NATALIE FOSTER
Public Consulting Group
Consultant
Age: 28

For  Natalie Foster, it’s all about impact. In 2002, when she joined Public Consulting Group—a 500-person firm that assists public sector clients with business strategy, operations improvement and IT solutions—she says was excited by the entrepreneurial spirit of the firm and intrigued by the impact she could make in the public sector.

Now, nearly six years later, that impact can be measured across 1,000 public school districts representing 600,000 students and more than $20 million in annual revenue for her division in the Public Consulting Group, the Education Services Practice Area. Foster spends much of her time “servicing public school districts in the areas of design and implementation of Web-based, special education applications and Medicaid reimbursement,” she says. “I have grown the most professionally through my work with tough, but fair, clients. They have made me a better consultant, and for that I am grateful. And I take pleasure in the knowledge that in some small way we are helping school districts work more efficiently and spend more time with students rather than working on paperwork.”

In addition to her external client work, Foster also lends a hand internally, managing a staff of more than 30 IT professionals at the firm. And as far as that “entrepreneurial spirit” of the Public Consulting Group, Foster says the firm practices “intellectual democracy,” meaning “the leadership encourages and makes themselves available to all levels of staff to discuss new ideas or approaches to projects.”

In the short term, Foster says she plans to continue on her current path to be promoted to senior consultant at the Public Consulting Group. Eventually, she says, she would like to be a manager at the firm.

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KATHERINE LEWIS
Sapient
Associate
Age: 23

Katherine Lewis may be the youngest of this year’s 30 Under 30, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t earned her spot on the list—and her firm apparently agrees. Lewis, a member of the Duke University Class of 2006, recently was honored as the co-recipient of Sapient’s Rookie of the Year Award, a way for the firm to recognize its new employees who are top performers.

Lewis’ work with a healthcare nonprofit put her on the map. And not only has she found success at Sapient, but role models as well. “In my time here,” she says, “the most rewarding part of it has actually been able to build the relationships that I have with the people who are here and just to see how they believe in what they’re doing.”

As she advances in the project management space, she’s busy finding spare moments to study for her MBA. But that’s where her age has been an asset. “Fortunately being 23, there aren’t a lot of other responsibilities that I have, so I’m able to balance it,” she says, adding that soccer is another off-hours passions.

Lewis appreciates the recognition from both her firm and from Consulting, but she says she’s just doing her job. “In my mind, I’m just doing exactly what my team expects of me and just trying to do what’s best for my client, which to me just seems like everybody should be doing.”

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EITAN NAFTALI
Unisys Corporation
Senior Consultant
Age: 25

Eitan Naftali knew he wanted to be on the fast track after he joined Unisys in 2005. “I tried to stay abreast with news and look for articles about our company and tried to keep in touch as much as I could with our partners,” he says. “I would seek out opportunities to expand my exposure not only with our client but with Unisys.”

When Naftali wasn’t brown bagging his lunch with the firm’s partners, he was winning over clients. His acumen in business strategy and operations management have resulted in the firm winning three of four proposals that he worked on. His work in the public sector led to improved billing accuracy, and as a zone manager he is now responsible for maintaining more than 5,000 billing records.
Naftali also is responsible for internal and external training programs and as such is able to help public sector employees better understand new Unisys software.

In his off hours, he’s training for Ironman competitions. “The hardest [part] is doing it all at once,” he says of the ever-elusive work-life balance. Regardless of the challenges, Naftali says he sees himself staying in the industry, adding he’s thankful to his role models. “I’ve had great mentors and managers, both clients and at Unisys who really helped me along, who saw that I was interested and then provided me the opportunity to go ahead and get familiar with other parts of consulting.”