1. law, govt and politics
2. government

2015
V����� 1
In this Issue
01
02
03
04
05
06
Pluribus at a
Glance and the
President’s
Letter
Program
Management
Security
Human
Resources
Employee Extras
and Business
Development
Ethical Moments
Announcements
Performance Evaluations
are currently underway.
Your Program Manager
should be reaching out
to you to discuss your
Self-Evaluation and
going over the Manager’s
Review.
A �u������ ��w������ f�� ��� ���l���e� � P�����u� In���na�i�n�� C��p�ra�i��
PLURIBUS AT A GLANCE
Pluribus is a proud supporter of George Washington’s
Mount Vernon Estate and our contributions have
helped build the new library and maintain and
improve the grounds. George Washington’s beloved
Mount Vernon began as a one and one-half story
farmhouse built in 1735 by his father, Augustine,
and received its well-known name during the
ownership of his half-brother Lawrence. George
acquired Mount Vernon in 1754, and over the next
45 years slowly enlarged the dwelling to create
the resplendent 21-room residence we see today.
Washington personally supervised each renovation;
advising on design, construction and decoration—
even during the Revolutionary War.
January 12, 2015 marked the 11th anniversary of
the founding of Pluribus. As a company we have
so much to be thankful for, our success and growth
as a company, the reputation we have earned as a
company that always delivers “Excellence with
Integrity” in all we do, and of course creating and
sustaining a culture where people matter. We are
also keenly aware that there are many people right
here in our community that are not as fortunate as
we are. A matter that is very close to our hearts
are the victims of domestic violence and abuse.
Domestic violence knows no boundaries and it
affects people of all ages, genders, and income
levels; sadly no one is immune.
We have also been told that some of our current
contracts will be expanding as well, which is the
highest praise a company can receive in these
tumultuous budgetary times. This expansion is
a direct re�lection on how much our customers
appreciate and respect the dedication of each of our
employees to ful�illing our contract requirements.
We are deeply grateful to each of our employees and
managers who have worked so hard to achieve this
excellent reputation.
FROM THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE
Last year we began a relationship with Shelter House
in Fairfax County. Shelter House is committed to
ending homelessness and domestic violence in our
community and currently operates three shelters
funded by both public and private funds. For our
11th anniversary Pluribus donated $11,000 ($1,000
for each year we have been in business) to Shelter
House. We have also helped kick off an executive
challenge in a video challenging our fellow executives
to match our initial $1,000 donation. We will be
supporting their annual fundraising breakfast as a
sponsor for the second year this April. We are also
working with the Shelter House leadership to �ind
volunteer opportunities for our employees to help
with their ongoing projects. We will share more
information as it becomes available.
We are off to an excellent start for 2015 and our
prospects for continued growth and success are
excellent. Our new organizational structure with
Dan fully assuming his role as President & Chief
Operating Of�icer is in place and working very
effectively. Our new Businesses development team
of Todd, Terri, and Paul are not only responding
to requests for proposals but are building new
relationships in new areas where we hope to be
able create new growth opportunities for all of us.
The INSCOM Global Intelligence contract is out of
protest and INSCOM has informed us that there are
many task order proposals requests in progress that
we should see in the next few months. We have the
team in place, led by Rob Hansen, to respond and
our goal is to win the majority of these task orders.
A great many of us have worked in larger companies
and found them to be bureaucratic and stove
piped. When we founded Pluribus we made a
commitment to each other to never become like
the large businesses we had come from. The key
to accomplishing this is for all of us to stay vigilant
for areas where we can improve communications
and ef�iciencies and to identify and eliminate
redundancies. It is also incumbent on all of us to
communicate openly and freely at all levels and to
create work environments where collaboration
and communication are our �irst priority. While it
is necessary to have a chain of command hierarchy
for de�ining responsibilities and authorities it
should never be taken as a rigid structure that
sti�les creativity and communications. In fact our
Management Principles includes the following:
•
•
•
We will at all times treat each other and all of
our employees with dignity and respect.
