Meet Laurie - Serial Entrepreneur
Laurie Sayles is an author, change agent, thought leader, serial entrepreneur, and the President & CEO of Civility Management Solutions (CivilityMS), a professional consulting firm for government and commercial contracting.
Formed in 2012 and based in Prince George’s County, MD, CivilityMS has provided a variety of professional services, including project, program, financial, and grants management; training and conference logistics; and administrative support to federal, state, and local government agencies and entities in and around the Washington, D.C – Baltimore metropolitan areas. As a certified Small Business Administration 8(a), Women Owned, and verified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business with an office in a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone), Laurie has contributed to the creation of jobs, providing of goods and services, and facilitation of commerce that has been the driving force of Prince George’s County economic development.
Laurie was awarded the Washington Business Journal “2020 Veterans in Business” award; the 2019 Maryland Women Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year and Veterans in Business (VIB) Network’s “Above and Beyond” award; and in 2018 CivilityMS was selected as 1 of 100 Minority Businesses in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia area.
Meet Laurie- Change Agent
Laurie has always been an entrepreneur, beginning with babysitting, selling candy to neighborhood kids, and modeling professionally during High School in downtown Chicago, all before joining the United States Marine Corps.
Laurie’s seven years of active duty in the Marine Corps increased her leadership, integrity, teamwork, and persistence. She was tested as she earned the respect as a Woman, who is African American in a man’s world. Her Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) was Maintenance Management and she served in Camp Lejeune, NC; Kaneohe Bay, HI and Cherry Point, NC. Laurie was highly regarded as a Woman Marine and was often called upon by superiors to mentor and train others. The importance of her job is best stated as “A Marine must be properly equipped to function at 110%,” as her demanding role was to push mechanics, technicians, armorers, etc., to maintain a 98% equipment readiness at all times.
Laurie has been recognized as a “Compassionate Business Leader” due to her advocacy on behalf of veteran business owners. She has served on Small Business Committee Hearings in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and participated in many pilot programs for veterans and small business owners to provide direct input on the economic development and growth opportunities for women-owned and Veteran-owned businesses.
Meet Laurie- Advocate
Laurie has become an outspoken advocate for veterans as she has served on four Small Business Committee Hearings in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives regarding Veteran Entrepreneurship Training, SBA Reauthorization, and parity within the statuses. Elected as the first Woman Veteran Officer on the Veteran Entrepreneurship Task Force (VET-Force) Committee. She has been honored to speak on panels for Maryland Legislatures, the Department of Veteran Affairs, DC PTAC, and many others. One major honor for her was being invited to the 2015 “Joining Forces” Women Veterans Day Luncheon with Mrs. Michelle Obama and the highest-ranking Veteran of the country, Vice President Joe Biden.
Meet Laurie- Thought Leader
Awarded Washington Business Journal “2020 Veterans in Business” award; 2019 Maryland Women Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year and VIB Network’s “Above and Beyond” award; 2018 CivilityMS selected as 1 of 100 Minority Businesses in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia area, and “Compassionate Business Leader” due to her advocacy on behalf of Veterans business owners. CivilityMS participated in many pilot programs: Department of Veteran Affairs, OSBDU program for Women Service Disabled Veterans “VetBizLady”; Bowie University, BowieBic referred to as an 8(a) accelerator program for SBA certified 8(a) programs in Prince George’s County, MD; Baltimore, MD Cohort 1 Goldman Sach’s 10,000 Small Business Program with Babson Entrepreneurship Training at Johns Hopkins University. CivilityMS has received numerous awards during the past seven years of being established, and most recent is being #2504 in Inc 5000 list for 2020.
Laurie received her bachelor’s in social science, with a minor in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship, and a Business Project Management Certification from the University of Maryland University College (now University of Maryland Global Campus). She currently serves as the Chair of the Women Veterans Business Coalition, which fights for policy changes for Veteran Women-Owned Businesses. Laurie is also a member of the 2023–2025 UMGC Alumni Association Advisory Board. She authored “As My Leaders Go … So Do I,” which is an ode to the leaders she surrounded herself with throughout the years that have been examples of service and stewardship in their respective communities. Proceeds from her book support programming for survivors of economic domestic violence. Laurie recently launched a nonprofit “R3” (Recognize, Repair and Repeat), which aims to improve the lives of women, women who have served in the military, and their families by providing them with exposure and access to wealth-building resources for their success.
