Our Team
Practical Strategies, Inc., is led by Mary Jo Joyce and a team of professionals with decades of experience in a variety of areas necessary for sound and effective project management. Tap into the talent and connections of Practical Strategies, Inc., and a customized team will tackle the job. Our network includes working relationships with the best and the brightest at locations throughout the country. Together, we will exceed your expectations on projects large or small.
- Mary Jo Joyce, President
- Francis P. Cannon, Vice President
- Raul G. Catangui, Senior Director of Government Affairs
- Ryan J. Hall, Managing Director – West Coast Operations
- Tchad Blair, Director of Design and Technology
- William Shepherd, Director of Marketing
- Ree Mies, Business Manager
- Miles Severson, Senior Associate
- Holly Bauer, Associate
- Meg Gross, Associate
- Lauri Perez, Associate
Mary Jo Joyce, President of Practical Strategies, Inc., is closely associated with the histories of organizations such as the Bradley Foundation and The Philanthropy Roundtable, as well as many initiatives. She has provided strategic planning, project management, research, development, and design to profit and nonprofit ventures for over 20 years. Ms. Joyce is the founder of educational programs and organizations in the areas of music and foreign language instruction. She has provided research, analysis and strategies to issues of bioethics, business development, community development, counter-terrorism, economics, education reform, human rights, human trafficking, immigration, land conservation, national security, philanthropy, political campaigns, religious freedom, and social service delivery. She has served as an officer to executive boards and committees; executive director to two national organizations - lobbying and charitable; owner and operator of three successful small businesses; and has a unique understanding of philanthropy in America. Her writings have been published in various newspapers, newsletters, and magazines; and utilized in speeches, articles, advertisements, and books. A former fashion model, she has represented organizations, discussed policy issues on television and radio, and frequently serves as director of events.
Francis P. Cannon, Vice President of Practical Strategies, Inc., and principal partner of Capital City Partners, LLC, a Washington, DC based consulting firm, is a veteran political and public policy consultant. After arriving in Washington in 1980 to spearhead Students for Reagan, Mr. Cannon quickly moved from Representative Drier's (R-CA) office to become one of the youngest Chiefs of Staff ever, first for Representative Hunter (R-CA) and then for Representative Sweeney (R-TX). He has worked as a consultant to the Fund for a Conservative Majority, as deputy director for the Campaign for Prosperity and as co-founder in 1997 of the Campaign for Working Families, which within two years grew to become the second largest political action committee in the country. From 1988 to 1998 he served as managing director of the economic and political forecasting firm, Lehrman Bell Mueller Cannon, Inc., which was included in The Wall Street Journal's list of top economic forecasters. As co-founder of Capital City Partners, he assisted clients in working toward passage of President Bush's tax cuts and his faith-based initiative.
Raul G. Catangui, Senior Director of Government Affairs, has over 16 years of professional experience in the legislative, public policy, regulatory, campaign and legal environments, both at the state and federal levels. His experience in these specialized areas, which he acquired while working in the United States Congress, state legislature and the governor's office, trade associations, Fortune 100 corporations, law firms and several political campaigns, allow him to see the "big picture" and clearly understand the confluence of issues from all perspectives – federal, state and international.
He currently or has previously represented a wide range of clients that are involved in transportation, environment, homeland security, defense, technology, and international trade. Mr. Catangui's former experience includes serving as Vice President for Smartel, Legislative and Regulatory Counsel to the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA), and Counsel to the ITSA Trade Association, which represented ITS corporations, and the ITSA TEA-21 Reauthorization Task Force and the Transportation Export Council (TEC). He was also the Director of Public Policy & Trade for IPC, which is the trade association for the U.S. circuit board industry, appointed as Special Assistant to and directed Governor Benjamin Cayetano's (Hawaii) Washington, DC office, Legislative Assistant/Counsel to U.S. Congresswoman Patsy T. Mink, and Legislative Aide to Senator Clayton H.W. Hee. In addition, he worked for nearly 3 years at Corning, Inc.'s government affairs office in Washington, DC, and also for the international trade law firm Graham & James, LLP, and other prominent firms in Washington, DC and Hawaii.
Mr. Catangui was also the President of Rainbow Couriers & Excel Research, Inc., a company he co-owned and managed for over 3 years. He has federal and state campaign management and grassroots experience accumulated during two presidential campaigns, and previously was a Co-Campaign Manager of a state legislative re-election race. He was responsible for and initiated the creation of the ITS Congressional Caucus, which seeks to educate members of U.S. Congress and their staff and the public on ITS, transportation, telecommunications, and to promote the development and deployment of ITS. He holds a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Hawaii and University of California at Irvine, a Juris Doctor from the American University, Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., and completed the Masters program at AU's School of International Studies (SIS).
Ryan J. Hall, Managing Director – West Coast Operations, brings over 10 years of corporate and government PR experience to Practical Strategies clients. His personal expertise and interest lies in client counsel, account and project management, strategic program development and media relations. Mr. Hall loves nothing more than successfully placing a good story, which he does regularly. In fact, he specializes in translating complex engineering and technical jargon into easy to understand terms for a variety of audiences. He uses this skill to generate valuable earned media. Upward of 1,500 direct and indirect quotes in print and hundreds of live and taped television and radio appearances for local, national and international broadcasts, demonstrate his ability to deliver and package a message.
Recently, Mr. Hall assisted in the development of a Web 2.0 project with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) where he served as a senior writer and social media advisor for the government agency. He provided guidance for strategic planning initiatives, public affairs, brand awareness, media relations and crisis communications efforts for the agency. His contributions also included providing copy, assisting in the redesign of the Healthy Hearths Initiative collateral piece, and developed a partnership with the city of Long Beach, where the mailer was directly delivered to 5,000 residents for AQMD. He also helped in the planning, logistics and development of collateral materials for the South Pasadena Car Show Media; coordinated collateral material design and research with Stihl for AQMD's Leaf Blower Program; secured media interviews for AQMD officials and Stihl representatives; and, assisted in the development of logo/branding for AQMD's Air Alert Network initiative.
Mr. Hall is a confident and concise communicator who is able to deliver key messages under pressure. In fact, he served as a first responder and crisis communicator on the National Capital Homeland Security Taskforce in Washington DC, and generated crisis plans for government agencies and Fortune 500 corporations. He holds a bachelor degree in political science from the University of Arizona.
Tchad Blair, Director of Design and Technology, has more than 10 years experience in technology with a focus on web strategies, web design, and information architecture. He has worked extensively in the Fortune 500, federal government, small business, and nonprofit sectors. Additionally, Tchad has experience in sales and marketing, and has successfully led sales teams to award-winning results.
William Shepherd, Director of Marketing, has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and publications. He has worked extensively in the nonprofit sector, including some of the largest in the nation. He has successfully developed comprehensive strategic marketing plans that have produced significant growth in outreach, branding, and revenues. A majority of his experience has been centered in Washington, DC, where he is well connected to major nonprofits, industry, and government agencies. Bill is also an accomplished business writer and has consulted on numerous development initiatives for a broad range of organizations.
Ree Mies, Business Manager, joins Practical Strategies with 10 years of business work experience including fixed income accounting, investments, analysis, computer reporting and development, and compliance. She holds a degree in business administration and finance. She has supervised teams of analysts, lead training sessions, developed and written composite queries and reports, maintained and created large complex spreadsheets, and legally approved marketing materials for distribution. Her high attention to detail and computer reporting automation have played a role in the quality and time savings of operations and requests to both internal and external clients.
Miles Severson, Senior Associate, has extensive knowledge and experience in a wide range of public policy and campaign issues. He has served as a coordinator to several state-wide and national campaigns. Mr. Severson currently manages anti-human trafficking contracts with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Practical Strategies, Inc., and is a sitting member of Concordia University's Bioethics Advisory Board. Additionally, he oversees multiple external and internal projects for Practical Strategies, Inc. He has experience in project, office, and database management, as well as federal contracting. He has been instrumental in the launch of several successful new business ventures, and holds a bachelors degree in political science.
Holly Bauer, Associate, has over 10 years of management experience encompassing positions in the commercial printing, event planning, and public relations industries. She has developed, executed, and served as project manager on sales, communication and marketing campaigns. She is experienced in working with the media and is dedicated to achieving unparalleled client relations. Serving in an advisory capacity to non-profit agencies on developing successful fundraising events, she has planned events for both state and federal government agencies. She is skilled at graphic design, writing, editing and desktop publishing, and enjoys using her creativity while focusing on clients needs.
Meg Gross, Associate, has prior experience in the planning and execution of fundraising events. She has worked on organizational projects to help offices run more efficiently in London, England and in Waukesha, Wisconsin. With a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, she uses her creativity to design materials for marketing and advertising purposes.
Lauri Perez, Associate, has 10 years of management experience in Information Technologies, including business analysis, project management, project design, marketing, budgeting, and purchasing. She has done extensive work in documentation, policy, and procedure creation and implementation. She has expertise in ISO Certification and Sarbanes Oxley Compliance. She was successful in her own consulting company and holds a degree in Computer Systems Management.