Melwood Hires Jeffrey W. Hills as Chief Operating Officer

UPPER MARLBORO, Md., Jan. 5, 2015—Cari DeSantis, president and CEO of Melwood announced today the appointment of Jeffrey W. Hills as Chief Operating Officer. During more than 33 years in federal program and contract management, Hills has successfully executed and managed numerous large multi-million dollar design and construction projects, several hundred million dollar design and construction programs, a multi-billion dollar annual environmental program consisting of major federal and Department of Defense programs as well as DOD housing and utility revitalization programs. He has held supervisory and budgetary responsibility for various critical federal programs as well as group and company level profit-and-loss responsibility in the private sector.

“We are delighted to have Jeffrey join our Melwood team,” stated DeSantis. “His expertise and experience with federal and private sector oversight and management will be a significant asset to Melwood.” Melwood currently holds more than 40 government contracts and is one of the largest employers of people with differing abilities in the Washington, D.C. region.

Hills managed small, medium and large offices with operating budgets in excess of $34 million per year. He managed and executed various programs and projects. The largest placed over $1.4 billion annually in engineering construction. He has advised and directed major critical programs, projects and contracting efforts for DOD, Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He has demonstrated strong project and program management skills on major federal environmental and facilities programs. Most recently, Hills worked with Akima, LLC, Site Support Services Group as Senior Director of Operations.

Hills earned numerous accomplishments in his career. He holds a B.S. degree from the U.S. Military Academy; an M.S. from the DuPree School of Business, Georgia Institute of Technology; and an M.S. in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer, Certified Professional Contract Manager, and holds DOD’s highest level of acquisition certification, CAP—Level III. He also holds top-secret security clearance. He is an author of more than 10 articles and has conducted numerous presentations on a variety of related topics.

Hills currently resides in Germantown, MD with his wife Doty, son Zach and their boxer, Benny.

About Melwood

Melwood is a 501(c)3 organization that advocates for and empowers individuals of differing abilities to transform their own lives through unique opportunities to work and play in the community. Melwood provides employment, job training, life skill improvement, supportive and recreational services for more than 1900 people of differing abilities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region and serves as an international model that has been duplicated around the world. For more information, visit Melwood on Facebook or www.melwood.org.

# # #