Hanscom establishes Senior Leader Development Council

  • Published
  • By Justin Oakes
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  Functional heads across Hanscom AFB have recently come together, forming the base's first Senior Leader Development Council.

The collective encompasses representatives from Engineering and Technology, Contracting, Finance, Program Management, Logistics and the 66th Air Base Group. The intent of the council is to provide a forum where senior leaders can discuss and tackle issues and initiatives that directly affect Hanscom's workforce.

"I saw first-hand the impact a senior leader development council had at Hill Air Force Base. In a resource-constrained environment, it's essential for us to work together and leverage capabilities to do the most for our workforce," said Dennis Miller, Engineering and Technology associate director, who is spearheading the effort with Scott Kiser, Hanscom Contracting director. "I believe our workforce here will benefit greatly from the same type of group."

While the organization is still in its infancy, members plan on addressing items such as: civilian development education, professional military education, career vectoring, recruitment and incentives, training funding and the Air Force Materiel Command's new AcqDemo pay system.

"Visibility of these topics is vital and of great importance to our workforce," Miller said.

The council has already begun outreach activities and solidified buy-in from the state.

Massachusetts state officials have allocated approximately $180,000 this year for a program manager training pilot program at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. Thirty Hanscom members are registered to begin the course this month.

"This is a great opportunity to enhance the skills of our acquisition professionals," said Susan Angell, the base's Acquisition site senior functional. "And this is just the beginning."

The council is also looking to the state to help promote job opportunities on base, broadening the pool of applicants through the use of career centers, veterans' organizations and public and private educational institutions.

Representatives from the state's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development as well as the Department of Higher Education have already agreed to enter into talks with the council.

"I believe our new organization, the SLDC, will open doors for many of our Airmen here at Hanscom and continue to build upon our talented workforce," said Kiser.