How We Got Here

Members of APMP discuss their journeys in proposal management

It’s a question we’ve all been asked: How did you become what you are today? This question provokes reflection and, oftentimes, astonishment. We may feel a sense of pride that, somewhere along the way, our cleverness or instinct landed us exactly where we were meant to be: Here.

We asked our members for a few stories of their own. Here’s what we got:

Jennifer Harrison • APMP UK

Postroom Assistant! I started my working life at Alfred McAlpine Civils (acquired by Carillion) 13 years ago. I was working in their postroom when a position came up in the proposals department. I didn’t know much about proposals at the time, but I was surprised—and somewhat pleased—to see that it brought my love of graphics and the written word into one role. I applied, went through two interviews, and got the job.

Scott Knitter, AM APMP • Greater Midwest Chapter

I always assumed I’d be a public school teacher, and into the public schools I went. One short year: taking over for a burned-out band director (I should have seen the red flags there!). Another short year: taking over for a high school German teacher going on maternity leave. As I reeled from the new insight that I was a fish out of water in the realm of school teaching, Electronic Data Systems blasted into the Detroit area and scooped up thousands of warm bodies, put us in navy blue suits, and gave us new corporate lives. I learned proposals from a hardcore, seasoned manager and superb editor. From red pens and manila folders to SharePoint libraries and APMP certification, the rest is history. I’m glad about it all.

D.L. Quesinberry • National Capital Area Chapter

Awarded finishing school, age 14. Graduated, age 16. Married, age 17. Intended to be a career wife, mother, and author. Divorced. Attended Clark College of Court Reporting before returning to D.C. Raised my five U.S. Marine Corps-bred babies. Served as government court reporter. Applied to Congress, where Chairman Rostenkowski hired me to work with his attorney, a lobbyist. Wrote for the President of the United States as a junior lobbyist. Later began DonnaInk, where I developed over 25,000 documents in 100+ subject areas for 200+ national and international clients. Now have two business arms: ZenCon (business solutions) and DonnaInk Publications (publishing house for more than 40 authors and 100 titles).

Tim Pepper • Tidewater Chapter

I was a young, former U.S. Navy sonar technician working as a field service technician for a medium-sized defense contractor. The local director firmly believed that everyone should learn to work on proposals. I was assigned to work past performance for one proposal, résumés for another, and technical approach for yet another. Someone noticed my ability to distill the essence of a topic into meaningful proposal content, and I became one of the people frequently tasked to support bids around the company. I took an opportunity to move into a full-time proposal position in 2005. The rewarding work occurs within a structured framework with fresh topics encountered in varied environments for Navy and Air Force customers.

“The more I gave, the more it gave back.”
—R. Dennis Green, National Capital Area Chapter

Barbara Esmedina • National Capital Area Chapter

In 1978, I got a shipyard job on a dare. During a hiring shortage, I was hired sight unseen by referral. They were pretty upset when I showed up (no women allowed). They tried everything to get me to quit. As the oldest child with four brothers and a tough Marine colonel dad, I am not easily intimidated. The company was an out-of-town subcontractor having serious problems with the prime QA [Quality Assurance Program Manager]. The QA was a bully that terrified everyone. The next time we were in trouble, they sent me, hoping I would quit. The QA sent me back with an order that he would accept paperwork only from me or they were to shut down. I discovered my talent for writing creative excuses about why we messed up and how it would never happen again. I went on to writing TOs and RFPs. I am still friends with that bully today.

Lee Hendrickson, PPF APMP • Pacific Northwest Chapter

After graduating from college in 1967, I worked as a hardware and software engineer for a radar company. Later, another company discovered I could write well, so I became the go-to guy for tech writing. I wanted to get back into engineering, and as fate would have it, I stopped for breakfast on the way to another interview and noticed Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) across the street. I thought, “Why not?” and walked across the street to drop off a résumé. That afternoon, I was asked to interview at CSC for a job assisting a proposal guru. I was hooked. Later, I worked as a proposal specialist at Aerojet and learned a great deal from Jack Dean, one of the earliest CEOs of APMP. That experience changed the course of my career for good.

