Tracy Frost
Acting Director
Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program; Director, Department of Defense (DoD) Manufacturing USA Institutes
Arlington, VA
Taking over the program in April 2016, Ms. Tracy Frost is currently the Acting Director of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) Program which includes the Department of Defense’s Manufacturing USA Institutes. In this capacity, she is responsible for serving cross-cutting defense manufacturing needs and stimulating the early development of manufacturing processes and enterprise business practices to achieve cost-effective solutions that enable our warfighters.
Ms. Frost also leads the DoD’s Manufacturing USA institutes which are public-private partnerships designed as innovation ecosystems to provide access to world class pilot manufacturing facilities that complement member capabilities, yielding a robust and sustainable domestic industrial commons promising technology areas. Under Ms. Frost’s leadership, the DoD Manufacturing USA Program has expanded to include eight institutes combining $600 million in federal investment with $1.2 billion in matching funds from industry, academia and state governments to form centers of excellence promoting U.S. competitiveness. Membership has also increased to include nearly 1,000 organizations from defense and commercial manufacturers of all sizes, start-ups, universities, community colleges, and state or local economic developers in active partnership with the U.S. Federal Government.
Prior to leading the OSD ManTech Program, Ms. Frost spent seven years managing small business programs for the Office of Naval Research’s SBIR Program and DoD Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP). In 2014, Ms. Frost became the Associate Director for the DoD Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) where she implemented innovative initiatives to assist the small business community transition viable technologies to the military and commercial marketplace.
Prior to her small business involvement, Ms. Frost served as a science and technology program manager for over 10 years in the areas of unmanned systems and ship logistics. Ms. Frost has a Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering from Florida Atlantic University and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from George Washington University.