Read this Emerging Technologies Institute report in Wrivid.
Keeping Humans
in Command
The r
esearch presented in this report was supported by the Acquisition Research Program, Graduate School of Defense Management at the Naval Postgraduate School.
Naval Postgraduate School
E: arp@nps.edu www.acquisitionresearch.net C opies of Symposium Proceedings and Presentations; and Acquisition Sponsored Faculty and
Student Research Reports and Posters may be printed from the NPS Defense Acquisition &
Innovation Repository at https://dair.nps.edu/.
Preserving Human Agency in AI-Driven Federal Acquisition
Stephen W. Roe—is a Managing Director at MITRE, leading Veterans and Military Health Modernization and supporting VA, VACO, and VHA since 2020. With over 20 years of experience driving cross-agency innovation, he has delivered measurable outcomes across healthcare, acquisition reform, and data-driven policy. His achievements include the Whole Health Recognition Framework (2+ million Veterans), PolicyNet (40% reduction, $55 million savings), and GenHub (2,000+ studies, 1,500 publications). He has shaped major VA priorities such as the PACT Act, EHR modernization, and community care reform, impacting $100+ billion in procurement while advancing AI-enabled patient safety and connected care. He holds degrees from Virginia Tech, Johns Hopkins, and UVA Darden. [ sroe@mitre.org] Dr. Nathan Turnipseed—serves as Director of the Acquisition Integration Service within the Department of Veterans Affairs Strategic Acquisition Center, where he provides strategic counsel to senior executives on enterprise acquisition life-cycle management, data governance, and complex acquisition strategy across a multi-billion-dollar portfolio. A veteran with more than 25 years of leadership in public and private sector acquisition environments, he is recognized for advancing large-scale, technology-enabled transformation initiatives and driving organizational performance. His distinguished U.S. Air Force career included leadership in personnel development for enlisted Airmen and commissioned officers. Dr.
Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Sociology, and maintains a Level III Federal Acquisition
Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM). [ Nathan.Turnipseed2@va.gov]
Ryan Novak—Acquisition Outcome Lead at MITRE, brings 30 years of experience as a USAF
Contracting Officer and acquisition innovator. He holds multiple advanced degrees, including two MBAs, and is DAWIA III Contracting certified. A published author and speaker, Ryan created the Challenge- Based Acquisition Handbook and taught innovative acquisition approaches to 800+ professionals across government, industry, and MITRE. He has led strategic programs such as iCAMS, held an unlimited CO warrant, and completed executive programs at Oxford and Yale. As MITRE’s Acquisition Innovation
Center Lead for AI in Acquisition, he drives AI strategies, tools, and prototypes to transform federal
procurement under the ACQAIRE Portfolio. [ rnovak@mitre.org]
Adam Bouffard—is a Group Leader and Principal Decision Analyst at MITRE, with over 20 years of
experience in acquisition and contracts supporting multiple DoD and civilian government agencies. Prior to joining MITRE in 2015, he worked as a civilian supporting the Naval Sea Systems Command and the Office of Naval Research. He holds a master’s degree in systems engineering from George Washington University and possesses multiple contracts certifications. [ abouffard@mitre.org] Wilson Miles—is an Associate Research Fellow at ETI. His research and analysis portfolio focuses on emerging technology supply chains, acquisition policy, artificial intelligence, workforce issues, and other modernization technology policy issues. Wilson previously interned at several nonprofit organizations, including CRDF Global, the Hudson Institute, and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He earned his master’s degree in international affairs: U.S. Foreign Policy and National Security from American University’s School of International Service and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Linfield University. [wmiles@ndia.org]
Adam Kitay—is a Strategic Business Operations Principal at MITRE, with over 20 years of experience in
government contracts and acquisition supporting various intelligence, DoD, and civilian agencies. Prior to joining MITRE, Adam worked as a civilian for the Department of the Navy, Naval Air Warfare Center (JSF PMO), the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Missile Defense Agency. He was also a Sr. Manager at Lockheed Martin Space, working in their Special Programs division. Adam holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Colorado State University. [ akitay@mitre.org]
Kevin Forbes—is a Principal Software Engineer at the MITRE Corporation, with over 25 years of
software development experience. His current work centers on applying Generative AI to tackle challenges in government acquisition and the software development life cycle. Kevin earned his
Naval Postgraduate School
bachelor’s degree in computer science from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University. [ forbes@mitre.org ] Christopher Barlow—is an Innovation Strategist with The Belmont Group, with 10+ years of experience and demonstrated expertise in audit risk mitigation, acquisition data analytics, process development and optimization, and innovative acquisition approaches, including challenge-based acquisitions (ChBA) and artificial intelligence applications. His diverse experience spans multiple federal agencies. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Pikeville and is a Certified Business Intelligence Professional from Villanova University [cbarlow@blmtgrp.com]