About Us

Payal Tak

President & CEO

President & CEO of TELESIS Ms. Tak founded the company in 1998. Ms. Tak has over 28 years of experience in the fields of information technology and government contracting. She actively supports strategic planning, corporate operations, and maintains customer communications.

Ms. Tak has successfully established strategic relationships with several Federal Government agencies and leading industry partners and has led the company through many years of remarkable growth to its present stature as a leading provider of high-end IT solutions for federal agencies such as Departments of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Energy, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Justice, General Services Administration, Housing and Urban Development, and SOCOM, to name a few.

Ms. Tak has been recognized as the U.S. Small Business Person of the Year for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area by the U.S. SBA and has received a special Congressional recognition for her invaluable service to the community. Under her leadership, TELESIS has maintained an intense focus on quality and implementation of best practices for service delivery, which has resulted in TELESIS earning several accolades for consistently delivering the promise of its tag line and exceeding client expectations.

Ms. Tak is supported by a world-class professional executive team at TELESIS that shares her deep passion for excellence in service delivery and customer success. Today, with the support of her executive team, Ms. Tak is leading TELESIS to new heights as a highly successful and respected Government contractor. Ms. Tak’s academic background includes degrees in Computer Science and Telecommunications Systems Management.

Dave Jefferson

Executive Vice President

Dave Jefferson serves as Executive Vice President at TELESIS. He is responsible for customer engagement lifecycle activities including solution development, value-based marketing, and relationship management. Before joining TELESIS, Mr. Jefferson was a principal at a highly successful government contractor where his leadership culminated in the successful merger with an area large integrator in 2011. Since joining TELESIS in 2012, Mr. Jefferson has been leading highly effective teams focused on development of new initiatives and implementation of proposed solutions, and maintaining customer relationships.

Mr. Jefferson’s career spans more than 27 years of business and technology experience in both federal and commercial markets. His expertise ranges from information technology to business operations and sales. He received a BA in Political Science at Boston University, and has earned several distinctions throughout his career including the Hammer Award for Excellence in Government.

Rick Simis

Vice President, DoD Programs

Rick Simis is Vice President of DoD Programs at TELESIS and in that role is responsible for operational excellence in all aspects of program performance, organic growth, and expanding core capabilities, which include IT and cybersecurity services.

Prior to joining TELESIS in July 2015, Mr. Simis served as the President and Business Unit General Manager for a large defense systems integrator.  His experience includes full spectrum of IT services, post production/deployment software support, logistics and global supply chain operations, and lifecycle support to the Army’s C4ISR systems.

Mr. Simis is a 1980 West Point graduate, holds an MS from Kansas State University and a Master’s Certificate in Executive Leadership from Cornell University. He retired from the Army after serving numerous command and staff positions around the world.  His awards include the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and four Awards of the Meritorious Service Medal.  He is a graduate of the Army’s Material Acquisition Management course and holds an ITIL Foundations certification.

Mr. Simis is a member of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Program Management Institute, and is a life member of AFCEA International, the Association of the United States Army, West Point Association of Graduates, and the Military Officers Association of America.

Bruce Thoms

Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, Special Operations Programs

Bruce Thoms is Vice President of Special Operations Programs at TELESIS and in that role is responsible for operational excellence in all aspects of program performance, organic growth, and expanding core capabilities, which include Agile Development, Data Migration, Testing, C4 and Intelligence System Support, Cloud Services, and Software Architecture.

Prior to joining TELESIS in May of 2013, served as Senior Program Manager and Director for a large defense systems support provider and Logistics and Operations Manager under Mission Command.  His experience includes full spectrum of IT services, post production/deployment software support, software development, logistics, C4ISR and Intelligence systems support, Geo-Spatial Intelligence products, and logistics.  Mr. Thoms supported these positions globally and deployed numerous times in support of units and Army organizations.

Mr. Thoms is a University of Iowa graduate, holds a BS in Information Systems and a Master’s Business Administration, along with numerous certificates in project and process management. He is a former Army officer serving numerous command and staff positions around the world.

Johanna Mitton

Chief Data Officer

Johanna Mitton is the Chief Data Officer at TELESIS and in that role, is responsible for Data Information Strategy, Data Governance, Data Quality Control, Research, Data Science Policy Development and effective implementation of Data Science Tools.