Encourage free and open communications
with your assigned employees. The only dumb
question is the one that is not asked.
We must always lead by example; if we as
managers do not respect internal processes,
procedures, and timelines neither will our staff.
People pay attention to what the boss pays
attention to.
We ask that all employees join us in reaf�irming our
commitment to our management principles, which
after all have been the roadmap from which we have
achieved our tremendous success together.
Respectfully,
Nathan & Valerie McCarry
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
Did you know?
Trivia to boost your
knowledge
•
•
•
George Washington
was the only American
president to be
unanimously elected.
John F. Kennedy was
the �irst president
to hold a press
conference on
television.
Theodore Roosevelt
was the �irst president
to call his residence in
Washington, D.C. the
“White House.” Prior
to his term, it had been
called the Executive
Mansion or the
President’s House.
Employee Tips
Start your stop smoking
plan with START
•
•
•
•
•
S = Set a Quit Date.
T = Tell family, friends,
and co-workers that
you plan to quit.
A = Anticipate and
plan for the challenges
you’ll face while
quitting.
R = Remove cigarettes
and other tobacco
products from your
home, car, and work.
T = Talk to your doctor
about getting help to
quit.
“Culture guides discretionary behavior and
it picks up where the employee handbook
leaves off. Culture tells us how to respond to
an unprecedented service request. It tells
us whether to risk telling our bosses about
our new ideas, and whether to surface or
hide problems. Employees make hundreds of
decisions on their own every day, and culture
is our guide. Culture tells us what to do when
the CEO isn’t in the room, which is of course
most of the time.” (Frances Frei and Anne
Morriss, Harvard Business Review)
As this new year dawns, it is �itting to peer
backward – and forward. One decade ago,
January 2005, Pluribus was little more than a
year old. There was one corporate and seven
employees supporting Government clients…
but the foundation had been laid. Five years
later, January 2010, revealed Pluribus as an
emerging force in our industry with eight
corporate staff and 75 employees providing
on-site support to critical Government
National Security initiatives. Our “culture”
had been revealed and Excellence With
Integrity became not only our motto, but the
very mortar that bound and strengthened
our foundation and our efforts. Pluribus
employees – you – became synonymous
with “Excellence With Integrity” throughout
our industry, and within client environs
by professionally responding to virtually
every obstacle presented by evolving
client priorities. The word spread and we
can all look back at those years and those
successes with the pride that comes with
a job well done – the right way and with
uncompromising standards. Another �ive
years later and January 2015 �inds us with
nearly 200 Subject Matter Experts executing
with excellence on 20 separate vehicles for
14 separate contracts at myriad locations
across CONUS and OCONUS. The culture
now proven, together we will meet whatever
challenges 2015 and beyond brings.
Some things change. Through the years, we’ve
found ourselves in different parts of the world
supporting wildly divergent customers with
divergent teammates. 2014 held challenges
never before seen in our industry – and 2015
and 2016 Sequester decisions and processes
still loom. But we adapted our organization,
planning, preparation and execution to
those changing environments. Our collective
efforts were successful and will continue to
be successful due in large part to our culture
– the standard of excellence and integrity
that you demonstrate as a matter of course.
2015 holds tremendous challenge, as well,
but extraordinary promise for even greater
positive results that - when realized - will
bene�it our entire Team and all contributing
members. Organizations whose foundation
and business practices (“culture”) are
suspect, regress, suffer or die during times
of stress. Those whose cultural foundation
remains solid and focused, progress and
thrive as a direct result of a disciplined,
principled, mutually-supportive culture.
Our results are and have been admirable,
but that is yesterday’s news. There is always
room for improvement and innovation.
Our challenge for today and tomorrow is
continued excellence. Do the right thing,
every time. Be accountable. Be professional.
Communicate effectively up and down chains
of command and lines of responsibility.
Maintain uncompromising standards of
conduct, productivity and employability.
