Leadership

Director – Byron M. Adkins, Jr.

Byron M. Adkins, Jr., is the Director of the Department of the Interior's Interior Business Center. He came to IBC with over 17 years of public and military service (U.S. Army). As the IBC Director, Byron is responsible for leading the delivery of shared services to support Interior offices and bureaus, as well as over 150 other federal agencies. He oversees a workforce of 900+ personnel charged with the mission of providing business support services to client agencies so they may focus on achieving their missions.

Prior to IBC, Byron served as the Director of the Office of Facilities and Environmental Quality (OFEQ) in the Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce. In this position, he oversaw Departmental policy, programs, and operational functions. Before his appointment at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Byron served as the Deputy Director of the Eastern Business Service Center, at the USDA Agricultural Research Service overseeing the facilities management, acquisitions, and information technology directorates.

He has also served in senior leadership roles both at the Department of the Interior’s IBC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Operations. At IBC, Byron served as the Deputy Chief of Staff, responsible for assisting with day to day enterprise operations and IBC’s transformation activities. At USDA’s Office of Operations, he served as a budget analyst and project manager supporting the Office of the Director. Prior to the USDA, Office of Operations, Byron also had the opportunity to serve as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill.

Byron started his career with the City of Richmond (Richmond, VA), Department of Public Utilities as an electrical engineer and was later commissioned into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers where he served in a number of assignments located around the world. After completing his of military service, he joined the private sector and supported the U.S. Army Research Development and Engineering Command as a project manager.

Byron holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and is a certified Project Management Professional. He is an alumnus of the Harvard University Executive Education Program for Senior Executive Fellows and has received an MPA from Troy University and an MBA from George Washington University. Byron is married, and he has two children.

Deputy Director – Quan M. Boatman

Quan M. Boatman is the Deputy Director of the Interior’s Interior Business Center. She serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Risk Officer to ensure effective planning and management of IBC services, operations, and resources. She is also responsible for guiding IBC’s strategy, risk, and performance management functions while supporting IBC’s three customer-facing shared service areas of assisted acquisition, financial management, and human resources/payroll.

With nearly 20 years of professional career experience (11 with the federal government), she is recognized as an expert in cost reduction and program efficiencies which result in improved management of organizational and budget resources to eliminate waste, streamline processes, and implement continuous improvement processes.

Prior to the IBC, Quan held various leadership roles with the U.S. General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service (FAS). In the Office of Customer and Stakeholder Engagement, she served as the Director of the Vendor Engagement and Training Division, overseeing execution of two national programs: Voice of the Supplier Program Management Office (PMO) and federal acquisition workforce training; and Branch Chief of the National Account Management Strategy Division, overseeing a national customer engagement team supporting DoD and civilian agencies’ procurement contracting activities. In the Office of Enterprise Management, Quan served as the Acting Branch Chief for the Category Management PMO and Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI) PMO, responsible for the $460M government-wide procurement obligations, program delivery, management controls, and performance oversight.

Quan began her federal career as a Team Lead at the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Office of the Chief Procurement Officer where she led enterprise management of acquisition spend valued at $11B for sustainable operations for information technology (IT) services, professional services, office supplies, software licenses, relocation, financial management, and logistics management. In 2013, she was selected for a detail assignment with the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a policy analyst with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy supporting OMB’s Government-wide Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative (FSSI).

Before the federal government, Quan worked for the private sector, state government, and non-profit organizations and held various professional positions, gaining extensive experience in project management, business process improvement, supply chain management, and cost reduction management for global and geographically separated organizations. Quan holds a Master of Business Administration from Strayer University, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Virginia Tech, and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®). She is a native of Richmond, Virginia, and currently lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, with her husband, Johnny, and they have three adult children.

Chief of Staff – Caroline Gary Romano

Caroline Gary Romano has over a decade of experience in the federal government, the majority of which is from the Department of the Interior. Caroline began her federal service career as a Presidential Management Fellow at the Department of the Treasury, and she has since had leadership positions at the Departments of Health and Human Services and Interior. While serving as the Deputy Commissioner for Native Americans at the Department of Health and Human Services, Caroline completed the Excellence in Government Fellowship with the Partnership for Public Service. Most recently, Caroline was the Deputy Director for the Office of Historical Trust Accounting.

In 2015, Caroline graduated from the University of Virginia, Sorensen Institute’s flagship Political Leaders Program. This leadership development program is for Virginians interested in becoming more active in public service, whether as community leaders or as elected officials. Caroline was appointed to the Arlington County Commission on the Status of Women in 2008, and she is currently serving as the Commission Chair. Caroline holds a Juris Doctorate from Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law, and is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies from Augusta State University.