Prior to joining TELESIS, Johanna served as the Senior Data Scientist for multiple agencies within the Intelligence Community. Her experience includes creation and implementation of predictive analytics using custom Machine Learning algorithms to solve government and industry problems. She also served as the Chief Operations Officer for a commercial business enterprise and worked to provide solutions to gaps throughout the government and private industry.

Ms. Mitton is a George Washington University graduate, holds a B.S., in Integrated Information, Science, and Technology and along with multiple certificates in project management, quality control and business administration from Georgetown University and George Mason University. She is a former Air Force Special Operations Command aviation specialist and has served in multiple SOCOM/AFSOC critical missions worldwide.

Sonia Dua

Executive Director of Managed Services

Sonia Dua serves as the Executive Director of the Division of Managed Services at TELESIS.  She is responsible for delivering diverse IT Services to include Help Desk, Service Desk and IT Infrastructure support from TELESIS’ Managed Services facilities as well as client sites. Ms. Dua is a 15-year veteran of TELESIS and brings over 20 years of experience in the management federal contracts. She has developed strong and lasting working relationships with TELESIS’ clients, vendors, program teams and partners. Under her leadership, her teams have consistently delivered the promise of TELESIS’ tag line and exceeded customer expectations.

Ms. Dua has successfully led multiple implementations of standardized program management methodologies at TELESIS resulting in successful CMMI appraisals for the company. Ms. Dua has a Master’s degree and is PMP and ITIL certified.

George Stathopoulos

Executive Director of Federal Civilian Programs

George Stathopoulos serves as Executive Director of Federal Civilian Programs for TELESIS. He is responsible for managing a program portfolio of Programs to serve the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Department of Treasury leading overall service delivery, customer satisfaction and market growth.

Previous to joining TELESIS, Mr. Stathopoulos served as Program Director and Program Manager for various programs for the Defense Media Activity, Office of Secretary of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Missile Defense Agency, and the High Performance Computing Modernization Program. Mr. Stathopoulos also served as corporate Director of Business Transformation and Technology Services where he led Subject Matter Experts in Agile Software Development, IT Service Management, Independent Verification and Validation, Systems Engineering, Cyber Security and Program Management supporting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of State. Mr. Stathopoulos has served as Engineering Manager where he directed software development and systems engineering programs for DoD and DHS RFID tracking programs. In the commercial sector, Mr. Stathopoulos served in Project Management roles developing, implementing, and operating large scale advanced speech recognition applications and voice and data satellite communications projects.

With over 20 years of experience in project management, Mr. Stathopoulos has focused on project, program, and portfolio improvements, including standardization, measurement, quantification, and control of processes to improve performance. He has earned the Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), and Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) certifications. He is trained in and has implemented advanced areas of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) High Maturity process areas as well as ISO-20000 (IT Service Management) and ISO-9000 (Quality Management) standards and PMI practices.

Mr. Stathopoulos holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Richmond and an M.B.A. in International Business, from the Arizona State University, Thunderbird School of Global Management.

David Sliom

Director of Cybersecurity

David Sliom serves the Director of Cybersecurity at TELESIS. He joined TELESIS in October 2016, and is responsible for Cybersecurity for the successful delivery of several cybersecurity programs for civilian Federal Agencies and Departments.  Before joining TELESIS he served as Director of Security for a Firewall and Appliance manufacturer, and enjoyed a successful career for 25 years in serving the US Census Bureau. He served in several roles, including managing the integration of all systems for the 2000 Decennial Census. He also served as the Certification Agent for the 2010 Decennial Census.

Mr. Sliom started his career managing demographic surveys for the Census Bureau and transitioned to system support and integration and cybersecurity. He has experience in the cybersecurity field for more than 20 years. He holds a Masters degree from George Washington University in IT Project Management as well as several industry certifications in security and system management.

Jill Waltersdorff-Rich

Executive Director, Human Resources

Jill Waltersdorff-Rich is the Executive Director of Human Resources and Talent Acquisition for TELESIS. She is responsible for directing the overall administration, coordination and evaluation of the HR and Recruiting functions. With over 18 years of experience, Ms. Waltersdorff-Rich is a trusted, collaborative leader focused on best practices. She is an important partner with the TELESIS Leadership Team in our efforts to establish effective systems and streamline processes to serve our customers and employees.

Previously, Ms. Waltersdorff-Rich has successfully managed HR functions at two Government contractors in the Washington, DC Metro area. Her professional expertise ranges from needs analysis and project management to developing teams who provide transformational service. She considers herself a lifelong learner and eagerly welcomes new challenges.

