About Us

Who We Are

Encore JV1 unites USParaLog’s SDVOSM leadership with GTSC’s expertise. Our mission is to deliver empathetic, compliant and scalable solutions that strengthen government programs and support veteran communities. This partnership blends customer experience operations with cleared staffing and small-business agility, enabling us to deliver comprehensive solutions for complex federal requirements. Together, we provide scalable talent, surge support and program management strategies that reduce risk and improve mission outcomes.

Meet the Leaders of Encore JV1

Earl Kennedy

CEO/Co-Founder

 

Earl Kennedy

CEO/Co-Founder

A career Army officer and combat veteran with three decades in uniform, Earl served in roles as varied as infantry officer, military history instructor, curriculum and instructional designer, global logistics planner, foreign military trainer, and commanding officer at multiple echelons of command. A featured public speaker and published author, his passion for excellence empowers USParaLog’s unerring commitment to positive and ongoing process improvement.

Robert Lech

President and COO

Robert Lech

President and COO

Robert has been in the GovCon market for almost 25 years with experience spanning the entire business. He has significant executive experience with large-scale P&L and a proven track record in management and leadership resulting in significant growth impact. In his last role, he was responsible for a $240 million P&L and growth strategy providing professional services to all of DoD, including logistics, digital IT, advanced analytics and management advisory support services.

Robert is a graduate of Cal Poly in Computer Information Systems. The bulk of his career has been focused on large transformational solutions. Robert is married with three children and enjoys fishing and golf.

Our Values: Empathy. Readiness. Accountability.

Encore JV1’s values guide every engagement. We prioritize empathy in customer interactions, readiness in operational planning and accountability in delivery. These principles ensure ethical practices, compliance and mission success.

What We Offer

Capabilities Across the Encore JV1 Team:

  • Cleared staffing and surge support
  • Contact center operations with empathy-driven service
  • Training and knowledge management
  • Data-driven analytics for workforce optimization
  • Program management, professional services and acquisition support
  • Strategic communications and digital engagement
  • Behavioral health and wellness services
  • Cybersecurity and Zero Trust
  • Application development and cloud solutions
  • Digital transformation and enterprise architecture

Lisa Schulze

EDUCATION: University of Michigan

Lisa has over two decades of hands-on experience with high-level project and portfolio management, strategic communications, employee engagement relationship management and team leadership supporting Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs programs. She currently serves as a vice president of operations, managing the portfolio of contracts under The Bowen Group, a wholly owned GTSC subsidiary. She has strategic responsibility for bringing program management, professional services, strategic communications, digital engagement, and behavioral health and wellness services to GTSC’s clients.

Lisa has a bachelor’s degree in Arts and Ideas in the Humanities and a JD, both from the University of Michigan. She has been supporting The Bowen Group for much of her career. Prior to that, she managed a grant program for the Department of Defense Family Advocacy Program and spent time working to address issues of family violence prevention and response. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, son and daughter.

Lisa Schulze

Schaeffer DeArmond

EDUCATION: University of Kent and Oglethorpe University

Schaeffer has 20 years of in-depth experience in market development, portfolio and program management, senior client relationship development and corporate business development. He currently serves as a vice president of operations, managing GTSC’s lines of business supporting the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. He has strategic responsibility for bringing program management, professional services, strategic communications, digital engagement, and behavioral health and wellness services to GTSC’s clients.

Schaeffer’s graduate degree in international conflict analysis is rooted in both quantitative and qualitative methods of producing effective policy analysis. His principal academic and professional experience is focused on OSD, NATO and DoD equities in central Asia. His career has included a wide range of global travel to 42 countries across four continents in support of the Department of Defense. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and two red-headed sons.

Schaeffer DeArmond

Jeffrey N. Zack

EDUCATION: University of Massachusetts and University of Michigan

Jeff is a technology strategist and operations executive with a proven ability to drive IT transformation and business growth. With a career spanning over three decades, he has successfully led digital modernization initiatives, cloud migrations and enterprise IT transformations for both government and commercial organizations.

As a former vice president and chief information officer at LMI, Jeff managed a $24 million+ IT and cybersecurity portfolio, implemented agile enterprise solutions and guided the company through key acquisitions. His expertise includes enterprise architecture, program management, and executive coaching to optimize technology investments and operational efficiency.

Jeff is a recognized leader in the federal IT space, having been named a WashingtonExec “Top CIO to Watch” in 2022 and 2023. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Michigan.

Jeff Zack

Albert Van Graves

EDUCATION: Averett University, Longwood University and Dartmouth College

Albert has nearly 30 years of accounting and finance experience, most of which is in the government contracting services space. Prior to joining GTSC, he held senior financial positions at GDIT, FC Business Systems, BMT, etc., where he increased both project margins and accelerated project delivery through improved financial planning, cost and schedule control, earned value management, and by integrating disparate divisional policies, procedures and management tools.

Albert has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Averett University and earned a Bachelor of Science from Longwood University and a Certificate in Strategic Financial Leadership from Dartmouth College.