Do not compromise either your personal or
professional integrity. You, your clients, and
coworkers are your team. Your team will be
judged by your actions.
Reminders
•
•
•
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Use I-Solved and Payroll Network.
Be cognizant of changing client and
corporate policies and procedures.
Complete time cards accurately every
day.
Check Pluribus email every day.
Keep management informed.
Program Management
2
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
In May 2014 DIA announced that Pluribus was awarded a Solutions for Intelligence Support
(SIS) contract delivery order to support U.S. Forces, Korea (USFK) at Seoul, South Korea. Pluribus
provides operational support services to the Joint Intelligence Operations Center-Korea (JIOC-K),
assisting the J2 and JIOC-K by managing organizational processes and implementing programs
in support of analytical process assessments. In a
phrase, Pluribus personnel assist in creating the
decision space and time necessary for the USFK J2
to execute its real world mission in the defense of
the Republic of Korea.
During the week of 17-21 Nov 2014 Pluribus
Program Managers Matthew Schettler and Nick
Swanstrom traveled to JIOC-K to meet with
Pluribus, BAE and Sytera personnel as well as JIOC-K
leadership regarding overall contract performance.
Pluribus is pleased to report that, based on the very
favorable feedback received, the following Pluribus Social with SIS JIOC-K Employees (L-R:
personnel distinguished themselves and were given Tom Wise, Chris Brince�ield, Peter Kim
Spot Awards: Thomas Weiss (Letter of Appreciation
and Bill Witt)
from the USFK J2 Chief of Staff), Alexis Scott (ASAD
Deputy Director support), and Todd Black (support to the Deputy DIA Senior Representative,
COR and ACOR). And we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the excellent logistics work delivered
by Thomas Turner, a Sytera subcontract partner employee, whose hard work helped to increase
the morale and welfare of innumerable USFK personnel during the recent holiday season.
Congratulations to all JIOC-K personnel for a job well done! We look forward to seeing everyone
again this summer.
Dinner with SIS JIOC-K Employees (L-R: Yung Kim, Brandon Jones, Chris Isakson, Nick
Swanstrom, Matthew Schettler, Peter Kim, Ava Myers, Chris Brince�ield, Fred Thornton,
and Todd Black)
3
Program Management
SECURITY EDUCATION & TRAINING
SECURITY CONCERN – Drug Use and Abuse
The Adjudicative Guidelines states that drug abuse “. . . can raise questions about an
individual’s reliability and trustworthiness, both because it may impair judgment and
because it raises questions about a person’s ability or willingness to comply with laws,
rules, and regulations.” Drug abuse also raises concerns about an individual’s susceptibility
to blackmail and the possible presence of mental health issues. Drug use can cause �inancial
problems, sometimes leading to other criminal activity to support a drug habit.
Additionally, on October 25, 2014, Director
of National Intelligence (DNI), as the Security
Executive Agent, issued ES 2014-00674 to all
Federal Departments regarding the Adherence
to Federal Laws Prohibiting Marijuana Use. The
memo reminds agency heads that changes to
state and District of Columbia laws pertaining
to marijuana use DO NOT alter the federal laws
prohibiting the use, sale, or manufacture of
marijuana. An individual’s disregard of federal
law remains relevant in making determinations
under the National Security Adjudicative
Guidelines.
Like many other issues, the security concern related to past drug abuse focuses more on
individuals’ demonstrated willingness and ability to abstain from future drug involvement
than on their past conduct. Experimentation with drugs, particularly marijuana, is fairly
common behavior during a person’s formative years. Such experimentation is usually
benign and does not result in chronic or long-term use for most people. If you already have
an established security clearance, regardless of state or local laws, any illegal drug use or
abuse can have a negative impact on your existing security clearance.
“Drug abuse also raises concerns about an individual’s
susceptibility to blackmail and the possible presence
of mental health issues. Drug use can cause �inancial
problems, sometimes leading to other criminal activity
to support a drug habit.”
Please remember this also applies to abuse of or illegally obtained prescription drugs.
