PVM’S DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TEAM LEADER: MEET EDWARD PARMELEE

PVM is a 6-year partner to the Department of Justice (DOJ), focused on helping unlock data for good and maximize their investments in data systems. We sat down with PVM’s DOJ client success manager and Huntsville, Alabama team leader Ed Parmelee to learn more about his role and PVM’s DOJ portfolio. 

Can you tell me about your experience with DOJ, how it led you to PVM, and how it helps you delight PVM’s DOJ client? 

I am retired federal law enforcement as part of the Department of Justice. That translates into my ability to understand the way the Department of Justice thinks and the expectations that they have of their contractors. That allows me to get ahead of potential obstacles because I can recognize them before they become an issue and it means we are able to communicate more effectively with the client. 

This position with PVM really found me. I was asked to speak to members of the PVM team to find out more about the position, and afterwards, I set up a discussion with Pat. That really drove it home for me, and convinced me to join. 

How do you and your team work together to take on challenges for your client? 

The team is comprised of subject matter experts that are self-sustaining. They’re very good at communicating with each other and reasoning out issues that they have when they’ve encountered a problem with client infrastructure. My job is to understand what they’re trying to do as best as I can while providing them with top cover help with identifying resources that they may need, or if they have any blockers. Using my experience with DOJ, I can help get through those blockers faster by communicating with the right people with the right resources.  

Currently, they are working on one major project but there are a lot of internal moving parts. We have been working with an outdated server cluster that we have repaired and optimized in order to ingest more data than before. Essentially, an ideal pipeline would be large and able to take in as much data as possible. Their pipeline was restricted and very small. Now we have widened it, or optimized it, to allow for more data ingestion. 

What is PVM’s role like in Huntsville, Alabama? 

Part of my duties is to cultivate PVM's existing relationships in Huntsville and create new strategic partnerships. PVM's reputation is on a positive trajectory in Huntsville with new relationships being formed with existing customers, large prime companies, Department of Defense, NASA, and other similar sized Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and 8(a) certified businesses in the local area. 

What has your experience been with PVM’s work culture? 

It has been interesting in the way that PVM is growing and with our recent 8(a) certification, the dynamics of the company are going to change. Being a part of building that foundation is rewarding and naturally comes with growing pains. What I like is the fact that everyone understands the growing pains we’re going through and the need to get ahead of that so we can standardize the policies and procedures so everyone -- account managers, executive management, etc. -- all approach the methodology the same way.  

What does Challenge Accepted mean to you? 

The more complex the clients’ issues are, I believe, the better PVM thrives. You almost can’t out-challenge PVM. For example, the client may have major challenges with infrastructure or data or a combination of things. PVM will not shy away from those challenges. We are pragmatic enough to say what we can’t do, but we are willing to take on difficult challenges. Essentially, we step in and solve challenges others have told them they can’t solve.