Members of the media who wish to speak with a Charleston Defense Contractors Association representative should contact Peter D’Abrosca at 720.639.0066 or Peter.Dabrosca@judgepr.com
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA), one of the largest defense organizations in the southeastern U.S., announced that Paula Callahan has been promoted to executive director after serving as its operations executive since 2018.
With Callahan spearheading initiatives and events for the CDCA for four years, the national defense and security consortium has grown from 20 members to nearly 288 members and just hosted its largest defense summit in the organization’s 20-year history.
“Anyone who has worked with or is a member of the Charleston Defense Contractors Association knows that Paula is the heartbeat of CDCA,” said Gary Jaffe, president of the CDCA. “Paula works day in and day out to help bring together security experts, government officials and private defense companies to collaborate and evolve the defense industry of tomorrow.”
Prior to serving as the CDCA’s operations executive, Callahan held administrative positions in elementary and higher education, as well as collegiate athletics.
According to Callahan, her passion for national defense is a family affair. Her father served in the U.S. Navy and her son is currently serving in the U.S. Air Force, while Callahan’s husband and stepson are both defense contractors.
“I’m beyond honored to receive this promotion, especially as we kick into high gear for 2023,” said Callahan. “The defense industry has always been a part of my life in one way or another, so to be in a position to help form partnerships with military and private defense entities across the country, and harbor that collaboration right here in Charleston, it means a lot.”
In addition to hosting small business and other defense industry symposiums, Callahan also lead the planning and execution of the 15th Annual CDCA Defense Summit, which saw record-breaking attendance and exhibitors this year, with more than 1800 attendees. Under Callahan’s leadership, the CDCA Defense Summit added more than 25,000 square feet of event space to house 60 more exhibitors and more than 400 additional attendees in the convention center’s exhibit hall, providing more military leaders and defense experts with a larger event to meet and discuss national security strategies, unveil new technologies, and collaborate with other industry leaders.
Additionally, the CDCA has hired on Dee Dee Phillips as its administrative coordinator, where she will support Callahan with organizational finances, membership recruiting, communication, operations, and event planning.
Phillips formerly served as the executive staff assistant to the Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Futures and Concepts Center. Phillips also led writing efforts for Army regulations, standard operating procedures and continuity operating procedures for both U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and for the Army National Guard Bureau Regional Cyber Command as a contractor.
For more information on the CDCA and its leadership, visit www.charlestondca.org.
About Charleston Defense Contractors Association:
The Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA) supports the defense community in the Charleston metro area, South Carolina and the Southeast U.S. The CDCA advocates to preserve, strengthen, and grow the Charleston defense industry through partnership and collaboration with stakeholders and our community. The CDCA represents its members with the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) and other Government agencies in the area and surrounding regions and provides input on issues and initiatives to the broader community in such areas as education, small business mentoring and congressional affairs.
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