Larry Newman, PPF APMP • Mountain West Chapter

As an engineer that had just declined a geographic move to a field sales position, I responded to a Shipley Associates’ special projects ad. Upon completion, Boeing requested a deputy proposal manager to help prepare the first foreign military sale proposal to China—avionics for the F-7. I was sent to Days 2 and 3 of Dr. David Pugh’s “Writing Winning Proposals” workshop in St. Louis, and then I was introduced to the Boeing team in Wichita, Kan., by Dr. Terry Bacon and assisted Ted Petty for 9 weeks. (A veteran Shipley trainer warned me that for excitement in Wichita, they sat deck chairs beside the highway and watched the paint stripes fade.) The training was effective, Ted Petty was a great proposal manager to assist, and I enjoyed the challenge. My next reward was being sold as a “solid rocket motor manufacturing expert.” Never a dull moment.

George Brown • Florida Sunshine Chapter

I was a programmer for UNISYS (then UNIVAC), supporting NASA way back (not telling) when. I moved from there into software management, then program management. I learned total program life cycle. I was called on frequently to support proposals. I liked it, and the company thought I was good at it. I took on fancy titles and did marketing and proposals for several successful companies—putting them on the map, so to speak. The rest is history: onto proposal management and eventually proposal consulting. My latest venture is a 100+ PowerPoint slide show teaching U.S. government proposal writing.

Dennis Green • National Capital Area Chapter

One day: TourBook managing editor and travel writer for AAA.

Very next day: Trial-by-fire introduction to a short-fuse government proposal’s end game, churning late into the night at Computer Sciences Corporation. It was hard. We won. I was hooked.

Now: The profession has been enormously rewarding for 35 years and counting. Endlessly varied. Always new things to learn. The more I gave, the more it gave back.

Margaret McGuire, APM APMP • NY Metro Chapter

I used to lead a team of technical writers who developed help desk articles for common desktop applications. When that company exited the knowledge base business, my entire team was eliminated. I then joined a major international telecommunications company as the knowledge manager for their global proposal team. Just days after I started, the company underwent a massive reorganization, localizing the proposal teams and effectively eliminating my position. The manager of the local proposal team kept me as her team’s knowledge manager; however, she was also quite short-staffed as a result of the reorganization. As she asked me to take on proposal-related tasks, and then to manage complete proposals, I learned proposal management “by the seat of my pants.”

I fell into proposals after a career as a commercial film producer and a traffic coordinator on Madison Avenue (yes, it was exactly like Mad Men).”
—Nancy Kessler, PPF APMP, National Capital Area Chapter

Dani Rogero • National Capital Area Chapter

I used to lead instructional design teams, primarily in Naval Aviation. I was recruited to Electronic Warfare Associates Government Systems, Inc. to develop technical and marketing materials company wide, just as our business model was shifting toward more competitive proposals. The company was Shipley-trained, and I thought “Hey, this is like an instructional design project on steroids.” The “dark side” called to me (and they had cookies; I love cookies). Some co-workers attribute my enthusiasm for proposals to being an adrenalin/stress junkie. Personally, I find proposals safer than skydiving. Plus, the camaraderie of a proposal team feels similar to a team on a mission trip, where strangers gather in a foreign land (aka the proposal room) for a short time to make a difference in the world. It’s phenomenal what good teams can accomplish.

Nancy Kessler, PPF APMP • National Capital Area Chapter

I fell into proposals after a career as a commercial film producer and a traffic coordinator on Madison Avenue (yes, it was exactly like Mad Men.) Motherhood intervened, but I kept playing with computers from home and ended up in the D.C. area as a database manager. The final straw was a project devoted to the development of a résumé database application for a proposal center. The next thing I knew, I was a proposal manager, and I never looked back!

John W. Stevens Jr. • Houston Chapter

It was 1979 when I left the U.S. Navy to take a job as a defense contractor for a customer that could not be identified, doing work they could not describe, at a facility, the location of which I was not allowed to know until I had received the proper “access.” About 2 years later, after having worked a rotating shift and driving 120 miles round-trip while asleep, I sought a transfer. I ended up at another customer that could not be identified, at a facility, the location of which I could share with no one, writing requirements specifications for specialized intelligence systems. When my new employer learned that I had been writing specifications for RFQs [Request For Quotations] and RFPs [Request For Proposals], they decided I would be a valuable “proposal” resource. I was given training in the Shipley Method, Hi Silver, and two other capture/proposal methodologies.

For my first proposal, I was assigned as a writer, my second as a volume lead, and my third as proposal manager. After that, it was all but over. With the exception of a total of 5 out of the last #@ years, I have been associated with proposals as a BD [business development] guy, capture guy, and mostly as a proposal manager. I have finally come to the conclusion that The Borg are right: Resistance is futile.

