Melissa Starinsky

Melissa Starinsky retired as a Senior Executive Service member from the federal government in 2021. After retirement, she started a contract management consulting firm called Starinsky LLC where she provides a wide range of contract management services to companies. Her federal career spanned more than thirty (30) years where she held the following roles: • Senior Executive Service (SES) - served in three (3) large Executive Branch Agencies (VA, DHHS, and GSA) over a ten (10) year period • Head of the Contracting Activity for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (2016-2021) – led execution of more than $9B annual discretionary contract and grant spend • Chancellor/Vice-Chancellor of the award-winning Department of Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy (2013-2015; 2008-2010) – led operation of five (5) schools to train and certify the more than 40,000+ VA acquisition workforce members • Director of the Federal Acquisition Institute (2015-2016) – led training and certification programs for entire civilian agency acquisition workforce (Contracting Officers, Contracting Officer Representatives, and Program Managers) • President of the National Contract Management Association (2020-2021) – a ~ 20,000 person-member non-profit association for the contract management community • Contract Specialist/Officer - served as a CS/CO in Department of Navy, Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; held a protest-free record and awarded contracts ranging from simplified acquisition to those exceeding $1B Ms. Starinsky holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Maryland. She also is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute.