profile

Kelleigh Cosentino

Written by Marissa Wilson. Photo by Kaila Rovine.

On a characteristically stormy summer day in the

nation’s capital, I meet up with Senior Analyst

Kelleigh Cosentino in the Avascent Café. With a view

of the Washington monument against the background

of a dark, ominous sky, we discuss how her military

upbringing influenced her career interests and what

her life at Avascent looks like beyond day-to-day

tasks.

Marissa Wilson (MW): Starting from the beginning,

can you tell me about where you’re from?

Kelleigh Cosentino (KC): My dad was in the Army,

so I moved around a lot growing up. I was born in

Arizona but have lived in seven different states. My

favorite was Newport, Rhode Island because we

were right by the beach (which was a big change

from most military bases). I went to high school and

college in Georgetown, so DC is more or less home

at this point.

MW: You went away to study abroad in London

during college. Why did you want to do that?

KC: I went to high school literally over the fence

from Georgetown University, so I felt like I needed a

change and wanted to go abroad somewhere. I ended

up choosing the King’s College London War Studies

Program where I could earn credit towards my major

and hear from some of the world’s leading experts

on all aspects of war. I was in classes with a lot of

students who were in the British equivalent of an

ROTC program and had interesting perspectives on

both academic and real world defense issues.

MW: Have you ever thought of joining the military?

KC: I used to think about it every once in a while but

ultimately realized I’m not made for 5 am wakeup

calls. My brother went to West Point and was in the

military for five years, so that was enough stress on

my parents. I have always been really interested in

security issues and applied to Georgetown’s School

of Foreign Service thinking I would go into some

sort of government service after college.

MW: Why did you decide to approach the defense

industry from a consulting angle?

KC: I enjoyed interning at the Office of the

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and working

for a defense industry firm prior to coming here, but

they were not the best places to start a career. The

policy world was too abstract and slow-moving, and

it was hard to feel like I could add value at that

particular defense industry firm where most of my

colleagues had 20 years in military careers behind

them. A friend pointed me toward Avascent as a

great place to learn about both defense and business

while developing skills applicable in any work

environment. Once I spoke to Avascent employees,

it seemed to fit just right, a good intersection of

defense and business issues at a company full of

young, fun people.

MW: Has your work here at Avascent required you to

travel?

KC: I’ve had some pretty glamorous trips and some

not-so-glamorous ones. I once had to travel to

Wisconsin in negative 17 degree weather, but my

recent trips to Australia and Paris made up for that.

For a project with an Australian client, I had the

chance to travel to Adelaide to brief the final

presentation, and, at the end of the week, I took a

weekend in Sydney just to explore. On another

occasion, I went to our Paris office for a few days to

finalize a project with a French client and flew to

southern France for the final brief. International

travel can be hectic since you’re working most of the

time, but I’ve enjoyed some awesome meals and

found ways to maximize sightseeing on evenings

and weekends.

MW: Beyond day-to-day project work, what else do

you do at Avascent?

KC: I’m involved in a bunch of internal initiatives -

the Avascent Gives charity committee (planning

annual volunteer activities), the Analyst Forum, the

Women’s Leadership Program, and the speaker

series (including the recent book signing with

General McChrystal).

MW: What do you do for fun when you’re not at

work?

KC: My fiancé and I go to a lot of Nationals games

and check out different craft beer places in the area.

There are a bunch of breweries around DC that

make for really fun day trips. I also go to a lot of

plays and musicals with my friends at the Kennedy

Center (they have a great program for helping

people in their twenties find discounted tickets). I’ve

seen some big name shows there – Wicked, Les

Miserables, and (recently) The Book of Mormon.

There’s normally a different national tour

performance every few months. There’s always

something fun to do around here!