Amanda Harper

Biography

Amanda Harper is president of Gaeltek, LLC | Technology
Solutions in Manassas, Virginia. She oversees day-today
management of non-technical operations. She cofounded
Gaeltek in 2004 and joined the company fulltime
in 2009.
Previously, Ms. Harper was a spokesperson and press officer in the
Office of Press Relations at the United States Department of State from
July 2005 through July 2009. She was responsible for explaining U.S.
policy on international issues to U.S. and foreign media audiences. She
also represented the U.S. Department of State in interagency meetings,
planning sessions, and international exercises to test and strengthen the
United States government’s response to cyber-attacks and other incidents
of national significance. Before joining the Office of Press Relations, she
served as Public Affairs Specialist in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and
Migration (April 2004 – July 2005) where she designed and implemented
press and public outreach strategies to enhance the public’s understanding
of the United States Refugee Program.
From May 2002 to April 2004, Ms. Harper was the Information Officer for
the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, where she managed the public
affairs outreach program, responded to media inquiries and maintained
routine contact with foreign and domestic journalists on diverse issues
affecting the Asia-Pacific region. From June 2000 to May 2002, Ms. Harper
was a program analyst with the U. S. Department of the Navy. She served
as the Deputy Director, Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization,
where she counseled and assisted small and disadvantaged businesses
with procurement regulations and practices, determined the appropriate
buying office for their product, and provided pertinent data on Department
of Defense procurements. She was also the Assistant Lead for Earned
Value Management Systems and evaluated contract status by analyzing
contractors’ use of internal cost and schedule management control systems
to ensure that actual work performed met technical cost and schedule
requirements, resource planning, and operational schedules. Ms. Harper
joined the United States government as a Presidential Management Fellow.
Ms. Harper is the co-author of Business IT 101: A Business Owner’s Guide for
Finding Hassle-Free Computer Support (2011). She holds a B.A. in Political
Science from Bridgewater College; her M.P.A. in Public Administration is
from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Ms. Harper is the recipient of numerous United States Government awards
and honors, including from the U. S. Department of State, the U.S. Department
of the Navy, and from the U. S. Department of Homeland Security for her
commitment and efforts to testing and strengthening the government’s
response to cyber-attacks.