About Canopy

We started Canopy after managing state government functions and seeing where agencies needed better support.

We saw gaps in the services available to public-sector clients and set out to build responsive solutions that help agencies move work forward with practical, hands-on support.

2020 Founded
6 Former Florida Government Executives
100+ Years Combined State Service
Our Origin

Started in 2020 to provide services government clients needed but could not always find.

When Damon Steffens and Brian Swords left a large Florida state agency in 2020, they had spent years watching consulting firms work on the same problems they had lived from the inside. The firms were capable. The engagements were expensive. But something was consistently missing: the institutional knowledge of what it actually takes to move a budget through a legislative cycle, earn trust from career agency staff, and ship something that survives a change in administration.

What followed was a firm built on a different premise. Not former consultants who had learned government. Former government executives who had decided to consult. The distinction shapes every engagement: the scope, the timeline, the communication style, and the definition of done.

"We have sat through the budget hearing, signed the procurement, defended the line item to a state senator, and waited 18 months for a federal questionnaire. We bring that perspective to every engagement."

Canopy Leadership
6
Former Florida Government Senior Executives Two CFOs, one CIO, one Deputy CIO, and senior financial and IT leadership, from a single agency.
1st
Production Agentforce Deployment in a Florida State Agency Not a pilot. An AI application-reviewer agent in a live grants cycle.
6+
Contract Vehicles GSA Schedule, TIPS cooperative, Texas DIR DBITS, Missouri IT, and Florida State Term contracts, engage Canopy without a new solicitation.
2020
Founded in Tallahassee, Florida Purpose-built for public sector, nonprofit, and private-sector clients in the state capital and beyond.
The Florida Commerce Connection

Six roles. One agency. A depth of institutional knowledge that cannot be replicated.

The agency our team led is one of Florida's primary economic development and workforce agencies: managing federal grants, disbursements, and enterprise technology at significant scale. The Canopy leadership team held its senior finance and IT positions. That is not a credential. It is a shared operational vocabulary.

Chief Financial Officer
Damon Steffens
Now: Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Will Currie
Now: Managing Director, Finance
Chief Information Officer
Ed Wynn
Now: Managing Director, IT Consulting & Advisory
Deputy Chief Information Officer
Brian Swords
Now: Co-Owner
Chief of IT Strategic Business Support
Jo Gaines
Now: Managing Director, Enterprise Services
Chief of Financial Management
Lemuel Toro
Now: Managing Director, Accounting
Leadership Profiles

The people behind the credentials.

Damon Steffens, CEO of Canopy Management Consulting Group
Former Chief Financial Officer, a large Florida state agency

Damon Steffens

Chief Executive Officer, Canopy Management Consulting Group

As CFO of a large Florida state agency, Steffens was responsible for the full spectrum of state and federal financial management: appropriations, budget hearings, procurement, grants compliance, and financial monitoring across a large, federally funded agency portfolio. He has defended agency budgets before legislative committees and managed the financial architecture of programs that directly impacted Florida businesses and workforce programs.

He co-founded Canopy in 2020 with the conviction that public sector organizations deserve consulting partners who have held the same accountabilities they hold, not just studied them.

LinkedIn
Brian Swords, Co-Owner of Canopy Management Consulting Group
Former Deputy Chief Information Officer, a large Florida state agency

Brian Swords

Co-Owner & Managing Partner, Canopy Management Consulting Group

As Deputy CIO of a large Florida state agency, Swords held operational responsibility for enterprise technology: project delivery, vendor management, technology governance, and the systems that support grants management, workforce programs, and agency administration. He brings a practitioner's understanding of what it takes to procure, implement, and sustain enterprise technology inside a state agency.

He co-founded Canopy alongside Damon Steffens, combining executive finance and IT experience under one firm. It is the combination their clients need most.

LinkedIn
Ed Wynn, Managing Director IT Consulting at Canopy Management Consulting Group
Former Chief Information Officer, a large Florida state agency

Ed Wynn

Managing Director, IT Consulting & Advisory Services

Ed Wynn served as CIO of a large Florida state agency, leading enterprise IT strategy, major systems procurement, and technology governance across the agency's programs. With decades of combined public sector service and consulting experience, he has worked as CIO, PMO director, project manager, and technology instructor. That range gives him a full-spectrum view of how government technology decisions are made and what it takes to execute them.