Chris Simmons • National Capital Area Chapter

I was UNEMPLOYED. Deloitte Consulting had doubled my salary, given me a big signing bonus, and laid me off 2 years later when the telecommunications industry started declining in 2001. Shortly thereafter, a proposal consulting company called me looking for help on a Bank One proposal for the State of Illinois. The next day, I was on a plane and working as a writer for $75 an hour. The Bank One proposal immediately led to other opportunities at AT&T, Raytheon, ACS, NCS Pearson, and others. During that time, I expanded Rainmakerz Consulting with partners and 1099 consultants I met through APMP. I never really thought I would make a career out of business development consulting. After 120 customers, $70 billion in new business contracts, and flexibility to spend more time with my family, I finally know what I want to do when I grow up.

Olessia Smotrova-Taylor, AF APMP • National Capital Area Chapter

I remember asking the Washington Bureau Chief of the Financial Times who hired me, seeing what I didn’t see in myself yet, at what age did he realize he loved writing—because I certainly hated it in my mid-20s. But I learned to write fast and well at FT. I fell into government contracting at Lockheed Martin as an office manager on a troubled program when four PMs switched over a few months, and took over running it together with the fifth PM. I had to learn nuclear engineering on the fly. After the program was successfully completed, I was roped into writing proposals and learning how to translate technical information into persuasive text and graphics. I started out being a proposal solution architect, and moved on to becoming a capture and proposal manager. I now run a proposal consulting company and Bid & Proposal Academy, publish books and articles, and design courses for proposal professionals.

I used to manage the sales office of an import-export SME in the fashion accessory industry.”
—Rita Mascia, UK Chapter

Davide Ceremigna • Italy

As a computer science engineer, I’ve worked in Italy since 2000 as a principal consultant, with project manager and service manager roles in IT and CRM projects for a multinational French consulting firm. Since 2002, I’ve been involved in presales of turnkey projects and IT services as a proposal manager. As I have proven to be able to win some business, in 2011 I was put in charge of the company’s bid office. I was certified AM.APMP in 2012, and since then I’ve been involved in several efforts to change the company’s processes, policies, and tools as a presales and service management subject matter expert. The next step? Making our customers understand the necessity of proposal management professional growth inside their organizations.

Christopher S. Kälin • DACH Chapter

In 1997, when I was a telecommunications consultant, I was thrown into a mobile license bid project. As we got the multi-billion-dollar mobile license, I was involved in many other bids. Now, 15 years later, I am a bid and proposal evangelist, running CSK Management, a specialized bid and proposal services company. But my story is not as exciting as the story told to me by one of my clients: He happened to sit in the wrong job interview (!!!) without realizing it. During the conversation, he got so excited about the job opportunity, he immediately applied for it. And he is still there today!

Shannon Brown, AM.APMP • Lone Star Chapter

After graduating college in 2006 and deciding not to continue on to law school, I was lost in my career field. I performed odd jobs in various industries, from title/escrow to insurance and general accounting. Working part time as a medical billings/AR representative, I knew I needed a new job. I found one as a part-time customer service rep at a small defense contractor. In this post, I paid close attention to when people around me were discussing company strategy. I started coming in early and leaving later. I realized that opportunities are won and lost when business development is married well to the proposals. My boss sent me to Shipley training for foundations of proposal management. I became an accredited member of the APMP. I have since switched companies and am now a full-time proposal developer with many more Shipley classes under my belt. This past summer, I was given the opportunity to manage my first proposal. It was a total success!

Ali Paskun, AF APMP • Chesapeake Chapter

After graduating high school, I worked as an administrative assistant while taking college classes at night. I eventually got a job with Martin Marietta in the early 1980s, back before proposal management was a recognized profession. Although my position was classified as secretarial, one of my main responsibilities was to support proposal efforts. I joke that if I held the same job today, I would be called a proposal coordinator and make about four times the salary! When Martin Marietta and Lockheed merged, our business unit was closed. I took my proposal skills to other companies, and over the years, my career progressed from administrative assistant to technical writer to proposal manager to proposal director.

Rita Mascia • APMP UK

I used to manage the sales office of an import-export SME in the fashion accessory industry. Then I applied for a job as researcher at a university and, within 3 months of starting work there, I came up with an idea for an EU grant I had found. The bid was successful, and since then I was asked to work on bids. I got the bug for the job and have not stopped for the past 13 years! Now I’ve set up my own company and continue to enjoy the work.

