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
Owner & President, Cindy Solomon & Associates, Inc.
For more than two decades, Cindy Solomon has worked with hundreds of organizations to build bottom-line results by creating profitable, long-term relationships with customers, leaders, and employees. She is known for her witty, motivational, and fully-customized approach, which allows attendees of her keynote presentations, seminars, and training programs to build their knowledge base, while igniting their enthusiasm for productive change, life-long learning, and exceptional customer service. As one of the most sought-after leadership and customer loyalty speakers in the country, she has worked with companies as varied as Inc. Magazine (over 50 appearances), UPS, Alaska Airlines, Genentech, Microsoft, Raytheon, Oracle, The Mayo Clinic, KeyBank, American Automobile Association (AAA), and many others. You can learn more about Cindy and her organization at www.CindySolomon.com.
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.
Facilitator
Signe Harriday is a professional teaching artist, actor, and producer – as well as a diversity and staff development trainer dedicated to empowering individuals and igniting social change. Through ImprovEdge she has facilitated programs for a broad range of well-respected organizations including Battelle, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Legg Mason, Nationwide, Turner Broadcasting, the U.S. Army, and the University of Pennsylvania. As a result, she is skilled at working with the unique needs of non-profits, corporate America, and government agencies. Signe earned her MFA in acting from Harvard University at the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at the American Repertory Theatre. She is a co-founder of MaMa mOsAiC, a women of color theatre collective, and an Associate Company Member of Pillsbury House Theatre. Prior to her corporate work, Harriday designed and implemented arts curricula for professional theatres and school districts in Minnesota and New York.
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
Cynthia Judge is a speaker and communications coach with over twenty years of experience. Ms. Judge trained as an actor and has worked in regional theatres from Alaska to Florida. Now based in Chicago, she has acted and produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, TurnAround Theatre, and many more. She has extensive experience in the healthcare industry, having designed and led hundreds of workshops using improvisation to enhance selling and coaching skills. She has also led communication skills workshops in a wide variety of industries – the US Department of Agriculture, Loyola University Chicago, YMCA-USA, and Founding Moms. Ms. Judge serves on the Board of Directors for Solidarity Bridge, a non-profit organization that trains and equips medical communities in South America.
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.
Facilitator
Megan Bhatia is proud Chicago-based member of the Courageous Leadership Institute team. She brings her years of facilitation and leadership experience from both corporate and nonprofit environments. Megan enjoys creating fun and interactive learning experiences and loves to geek-out about the most recent discoveries in neuroscience, behavior psychology, and systems thinking. When not leading events around the country, she is deep in the learning curve of being a mom to twin toddlers.