Holds her degree from Wayne State University in Business Management with emphasis in production manufacturing. Ms. Gapinski has been a Warranted Contracting Officer and Supervisor most of her career at the US Army TACOM located at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, MI. She is Level III certified in Contracting. In January of 2011, she became the Assistant Director of Small Business Programs for TACOM.

With 37 years of Government Contracting experience, she has a wealth of knowledge to share and has been recognized by the Army Material Command as the Small Business Individual of the year and received local Small Business awards throughout her career. Ms. Gapinski is a recipient of the Department of Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for her work with the modernization and integration of business processes for the Contracting Command as well as the Commander’s award for Civilian Service for her efforts in organizational change and fielding of an enterprise resource planning tool.

Her work experience includes the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, Counter-Mine and Bridge Launchers, Tactical Vehicles including the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), Bridging, Boats and Trailers. Prior to her current position, she served as the as the Acquisition Lead in the Project Manager Office for the Logistics Modernization Program.

Marie enjoys hunting, traveling, and crafting Traditional Native American artwork.