TEAM

Elizabeth (Libby) Turpen, PhD, a native of Albuquerque, NM, serves as President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Turpen is an internationally recognized expert in the nonproliferation policy and threat reduction community, having served in senior policy positions in the private sector, the non-profit and academic sector, and on Capitol Hill, in a national security career that spans over 30 years. Libby co-founded Octant Associates in 2013 with Dr. Wendin D. Smith, with a shared vision to create a strong and substantive woman-owned, national security-focused small business. She has led the company since 2015.

 

Prior to joining Octant Associates, Libby worked at Booz Allen Hamilton from 2009 to 2012, where she provided policy and technical expertise to the nonproliferation programs at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and the Department of Homeland Security. 

 

From 2001 to 2009, Libby held the position of Senior Associate at the Henry L. Stimson Center in Washington D.C., where she co-directed the Cooperative Nonproliferation Program and directed the Security for a New Century program. In 2008-2009, she spearheaded a Stimson Center Task Force on the future of the United States’ nuclear weapons laboratories and was primary author of the report “Leveraging Science for Security: A Strategy for the Nuclear Weapons Laboratories in the 21st Century.”

 

Prior to joining the Stimson Center, Libby served in the Office of Senator Pete V. Domenici (R-NM) as a legislative assistant responsible for defense appropriations, nuclear weapons and nonproliferation policy. 

 

She currently serves on the Defense Science Board’s Permanent Subcommittee on Nuclear Surety. Libby also has taught courses on nonproliferation and national security at Georgetown University and at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She has published several books, reports and articles on proliferation, stockpile stewardship and science, technology and security issues. She is fluent in German, having studied international politics and economics at Cologne University as a graduate student, and holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

​

 

Tami Stukey, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, joined Octant Associates in 2015, bringing with her over 20 years of experience in government and commercial contracting. She has managed multiple highly successful programs for customers such as the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Missile Defense Agency, Office of Secretary of Defense, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, Unified Combatant Commands, commercial entities, and others.

 

Prior to joining Octant, Tami served as Senior Director and Vice President at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) where she held progressively more senior positions over nearly two decades, managing a portfolio of programs focusing on national security. Earlier, she served as Associate at DFI International supporting defense clients, and as Associate Director of Research at the American Rehabilitation Association supporting the Department of Labor. She is an adjunct member of the faculty at Georgetown University, teaching courses in leadership and program management.

 

She received her M.A. in International Relations from Drew University and her B.A. in Public Administration from the University of Puget Sound; completed additional post-graduate studies in Political Science at Columbia University; and attended Harvard University’s Senior Executives in National and International Security seminar.

​

 

Eric Casper, Executive Vice President of Operations, joined the company in 2015, and leads efforts related to security, information technology, contracting and invoicing, in addition to managing numerous other key activities necessary for a successful small business.

 

Eric came to Octant Associates with more than 15 years of experience at the Department of Defense, in project and program management positions at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA); in related government work outside of DoD, he also spent time with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). During his time in government, he was responsible for designing and installing disease surveillance systems, managed a worldwide database on terrorism, and also played a key role in the dismantlement of several offensive biological weapons facilities.

 

Eric counts other work experience outside of government that includes managing commercial contracts, launching and running a sole-proprietorship small business, and working overseas on environmental technology projects.

 

At Octant, in addition to managing internal business operations, Eric focuses on performance measurement and data visualization problems for some of our government clients; he enjoys the ever-faster pace of development of knowledge and technology in this field, and helps Octant to identify new opportunities with commercial and non-profit partners.

 

Eric studied Chemistry and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, receiving his Masters of Science in Chemistry with research in protein signals responsible for bacterial locomotion.