Meet the team and learn more about LAVA’s culture below
LAVA Technology Services was founded in 2020 by Jake Jansen and Billy Stowe. LAVA is a Trusted Advisor for all things as a Service and managed service solutions.
One of the most surprisingly difficult parts of forming a new company is picking a meaningful name. The culmination of two lifelong dreams, our company needed a name that was a worthy representation of who we are. We wanted to pay homage to the unique experiences and cultural backgrounds that influence both of our co-founders’ identities.
Billy’s Louisiana (LA) roots are as important to him as lemons are to a crawfish boil. And Jake, who was born and raised in Virginia (VA), wanted his beloved home-state (and company HQ location) to be included. Thus, LAVA was born.
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Jake was born and raised in Loudoun County, VA and lives in Purcellville with his Wife and three children. Jake has 11 years of enterprise sales and technology solution development experience having worked for two of the largest VAR/MSP’s in the country. In his last role Jake was National Director of Solution Development for a $2B Firm, and was responsible for national sales and portfolio development for Managed Cloud, Connectivity, Networking/SDWAN, Colocation/Hosted Infrastructure and UCaaS/Cloud Collaboration. This role supported over 300 Account Executives and gave Jake the opportunity to meet with and develop solutions for some of the largest companies in the world. It is with this experience that Jake decided to build a company of his own to ensure he was always able to deliver best of breed and cutting edge solutions to his customers.
Billy was born in New Orleans, LA and currently lives in Leesburg, VA with his Wife and three sons. Billy graduated from LSU, and he proudly says “GEAUX Tigahs”, even at times and places where he likely shouldn’t. Billy has over 17 years of Enterprise Sales and Account Management experience within the technology field, supporting some of the largest clients in the Mid Atlantic area. He was a routine top performer and Presidents Club Award winner for multiple organizations. Billy realized that the type of technologies his customers are purchasing today, and more specifically, the way they are consuming those technologies, has drastically shifted. Billy decided he would build a business that from day 1 will be as agile as possible for his client base.
Mike was born and raised in Upstate New York and currently lives in New Hartford, New York with his wife and their three amazing daughters. Mike graduated from SUNY Cortland with a degree in Economics and has an MBA from Clarkson University. He has spent his entire 25+ year career in Telecom and Cyber Security roles, supporting both Government and Commercial customers. Mike has a true passion for providing world class customer service. As the Director of Professional Services, Mike leads his team to meticulously coordinate service implementation details with LAVA partners and customers, ensuring a smooth, timely, and stress-free service delivery. Outside of work, Mike enjoys spending time with family and friends, live music, motorcycles, and being outdoors.
An seasoned IT specialist with 40+ years of experience in the technology and enterprise architecture field who knows how to execute. A leader who draws on the expertise of staff and a diverse technical and business background to achieve and align IT strategic goals to business strategy. An engaging speaker able to explain in business terms the need for and value of leveraging technology to reduce TCO and increase profitability. An agile thinker who can make decisions quickly when needed and methodically when time allows.
Recognized with the 2007 VMWare Vanguard Award for “the most advanced virtual infrastructure.” Accomplished by re-engineering a datacenter and re-tooling a tactically focused team into an elegant virtual infrastructure and finely-tuned strategically focused team.
Specialties: • Facilitation, training and public speaking
• Executive briefings and business cases demonstrating ROI
• Strong leadership and collaboration skills
• Enterprise architecture
Taylor was born and raised in Austin, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas Austin with a degree in Economics and a minor in Business. Taylor loves math and uses it every day here at LAVA as our Sales Operations Manager. Taylor is responsible for the oversight of all sales and business operations here at LAVA. Alongside work, Taylor is passionate about philanthropy, specifically St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She interned at the Austin Office for St. Jude in 2019, raising over $900,000. Taylor is still heavily involved with fundraising for the kids at St. Jude and is involved with other local Austin charities. Taylor also has experience as an External Relationship Intern at Fidelis Recovery Management, where she facilitated potential client meetings and client information exchanges
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Sarah now resides in Cedar Rapids, IA with her husband and four children. With more than 26 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, Sarah has built a versatile career holding roles such as Network Operations Technician, Service Delivery Specialist, and Sales Support Leader. Her Expertise spans network troubleshooting and monitoring, process development and optimization, and training sales teams on both existing and emerging products. Currently serving as Pricing Analysis and Operations Manager, Sarah is a dedicated, results-driven professional with a strong track record of leadership and success across multiple areas of the telecom industry.