Scott Miller • California Chapter

I consider myself a paradigm shift promoter and trainer, starting with GE computer presentation graphics in the ‘70s, desktop publishing print graphics in the ‘80s, and digital document design in the ‘90s. In the last decade, I used my Internet editing skills to write several blogs about my new passion—technologies that clean up the atmosphere by converting waste streams into biofuels and biopower. Social media led me to companies that sold and built $250 million to $1 billion renewable energy facilities. I helped with their branding and marketing campaigns and met committed industry leaders at conferences. I became fascinated with what it took to create the content for large-scale business proposals so, after I finished my online MBA, Cortac Group hired me to be a volume lead while I contribute proposal graphics. I love the collaboration and the opportunity to help streamline production of effective, professional-looking proposals.

“Back then, I never expected to end up in this line of work. But looking back now and describing my various activities of those days, it doesn’t seem like much of a surprise.”
—Chris Johnston, MPA, AM APMP, National Capital Area Chapter

Jody Alves • Nor’easters Chapter

With a psychology degree, I spent my early post-college years working as a secretary/researcher for an alcoholism program in a psychiatric hospital. From there I went to an advertising/PR firm for 4 years. I was then hired away by one of my clients, a local bank, for which I managed advertising and PR until our bank was swallowed up by mergers. After the layoff, I was a freelance marketing communications writer for almost 19 years for large and small companies and nonprofits. During the freelance period, I got a call from a friend asking if I might want to freelance writing proposals for GTECH Corp. I did and fell in love with the work. I’ve been with GTECH’s business proposals department for 17+ years—the past 5 in-house—and now manage the writing team.

Briana Coleman • National Capital Area Chapter

My degree is in psychology (animal behavior), and I wanted to be the next Jane Goodall. I worked as a keeper aide at the National Zoo in the Ape House, caring for the orangutans, gorillas, gibbons, and lemurs. On an average day, I wore scrubs and cleaned enclosures. It was not infrequent to be face to face with a 600-pound silverback, putting my hand against his mouth to feed him! My grand plan was to move to the Congo and work directly with the animals and conservation societies. Eventually, I realized I had to pay my bills, so I took the first “real” job I could find and started working for a government contractor as a proposal coordinator. My animal behavior background still comes in handy every day as I wrangle unruly proposal teams!

Dean Knight, APM APMP • APMP UK

After working in sales for 20+ years, 10 of which were with DHL, I was asked to take over the DHL bid team in the U.K. So after “messing around” in sales for so long and trying to do as little as possible with the bids I encountered, I became the gamekeeper! I did the only thing I could: I made sure I spoke with and met as many people as possible, including Jon Williams and Rick Harris and the many friends I have made in the APMP community. After 2½ years, I can honestly say that the help and advice I have been given have been first class and that I enjoy working in bids. I would not have said so at the beginning.

“This [my] background in journalism helped us all not only with the writing, but also with interviewing subject matter experts, providing critical reviews of proposal sections, and learning about new industries.”
—Patricia Lee Hall, Nor’easters Chapter

Chris Johnston, MPA, AM APMP • National Capital Area Chapter

I interned with the National Wildlife Federation and lobbied Congress on wetlands conservation issues. That is, I really assisted our top lobbyist by researching legislation, writing and preparing issue papers and briefing books, and covering hearings and committee debates on the Hill. Occasionally, I would accompany our lobbyists on direct visits with congressional staff. Back then, I never expected to end up in this line of work. But looking back now and describing my various activities of those days, it doesn’t seem like much of a surprise.

Keri Panatier • National Capital Area Chapter

I worked as an advocate for adults with developmental disabilities—absolutely nothing to do with proposal management or writing until our statewide contract came up for renewal. I supported that proposal development process as a writer and word processor. I fell into proposal management when I quit that job (without a new job) and attended a college reunion. I met an old friend who said they needed proposal managers. I must have been able to talk a good game because I landed that job and have been doing it ever since!

Anna Inman • APMP UK

After being told my temporary contract was coming to an end, I walked past a recruitment agency that was posting in their window a role for a bid coordinator. The advertisement was brief and mentioned the need to manage a library of responses. I had no idea what it involved. I got the job and had the pleasure of working for an excellent bid manager, Graham Ablett, who trained me well and introduced me to the APMP UK. The advantage I had was that I was trained to manage responses, not just act as a coordinator, and I thank him for that. Eleven years later, I am still in “bids” and hold a combined bid and relationship management role. The keys to success in our profession are the great mentors along our way, and I am certainly lucky in that respect.

