Rising Stars of the Profession 2021: Carlene Hastings

Carlene Hastings leads Eagle Hill's delivery of strategy & performance, talent and change service lines at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). For more than six years, Carlene has repeatedly led efforts to bring together the agency's disparate duties towards a common strategy, directly supporting its mission to deliver life-safety emergency management objectives. She maintained the flow of operations while FEMA Officers were deployed to manage disasters during two historically bad disaster seasons in 2017 and 2020.

Carlene joined Eagle Hill as an Associate Consultant in 2015 and ascended through the ranks to Manager in 2017, before joining Eagle Hill's leadership team in 2021. Carlene has led and written proposals for every sale made by Eagle Hill to FEMA, totaling $8.75M to date, and is known for her cold calling skills to program, acquisition, and teaming contacts. The average engagement score reported by Eagle Hill consultants within her account is 90%+. Prior to Eagle Hill, Carlene worked for six years in export marketing and investment promotion for the wine industry, and she holds a B.S. in Finance & International Business from Georgetown University.

After six years in export marketing and investment promotion for the wine industry, Carlene Hastings joined Eagle Hill Consulting in 2015 as a Consulting Associate and quickly ascended through the ranks to Eagle Hill's leadership team in 2021. From promoting rosé to consulting for federal agencies, Carlene has made an impact through her expert adaptability.

Carlene assumed the role of Account Lead for all of Eagle Hill's projects at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where she has repeatedly corralled the agency's disparate duties towards a common strategy and mission, and directly supported FEMA's mission.

Carlene has led and written proposals for every sale made by Eagle Hill to FEMA, totaling $8.75M to date, and is known for her cold calling skills to program, acquisition, and teaming contacts. Team members point to Carlene's adaptable and collaborative nature as the key to her success, backed by an engagement score of 90%+. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Carlene sent out daily memes to keep her team morale high and planned activities such as Pictionary and virtual wine tastings. She presents monthly account meetings to keep her team members informed and engaged, setting the stage for the sustained success of Eagle Hill's footprint at FEMA.

Carlene says she became a consultant because "I knew I enjoyed problem-solving and having some variety and challenges in each day. Management consulting provides that challenge. I gravitated toward Federal consulting, as I was interested in public service and supporting various agencies."  She credits her success to her teams and points out that Eagle Hill is a very collaborative company, and her colleagues are always willing to dig into a problem together and collaborate to develop solutions.

"Having a tangible impact on the clients we work with and the agencies they work for is so rewarding," Carlene says is what she loves about being a consultant. "Being able to see products we developed used in the field by stakeholders and knowing that my input helped make those products the best they could be is very exciting."

What's the best advice—personal or professional—you've ever received?

"Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not who someone else is today."