Keep copies of your expired prescriptions, especially if they contain controlled substances,
but do not keep any unused medication “for use at a later time.”
Refer to Pluribus policy SAF-SEC-1401 Drug Free Workplace and Workforce for more
information on what our policy is concerning drug use and drug testing. As with any issue
regarding your security clearance however, always be up front and honest and report any
condition or changed status which could affect your security clearance.
Report early, report often when it comes to adverse information.
Employees in the
Spotlight
Deborah Hutchins was
elected as the treasurer
for the Potomac View
Decorative Artists
(PVDA) Chapter and is
responsible for balancing
the budget, tracking all
income and ensuring all
re-reimbursements and
debts are satis�ied. PVDA
is a painting group that
meets monthly in Ashburn,
Virginia to promote
decorative painting and
encourages sharing,
friendship, education, the
study of the decorative
painting art form and
community service.
PVDA is associated with
the National Society
of Decorative Painters
established in 1972 to
stimulate worldwide
interests and appreciation
of decorative painting.
Haley Mitchem will be
running in the Rock N Roll
Half Marathon in Madrid,
Spain in April!
Mount Vernon Estate
Admission Tickets
Pluribus has season tickets
for up to 8 guests for free
admission to the Mount
Vernon Estate and these
tickets are available for
employees use. If you
are interested in utilizing
these tickets please contact
Haley or Lindsey in Human
Resources.
Security
4
HUMAN RESOURCES
Happy Birthday!
JANUARY
Nancy Ayotte
Lucinda Bennett
Chris Brince�ield
Heather Empie
Terri Grisham
Steven Hampl
Joao Middleton
David Neumann
Scott Segrave
Matthew Turner
Marina Veney
Charles Blackstone
Joshua Butler
Gregory Butts
Ruth Collins
Wanda Graves
Mathew Haines
Deborah Hutchins
Cohan Kelley
Thomas Lloyd
Alicia LugrandWyatt
James Merz
Haley Mitchem
Matthew Schettler
David Sharp
Anthony Stratton
Nick Swanstrom
Terri Wood
Kathy Bailey
Lynsie Battle
Todd Black
David Coker
Hazel Davis
Christopher Gaines
Peter Kim
Michael Koellner
Alexander Martinez
Danny Rodriguez
Lindsey Schlatter
Alexis Scott
Victor Sweet
Suzanne Trotman
FEBRUARY
MARCH
Happy Pluribus
Anniversary!
1/02 (1)
1/07 (2)
1/09 (2)
1/09 (1)
1/11 (3)
1/13 (1)
1/13 (3)
1/23 (1)
1/30 (2)
2/17 (6)
2/19 (2)
2/20 (2)
2/25 (1)
2/28 (3)
3/03 (1)
3/04 (2)
3/11 (2)
3/12 (3)
3/23 (4)
3/26 (3)
3/25 (2)
3/28 (4)
3/30 (5)
3/31 (7)
5
Willie Pratt
Terri Grisham
Ryan Cohn
Hazel Davis
JJ Moore
Jenny Marra
Chris Wise
Joshua Butler
Yves Vazquez
Charles Blackstone
Matthew Peyer
Kyle McDonald
Scott Seagrave
Paul Davis
Haley Mitchem
Mike Wilson
Tom Falco
Ted Marks
Aaron Davies
Matthew Turner
David Sharp
Kevin Callier
Mario DiBenedetto
Dan Robinson
Human Resources
American Heart Month
February is American Heart Month! Did you
know that Heart disease is the leading cause
of death for men and women in the United
States? 1 in 4 deaths every year are caused by
heart disease. In fact, about half of Americans
(49%) have at least one of the following three
risk factors:
• High Blood Pressure
• High LDL Cholesterol
• Regularly Smoking
Several other medical conditions and lifestyle
choices may contribute to a higher risk for
heart disease including:
• Diabetes
• Overweight and Obesity
• Poor Diet
• Lack of physical activity
• Excessive Alcohol use
What can you do about protecting your heart?
