Stanton, Shutt promoted to new roles in FAS as reorganization nears
GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service has a new deputy commissioner and chief of staff as several long-time executives are leaving.
The General Services Administration is promoting some familiar faces into leadership roles as it prepares to reorganize its Federal Acquisition Service.
Laura Stanton is the new deputy commissioner of the FAS. Stanton, who has worked for GSA since 1997, has been the assistant commissioner for the IT category since 2020.
Stephanie Shutt is the new FAS chief of staff. Shutt has worked for GSA since 2004, running the schedules program for five years before becoming the director of operation and innovation in September 2023.
FAS Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum announced these and other changes in an email obtained by Federal News Network.
Gruenbaum said Stanton also will continue to lead the IT category office in addition to her new role.
“The work you all do is critical – FAS plays a central role in helping the government buy smarter, be more efficient and deliver value to taxpayers,” Gruenbaum wrote in the email. “Laura and Stephanie both understand how important collaboration is to that mission. I encourage you to show our support as they step into these new roles.”
Stanton replaces Tom Howder, who has been deputy commissioner of FAS since 2018 and has worked at GSA for more than 38 years. He spent his entire federal career with GSA, starting as a GS-5 in 1987.
Howder, who served as acting FAS commissioner in 2024, is retiring taking the deferred resignation program offer.
“I want to express my gratitude to Josh Gruenbaum and Stephen Ehikian, who encouraged me to stay a bit longer so I could contribute to one final effort – the redesign of the Federal Acquisition Service that we are calling FAS 2.0,” Howder wrote in a post on LinkedIn on April 21. “I won’t offer any spoilers, but I think you will find it nothing short of transformative. It will reimagine how we serve our clients, eliminate burdensome processes, streamline our operations and leverage technological innovations. I leave FAS knowing it has a bright future.”
Gruenbaum also thanked Howder for his guidance and support over the last few months.
Shutt replaces Teri Osabutey, who has been FAS chief of staff since August 2024 and been in government since 1999, starting her career with NASA.
Osabutey came to GSA in 2008 as a senior contracting officer and rose through the ranks serving as the acting deputy assistant commissioner for the Assistant Acquisition Services division before taking the chief of staff role.
“Teri has been a steady presence in the AAS portfolio for years, and those skills were exactly what the front office needed over the past year,” Gruenbaum wrote. “Personally, I want to thank Teri for her support and for making me feel welcome in this role.”
In addition to Howder and Osabutey, several other GSA executives are leaving, including:
- Kim Garcia, The deputy assistant commissioner for acquisition in the Office of IT Category.
- Casey Kelley, Retiring after 24 years with GSA, including five as the regional commissioner for the San Diego area and the last 19 months as the client executive in AAS for the Air Force, Space Force and Navy. “I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most talented, dedicated, and mission-driven professionals in the federal acquisition community. From the early days building the Alliant/Alliant 2 GWAC team, where innovation and collaboration defined our success, to leading legacy Region 9, transforming operations, achieving financial solvency and building a strong, united culture across diverse business lines — each challenge and achievement has been an unforgettable part of my journey,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “Most recently, launching a new organization within AAS, bringing together experts from multiple legacy regions and FEDSIM to serve Air Force, Navy and Space Force organizations worldwide, has been a career highlight. Establishing a foundation for success and leading the industry engagement collaboration initiative, sharing pipeline information consistently across the enterprise in such a short time was no small feat. I’m immensely proud of what we built together.”
- Erv Koehler, Retiring after three years as the assistant commissioner of the Office of General Supplies and Services and more than 22 years at GSA.
- Jeff Thurston, The contract operations director in the Office of General Supplies and Services and the category executive and liaison with the Office of Management and Budget for the Industrial Products Category.
- Jake Marcellus, Leaving after serving the past four years as the enterprise technology director in the Office of the IT Category. He worked for the Defense Information Systems Agency for 12 years before coming to GSA in 2021. Marcellus also served in the Army for 20 years.
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