Farzana Kamili

EDUCATION: North Carolina State University, George Washington University

Kamili is a seasoned contracts and procurement executive with over 25 years of experience supporting government, defense, technology, construction, and healthcare sectors. She currently serves as corporate director of contracts and procurement at GTSC, overseeing the full lifecycle of contract and procurement operations, from proposal development through closeout.

Her expertise spans strategic sourcing, compliance, risk mitigation, and vendor management, with a proven track record of leading initiatives that drive cost savings and operational efficiency. Kamili holds a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Policy and Administration from North Carolina State University and certifications in federal contracts and subcontracts management from George Washington University. She is a passionate advocate for process improvement and internal controls.

Farzana Kamili

Chris Nunno

EDUCATION: Syracuse University

Chris has more than 25 years of experience in systems engineering, program management and IT sales, as well as business development and growth positions across both government and commercial sectors. In his current role as a senior-level vice president, he is responsible for business development, capture and proposal development with a focus on strategic, organic growth.

Chris holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Syracuse University, a Program Management Professional certification and a high-level security clearance. Throughout his career, he has helped grow qualified pipelines for enterprise software, professional services and product companies serving U.S. government clients across the Department of Defense, intelligence community and civilian agencies.

At GTSC, Chris focuses on growth strategy, ensuring the company maintains a high-performing business development, capture and proposal team that drives organic business growth across GTSC’s portfolio of companies.

Pamela Egan

EDUCATION: San Francisco State University, Minot State University

Pamela is a seasoned executive leader with over 15 years of experience in both strategic business management and contract operations. Her knowledge and experience in leadership, staffing, program and quality management allow her to focus on developing and implementing optimized business processes across the GTSC family of companies to ensure efficiency and effectiveness without sacrificing quality. Her career foundation was built upon becoming a respected expert on military quality-of-life programs and resources with 13 years of experience at installation, headquarters and DoD levels. Pamela resides with her husband in North Dakota and collectively they have six children and six grandchildren.

Mary Provus

EDUCATION: Strayer University

Mary is a seasoned human resources leader with extensive experience as a strategic business partner to leadership teams in organizations of varying sizes and industries. Throughout her career, Mary has managed all aspects of human capital management and built highly effective HR teams to support corporate growth by linking HR strategy to business objectives. She has managed HR functions in government contracting, nonprofit and public sector environments. At The Bowen Group, Mary is responsible for setting the strategic direction for human capital management and building HR systems that support organizational performance and growth. Mary also leads a team of talented HR professionals who are dedicated to building a culture and environment where our employees feel valued and can thrive in their careers.

Mary holds a SPHR and a SHRM-SCP certification. Mary has two adult children and resides in Northern Virginia. She enjoys biking, horses and being at the beach or anywhere in nature as much as possible.

Don Shoff

EDUCATION: The Pennsylvania State University

Don has more than 40 years of extensive experience in accounting and finance for both private and publicly traded companies. After graduating from college and moving to the Washington, D.C. area, Don’s career turned to government contracting, and he has been heavily involved in this industry ever since.

Don has led professional managers and staff in all areas of the “back office,” covering a wide range of day-to-day activities, as well as leading strategic initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions; treasury and banking; credit facilities and relationships; and private equity and public offerings.

Don lives in Virginia with his wife, Judi, who has two adult children and two grandchildren. He enjoys reading and attempting to play golf.

Laurie Sanger

EDUCATION: James Madison University and Virginia Tech

Laurie has over two decades of firsthand experience with DoD and IC program resource management, high-volume staffing management, full life cycle recruiting, capture management and proposal work, and PMO team leadership supporting civilian, DoD and IC programs. She currently serves as a vice president of operations, managing the portfolio of contracts under Advanced Engineering and IT Solutions (AEITS), a wholly owned GTSC subsidiary. She has strategic responsibility for bringing program management, business professional services, IT solutions, Zero Trust policy guidance, and cyber and IT services to GTSC’s clients.

Laurie has a Master of Business Administration, Executive Leadership, from James Madison University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Marketing Education from Virginia Tech. She lives in Loudoun County, Virginia, with her husband and three amazing rescue dogs.

Laurie Sanger

Robert Lech

EDUCATION: California Polytechnic State University

Robert has been in the GovCon market for almost 25 years with experience spanning the entire business. He has significant executive experience with large-scale P&L and a proven track record in management and leadership resulting in significant growth impact. In his last role, he was responsible for a $240 million P&L and growth strategy providing professional services to all of DoD, including logistics, digital IT, advanced analytics and management advisory support services.

Robert is a graduate of Cal Poly in Computer Information Systems. The bulk of his career has been focused on large transformational solutions. Robert is married with three children and enjoys fishing and golf.

Robert Lech

Raymond Roberts

EDUCATION: University of Waterloo and Harvard Business School

Raymond has been a founder and operator of IT product development and professional services firms since the 1980s. While his initial focus was on providing financial and telecom solutions, Raymond turned his attention to government markets in the mid ’90s. An unrelenting innovator, he’s been a leader in bringing novel products to the market in health care IT and more recently in blockchain.

A graduate of University of Waterloo and Harvard Business School, Raymond has an extensive background in mathematics, computer science and business. Raymond lives in Loudoun County with his wife and two young children. He enjoys reading, skiing and motorbikes.

Raymond Roberts