Patty was born and raised in Loudoun County VA and currently lives in Clarke County VA with her husband and three awesome kids. She has spent her entire career in the telecom industry and has a tremendous amount of experience in network connectivity, professional services and most recently in Technology Expense Management. While she has seen many changes in the industry in those 30+ years, her constant goal has always been to provide exceptional and friendly service and build strong relationships with her clients. As the Professional Services Manager at LAVA, she will continue to provide the highest level of customer care by overseeing all professional services as LAVA continues to scale our services offerings to our growing client base.
Karen was born and raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and lives there today with her three daughters and their rescue dog. She graduated from West Virginia University and found the telecom industry path very early in her career, starting in account management for a local telecommunications reseller. More than 30 years later, she has held positions in product management for local telephone service, billing auditor management and management of enterprise-level clients, which provides her essential experience to assist and improve customers’ experience in the telecom world. As Professional Services Manager, Karen brings essential industry knowledge to the growing base of LAVA partners and clients.
Ryan Robertson brings over two decades of experience in sales and account management, along with nine years in technology consulting, to his role as Senior Account Executive at LAVA. Known for his strategic mindset and client-first approach, Ryan is focused on driving business growth and building lasting partnerships that align with LAVA’s mission and momentum.
Based in Frederick, Maryland, Ryan lives with his wife and two sons, where they proudly embrace their identity as a hockey family—spending weekends at the rink and cheering from the stands. His competitive spirit and team-oriented mindset carry over into his professional life, where he’s passionate about helping LAVA expand its reach and impact.
Mark was born in England, raised in the SC Lowcountry and currently lives in Leesburg VA with his wife and three children. He graduated from the University of SC with a degree in Political Science. Mark brings 25+ years of industry experience to the LAVA team, along with a unique perspective across the entire IT supply chain including OEM/ISV, distribution, solution provider, reseller, and customer. Mark has managed strategic partner relationships that were more than $100M annually. During his career, Mark has held positions on many Partner Advisory Councils including VMware, Citrix, VEAAM and HPE. Mark and his family are passionate about animal welfare and specialize in fostering pregnant dogs and finding forever homes for the mother and her puppies. Over the past 10 years, the Henson’s have helped save over 300 animals in need.
Matt was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. He currently lives on the west of Cleveland, Ohio with his wife and family. Matt graduated from Kent State University with a BA in Business Management. He has 12 years of Telcom experience in Direct and Channel sales. He has a passion for helping customers identify innovative solutions to their technology needs. In his role of Channel Account Manager he supports LAVA’s partners in delivering top tier solutions and support to their most trusted clients. Matt is a true girl dad to his two daughters and loves spending time with his family outdoors.
Jacqueline was born in Marietta, Georgia and currently lives in Round Hill, Virginia with her husband and three sons. After spending the last 16 years raising her children and supporting her family, she decided to re-enter the workforce, bringing with her a wealth of life experience and a renewed sense of purpose. In her role as an executive administrator, Jacqueline excels at managing the day-to-day operations as well as collaborating closely with senior management to ensure the company runs smoothly. In addition to her commitments as an executive administrator and a mother, Jacqueline also likes to train for the Army 10 miler every year as well as being actively involved in her son’s sports activities.
Cameron was born and raised outside of Detroit, Michigan and currently lives in Middleburg, Virginia. She is a graduate of Bridgewater College where she studied Business Administration and Marketing. While at Bridgewater, Cameron also competed as a thrower on the track and field team. As LAVA’s Digital Marketing Manager, Cameron is responsible for all digital aspects of marketing, including web design, sales support, deliverables, graphic design, and more!
As LAVA’s Field Marketing Manager, Whitney brings over 15 years of experience in sales and marketing. In this role, Whitney leads the planning and execution of LAVA’s event strategy, working to elevate the brand experience through thoughtful engagement, creative activations, and seamless event delivery.
Based in Purcellville, Virginia, Whitney is passionate about creating memorable moments that connect people and amplify brand impact. Her deep understanding of audience engagement and operational excellence makes her a key contributor to LAVA’s continued growth and visibility.
Sydney was born and raised in Leesburg, Virginia. She recently graduated from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a degree in Supply Chain Management and a focus on Business Analytics. As a Business Development Representative, Sydney is responsible for bringing in new business and building relationships with potential clients to help grow the company. In this role, she generates new opportunities by identifying and reaching out to potential leads.
