Our Passion. Your Mission.

we have assembled an incredible team of award winning instructors and thought leaders to deliver an unparalleled leadership development experience.

Our team boasts a diversity of corporate, military, academic, and nonprofit experience, brought together with the mission of developing authentic leaders of strength, integrity, commitment, and service, to improve individual lives, teams, organizations and entire industries.

Tom graduated from West Point in the top 3% of his class and subsequently from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. As a retired Army Colonel, highlights from his distinguished 24-year career include being awarded Flight Surgeon of the Year for his service in combat, Outstanding Faculty of the Year for his medical teaching, and board selection as Department Chair for a family medicine residency department. As a result of his appointment by the Army Surgeon General to be the “face of military medicine” to recruit and share the Army Medicine story, Tom recognized a need and developed a passion for teaching physicians across the country to be effective, engaged leaders. In his final appointment in the military, Tom was the commander/CEO of a NATO military medical facility at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium. Most recently, Tom served as the CMO for the Medical Group at Baptist Health Hardin in Elizabethtown, KY where he still resides. With an emphasis on servant leadership, Tom’s core conviction is that effective leadership is never about him but is focused in creating a culture where the ones he leads can thrive and succeed. Tom is married to his wife Cheri of 27 years and has 3 children: Brandon, Mackenzie, and Ella.

Doug is a graduate of West Point, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and has a M.Ed from the University of Washington. He has led multiple units in the Army, and spent time in operations at Amazon.com. For five years, Doug taught Leadership, Advanced Leadership, and Leading Organizations Through Change at West Point, where he won the Excellence in Teaching Award and exceeded the academy average in every area of teaching feedback during each semester that he taught. He’s the co-author of four books: Permission to Speak Freely, Say Anything, Hope Unseen, and Leadership Lessons from West Point. Doug has published articles in the International Journal of Servant-Leadership and written case studies for both Stanford’s and Harvard’s business schools. Before joining The Referent Group, Doug spent over a decade creating and delivering leadership development content for companies across myriad sectors and in multiple countries. He also regularly delivered keynotes for organizations such as Walmart, Gap, USAA, Goodwill, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, McKinsey and Company, and others.

Amanda “Mandy” Cuda provided 16-years of active duty service in the Army, during which time she assumed clinical, academic, combat operational, and leadership roles in Hawaii, Georgia, Washington, Alaska, and Afghanistan. She has held the roles of Medical Director and Physician for Product Innovation and Strategy, and has continued to serve in the US Army Reserves as a faculty member at the Uniformed Services University. Mandy has integrated medical innovation work with curriculum development by building and implementing advanced clinical rotations that emphasize Health System Science competencies, with her work being both published and presented at conferences across the nation. Dr. Cuda’s educational background includes a Biology degree from Wheaton College and a Medical Degree from the Uniformed Services University. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health and. has completed a Faculty Development Fellowship at Madigan Army Medical Center. Mandy lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, their four amazing kids, a sweet black lab, and a mysterious cat.

Matt has delivered hundreds of leadership talks, presentations, workshops, and training sessions to a long list of clients including Microsoft, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Procter & Gamble, the US Department of Energy, the US Department of Homeland Security, and the US Department of the Treasury. Matt has been interviewed for both Forbes.com and Investor’s Business Daily, and in 2018, Inc.com listed him as one of the Top 100 Leadership Speakers in the United States. His co-authored leadership book, Permission to Speak Freely, was highly praised by multiple New York Times bestselling authors and has sold copies across five continents. It has also been translated into Chinese for greater distribution in Asia. In academia, Matt’s peer-reviewed work on servant-leadership has been published in both the International Journal of Servant-Leadership and the International Journal of Leadership Studies. He has also been featured in two widely-distributed textbooks published by Pearson Prentice Hall, and has been a top-rated professor at two different institutions for more than a decade—several times being rated the #1 instructor on campus. Matt holds an MBA and a PhD in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University. Matt and his wife Alaina have been married 15-years and are privileged to be raising three remarkable children together.

Geoff graduated from West Point with an Engineering Physics degree and commanded army units around the globe as an Apache attack helicopter pilot. Following his military career, he studied with Second City in New York, teaching improvisation while working as a professional actor. Blending his creative work with his technical experience, Geoff began to develop authentic leaders in corporate America and soon found himself transforming leaders in the world’s largest companies. At Walmart, he led a team that designed and delivered leader development for 2.1 million associates in 27 different countries. Geoff has worked with Google, Facebook, Apple, IBM, JP Morgan, HBO, Chick-fil-A, and more to create innovative, breakthrough experiences for leaders at all levels. He integrates scientific research with a uniquely human approach to help technical professionals connect with others and become better communicators, innovators, and influencers.

Tiffany obtained her medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and completed residency training in Pediatrics both at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, and then Children’s Hospital in Seattle. She is currently an owner and partner in a large (100+) group of pediatricians serving a metropolitan area near Seattle, where she has been named “Best Pediatrician” on multiple occasions. Her passions beyond clinical care include physician wellness and fulfillment. She has championed these concepts in her practice, and has served as Chairman of the Wellness Subcommittee. During her tenure as Chairperson, she developed processes in association with the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) that sought to determine barriers to well-being, improve communication and teamwork, and decrease physician burnout. Tiffany has completed extensive training in mindfulness and self-compassion. As a certified mindfulness instructor, she has taught numerous workshops to healthcare professionals. She also has advanced training in leading Self Compassion for Healthcare Communities (SCHC) from the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion. Tiffany has now combined her training and experience to serve physicians and healthcare professionals on their journey to maximize their professional and personal potential through life coaching.

Todd is fueled with an undying curiosity for learning how individuals best live in meaningful relationship to one another. He excels at aligning their personal sense of purpose/mission within their life and work. He has pioneered multiple non-profit ventures in new communities and most recently planted a church. Throughout his mission-driven career, Todd has often been invited into the worst moments in the lives of others. Because he readily earns trust, he is able to remind people of the hope of living their best life. Through one to one coaching, Todd inspires physical, relational, and spiritual development. He has learned personal growth always requires more work than we realize. He is known for his authenticity and vulnerability which enables him to coach and counsel with real life application. Todd holds a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from The Ohio State University and a Master of Arts degree from Ashland Theological Seminary. Todd is credentialed as a Physician Development Coach from Physician Coaching Institute and Associate Certified Coach (ACC) from the International Coaching Federation.

ready when you are.