Lesley Kalan
Vice President
lkalan@cohengroup.net

Prior to joining The Cohen Group, Ms. Kalan spent five years as a majority Professional Staff Member with the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, Defense Subcommittee. During her tenure with the Committee, she was responsible for making annual funding and legislative recommendations to Senators on over $75 billion of defense procurement and research and development programs.

Her portfolio included aircraft, missile and weapons systems procurement, Navy shipbuilding, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Chemical and Biological Defense Program, the National Reconnaissance Office and various other intelligence programs. She also served as the Committee's point person for National Guard and Reserve and Special Operations Forces equipment and modernization issues.

Ms. Kalan previously worked at the Pentagon as a Presidential Management Fellow in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. There she took an active role in the interagency coordination and planning of military assistance to civil authorities to further domestic preparedness and improve the government's capacity to respond to potential domestic attacks involving weapons of mass destruction.

Ms. Kalan holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Florida State University, a graduate certificate in Budgeting and Financial Management, and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of South Florida. She is a graduate of the Defense Acquisition University's executive leadership course and is the recipient of the Department of the Navy Superior Public Service Medal.