Caroline has extensive experience working with community service organizations that support survivors of sexual violence. In 2012, she founded Rally Against Rape and Sexual Assault – a grassroots, community-action project dedicated to combating sexual violence and raising awareness about the prevalence of rape and sexual assault in Northern Virginia. Caroline has served as an advocate with the D.C. Rape Crisis Center and as a clinic escort with the Washington Area Clinic Defense Task Force. Caroline lives in Arlington with her husband, John-Alex Romano, and their son, Theodore.

Associate Director, Enterprise Management – Matthew J. (Matt) Costello

Matt Costello is the Associate Director for Enterprise Management at the Interior Business Center. Matt has been with IBC since March of 2017, and with the Department of the Interior since 2001.

Beginning his federal career as an Ethics Advisor in the Departmental Ethics Office and Associate Deputy Ethics Counselor for the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Matt also served as Ethics Counselor to DOI’s senior political leadership. In 2009, Matt moved to the Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution (CADR) serving as Senior Advisor, Deputy Director, and then Acting Director of the Office. Leading the Department’s Integrated Conflict Management System known as CORE PLUS, Matt oversaw implementation of the Department’s Organizational Ombuds program and the development of the Department’s first ever contracting vehicle for public engagement and environmental collaboration services.

During his time with CADR, Matt also served a detail as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Technology, Information and Business Service. During this time he supported the reorganization and rebranding of the then National Business Center to the interior Business Center, supported the Department’s IT Transformation efforts to centralize core IT functions, led the development and publication of the Department’s three Open Government plans, and worked on the renovation of the Bison Bistro and the creation of the Fingerprints Child Care Center.

In the summer and fall of 2016, Matt also served as the Department’s lead in its response to several high profile accusations of sexual harassment and workplace discrimination, including the development of the Department’s survey on harassment and discrimination, development of a mandatory single day in person training “Civil Treatment for Leaders” for all Departmental Senior Executives, development of a Department contract for independent investigation of allegations of harassment, and coordination of bureau and departmental antiharassment and discrimination policies. 

Matt is a graduate of the DOI’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program, Class 18, and has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Matt lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Julia and young son Jackson.

Associate Director, Acquisition Services – Sharon Roberts

Sharon Roberts is the Associate Director of the Interior Business Center’s Acquisition Services Directorate. Her responsibilities include the oversight of a wide range of mission critical acquisition support services.  

Sharon brings an extensive background in leading federal personnel and acquisition programs, to include leveraging innovation and technological solutions to improve organizational and program performance. Sharon’s distinguished professional career includes dual service in a civil service capacity while at the same time serving as an Officer in United States Army Reserve. Although retired from the US Army Reserves, she continues her public service dedication as a federal civilian. Sharon first joined IBC more than eight years ago, as AQD’s Deputy Associate Director and Bureau Procurement Chief.   

Sharon has been supporting and leading federal acquisition, business operations, information technology, and human capital programs.  In addition to serving within the Department of Interior, she has served within the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice. Sharon has earned two degrees in the field of Aerospace and most recently completed a degree in the Executive Leadership Program from George Washington University.

Associate Director, Financial Management – W. "Baze" Bazemore

W. “Baze” Bazemore is the Associate Director of the Interior Business Center’s Financial Management Directorate. His responsibilities include the delivery of accounting operations, financial systems implementations, travel, charge card and other services to over seventy customers throughout the Department of the Interior and external government agencies.

Baze began his professional career in the United States Marine Corps where he served 23 years as a Communications and Information Systems Officer including managing deployments of Pay, Personnel, and Accounting Systems at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) in Kansas City. He has over 25 years of experience in managing IT infrastructure, telecommunications, systems implementation and other technology intensive programs in support of federal – civilian agencies and Department of Defense – and state organizations. Baze joined IBC in May of 2016 as the Project Management Branch Chief and later became the Deputy Associate Director. He is a 2019 graduate of the Federal Executive Institute and holds Master of Science Degrees in Information Technology Management and Systems Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and George Washington University respectively.

Associate Director, Human Resources – Julie Bednar

Julie Bednar is the Associate Director of the Interior Business Center’s Human Resources Directorate. Her responsibilities include the oversight of the full breadth of Human Resources services. 

Julie began her federal civilian career in 1991 as a GS-4 secretary with the Internal Revenue Service in Denver. Julie joined IBC in 2001, starting as an HR Specialist. She quickly rose through the ranks to Lead HR Specialist, HR Supervisor, HR Officer, IBC’s HR Deputy Associate Director, and culminating in her current position as IBC’s HR Associate Director. Her wide range of experience in federal human resources includes all fields of HR including classification, staffing, benefits, employee relations, labor relations and HR systems.