Stephen Brooks is the Chief Engineer for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Open Architectures Management Office (OAMO), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He serves as the technical lead for development and management of open architecture standards and development of government reference architectures, like Open Mission Systems, Sensor Open Systems Architecture and the Government Avionics Reference Architecture. He leads and oversees a team of technical experts from the government, industry, Federally Funded Research Centers and University Affiliated Research Centers. Mr. Brooks has over 30 years of acquisition experience. He is a retired USAF Colonel serving the nation for 25 years, culminating as a Senior Material Leader. Mr. Brooks went on to contribute to the nation’s defense as a Senior Technology Development Manager for BAE Systems, then transitioned to the OAMO in 2019 as a civil servant. He holds a BSEE from the University of Kentucky, a Masters in Engineering Management from University of Dayton and a Masters in Military Operational Arts and Sciences from Air University.