Steve Stanko

Steve Stanko has over 40 years of experience in the engineering and program management field. From 1980 to 2000, they served in the US Navy as a Navy Commander. In this role, they supervised 204 engineers and technicians in administering all planning and engineering activities and was the chief engineer for the Southwest Region, responsible for resolving technical non-conformances on non-nuclear surface ships. Additionally, they supervised 32 QA specialists in administering quality assurance for all assigned contracts.

From 2000 to 2014, Stanko worked at Booz Allen Hamilton as a Senior Program Manager. In this role, they were the Team Lead and Senior Program Manager for the Fuze Modernization Program and the Acquisition Team Leader for the United States Air Force (USAF) ACAT II Common Link Integration Program (CLIP). Additionally, they were the Chief Engineer for the ACAT II CLIP technical reviews and audits. Steve also served as the acquisition manager for the United States Navy (USN) Deputy Program Executive Office (PEO) Command, Control, Communications, Computer, and Intelligence (C4I).

From 2014 to 2017, Stanko worked at BAE Systems as a Senior Program Manager. In this role, they were the Team Lead and Senior Program Manager for the design and development of a multi-billion dollar acquisition Program and was recognized as a subject matter expert (SME) for DoD 5000 and DOE 6.X acquisition policy and implementation.

Since 2017, Stanko has been working at Dented Brick Distillery as the Chief Operating Officer. In this role, they lead the day-to-day operations of the business in accordance with the strategic plan and operating and capital budgets. Steve also assists the CEO and the CFO in developing and overseeing the long term business strategies of DBD and oversees DBD’s achievement and maintenance of a satisfactory competitive position within its industry.

Steve Stanko has a varied educational background. Steve obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy in 1980. Steve then went on to earn a Master's Degree in Materials Engineering and an Engineer's Degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology between 1989 and 1991. Additionally, they hold certifications from the United States Department of Defense, State of California and other institutions, including DAWIA Level III, Manufacturing, Production and Quality Assurance (obtained in 1986), CMMI/SCAMPI B Appraiser, ISO 9000 Lead Auditor and Professional Engineering License, Mechanical Engineering.