Ms. Waltersdorff-Rich earned her MBA and MS in Management (HR concentration) degrees from the University of Maryland University College. She also holds a B.A. in English from the University of Mary Washington and maintains two HR Certifications (SHRM-SCP as well as an SPHR).

Douglas O

Director of Technology

Douglas O serves as Director of Technology with TELESIS.  He has been serving TELESIS’ customers for over 5 years and his primary responsibilities are to oversee all IT operations and maintenance for multiple corporate locations, ensure their alignment with current and future business objectives of the organization, and compliance with ISO 20000.  Mr. O has over 20 years’ experience in multiple IT fields most recently performing Systems Engineering, Design and Integration of US Government mission critical systems along with Operations and Maintenance services for US government contracts that provide mission critical services to internal Government Agencies and external Global customers.  Mr. O has an extensive background in providing the highest levels of customer satisfaction, building trust and confidence through transparent services with an emphasis on customer satisfaction.

Mr. O has held various positions in the IT field ranging from Telecommunications marketing development and support, Medical systems track and billing, Enterprise Technical Support Services, and Data Center Operations Services, thus giving him a unique perspective and insight on the use and integration of technology to help resolve problems and foster innovative thinking and ideas.

Monisha Mandal

Director of Quality Standards

Monisha Mandal serves as the Director of Quality Standards at TELESIS. She is responsible for implementation and management of Quality and Security Certifications for TELESIS.

Ms. Mandal joined TELESIS in 2013 to manage quality assurance certifications for TELESIS. As the number of certifications grew, so did her role and her team. She created a team to begin monitoring internal processes and controls and assess the risk associated with those processes and controls.  With over 20 years of diverse experience, Ms. Mandal works closely with and supports all operations and program managers to ensure adherence to policies and procedures for accurate performance, quality improvement, incident management, security management and risk management within TELESIS. Ms. Mandal identifies potential new areas of compliance, certifications and risk management frameworks to implement any additional certifications for TELESIS.

Ms. Mandal has successfully led multiple implementations of standardized program management methodologies at TELESIS resulting in successful ISO, FISMA and CMMI appraisals for the company. Outside of the Department of Quality Standards, Ms. Mandal has lead the IT team for the corporate offices at TELESIS and is currently spearheading the development of the TELESIS OpenFISMA+ tool. OpenFISMA+ is a suite of modules for POA&M tracking, Vulnerability Management, Security Authorization and Incidents.

Under her leadership, her teams have consistently delivered the promise of TELESIS’ tagline and exceeded customer expectations. Ms. Mandal has a Master’s degree and is PMP and CISA certified.

Stephanie Taylor

Director of Contracts and Pricing

Stephanie Taylor serves as the Director of Contracts and Pricing at TELESIS.  In this role Ms. Taylor manages the day-to-day activities of the department while being ever present in new business initiatives.  Ms. Taylor came to TELESIS with over 20 years of government contracting experience.  During her career she has led finance, pricing, quality and contracts organizations.  Utilizing her background, Ms. Taylor has streamlined the processes to ensure accuracy, efficiency and overall quality within her department to ensure the highest level of excellence is achieved in supporting TELESIS clients.

With the same passion Ms. Taylor brings to TELESIS, she also serves her community by volunteering in various capacities to include providing financial education through the cooperative extension in her county.

In 2002 Ms. Taylor earned her MBA from The George Washington University and has continued her desire to learn by earning various certificates to include achieving a Six Sigma Black Belt in 2008.

Tamra King

Director, Special Operations

Tamra King serves as Director, Special Operations Programs for TELESIS. She joined TELESIS in 2017 and is responsible for the successful delivery of our USSOCOM programs which include Agile Development, Data Migration, Testing, C4 and Intelligence System Support, Cloud Services, and Software Architecture.
Prior to joining TELESIS, Ms. King was a Principal Delivery Manager for Microsoft Consulting Services where she managed deliveries of multiple solutions and products for DoD/Intel, USSOCOM, Federal Civilian Agencies and State and Local Governments. Over her career, she has managed programs delivering Enterprise Directory Services, Systems Integration, Datacenter Consolidation and Network Security as a Federal Contractor. She is PMP Certified, holds an ITIL v3 Expert Certification and is certified as a Scrum Master and Scrum Product Owner with more than 20 years of progressive management and leadership experience.