For starters, know your numbers! Just having
your blood pressure checked reguarly can
reduce your chances of heart disease. Normal
blood pressure should be less than 120/80.
Schedule a visit to your doctor’s of�ice for
a checkup. Additionally, developing a plan
with your doctor about lowering your blood
pressure and cholestorol will help reduce
your risk of heart disease.
The following are additional tips about how to
protect your heart:
• Eat a healthy diet that is low in salt; low
•
•
in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol;
and rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Exercise! Get your heart pumping by
taking a brisk 10-minute walk, 3 times a
day, 5 times a week.
Stop smoking. Visit www.smokefree.gov
for tips on quitting.
If you have a family member who is in need
of help with heart disease, your support can
make a difference. The following are tips on
how you can help:
• Start the Conversation: Ask questions
such as: What is hardest for you about
controlling your high blood pressure and
what can I do to help?
• Provide Emotional Support: Be positive
and remind them that controlling it is
possible.
You can visit www.heart.org for more
information about controlling the risk of
heart disease.
CURRENT OPENINGS
Are you missing out on the referral opportunity? Send referrals to your Program Manager,
Bruce Heon, or Jennifer Coulter. Be sure that all referrals list your name on their application.
Please visit our website at www.pluribusintl.com and click on the “Careers” tab to see all our
currently available openings. Our current and future job vacancies are listed below:
Current & Pending Career Opportunities (multiple clients/various locations):
Linguists
Geolocation Analysts
Technical & Research Support Services
Security Support Specialist
Strategic All Source Analyst
Open Source Research Analyst
Administrative Support Assistant
Admin. Support HR
Admin, Support Outreach
Tribal Socio-Cultural Dynamics Analyst
SIGINT Geospatial Analyst
Corporate Communications Professional
All-Source Technical Threats Analyst
Project Planning
Executive Support Specialist
All Source Watchstanding
Admin. Support – Protocol
Admin. Support Facilities
Admin. Support Logistics
Admin. Support Training
Military Capabilities Analyst
Management Support Services
EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION
Congratulations to the following employees who were individually recognized by our
customers for delivering superior professional products and support to:
Sonya Alford- SISDO10 to DIA’s Office of
Counterintelligence
Todd Black- JIOC-K
Katie Caldwell- SISDO6 to DIA’s Office of
Counterintelligence
Casey Carden- NMEC
Justin Christopherson- MDA, Task #4
Aaron Davies- SISDO10 to DIA’s Office of
Counterintelligence
Justin Dellario- MDA, Task #4
Mario DiBenedetto- SISDO10 to DIA’s Office of
Counterintelligence
Michael Downey- DIA
Jennifer Fitzgerald- INSCOM
Dennis Hernandez- SISDO6 to DIA’s Office of
Counterintelligence
Alysha Hopkins- INSCOM
Harrison Hunt- SISDO10 to DIA’s Office
Counterintelligence
Jenny Marra- UFAC
Paul Morse- UFAC
Jonathan Nease- SISDO10 to DIA’s Office
Counterintelligence
Jason Oakley- SISDO6 to DIA’s Of�ice
Counterintelligence
Alexis Scott- JIOC-K
Eric Siriprakorn- SISDO10 to DIA’s Office
Counterintelligence
Scott Sperling- SISDO6 to DIA’s Office
Counterintelligence
Patricia Stubbs - INSCOM
Suzanne Trotman- DIA
Thomas Weiss- JIOC-K
of
of
of
of
of
Congratulations to the following employees whose collective performance as part of DIA’s Of�ice of
Counterintelligence, Counterintelligence Analysis Division, Technical Threat Branch contributed to a
DIA Director’s Team Award. The Technical Threat Branch Distinguished itself by taking a new and
dif�icult counterintelligence mission of providing analytic support to cover operations and special
events to protect Department of Defense personnel worldwide: Sonya Alford and Randall Seckman
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Pluribus closed out 2014 with greater than 22% growth year-over-year, and with excellent business
development prospects for 2015. The highlights of last year’s new business awards include the award
