AFCEAN of the Month, March 2025
Joe Robak has been highly involved in the AFCEA Aberdeen Chapter community since joining the industry in 2022. As the chapter’s vice president of programs, Robak pushed for more collaboration between government and industry partners by engaging senior Aberdeen Proving Ground leadership and local government officials for monthly chapter luncheons. Robak supported event planning for the 2024 Scholarship Awards Dinner, which returned for the first time since 2019, and the 2024 Annual Golf Tournament, which raised more than $19,000 for the Aberdeen Education Fund.
Since becoming the emerging leader president in May, Robak has brought additional nonprofit organizations together to improve the reach and impact of the AFCEA emerging leaders program, helping plan joint events like the Harford Young Professionals networking social. He is also envisioning innovative ways to reestablish the branding and mission of the emerging leaders and continuing the momentum of the events lineup established by his predecessor. He currently serves as a program manager for Koniag Government Services. Prior to that, he served as the chief growth officer for Emerald Technical Solutions, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business. During his first year in his previous position, Robak grew the organization’s top line by 4 times while architecting a strategy roadmap to continue that growth through 2027.
Alongside Emerald CEO Dondre Lawson, Robak co-founded local nonprofit Defense Interns, which helps increase access to STEM education and career development in the community for all socioeconomic categories. Robak helped architect the flow and structure of the program, which offers paid internships to high school students and affords them the opportunity to rotate quarterly through multiple Aberdeen Proving Ground defense contractors and gain exposure to different verticals within the STEM world. This exposure allows the students to make truly educated and informed decisions regarding college degrees and provides a more concentrated area of focus for studies and career paths within STEM.
Additionally, Robak mentored and advised the interns at Emerald on front office development to ensure they learn the necessary soft skills associated with becoming leaders in the community. He taught the interns basic business financial health components, as well as entrepreneurship skills, like public speaking, building presentations, profit and loss analysis, and financial forecasting.
Robak serves as a mentor and guide for other young professionals interested in the Aberdeen Proving Ground and AFCEA communities. He is also a devoted husband and father. The Aberdeen Chapter believes Robak is incredibly deserving of AFCEAN of the Month status!
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