Our core team possesses extensive hands-on leadership and management experience. We have managed complex programs, created leadership development and other training programs, conducted strategic planning, established and trained Integrated Process Teams (IPTs), and developed and implemented performance improvement strategies. In addition to our core team, we also have sub-contractors with expertise in communication systems integration and analysis, IPT development, and offsite facilitation. If you have a challenge, we have someone who has already dealt with it!

Senior Leaders

Edmund Dowling

Ed provides advice and oversight of QLS, in addition to providing program management and strategic planning expertise to organizations, enabling them to overcome programmatic challenges and improve overall organizational effectiveness.

Certified in program management, Ed retired from the Army with over 27 years of documented executive, program management, logistics, technical management, and leadership experience. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an M.S. in Material Acquisition from Florida Institute of Technology. While serving in the Army, Ed also attended numerous leadership courses, including the Command and General Staff College and Defense Systems Management College. He is a strategic thinker with proven abilities in the following areas:

• Program Management
• Strategic Planning
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Leader Development and Team Building
• Resource Management and Cost Estimation

Christopher Sargent

Chris implements leader development programs for customers, to help the first-line supervisor, as well as CEO become self aware of their strengths and areas needing improvement. He custom tailors a 360 assessment program to meet your needs, trains your coaches, and ensures each individual receives a report tailored to his or her needs. When a customer's participants have been asked "do you think the leader development program should be continued," the response has been an enthusiastic "yes" over 90% of the time.
Chris retired from the Army as Director, Center for Army Leadership after 28 years of foxhole-to-boardroom experience. Chris holds a B.S. in General Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is also Six Sigma trained, a Baldrige-based quality examiner, and a graduate of the U.S. Army War College. His experience and education have provided him with a wide range of capabilities in the following areas:

• Leader Development and Team Building
• Operational and Strategic Planning
• Program Management
• Executive Training

Carla Auchterlonie

Carla works with organizations in development of strategic plans and in creating or improving processes to meet those plans. Supporting a wide variety of organizations from the private and public sectors, she consulted with a local hospital on an improvement initiative which won the Alabama Quality Award “Gold” Team Award and the “Judge’s Award” for unique and creative process improvement initiatives (only the third time this has ever been presented). She facilitates leadership teams in organized and targeted approaches to complex problems, providing the methodology to create and implement solutions. Carla is able to draw on experience with Baldrige-based performance systems, Lean Six Sigma problem solving methodology, and ISO 9001 quality management systems.

Carla worked in Industry for 25 years in a variety of technical and leadership positions in the US and Canada. She earned a Master of Business Administration from Syracuse University, a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Missouri – Rolla, and a B.S. in Education from Southeast Missouri State University. Carla has achieved certification as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Champion. Her experience and education have provided her with a wide range of capabilities in the following areas:

• Operational and Strategic Planning
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Leader Development and Team Building
• Facilitation
• Baldrige-based Performance Improvement
• Black Belt - Lean Six Sigma; Green Belt Trainer
• ISO 9001 Implementation

Frederick Jones

Fred is a senior strategic planner and core member of the QLS team. He assists organizations in assessing themselves and then designs tailored interventions to ensure their goals are obtained.
Fred retired from the Army with over 17 years of leadership and management experience. Following his retirement, he worked as a Program Manager for DynCorp and has over 29 of combined leadership and management experience. His education includes a B.S. in Biology from the University of Alabama, an M.S. in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Central Texas, and a number of military leadership courses, including the Command and General Staff College. His experience and education have provided him with a broad range of competencies in the following areas:

• Strategic Planning
• Leader Development and Team Building
• Facilitation
• Organizational Development