National Armaments Consortium Membership Elects Kord Technologies' Steve Cornelius and COLSA Corporation's Cathy Dickens to Executive Committee

Cornelius and Dickens Join Diverse ExCom which Supports Collaboration for Rapid and Effective Armaments Development for our Warfighters 

SUMMERVILLE, S.C., Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Armaments Consortium (NAC) today announced that Steve Cornelius and Cathy Dickens have been elected to its executive committee, filling key leadership roles for the nation's leading organization rapidly developing innovative armaments prototypes for our warfighters.

Mr. Cornelius and Mrs. Dickens will join the 13-member executive committee which provides governance and oversight of the organization, represents NAC members' voices to day-to-day leadership, and drives collaboration between industry, government, and academia.

"We are excited to have Steve and Cathy join the NAC Executive Committee to support our efforts to drive collaboration among industry, government, and academia," said James Miller, Chairman of the NAC Executive Committee.  "With their extensive experience in government and private industry, Steve and Cathy understand how to execute in this environment to deliver critical prototype technologies to our warfighters. In these new roles, they will be essential in helping us fulfill our mission of becoming the Nation's armaments consortium."

Additionally, Noel McCormick, Founder and President of McCormick Stevenson Engineering & Design, has been re-elected for a second term, and Karl Lewis, President of Lewis Machine and Tool Co., Inc., has been re-elected for a fourth term.

"Noel and Karl provide unwavering support to our committee, the NAC's members, and our government sponsors," said Charlie Zisette, Executive Director of the NAC. "As the small business representatives, they understand better than anyone how vital small and nontraditional defense contractors are to developing the cutting-edge technologies our warfighters need. We are fortunate to have their continued leadership to maximize the impact of our current small business members and attract new ones into the industrial base."

The NAC's membership includes more than 985 innovative companies that work with the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop armament technologies in support of our Nation's security. Over 80 percent of NAC member companies are small businesses and nontraditional defense contractors (NDCs)

The consortium operates under several Other Transaction Agreements (OTA) with the DoD that encourage collaboration with the Government and among traditional contractors, small, innovative companies, national labs, and academic institutions. NAC members have access to three OTAs sponsored by government partners:

• The Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium (DOTC): DOTC's mission, in partnership with the NAC, is to enhance our warfighter's lethality, survivability, and combat effectiveness by facilitating the industrial and academic research, development, and technology demonstrations needed to advance and expand our military technological superiority.
• The Aviation and Missile Technology Consortium (AMTC): AMTC engages industry and academia to develop and mature guided missile technologies to develop and transition U.S. Army aviation and missile manufacturing technologies, and integrate advanced technologies, techniques, and processes into future effective weapon systems.
• The Naval Energetic Systems and Technologies Program (NEST): NEST is a collaboration with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NWSC IHD) to address the most significant energetics-related challenges facing our nation.

Steve Cornelius is the Senior Director at Kord Technologies where he leads their Operating Unit for the Applied Physics sector with a focus on missile systems and directed energy weapons development. Steve is a former member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), serving as the Director of the Weapons Development and Integration Directorate of the US Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center (AMRDEC).

Cathy Dickens is the Senior Vice President of Business Management Operations of COLSA Corporation. She provides executive leadership and oversight in the financial, human resources, contracting, subcontracting, proposal, and pricing functions. Before joining COLSA, Cathy retired from a 37-year career as a civilian manager with the U.S. Army. When she departed Civil Service, Cathy was the Deputy to the Commanding General of the US Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM), Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

The full National Armaments Consortium Executive Committee includes:

• James Miller, NAC Chair, Dynetics Inc.
• Joe Buzzett, General Dynamics, OTS
• Steve Cornelius, Kord Technologies, Inc.
• Steve Dart, Day & Zimmerman
• Cathy Dickens, COLSA Corporation
• Rollie Dohrn, Jr., Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems
• Dr. Tim Eden, Penn State University
• Daniel Hartman, Spectra Technologies
• Wendy Hummers, Elbit Systems of America
• Karl Lewis, Lewis Machine and Tool
• Noel McCormick, McCormick Stevenson Corporation
• David Robinson, Corvid Technologies and Corvid Cyberdefense
• Dave Turovsky, Polymer Technologies, Inc.

The National Armaments Consortium (NAC) is the largest collaborative organization working with the Department of Defense to develop armament technologies in support of our Nation's security. The NAC's focus: transitioning technology to the warfighter fast; promoting innovation; recruiting a community of world-class technologists; encouraging collaboration with government, industry, and academia; removing barriers; promoting nontraditional defense contractor contributions and participation; promoting and enabling the industrial base; supporting the nation's equities in RD&A, OTA, and future capabilities. For more information about NAC, please visit www.nacconsortium.org.

CONTACT: Dan Palumbo, [email protected], 301-875-2356

SOURCE National Armaments Consortium