Mary Alzire Papadopoulos • National Capital Area Chapter

I previously managed a horse farm and provided a variety of services related to horse care and riding. In 2004, I was looking for a new career when I was invited to help write a grant proposal for a local community-based organization. I was fortunate to be mentored by a recently retired program officer from a grant-making foundation who taught me from the funder’s perspective—very helpful! Freelance writing on proposals for grants quickly led to work on proposals for service contracts, and I was off and running.

Armida Lowe • National Capital Area Chapter

I spent several years trying to be a musician, wandering around the U.S., working on a ranch in Arizona, and eventually heading back east, broken and dejected. I decided to help take care of my grandparents, who both have Alzheimer’s, and started rotating 2-week shifts with my father in rural Alabama. In between cooking pork chops and reminding my grandmother that, yes, she had fed the dog, I also became my father’s unofficial part-time proposal assistant, building proposal skeletons and dotting a few i’s to make some extra cash. Eventually, I went back to my home state of Maryland to work as a truck driver. Seeing me floundering, my father helped me get my first job as a proposal writer. Almost 1 year later, I now have a profession that could allow me to work from home… or on the road. (You know, if the music thing ever works out.)

Samantha Enslen • National Capital Area Chapter

Back in the day (1995), I was a young woman working as the volunteer coordinator at the Rape Crisis Center. D.C.’s infamous mayor Marion Barry landed the city in a financial crisis, and the center lost all city funding overnight. My position was cut. I found a job at Jolt n’ Bolt, a coffee shop in D.C.’s Adams Morgan neighborhood. And in my free time, I began to study editing. I guess I had a knack for it, because I was soon brought on as a freelance editor in Computer Sciences Corporation’s (CSC’s) proposal shop in Falls Church, Va. CSC hired me full time after about a year of evening, overnight, and weekend work … and the rest, as they say, is history. I now run my own agency, Dragonfly Editorial. To this day, proposal editing is a big part of our work. I’ll always be thankful to the folks at CSC who took a chance on an inexperienced young editor so many years ago.

Chris LaFountain, APM APMP • Nor’easters Chapter

I left a desktop publishing job to pursue my marketing MBA full time in 1999. Upon graduating, I was looking for a job. ANY JOB. A former employer asked me to return as an RFP coordinator. Soon I discovered that my skills in project management and visual communications were a natural fit for this type of work. Many of my proposal colleagues have since moved to new lines of work, but for me, this fits. I’ve been a member of APMP for years, have spoken at two APMP conferences, and reached Practitioner Level of accreditation. So I guess this has “stuck” with me.

Kristin Dufrene, APF APMP • National Capital Area Chapter

I was a technical writer working on “Appendix G” of the original Reserve Component Automation Systems (RCAS) requirements document (1988). Unknown to anyone working on the contract, it was up for recompete, and the company used “corporate staff” to write the proposal. We lost, and everyone got their pink slips the same day. While we were all at the local bar at 3 p.m., HR called my home phone and left a message saying, “We don’t have another contract to put you on, but we don’t want to lose you. Would you be willing to work on a proposal until we find something else for you?” I showed up the next morning in the proposal center and didn’t leave until 3 a.m. Twenty-five years later, I’m still working on proposals, have never been laid off again, and have an unwavering passion for winning recompetes!

Lorissa Nord • ANZ Chapter

Young and idealistic, I had always wanted to work in the intellectual world of book publishing, so whilst studying for my Master of Publishing and Editing, I began my first publishing job in magazines. After a few of the most poorly paid months of my life, albeit offset by champagne and shoulder rubbing, I started to crave a world without air kisses and photo shoots. My love of words and crafting a story are what first pushed me towards publishing, so when I saw the job description for proposals coordinator at an ASX Top 50-listed company, I jumped at the chance to do the exact opposite of “glamorous” magazine publishing—proposal writing for a global financial services organization. Two years on, I’m still haunted by late nights, but now the morning after holds the potential for a win—not a hangover.

Cheryl Busenlehner • Georgia Chattahoochee Chapter

I was a programmer in a former life, and writing all of the user guides and training materials for the software was my favorite part of the job. I really enjoy interacting with people in a team environment, so when the proposal specialist position became available at my current employer, I pulled the lever and jumped track. I find that proposals suit my personality A LOT better than programming, but I still get all the fun of hard deadlines and something new to work on regularly.

“From selling milk, eggs, vegetables, and meat for a grocer to occasionally selling bologna to the government.”
—Gabe Cabrera, Colorado Chapter

Ednette Terry • Greater Midwest Chapter

During a layoff, my supervisor (a partner at an A/E firm) assured me, “If ever an opportunity opens in the future, I will keep you in mind.” Several months later, he contacted me. He had called to offer me a business development coordinator position. Though flattered, I had ZERO marketing experience, no understanding of proposal development concepts, and very little technical writing experience. He thought it was an excellent career move for me, so I accepted the offer. Immediately recognizing the steep learning curve ahead, I researched and digested every nugget I could find about proposal processes and marketing. Eleven years later, I’m still addicted and grateful that he “kept me in mind.”

Patricia Lee Hall • Nor’easters Chapter

I’ve long thought that it would be interesting to see people’s backgrounds pre-“proposal world.” My proposal story is this: I’d been a professional writer-editor for many years before joining Accenture as a senior proposal writer. Stan, my boss there, was creating an in-house editorial team to support proposal/BD [business development] efforts. Because he knew the proposal world could be taught—but good writing and editing were a “must”—he looked for people with a journalism background. This background in journalism helped us all not only with the writing but also with interviewing subject matter experts, providing critical reviews of proposal sections, and learning about new industries.

Tony Shifflett, MA, MBA, AM APMP • National Capital Area Chapter

I fell into proposal work because I was a competitive intelligence guru at Northrop Grumman. I had to put together reports and presentations on our competition, and one thing led to another …

Rob Weaver, AM APMP • APMP UK

I have always been a bid “manager” or at least a bid “writer,” I guess. As a consultant, I wrote bids or “tenders,” as we more often called them, and when successful, provided the consultancy to implement the project in question. For the last few years, I have started to describe myself as a “bid manager,” in that my job title says this is what I am. I no longer deliver the services I bid for but manage the bid production phase as well as produce content. A subtle change in some ways, but actually a fundamental one. I attained APMP Foundation status in 2012. What is interesting is that whilst I certainly did (unknowingly) use APMP good practices in my previous career, the terminology used by a bid manager is very different from that of someone who “manages bids.”

Robert Bunnett • California Chapter

I worked proposals at McDonnell Douglas and worked programs we won—proposal, program, proposal. We also had been hiring the original SM&A consultants since the early ‘80s. As a result, I received tremendous composite training in “how” to win. In the early ‘90s, we reached the point on a large classified national proposal that we decided to hire one fewer SM&Aer, and so I led development of a 100-page conceptual design document. It took me awhile to realize that I was responsible for cost, schedule, design AND leading a full-up proposal volume, while my peer SM&A consultant volume leads each only had similarly sized volumes to lead! The grass WAS greener on the other side!! That was 20 years ago. Shortly afterward, I joined SM&A to lead proposal development full time.

Gabe Cabrera • Colorado Chapter

First stop out of college = district manager of grocery stores = recruiting new district managers = new job as recruiter in commercial company = promoted to sales role in commercial company. We win government work—all of a sudden we’re a defense contractor. Co-workers start calling me a “business development guy” = assisting with writing/managing proposals. Our senior vice president says, “Hey, you’re good with proposals. You want to be my proposal coordinator?” I ask, “What’s it entail?” and she replies, “You’ll be great at it; I’ll teach you everything you need to know” = 5 years later and in my current role as a proposal manager. You can take the grocer out of the meat department, but you can’t take the bologna out of the grocer. Or something along those lines. From selling milk, eggs, vegetables, and meat for a grocer to occasionally selling bologna to the government.

Leroy Williams Jr. • National Capital Area Chapter

I was an unemployed journalist whose first cousin worked as a project manager for an environmental engineering firm in 2000. As we traveled from New Jersey to Philly to a Reds-Phillies baseball game, he advised me to check his company’s website. So I did, and there I found the title “proposal coordinator,” which required a degree in journalism. I applied, and then my cousin talked me up to the proposal center manager who interviewed me, then hired me 3 weeks later. The next 6 years were among the most eye-opening, stressful, and rewarding of my working life.

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