Mr. Scott is the Director, Mission Support for the Office of Naval Research (ONR). He
is responsible to the Chief of Naval Research (CNR) as the principal assistant for overall
oversight and coordination of ONR business, operations and services functions as well as
oversight of assigned CNR initiatives facilitating ONR’s Science and Technology (S&T)
mission. He was appointed to Senior Executive Service in November 2020, when he
assumed his current duties.

From September 2016, Mr. Scott served as the Program Manager for the Naval Surface
Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD) Enterprise Talent Management
Office, and Senior Executive Advisor to the Technical Director. He also served as a
senior technical authority, expert consultant, and advisor to the senior leadership on
developing, resourcing, overseeing, implementing, administering, and evaluating talent
management workload. He built a “Hiring Rubric” system to remove bias in hiring and
hired over 700 employees.

In March 2011, he served as the Director, Enterprise Talent Management Office, Naval
Sea System Command (NAVSEA), where he developed and implemented the NAVSEA
enterprise talent management strategy and structure to manage 53,000 to 70,000 civilian
employees lifecycle under 4 integrate business operating teams: recruiting, student
engagement and outreach, hire and onboarding, and develop and retain our workforce. He
increased communication, collaboration, commitment, and coordination for the civilian
workforce initiatives and produced systemic deliverables. He built the “Navy Civilian
Careers” brand to market, promote, and advertise extraordinary career opportunities for
entry, journey, and expert civilian applicants and hired over 3000 people.

In March 2009, Mr. Scott served as the first Director, Senior Executive Management
Office for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). In this role, he managed the
executive human capital lifecycle functions for 80-95 NAVSEA senior executives plus
ten more executives from Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) and Naval Supply
Command (NAVSUP). He exceeded all executive requirements annually on time, on
schedule and within budget. He also partnered with the Department of Navy (DoN),

Office of Human Resources (OCHR), to launch the DoN Executive Management
Program Office (EMPO) within one year and on budget to serve 345 executives annually.
Throughout his career, Mr. Scott created and released innovative talent management,
human capital, executive management, quality of life, and Science, Technology,
Engineer, and Math (STEM) Student Engagement and Outreach programs. He has
executed both Appropriated (APF) and non-appropriated (NAF) budgets ranging from
one to ninety million dollars annually. His diverse and successful portfolio of work spans
a 36-year civil service career.

Mr. Scott received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of West
Florida, where he serves as a Board of Trustee, Chair of the Student Affairs Committee.
He also earned an Executive Leadership Certificate from eCornell. Mr. Scott earned
numerous awards, special recognitions, and designations to include Navy Civilian
Superior Service Award, Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) Special Recognition
Award for Outstanding Leadership, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, U.S. Office
of Personnel Management (OPM) Best Practice Recognition for Executive Leadership,
NAVSEA Command Excellence Award, Navy Civilian Meritorious Service Award, and
Naval Air Weapons Station Commander’s Leadership Award.

His extracurricular passions include reading marketing and innovations books, playing
golf, serving the community, traveling to exciting places, and staying physically and
mentally fit.

Ms. Jessica S. Palatka is the Director of Human Resource Management and Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) and a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), responsible for providing leadership, developing policies, and directing programs in all aspects of human resources and human capital management and administration for all bureaus of the Department of Commerce (DOC), covering nearly 58,000 employees located in all 50 states, every U.S. territory, and more than 88 countries. Ms. Palatka is a member of the Office of Personnel Management Chief Human Capital Officer Council Executive Steering Committee.

Concurrently, Ms. Palatka is an Adjunct Associate Professor for the University of Maryland, Global Campus, where she teaches undergraduate courses in Human Resources and Business. 

Ms. Palatka earned a Bachelor of Science cum laude in Management Science and Statistics, Decision and Information Technology in 2000 and a Master of Science in Human Resources Management in 2006 from the University of Maryland. Additionally, she earned a post graduate certificate from Cornell University in Human Resources in 2007. 

Previously, Ms. Palatka served as the Chief of the Human Resources Operations Center (HROC) for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Ms. Palatka also served as a Senior Leader (SL) while working as the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) and Director, Human Resources Directorate (HRD) for the National Defense University (NDU). She also served as the Director of Human Capital Strategy for Sustainment for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). 

Ms. Palatka holds the Human Resources Certification Institutes’ (HRCI) certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) license. Ms. Palatka also holds a Level III certification in Life Cycle Logistics, a Level II certification in Program Management, a Level I certification in International Acquisition, and a Green Belt Lean Six Sigma Certification. 

Jon Newman serves as the Director of Federal Programs at Yello. His team is responsible for the strategy and growth of Yello's federal sector. Jon has nearly 15 years of work experience in the software industry and 10 years specifically in the GovTech industry

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