Rafael Roman is a noted authority in public and private acquisitions and contracts. He is also an expert in compliance matters, and holds considerable experience in asset, logistics and project/program management.
Currently Mr. Roman is the Director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (USDHS/DHS) Information Technology Acquisition Center (ITAC). He is also currently the Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Procurement Operations.
Previous federal positions held by Mr. Roman include his serving as the Director Contracts, and the Chief of Individual Assistance and Housing for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Gulf Coast Recovery Office (GCRO) in Louisiana. The GCRO served the victims of hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Rita. Within GCRO, Mr. Roman assisted in establishing communications with the most remote and devastated of wards and parishes, and quickly devised provisioning strategies to ensure that appropriate materials, equipment, systems and services were in critical locations, at the right time and in the hands of individuals who could maximize their benefit to the public’s safety and well being, and the protection of private property and the public infrastructure. Mr. Roman developed, managed and implemented plans to build and populate self contained temporary housing communities, with embedded health support, security, utilities, public roads and transportation.
Earlier federal positions held by Mr. Roman include his being a former Procurement Chief and an Environmental Executive. His private sector experience spans executive positions in small, mid-size and large companies. His functional areas included significant work in contracts, project/program management, proposal development, regulatory compliance assurance, business development and operations management.
Rafael Roman has served as advisor to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Federal Acquisition Institute. He has been published, and has been a guest speaker at law schools, business schools, and state and local governments. Mr. Roman holds a Juris Doctor and a Masters of Business degree, as well as a Federal Acquisition Contracts Level III and a Federal Acquisition Program Manager Level III professional designation. He is a Fellow of the National Contract Management Association, the Industry Advisory Council and the Consejo Inter-Americano de Seguridad. Among his many distinctions are his designation as a Federal 100 recipient, being elected to the presidency of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the National Contract Management Association, and later one of its National Directors.
His hobbies include agriculture and participating in humanitarian relief activities abroad.