operations and Control Center, a Space and Missile Systems Center program at Patrick AFB, Fla. 

"Working there on the Range programs was exciting," she said. "We were working common IT systems that directly supported launch vehicles. Actually getting to see the launches was incredible." 

After four years at Patrick, Ms. Andrews was lured back to SMC at Los Angeles with the promise of "a great opportunity and a big office," she said. She stayed there for three more years, working as the lead contracting officer for the phase II of the Range Standardization and Automation program. 

While in that job, she completed her master's of business administration degree at National University in San Diego, and earned her unlimited contracting warrant.
"That was a really busy period of my life," she said. "When I completed my master's work and earned my warrant, I didn't know what to do with my spare time." 

In 1999, Ms. Andrews was chosen to attend Air Command and Staff College in residence at Maxwell AFB, Ala. During the nearly year-long course, she earned another master's degree, this time in military operations and science. "ACSC gave me a real appreciation of the Air Force as an enterprise," she said. 

Following 10 months back at Los Angeles, Ms. Andrews moved to the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Va., where she ultimately worked in six different contracting jobs. Joining a new organization meant she had to earn her contracting warrant again, something she vigorously pursued and completed in only one month.
"My supervisor said I was the most anxious person to earn a warrant he had ever seen," she said. 

In 2007, Ms. Andrews was selected to attend the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair, Washington D.C., earning a third master's degree in national resource strategy. After graduating ICAF, she moved to the Pentagon. 

As someone who has successfully navigated a government civilian career from the lowest levels to the highest, Ms. Andrews has a lot to pass on to those just starting out. She recently had an opportunity to share some of her wisdom with new civilians at a Copper Cap Conference in Ogden, Utah. 

"It was just great to see their energy and enthusiasm," she said of the Air Force's newest contracting trainees. "It was rewarding for me to be able to tell them, I've been where you are, and this is what's possible. " 

Ms. Andrews credits great mentors along the way for her career success, and she advises young people in government service to "seek out mentors and deliberately manage your career." 

For now, her focus is squarely on supporting the ESC mission. But, in her spare time, she does enjoy traveling in New England, so far from day trips to Boston and visits to Cape Cod. 

"Hanscom is a great community," ESC's newest SES said, something she is experiencing every day while living in base housing. "I'm excited about meeting new people, and really looking forward to exploring the area and enjoying the New England seasons."