Our Team

Alison Wade is an accomplished executive dedicated to the business of software. For the past twenty years, she has worked with industry leaders developing programs for software development and testing professionals. Alison has been instrumental in building Techwell, a company with an outstanding reputation for delivering high-quality services, publications, events, and partnerships. She is the Program Chair for the EPIC Experience, STAREAST, and STARWEST conferences and a past Program Chair of the Mobile Dev + Test and IoT Dev + Test conferences, and she plays a pivotal role in the development of Agile + DevOps Conferences. Alison strives to increase awareness of diversity in the software industry concerning both the workforce and the role of software beyond commercial products and IT departments. In 2015, Alison launched Women Who Test, a program dedicated to women in software testing. Additionally, she is a Certified ScrumMaster and Product Owner.

Angela Cadle brings over 15 years of experience to Coveros as its Accountant. Her expertise lies in general ledger Accounting, Operations & HR Management.  Angela’s past experience includes being the Controller for an education SAAS company, Sr. Accountant for a bio-tech startup in Southern California and, prior to that, the Controller and General Manager for a Property Management/Real Estate/Construction company in Georgia.

She received a BA in Liberal Arts from West Virginia University and a BBA in Accounting from Savannah State University, from which she graduated summa cum laude.

Bill Schneider has over 35 years in the information technology industry. He has led agile custom software development and integration projects for the Financial industry, Healthcare industry, Fortune 500 companies, and the Federal government. Prior to Coveros, in his role of SVP, Operations, Bill led the agile delivery of a SaaS-based management and analysis solution as well as associated non-IT consulting products. Applying agile principles and techniques to successfully execute non-IT products and projects has always been an interesting topic of research. Bill received his Bachelors of  Chemical Engineering (B.Ch.E) from the University of Delaware.

Bob Foster is a Technical Manager with over 20 years experience as a senior software engineer and team lead. Bob has proven experience in all aspects of software development and delivery (including DevOps, CI/CD, and infrastructure as code). He is a firm believer in the benefits gained by software teams when following Agile, CI/CD, and DevOps methodologies and has been successful in helping drive Agile/DevOps cultural shifts in both individual teams and organizations. Bob feels strongly that feedback is crucial to the success of a project and following the disciplines of Agile, CI/CD and DevOps will help provide visibility and feedback early and often throughout the entirety of a project, improving its chance for success.

Failure is Feedback and Feedback is the Breakfast of Champions!

Brynn is a committed customer support specialist with 5 years of experience serving a variety of customers. She is a detail-oriented professional who thrives on connecting and developing a positive working relationship with colleagues and clients. Her goal is to always to deliver the best quality of service possible. Outside of work, she's completing her B.S. in Psychology from Old Dominion University and enjoys spending time with her black lab.

Dave Burke brings over 24 years of leadership and full life cycle software development experience to Coveros. His experience includes work across various markets including: Telecommunications, Media, Logistics, Transportation, and Financial Services. Prior to Coveros, Dave was the COO for Command Information/Digital Focus, an industry leader in agile software development and held leadership roles at Verizon Communications. Additionally, he served 7 years as an officer in the United States Army. Dave earned his Master’s Degree in the Management of Information Technology from the University of Virginia and Bachelors in Economics from Providence College.

Derrick Roach is a member of the Application Security Team at Coveros and an accomplished information security professional with experience implementing security programs as well as securing enterprise assets. Previously serving in an IT analyst capacity, he swiftly observed the necessity to integrate security into all critical systems and processes, from infrastructure to people. As his awareness grew, Derrick made strategic and tactical moves to lead security initiatives that strengthened the organization’s security posture. Derrick is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) and is dedicated to advancing security awareness, promoting DevSecOps, and improving application security.

Elena loves finding the alignment between candidates and career opportunities that helps individuals and organizations grow and thrive together. She enjoys building and nurturing a strong professional network where she can connect and engage with great talent continuously. Want to learn about Coveros' opportunities? Let her know! In her free time, Elena likes to spend time traveling with her husband, volunteering, gardening, and tackling sudoku and crossword puzzles.

Harry Gagnon has a background in web design and development and has worked previously at non-profit and legal organizations. He is experienced in digital marketing with a focus in email, PPC, and e-commerce. At Coveros, he manages media marketing efforts including web seminars, lead generation programs, and e-newsletters.

Jason is an experienced network engineer, systems administrator, IT manager, and proven problem solver with more than 20 years experience in the technology industry. He takes pride in providing the best solutions and service for his customers. At Coveros he is responsible for selecting, implementing, and maintaining the best hardware and software to allow the business to function while balancing budget, usability, and security.

Jeffery Payne has led Coveros since its inception in 2008. Under his guidance, the company has become a recognized market leader in secure agile software development. Mr. Payne is a popular keynote and featured speaker at technology conferences and has testified before Congress on technology issues such as intellectual property rights and cyber-terrorism. Prior to Coveros, he was co-founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Cigital, where he led the startup and growth of the company for 16 years. Mr. Payne is a former ACM National Lecturer and the co-founder of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Allegheny College and an M.S. in Computer Science from The College of William and Mary.

