FAI Welcomes New Board of Directors!

Please give a warm welcome to the newly appointed FAI Board of Directors (BOD)! The FAI BOD is now co-chaired by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Associate Administrator of Acquisition Workforce Programs, Joanie Newhart, and the GSA Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer, Jeff Koses. The members are: Karla Smith-Jackson (NASA), Barry Berkowitz (Commerce), Paul Courtney (DHS), Andrea Brandon (DOI), Angela Billups (VA), Suzanne Logan (OPM), Nicole Evans (Treasury), and Frank Kelley (DAU).

The FAI BOD provides strategic direction to FAI as it fulfills its mission to foster a high-performing, qualified civilian acquisition workforce. OFPP recently updated the FAI Board of Directors Charter. The adjustments in FAI BOD membership reflect the desired mix of acquisition functional areas to ensure FAI’s diverse stakeholder needs are represented.

The new year marks several staffing changes at FAI with the retirement of a valued team member, Anne Reinhold, and the arrival of a new team member, Andrey Andreyev. Anne Reinhold, a Procurement Analyst for the Learning and Development Team, has been a valued FAI team member since 2016, and she will be greatly missed by everyone at FAI both professionally and personally. FAI appreciates her contributions to the team and sends her warm wishes in retirement! FAI is expanding its team with a new hire Andrey Andreyev from the Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Andrey will serve as the FAI Technical Advisor supporting the Business Operations Team.

Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2022-02 and 2022-03 were published in the Federal Register on December 15 and 30, respectively. FAC 2022-02 includes updates to certain online references in the FAR and is effective January 14. FAC 2022-03 includes adjustments to trade agreement thresholds defined in the FAR. For more information on either update, see the Federal Register notices for FAC 2022-02 or FAC 2022-03. To view and download the latest version of the FAR, please visit Acquisition.gov.

Acquisition.gov will be offering a BETA version of the site with enhanced features and functionality to help the acquisition workforce do their jobs more effectively. This new website is ready for final public testing. During this beta phase, the GSA Office of Acquisition Policy will be fine-tuning the site’s content, navigation, and layout based on the feedback of users. If you encounter a broken link or error message, let them know by using the contact page. Feedback is what the beta phase needs, and your communication will help improve the new site!

Acquisition Training for the Real World is a two-week program of daily virtual training sessions on GSA’s tools and digital services and the latest information on Federal Marketplace initiatives. Sessions are generally one hour and start at 1 p.m. ET. Register for the next sessions during January 24 through February 4. This opportunity is open exclusively to federal agency personnel. Earn up to 11 CLPs.

FAC-094 Improving Transparency in the Federal Marketplace: Digital Nonavailability Waivers is a 30 minute, web-based training worth .5 CLP. This course introduces the new digital waiver process for proposed nonavailability waivers under the Buy American Act and the role the new Made in America Office has in that process. Register in FAI CSOD today! 

Join the Small Business Administration (SBA) for their FY 2022 First Wednesday Virtual Learning Series on Wednesday January 5 from 2 to 3 p.m. ET. The topic for this month is Category Management: Policy Considerations and Flexibilities and Small Business Utilization. Pre-registration is not required, just join the event live via Microsoft Teams 10 minutes prior to the event using this entry link. Send any questions regarding the program to sbalearning@sba.gov. You can also view past webinars on SBA’s YouTube page.