Lori
Lori Revely is Cavalry Consulting’s Managing Partner/CEO and leads Cavalry with her core values of integrity, quality, and transparency as the foundation of the business. With over 22 years of business management experience Lori manages operations, business development, expansion activities, and staff. What excites her the most about this career is growing the Cavalry team and educating the A/E/C industry about the firm so that she can help businesses win work. Lori has traveled around the country delivering capabilities briefings and developing business. This combination is quite valuable – she knows and speaks to the government officials and hears what they want to see and read in proposals and marketing materials. This expertise has led to multiple speaking engagements about building successful relationships with government clients, industry-government engagement, and strategy and proposal success. Lori has a wide range of certifications in her arsenal. She is a LEAN-Certified Trainer and is USACE QC-Certified. She is OSHA 30-certified and has won multiple construction safety awards.
Lori’s background and experience working directly with Contracting Officers and Source Selection Personnel help her lead a company that is a perfect fit for high-performing small businesses in the government sector. She found that many high performers focus intensely on performing their contracts well and overlook the need for marketing. She understands the outstanding work that they are doing and continues to build an amazing team that can effectively tell their stories through proposal writing and marketing content in a way that resonates with their audience. Lori leads a robust team of proposal professionals who have won over $38B for their clients in the 8 year’s they’ve been in business. Lori’s home base is Los Angeles, but she travels quite a bit with her Cavalry duties and often visits clients and government offices, connecting people to help build solid relationships. She enjoys volunteering with the Society of American Military Engineers and is on the Los Angeles Board as the Small Business Liaison Officer and is the Small Business COI Chair Elect for National, and the Vice Chair for Conferences with the Small Business COI. When you see her out & about, make sure to connect!
Michele
Michele Atkinson is a hands-on proposal consultant with specialized expertise in government RFPs. As a writer, manager, and business developer, Michele has played a key role in more than $30 billion in government contract awards. Michele brings a valuable perspective to proposal strategies by seeking to truly understand the unique needs of each government client. When developing proposals, Michele is adept at educating and guiding Cavalry’s clients so they understand how to present their firm in the best light. She then works closely with subject matter experts to write original content that results in higher technical ratings.
Over the last 12 years and 1,000+ proposals for more than 100 clients, she has fine-tuned her ability to add value to every proposal by working with a variety of teams, attending post-award debriefs, and building relationships with contracting professionals.
Michele was recognized with the “40 under 40” award by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) in 2019. She is a featured author in the bestselling book Gamechangers for Government Contractors. Michele regularly speaks on “lean proposal management” at industry conferences, on webinars, and as a guest on podcasts. She also provides customized training for clients and entry-level proposal professionals.
A native of Washington State, Michele earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of San Diego in Communication Studies. Michele has been an Air Force spouse since 2010 and has lived in Idaho, Oregon, Nebraska, Illinois, and Texas. She founded Cavalry Consulting in 2016 and launched our capture and proposal management application, Cavalry Cloud, in 2017. When she isn’t working, Michele enjoys attending concerts, learning mixed martial arts with her husband and sons, spoiling her two cats, and doing jigsaw puzzles.
Haley
Haley Barnes brings strong writing and organizational skills to Cavalry. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Alabama, where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority.
Haley is our “Capture Unicorn” and Cavalry Cloud’s Senior Manager. Responding to a government RFP, RFQ, or sources sought can be extremely time and labor intensive. Your life can have a little bit of magic sprinkled in when Haley — Cavalry’s Capture Manager — is on your team to bring golden opportunities directly to you. She helps clients identify and qualify federal business opportunities and leads; and state and local opportunities are in her wheelhouse, too. Using a variety of RFP, RFQ, and Sources Sought aggregators (including beta.SAM.gov), Haley customizes searches and reports for clients based on their unique project parameters. This includes Small Business set-aside eligibility, NAICS codes, anticipated contract value, geographic location, specific agencies, core scope of work, and many more.
Data is captured and tracked in Cavalry’s proprietary proposal and opportunity management system, Cavalry Cloud. From there, Haley works with the client and their “Go/No-Go” strategy to refine and qualify potential opportunities. Her capture management services increase our clients’ likelihood of identifying contracts that are in their “sweet spot,” then —if desired — our proposal services can provide the support that leads to a successful proposal.
Haley’s level-headedness, organization, and strong writing skills keep her busy with our proposal team as well. She enjoys provides graphics preparation, writing, copyediting/proofing, and management of schedules and deliverables.
Haley lives in Mobile, Alabama, with her husband, daughter, and three cats. When she’s not supporting our proposal team, you can find her at the beach, attending concerts, or spending time with her family.
Elisa
Elisa Howard provides proposal writing and editing expertise for Cavalry, and has extensive experience in the entire proposal management process.
After receiving a BA in English from CU-Boulder, Elisa worked as a legal secretary in Leadville, Colorado, and then became interested in the engineering field. She obtained a BS degree in Industrial Engineering at NCSU-Raleigh and first worked for General Motors as an Area Engineer. She then worked as a Manufacturing Engineer for Baxter Manufacturing in Washington.
During this time, Elisa realized how poorly Operations & Maintenance Manuals were written. After rewriting dozens of these manuals, she decided to direct her energy towards Technical Communications, which nicely blended her writing and her analytical skills. Elisa’s major client for over 10 years was Weyerhaeuser Company. She then turned her attention toward proposal services for federal contractors, and has provided proposal writing and management services in pursuit of all types of RFPs: TSB, 8(a), SDVOSB, and HUBZone, as well as Full & Open Competition.
Coming from a rambunctious family, with six brothers and two sisters, Elisa learned early how to play well with others. She has excellent skills as a Project Manager and is able to corral lots of kittens.