At Canopy, he leads IT consulting and advisory engagements, helping agency clients make technology decisions that survive budget cycles and procurement timelines.

LinkedIn
Will Currie, Managing Director Finance at Canopy Management Consulting Group
Former Chief Financial Officer, a large Florida state agency

Will Currie

Managing Director, Finance

Will Currie brings more than 20 years of experience across Florida state government and consulting, with a career that spans nearly every level of public service, from entry-level operational roles to executive leadership positions. Having worked throughout the full spectrum of government finance and administration, including accounting, budgeting, grants management, financial reporting, and agency operations, he offers a unique perspective on how policy, process, and execution intersect.

His experience leading multi-billion-dollar programs, serving as a state agency Chief Financial Officer, and advising government clients today allows him to effectively connect frontline operational realities with executive-level strategic decision-making.

LinkedIn
Joseph Gaines, Managing Director Enterprise Services at Canopy Management Consulting Group
Former Chief of Strategic Business Support, a large Florida state agency

Jo Gaines

Managing Director, Enterprise Services

Jo Gaines spent over a decade with Florida Commerce in roles spanning both program delivery and technology, ultimately serving as Chief of Strategic Business Support, leading a 30-person IT team and aligning technology investments and project governance with agency priorities.

A certified PMP, he leads enterprise services engagements at Canopy and sets the firm's standards for project management, business analysis, and change management. Having led on both the business and technology sides of government, Jo translates fluently between mission and technology, turning complex initiatives into successful outcomes.

LinkedIn
Lemuel Toro, Managing Director Accounting at Canopy Management Consulting Group
Former Chief of Financial Management, a large Florida state agency

Lemuel Toro

Managing Director, Accounting

As Chief of Financial Management at a large Florida state agency, Toro held leadership responsibility for grants management and federal financial reporting, the exact functions that Canopy now helps other agencies build and operate. He was a critical contributor to the design and deployment of Canopy's Salesforce-based grants management systems, bringing direct operational experience to the implementation work.

His combination of government finance leadership and hands-on Salesforce implementation experience is rare and directly relevant to clients modernizing their grants and financial operations.

LinkedIn
Rebbeca Beers, Managing Director Salesforce at Canopy Management Consulting Group
14× Salesforce Certified & Accredited | MBA

Rebbeca Beers

Managing Director, Salesforce

Rebbeca Beers leads Canopy's Salesforce practice, the technical capability that makes the team's government experience actionable on a modern platform. Fourteen-times Salesforce certified and accredited, she brings deep implementation and architecture expertise with a public sector focus and a commitment to building technical solutions that genuinely serve communities.

She joined Canopy to partner a team of former government executives with the Salesforce technical depth to translate their operational knowledge into production-ready systems, including Canopy's Agentforce deployment in Florida state government.

LinkedIn
How We Work

Operator perspective. Consulting discipline.

Most consulting firms learn government by working in it. Canopy's leadership learned consulting by leaving government. That reversal shapes how we scope work, how we communicate with agency leadership, and what we consider a successful outcome.

We know what a program director needs to bring to a cabinet meeting. We know what a CFO needs to show an appropriations committee. We know what a CIO needs to say to survive a legislative IT review. We do not need that context explained to us: and that saves time, reduces rework, and produces implementations that last beyond the contract term.

Start a conversation

We have sat on the other side of the table.

We have been the client: signed the procurement, defended the budget, and absorbed the consequences of a bad implementation. That changes every conversation about scope and timeline.

We work in the hard middle, not the easy edges.

Grants disbursement, financial reconciliation, audit-ready reporting, federal compliance, the unglamorous work where real value is created and where most implementations quietly fail.

We are specific about what we do not know.

We do not try to be everything to everyone. We are former Florida state executives who consult to government, nonprofit, and private-sector organizations across Florida and the Southeast. Knowing exactly where we add value is a feature, not a limitation.

We procure like a client needs us to.

GSA Schedule, TIPS cooperative purchasing, and Salesforce Implementation Ready Partner status, because procurement friction should not be the reason a good engagement doesn't start.

Get in Touch

Ready to work with a team that has been where you are?

Tell us what you are working on. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit, and if we are not, we will say so.

Email Our Team See Our Work