to Pluribus of the re-compete of our largest program to support DIA’s Of�ice of Counterintelligence,
the awards of two new task orders under our DIA SIS contract to support the Joint Intelligence
Operations Center–Korea (JIOC-K) and the National Media Exploitation Center (NMEC), and the
September award of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) Global Intelligence
Support Services (GISS) contract, under which we expect to have the opportunity for signi�icant
growth in 2015 and beyond. In addition, we are still awaiting the awards of several pending bids
to support DIA’s Chief Financial Of�icer (CFO), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA),
the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Of�ice of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
New Pluribus
Staff
We would like to
welcome aboard our
new employees:
Kathy Bailey
Lucinda Bennett
Christine Byun
David Coker
Tanya Croxton
Jason Devries
Steven Duvall
Robert Hansen
Michael Herring
Adam Hoffman
LaSonya Jordan
Severina Kinsley
Thomas Lloyd
Alexander Martinez
Tene McAdams
James Merz
Jeffrey Miller
Daniel Morrison
Inez Sadur
Todd Spires
Amber Staicoff
Terri Wood
To bolster our corporate infrastructure in order support growth in 2015, we have expanded our
Business Development group with a new BD Director, Todd Spires, and a Senior BD Manager, Terri
Wood. Todd’s emphasis is on identifying and validating opportunities for us to pursue over the next
one to �ive years and establishing strategic relationships with other companies and government
agencies in order to expand our reach with current and future customers, broadening our base
capabilities. Terri’s focus is on the back-of�ice organization of the group and producing the proposals
for both re-competes and new work that de�ines our growth plan. Paul Davis continues in his role as
BD Manager, overseeing staf�ing of our proposal efforts and contributing to our proposal responses.
Another addition to the Pluribus staff is Robert Hansen, our new Senior Program Manager for our
INSCOM GISS program. Rob is tasked with supporting all of our GISS task order proposal efforts
and, when we start winning task orders, he will be managing them, too. In the �irst few weeks of his
time here at Pluribus, Rob has focused on getting to know the capabilities and strengths of all our
Pluribus teammates, to facilitate creating focused teams to go after the GISS task orders as they are
released.
Employee Extras
6
Employee Rewards
For the DC-Metro Area
employees, we are in
the midst of Hockey and
Basketball season! We
will be giving away pairs
of Washington Capitals
and Washington Wizards
tickets periodically.
For Non DC-Metro
employees, we alternate
giving away a Dinner
& Movie Night giftcard
pack and a VISA giftcard
monthly. You could be
our next winner!
ETHICAL MOMENT
Drug and Alcohol Free Workplace
Pluribus pledges a drug-free work force. Illegal
drug use and prescription drug abuse poses
a serious threat to the health, safety, security
and productivity of employee and others in the
workplace. Pluribus will take all reasonable
steps to ensure that illegal drug use, alcohol
abuse, and prescription drug abuse is not
present within its workforce and does not
occur in corporate or client work sites during
the performance of any work performed by or
on behalf of Pluribus.
Scenario
One afternoon, Joe’s manager asked him for a
report his section had been working on. The
report was needed immediately for a meeting
5285 Shawnee Road
Suite 550
Alexandria, VA 22312
going on upstairs. He knew his co-worker, Pete,
had a copy. Joe went to Pete’s of�ice to get it,
but Pete wasn’t there. He saw the report he was
looking for on Pete’s desk, but when he went to
grab it, he accidentally knocked over a glass on
his desk. The drink spilled everywhere, and it
was then Joe realized that the glass had been
�illed with an alcoholic beverage.
Guidance
It is against company policy to be under the
in�luence of alcohol and/or illegal drugs at
work. Since it appears that Pete had been
drinking at his desk, it would be appropriate for
Joe to notify a Human Resources representative
to look further into this situation.