Jeff Pierce is a Managing Consultant with Coveros, Inc., a software company that helps organizations accelerate the delivery of secure, reliable software. Jeff is a leader with over twenty years experience in information technology (IT) program/project management. Jeff is a SAFe® 4 Program Consultant, a certified Scrum Master, and is also a Project Management Professional (PMP). He has proven technical excellence in development and deployment of strategic web-based enterprise information systems utilizing cloud computing and continuous integration technologies. Jeff's experience also includes an extensive Software Quality Assurance (SQA) and test engineering background including building and managing test teams and test automation implementation across a variety of platforms, technologies, and industries. Jeff manages Coveros Training, and is a professional instructor, delivering Agile and Software Quality related courses nationwide. 

Jennie has more than 25 years of award-winning experience in branding, print, and web design. As an Art Director for a major, DC-based design agency, she was involved in everything from the proposal, content strategy, design, and implementation/production phases. She then branched out on her own, working with diverse clients such as climbing gyms, authors, software companies, and schools. She is passionate about working closely with her team or clients to develop smart, visually engaging design that exceeds the objectives.

Jonathan Kauffman is an experienced consultant who has helped organizations overcome their agile software development and testing challenges. Jonathan has supported both government and commercial clients as they develop and test high-quality applications, and he has gained his experience by working with healthcare, biomedical devices, financial services, security, and research organizations. He leads development of the Coveros Agile Testing solution, organizes a testing and quality assurance Meetup, and both presents at and attends Meetups to help maintain his connection with the software testing community and to stay abreast of recent industry developments. Before joining Coveros, he earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Allegheny College, where he published research on techniques for optimizing regression test suites.

Developer. Engineer. Architect. DevOps practitioner and advocate. Justin Hollingsworth is all of the above, with 15 years experience in US Federal Government software development, including 10 years as a Department of Defense (DoD) Civilian. He has a B.S. in Computer Science and an M.S. in Software Engineering. Justin has heavily focused on hands-on web application development, with vast experience in many programming languages and methodologies. Strong experience in implementing and following agile and DevOps practices in environments with heavy regulation and security oversight.

Kim is a seasoned, hands-on professional with strong experience in business development, account management, product management, and more. Her role at Coveros is to grow and acquire new partnerships and clients across all our lines of business (consulting, conferences, media, and training) through deepened relationships and a consultative sales approach.

Lauren is a dedicated Customer Support Specialist with 8 years of experience helping customers in various capacities. She is committed to achieving customer satisfaction and positive customer experiences.

Phil is a software engineer very experienced in working in super fast-paced and agile environments where ambiguity is common and the need to be constantly learning is a requirement. Some of his favorite challenges are tackling difficult tasks that require learning and thought to solve. You can hand Phil a task he knows nothing about and he will learn everything necessary to make sure it gets done.

With more than a decade of experience in web development, Priya is the webmaster and senior web developer for the 12+ websites in the Coveros-TechWell family of companies. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics and Communication Engineering, as well as a Master of Business Administration. 

Sarah has been a professional meetings and events planner for more than 18 years. After leaving a career in Social Work, she found a passion for events and dedicated herself to this field. Experienced with catering and social events, exhibiting, trade show management, executive-level meetings, and conferences ranging from 150 to 1500 attendees, Sarah is knowledgeable and skillful across many areas of the events industry. She especially appreciates the relationship-building and negotiations of contracting events.

Stasi has more than 23 years of experience as a marketing professional. Her background includes varied industry experience, including technology, real estate, utilities, and heavy equipment. At Coveros, Stasi guides the overall corporate marketing strategy as well as works in-depth with our events and media products to ensure we continue to deliver the high quality experiences our customers have come to expect from our organization.

As a Sr. Sales Manager for more than ten years, Stephanie Fender's motivation to exceed customer’s expectations and build relationships is her focus. Stephanie's passion is helping organizations with their end-to-end learning goals by listening to current challenges and suggesting the right consulting, training, or coaching solutions. Stephanie and her team of software engineers help enterprises, teams, and individuals produce high-value and high-quality software through Agile & DevOps practices and processes.

For over 10 years, Todd has been creating and driving unique digital marketing content strategies for organizations in the federal government, k-12 education, and technology. As senior marketing manager at Coveros, Todd leads content creation and promotional strategy in support of our consulting and training services. Todd is a proud graduate of Penn State University, where he holds a B.A. in communications and George Washington University, where he holds a M.A. in media and public affairs. Todd enjoys spending time with his family, watching Penn State sports, enjoying live music, and exploring the history surrounding his home in northern Virginia. 

Tom Stiehm is a 20 year veteran of the Information Technology industry. He has spent the past 10 years managing, designing and implementing software products and applications using agile software development methods. Prior to Coveros, Tom held a variety of CTO and architect positions at software development companies. Tom is a member of the northern Virginia BEA users group and the northern Virginia Java users group. Tom holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from George Mason University.