Photo By Irene Smith | DLA Energy’s first Kellogg Executive Scholar, Division Chief Angela Jones, discusses...... read more read more
To keep acquisition professionals current with the evolving business landscape, advanced learning opportunities are being offered through academia-industry partnerships with the Northwestern University.
“The Defense Logistics Agency created the Acquisition Workforce Leadership Academy to produce individuals capable of keeping up with changes in the global market and resolving complex defense industrial base problems,” said Gerald Tinner, program manager and creator of the AWF Leadership Academy. “This Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Account funded program cost up to $50,000 per person to attend these executive courses and an Executive Scholars Certificate is awarded to those who complete the five courses within two years.”
Up to ten members of the AWF are selected each year who meet specific requirements (GS-13 to GS-15s, and a minimum of 6 years in the acquisition work force). Recent academic partnerships have included the University of North Carolina and University of Virginia.
Division Chief Angela Jones is DLA Energy’s first Kellogg Executive Scholar. She is the Chief of Acquisition Support within the DLA Energy Procurement Process Support Directorate and was selected to be in the first cohort of the Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. In October 2024, she completed the AWF Leadership Academy at Northwestern University, distinguishing herself as a Kellogg Executive Scholar.
“I was intrigued by the program and volunteered,” Jones said. “It was a great opportunity to meet and learn from a broad audience of business executives from industry. “We had senior-level members of industry sharing best practices. I would listen in these classes and think how can I bring this information and apply it to make my division and the organization better.”
Jones started her federal career as a GS-2, procurement technician for the US Army Corps of Engineers, at Cameron Station and transitioned to DLA Energy in 1998 as a Contract Specialist for the Defense Energy Support Center Installation Energy, Coal Division.
Since joining the federal government, Jones has earned a bachelor’s degree in management from National-Louis University, a master’s degree in organizational leadership and human resource management from Northcentral University.
Over the years Jones has progressed within the contracting career field, serving in the roles of Purchasing Agent, Contract Specialist, Contracting Officer, Procurement Analyst, Policy Chief, and Advocate for Competition. She is a Certified Acquisition Professional (DAWIA Level III), and a Certified Prosci Change Management Practitioner.
The full realm of her knowledge and experience has brought her career as an Acquisition Professional full circle.
“The opportunity and experience I had with the Northwestern University’s Kellogg Executive Education program is priceless,” Jones said. “We had senior-level individuals sharing best practices from the finance industry, big banks, and C-suites of large corporations. At times, I was the only federal employee in the classroom. The benefits I received span across my professional and personal lives and has enhanced my strategic thinking and risk-based decision-making skills.”
To become accredited as a Kellogg Executive Scholar, participants are required to be in the classroom for four of the five-week classes. Subjects included Supply Chain Management, Leading with Advanced Analytics and AI, Leading and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation, Negotiation Master Class and an elective. The courses are designed to ensure that members of DLA’s AWF skillsets meet the needs to properly support the warfighter.
“The message is how we can improve our processes and business practices through innovation and keep up with evolution of business and our customer’s needs,” Jones said. “Am I challenging my people to think outside the box of what we do and how we do it every day.”
Tinner is enthusiastic about this AWF program. Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business consistently ranks in the top 10 in the country annually.
“The AWF Leadership Academy intends to produce individuals like Angela Jones and the other DLA employees who have graduated from the program capable of stepping into new roles taking on greater responsibility, advance the AWF with a renewed energy, and an eagerness to reshape how DLA supports the warfighter,” he said.
For Jones, the benefits are endless.
“One thing I am doing differently is I am operating more strategically and executing with more creativity. I am encouraging my team to think more broadly and to be more creative in our business practices and in our approach to customer support. I learned that the application of the knowledge that you gained is important and sometimes you must narrow your scope and apply change where you can, from where you are currently. So, I continue to do that within my division, and as a proud leader of DLA Energy every day.
| Date Taken: | 03.03.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2025 12:43 |
| Story ID: | 491982 |
| Location: | FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
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