09/05/2025

Summit Technologies is proud to recognize Taylor Barretta, Proposal Manager, for completing the APMP Executive Leadership Academy, a six-month-long program designed to elevate leadership capabilities for bid and proposal professionals worldwide.

 

Taylor has nearly a decade of proposal management experience in the defense contracting industry. At Summit, she works closely with business development, corporate leadership, program management, and teaming partners to deliver compliant, compelling proposals. With a background in English Literature and professional training through Shipley courses, Taylor combines precision and creativity to lead high-quality proposal efforts. She also holds the APMP® Bid and Proposal Management Foundation certification and various APMP® micro-certifications.

 

Through the Leadership Academy, Taylor engaged in eight modules focused on human-centered leadership, effective and impactful communication, strategic thinking, leading self and others, building winning teams, engaging the right people, building blocks of business, and creating best employee experiences. A central theme was the power of putting people first: fostering psychological safety, leading with empathy, and aligning values to behaviors. Taylor reflected on her own core values—integrity, accountability, service, and love—and defined her leadership identity as a trustworthy servant leader.

 

The program challenged participants to examine habits, adapt responses under pressure, and strengthen consistency and transparency in communication. For Taylor, this meant practicing listening to understand rather than listening to respond, ensuring follow-through on commitments, and anticipating team needs proactively, among others.

 

Key lessons she highlights from the experience include:

• Self-Awareness Fuels Leadership – Understanding how personal actions and reactions directly affect team performance and business outcomes.
• Human-Centered Leadership Builds Trust – Creating safety and inclusion unlocks potential, drives innovation, and strengthens resilience in high-pressure environments.
• Values in Action – Leading with accountability and empathy, celebrating successes, and ensuring every team member feels part of something larger than themselves.
• Strategic Alignment – Connecting day-to-day leadership behaviors with organizational growth and customer impact.

 

Taylor found inspiration in the stories of visionary leaders such as Steve Jobs, whose relentless pursuit of excellence and ability to rally teams behind bold ideas redefined entire industries, and Alison Levine, whose book On the Edge highlights lessons in leadership, risk-taking, and resilience drawn from extreme mountain expeditions. These examples reinforced her belief that proposal leadership is not just about managing deadlines, but about inspiring people, navigating challenges with resilience, and orchestrating collaboration for meaningful results.

 

Reflecting on her journey, Taylor shared: “The APMP Leadership Academy gave me tools not just to manage proposals, but to truly lead them. It reminded me that leadership is about making people feel valued, included, and supported, because that’s when teams do their best work.”

 

As Taylor applies these lessons at Summit, she is committed to strengthening collaboration, building psychological safety across proposal teams, and driving results that support Summit’s growth and customer success.