As we plan for 2026, we want to hear from you. What brings value to your APMP membership? What would make it even better? Come ready to share your thoughts and help us co-create a more impactful chapter experience.
This interactive session invites MidSouth Chapter members to reflect on their APMP experience and collaborate on what we want to see in 2026—from professional development to networking, resources, and beyond.
Speaker: Todd Baylor, President, AgileBD Description: Proposal managers can best drive compelling, coherent proposals when they join pursuit teams at the beginning of a deal cycle. But how does a proposal manager get invited to the pursuit party, even before draft solicitation documents hit the street? Learn how by attending this webinar. Confidently promise the most compelling executive summary your team has ever seen. Start with a paint-by-numbers template structured as a persuasive argument. Immediately publish executive summary drafts ─ holes and all. Collaborate with executives, BD/sales, capture, tech solutions and operations to fill in holes with content that will also serve as your most useful sales material ─ from tight conversation messaging and win themes to engaging presentation slides and killer whitepapers. It turns out that prioritizing the presentation of value to customers throughout the deal cycle encourages productive business behavior across pursuit functions. And nothing is wasted; when full proposal development begins tech writers thank you for a stabilized value proposition and hit the ground running. ALL HAIL THE PROPOSAL MANAGER!!
In a competitive proposal environment, subtlety can be a powerful differentiator. This session explores the strategic technique of ghosting the competition by positioning your solution to stand out by anticipating and countering competitor weaknesses without ever naming them.
Attendees will gain insight into how to ethically shape evaluator perception, align proposal strategy with capture intelligence, and reinforce their value proposition with precision. If your goal is to strengthen your win strategy and elevate your proposal impact, this presentation is designed for you.
About the Presenter
Rachael Towle is a seasoned proposal professional with over a decade of experience supporting federal, state, and local government contracting efforts. Currently serving as Proposal Manager at Woolpert, Rachael leads strategic proposal development across multiple sectors, including geospatial and infrastructure, and is an Associate as part of Woolpert’s Principal Program.
Her career spans roles in document management, business development support, and administrative coordination for organizations such as NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, where she honed her skills in compliance, formatting, and technical documentation. Rachael’s background also includes leadership in nonprofit organizations, showcasing her ability to manage teams, coordinate large-scale events, and drive community engagement.
Rachael holds a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Athens State University, graduating Magna Cum Laude, and has completed coursework in Accounting Technology and Human Development. She is deeply committed to professional development and industry standards, currently serving as Chair of the APMP MidSouth Chapter, representing proposal professionals across six states. Her APMP involvement reflects her passion for elevating proposal practices and mentoring others in the field.
With a unique blend of technical precision, strategic planning, and people-centered leadership, Rachael brings a dynamic perspective to proposal management—one that’s focused on quality, innovation, and ghosting the competition with confidence.
This session introduces a strategic framework for crafting compelling and compliant win themes that resonate with evaluators and clearly communicate value in federal proposals
A trending topic in Proposal Management, Knowledge Management (KM) is crucial for business development in 2025. KM, in short, is a standardized methodology for delivering the right information to the right people at the right time and in the right format to win new business. In this APMP MidSouth presentation, learn how to maximize the value of your proposal content, lessons learned, best practices, customer-related knowledge, and deal-crafting expertise. We will discuss the integration of technology and KM, cultural change and knowledge sharing, tacit versus explicit knowledge, and effective strategies to cope with rapid information growth. Headshot Presenter Bio Caroline McLaughlin is a Knowledge Manager with a passion for transforming information chaos into clarity. With a background as a reference librarian and proposal coordinator, she specializes in designing digital repositories that ensure no draft, resource, or insight is ever lost. Caroline is a Microsoft Office Specialist Expert with BA in English from the University of North Florida and an MS in Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina, with additional graduate studies in Information Architecture from Florida State University. At Professional Contract Services, Inc. (PCSI), she leads knowledge initiatives for the BD wing of a $250M Government contractor.
Join us for a discussion of how to get the most out of APMP Bid & Proposal Con in Nashville, 2025
