Event Planning and Management

Taylor Wood is an experienced communication and change management strategist dedicated to building and leading proactive teams that go above and beyond for her clients. She oversees a portfolio of communication and marketing teams across several government agencies, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Office of Personnel Management. In this role, Taylor focuses on growing and expanding Human Experience’s event management capability and enhancing Aptive’s recruitment marketing services through implementation of technical solutions.

Throughout her career, she has focused on learning various leadership styles and techniques to help others achieve success. Taylor is passionate about training others to lead with empathy and foster positive working relationships, enabling teams to provide exceptional service to clients. In previous roles, Taylor has led numerous communication teams and enterprise-wide transformation initiatives for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Department of the Navy, VA, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Energy.

• Secret Security Clearance
• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner (CCMP)
• M.A., Strategic Communications, American University
• B.A., Communication Studies, West Virginia University

Jay Callow is a sustainability-focused strategic engagement and program management expert with more than a decade of experience managing multidisciplinary programs for agencies across the federal government, such as the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Office of Personnel Management and Department of Veterans Affairs. He has successfully led cross-functional teams to deploy innovative solutions that serve clients in the areas of strategic and operational communications, organization development, data analysis, media relations, human capital analysis, change management, digital transformation, technical writing, research and industrial-organizational psychology. As a servant leader with a strategic vision and collaborative approach, Jay oversees a diverse project portfolio. He mentors team members, supports business development efforts, implements emerging technologies to enhance project effectiveness and spearheads initiatives to drive client satisfaction.

Jay’s professional experience includes briefing climate strategy implementation plans to Congress; positioning energy and finance executives as dynamic thought leaders; building brands and stakeholder relationships; developing impactful keynote speeches; engaging with media to generate positive press coverage; executing communication campaigns and web strategies; facilitating enterprise-wide transformation initiatives; delivering culture-shifting workforce engagement products and activities; and fostering partnerships between government, industry and academia.

• M.S., Sustainability Management, American University
• B.A., Communication Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington
• Business Strategy Certificate, McKinsey Academy
• Project Management Professional, Project Management Institute
• Communication Management Professional, Global Communication Council
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate, University of South Florida Muma College of Business

Taylor Grant is a creative leader and experienced designer who applies human-centered design to produce innovative and impactful visual communication materials. Through strategic oversight, she ensures the creative team develops engaging brands and campaigns that achieve client goals while informing, inspiring and encouraging action. She creates thoughtful brand identities, paid media, social, events, out-of-home advertising, websites and outside-the-box creative executions that connect with target audiences and leave a lasting impression.

Taylor has more than 12 years of experience in visual communications and her eye for design and prior work with federal agencies provides Taylor with the ability to lead, support and serve Aptive’s creative team.

• Telly Award Winner for Art Direction in Social Impact
• M.S., Communications Design, Pratt Institute
• B.A., Psychology, Dartmouth College

Emily Howell is a research-driven communications strategist and business development specialist with a decade of experience leading multimillion dollar campaigns for federal clients. Emily uses her background in service delivery for agencies such as the Departments of Transportation and Veterans Affairs, National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to identify client pain points and develop high-quality, innovative solutions. She has overseen the capture, bid and execution of hundreds of millions of dollars of communications and marketing projects throughout the federal government. She excels at building relationships with partners and clients and developing teams that drive results.

• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
• George Washington University’s Milken Institute of Public Health 950 Award Winner
• MPH, George Washington University
• B.A., University of Michigan

Marisa Cole is a strategic powerhouse leading a team of creative thinkers and communicators in strategic engagement initiatives. She oversees project delivery, drives service offering maturation and conducts business development activities for a growing portfolio of contracts across the federal government, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD). She is a skilled writer and facilitator with 20 years of experience mobilizing change in federal and health care environments. Marisa’s areas of expertise include managing strategic communications efforts and directing change management for large scale enterprise-wide transformation initiatives.

Throughout her career, Marisa has supported a wide variety of government clients, including DOD, VA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Postal Service (USPS) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). She is highly skilled in cultivating trusting relationships with clients and colleagues and has a passion for clear communication and transformative change. Marisa’s prior roles focused on advising and coaching executive and mid-level leaders on communications and change management skills and techniques; creating innovative approaches to reach diverse, geographically-dispersed populations; and providing trusted guidance on communication, branding and marketing of organizational initiatives, policies and services. She has spent a significant portion of her career implementing and guiding change management strategy to transform large, integrated health care systems into high reliability organizations.

• Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS), Institute for Healthcare Improvement
• Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner (CCMP)
• M.A., Communications, The Johns Hopkins University
• B.A., International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University

Abby Rosenberg helps clients address challenges, implement organizational improvements, communicate effectively and improve health care access and equity. With nearly 15 years of federal consulting experience, Abby leads technical assistance, health education, research and evaluation and program management projects, using data to drive decision-making and impact. She supports projects for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Defense Health Agency and Department of Health and Human Services.

• Prosci Certified Change Management Practitioner (CCMP)
• Certified Project Management Professional (PMP)
• MPS, Georgetown University
• B.A., Communications, University of Maryland