Kara
Kara Cogger is a Proposal Writer with an eclectic mashup of experience that ultimately led to a career in the proposal world. She has worked in marketing and communications for more than 10 years. Her background includes a wide variety of writing, marketing, and sales. Kara is proficient in creating copy for advertisements, websites, magazines, and corporate events. She has been a marketing manager and led multiple marketing and sales campaigns from conception to completion successfully. Kara also enjoys the occasional business development opportunity which helps get her out from behind the keyboard every now and then!
Kara received her Associate of Science degree in Integrated Media and Communications from Mount Hood Community College. She graduated with honors as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She hosted two radio shows on stations KMHD2 and KFFP LP Portland that paid homage to Pacific Northwest artists.
Kara’s passion for writing began years ago when long-form radio caught her attention. And although narrative storytelling was the origin of her love of writing, her educational and work experiences fostered a love of technical writing and project management. She has developed skills to remain focused and grounded through the years, no matter how challenging the task.
Kara resides in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and dog, Sonny. Fortunately, they both love her favorite hobbies: hiking and relaxing with an enjoyable book lakeside (at which time Sunny opts for sleeping).
Kendra
Kendra Wagstaff has over 10 years of experience leading cross-functional teams in a variety of settings. She is known for being extremely organized, detail-oriented, and curious. As a Senior Proposal Coordinator, Kendra prepares proposal deliverables and assists our proposal managers to ensure schedules are met.
Her eagerness to learn is an asset that reflects in the quality of Cavalry’s proposals. Because she seeks to truly understand the complex information provided by clients, she can ask better questions and bring out more strategic responses.
Kendra has been an active-duty military spouse for 14 years, with assignments in Idaho, Nevada, Georgia, Utah, and Texas. She is currently living in San Antonio, TX with her husband, four children, and dog.
Kendra has always been very involved in volunteering and serving in her local communities. As a member of the Hill Spouses Club, she served on the Scholarship Board, helping to award scholarships to active duty and retired spouses. She also served as a Key Spouse and was honored by the Air Force’s 368th Recruiting Squadron as Spouse of the Year in 2020. In Kendra’s free time, you can find her on a camping trip, having a movie night with her kids, hiking/backpacking, or traveling with her husband.
Jessica
Jessica McNabb is a seasoned Executive Assistant with over 12 years of experience and a strong track record of providing level-headed and professional support in high-volume, high-pressure environments. Jessica skillfully manages administrative duties and client relations at Cavalry Consulting and has become a key member of our team.
As a Senior Assistant, Jessica directed professional development programs training new personnel in all aspects of administrative and skillset-specific practices.
As an Executive Assistant, she ensures the smooth administration operations of the company with her extensive knowledge of information management and her efficient handling of client inquiries. Jessica provides support to the staff in fulfilling their ongoing professional development.
Jessica graduated Summa Cum Laude from Ashford University, attending college even while serving in the military. Jessica served her country for 24 years in the United States Air Force. Now retired from active duty, she has a strong appreciation for her years serving in locations around the globe and brings those life lessons to our team. Currently, Jessica lives on the East Coast where she and her husband enjoy spending time with their three children.
Stacie
With over two decades of experience, Stacie Davis is a seasoned professional with a strong background in project coordination, marketing, and cross-functional team management. She provides a client-oriented focus and a proven track record of building strong client partnerships while successfully completing complex projects. As a Proposal Coordinator, Stacie provides support to Cavalry’s Proposal Managers to ensure all deliverables are identified, tasked appropriately, and completed according to the agreed-upon schedule. She serves as the proposal liaison to keep all team members up to date with the proposal’s progress, from kickoff to final submittal.
Outside of work, Stacie is dedicated to giving back to her community. In 2021 she earned a certification in Trauma Therapy and now volunteers as a leader of trauma support groups, providing valuable knowledge and support to those in need. Stacie resides in Arizona with her husband, three children, Chocolate Lab, and Maine Coon cat.
Kate
Kate Brough provides web development and online support to the Cavalry Consulting team.With over a decade of web development experience, Kate brings your marketing to the world wide web. Her background in graphic design and branding ensure that your presentation is cohesive from concept, to print, to online presence. Whether you need a full overhaul of your online strategy, reorganization of your material, migration from platform to platform, or troubleshooting on a project that has you confounded, Kate is your girl.
Kate’s journey in marketing began at Merrimack College with a business administration degree with a concentration in marketing and double majors in digital media and social/organizational psychology in 2003. Her formal education continued with a Masters of Business Administration from The Citadel Graduate College concentrating on training and human factors in 2007. For the past 10 years, she worked as a freelance web development and branding specialist supporting numerous businesses in their pursuit of a unified branding strategy and online presence, with specific emphasis on WordPress development, HTML, CSS, and custom graphic design.
As a military wife for 24 years, Kate has experience living across the United States and working remotely. Currently, her husband serves in the Reserves, which keeps them on the East Coast as they raise their two young children, a dog, and a cat.
Hoover
Hoover Li is a freelance graphic designer with 20 years of experience in designing advertisements, annual reports, brochures, conference and marketing materials, logos, newsletters, and magazine layout. He is organized, resourceful and highly adaptable to meeting deadlines.
A 1992 graduate of the University of Oregon, Visual Design B.F.A. program with emphasis in printmaking, Hoover has utilized his range of skills in designing for numerous construction firms and associations, book publishers, planners (local, national and international conferences), gardening publications, and marketing firms.
After graduating high school on the big island of Hawaii, Hoover attended University of Hawaii at Manoa on Oahu from 1986–1990, before transferring to the University of Oregon to complete his degree. Tennis, adventure games, and enjoying the outdoors are what keep his mind disciplined and focused.