Meet our team of
courageous humans.
After over 25 years providing live leadership intensives, webinars, and On-Demand MicroDevelopment™ programs for a who's who of global organizations, the team at The Institute knows a thing or two about creating Courage.
Get in touch.
Whether you’re ready to start your Courageous Leadership™ journey or just want to chat about your leadership challenges, we’d love to hear from you.
(315) 806-0952
Our Lead Facilitators
Our extraordinary Courageous Leadership Institute facilitators are fluent in many industries ranging from financial services to aviation, banking and healthcare to high tech. With dozens of years of experience and their signature style and humor, our seasoned facilitators bring The Courageous Leadership Institute programs to life.
Owner & President, Cindy Solomon & Associates, Inc.
Cindy Solomon is one of the most sought-after leadership and customer experience experts in the world. As a top 10 Global Guru in Leadership for 2026, she is known for her bold voice, research-driven insights, and unforgettable keynote experiences that move audiences from inspiration to action.
Her extensive global work includes partnerships with 26 J.D. Power Award winners, 16 Best Places to Work, and over 462 organizations, including industry leaders like Google, Alaska Airlines, Oracle, UPS, Wells Fargo, Dow, the American Bankers Association, and The Gates Foundation—all looking to build Courageous Leadership® at scale.
As Founder and CEO of the Courageous Leadership Institute®, Cindy and her international team of facilitators deliver training and tools that help organizations cultivate everyday courage, breakthrough communication, and leadership that drives measurable results.
Her accessible, laugh-out-loud programs have reached more than 350,000 leaders worldwide, offering real-world frameworks that create customer loyalty and employee engagement—even in the most disrupted environments.
Cindy’s accolades include the Top 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership by leadersHum, the Inc. 5000, Fast Company’s Fast 100, and 3.1M+ views on her TED Talk, 5 Tips for Dealing with Meeting Overload. Her bestselling books, The Courage Challenge Workbook and The Rules of Woo, are available on Amazon.
Director of Training Services & Facilitator
In addition to facilitating, Jennifer Nicholas manages the development and implementation of leadership and service excellence programs for Cindy Solomon & Associates. She has worked with Cindy for almost 20 years in a wide range of industries, including hospitality, insurance, telecommunications, banking, and more. As the owner of her own consulting business, Jennifer specialized in service excellence and leadership development training primarily for hospitality clients. She has worked with multiple organizations that have been recognized in the “Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For” annual rankings and helped a client earn a regional “Innovative Work Practices” award for proactive employee programming. As a program facilitator, she is known for her humor, sincerity, and straightforward style as well as her ability to bring clarity and understanding to complex concepts. Jennifer graduated with a degree in Journalism from the University of Colorado in Boulder. When not working, Jennifer enjoys travel, skiing, reading, and yoga – and she is an avid college football fan.
Lead Facilitator
Paul DeCordova has been working nationally as a facilitator, teaching artist, administrator, and actor for the past 18 years. He has led training and development programs across the pharmaceutical industry (Daiichi Sankyo International, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline) since 2006 and with a wide range of non-profit and governmental agencies since 2001. As an arts administrator, Paul was the Chair of the Theater Department at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and the Director of Education at the History Theatre. Paul’s extensive artistic and business experience helps his clients achieve personal and professional change by utilizing their own creative power. Paul earned his MFA from the University of Minnesota.
Facilitator
Dr. Toni Brown is the founder and CEO of the A. Patrice Group, an insightful consulting firm, based in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, USA.
Dr. Toni is a celebrated conference speaker, educator, wife, mother, and volunteer in her local community. Toni has helped companies large and small, corporate and non-profit organizations identify barriers to their success, and helped them unlock the keys to growth and sustained performance and building a winning team culture.
Dr. Toni has worked in the biopharmaceuticals industry for over 25 years serving in various roles from Medical Researcher, Director of Training, and Healthcare Market Director across multiple therapeutic areas.
As a keynote speaker, Dr. Toni grips each audience with transformative and moving insights into a broad range of topics. Notably, she is the creator of a dynamic workshop she entitled: “Unleashing Your Superpower.” Imagine the exhilaration one feels when discovering their true purpose and identity as they are led to explores areas they once overlooked or shrugged off as coincidence or fleeting interest.
Dr. Toni holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology, a Masters in Business Administration and her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership. In addition to her work in Pharma and her consulting services, Dr. Toni also serves as adjunct professor at Collin College in North Texas.
Facilitator
Dr. Pia Fitzgerald is a leadership development expert, facilitator, and executive coach with more than 30 years of experience helping leaders and teams strengthen communication, build trust, and navigate the human dynamics of the workplace. She has designed and facilitated leadership and organizational development experiences across corporate, government, education, and nonprofit settings.
Pia specializes in emotional intelligence, psychological safety, courageous communication, and creating cultures where people can collaborate and perform at their best. Known for translating complex concepts into practical tools, she creates engaging learning experiences that invite honest reflection and meaningful action.
A licensed educator and EQ-i 2.0/EQ 360 facilitator, Pia earned her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Youngstown State University. She is the creator of the Agile Leader and SEEN frameworks and author of WOWW! I CAN Lose Weight.
Pia brings energy, creativity, candor, and humor to the room and believes a well-timed laugh can create the opening people need to connect, learn, and have courageous conversations.
Facilitator
Rachael A. Pinckney is a seasoned operations, human resources, and organizational development leader with experience across Fortune 500 companies and mission-driven organizations. Her work centers on developing people, strengthening culture, and building the systems and strategies that help organizations thrive.
She currently serves as Director of Operations for the Columbus Fashion Alliance (CFA), where she leads and supports organizational operations, people and culture, financial management, infrastructure, and cross-functional execution while helping translate strategic vision into sustainable results.
Rachael is also the Founder and Principal Consultant of Virago Consulting, providing leadership development, facilitation, coaching, and organizational consulting to nonprofit, corporate, and community-based organizations. She also consults with Access Africana, supporting organizational growth, strategic initiatives, and leadership development.
Known for her engaging and people-centered facilitation style, Rachael is passionate about developing leaders, creating strong organizational cultures, navigating courageous conversations, and helping people and organizations turn strategy into meaningful action.
Facilitator
Prior to becoming a program facilitator, Ramon Ybarra founded TransAtlantic Theatre Company in Madrid – the city’s first bilingual company. As General Manager, he oversaw its rapid rise to the standard bearer for excellent theatre in both English and Spanish. Since then, Ramon has worked with Oxford University Press Spain, ImprovEdge, and Steps Drama, a London-based corporate training company that uses professional actors to boost corporate performance. Organizations that have benefitted from Ybarra’s expertise include Kimberly Clark, Morgan Stanley, Oxford University Press, and Burlington Books, where he was also an author. A professional actor for more than 20 years, Ybarra has experience in theatre, cinema, television, radio plays, voiceover work, and dubbing. He received his BA magna cum laude from Brandeis University with high honors in Theatre.