About

Build trust. Get Results

Lead with Trust partners with executive teams to strengthen leadership, align strategy, and build sustainable talent pipelines.

James

Co-Founder • Workforce & Education Strategy

  • Veteran deal-maker with a proven playbook. James has spent 20+ years building and scaling partnerships divisions from the ground up — negotiating 8-figure contracts with global brands like Walmart, Amazon, Tesla, Ford, and American Airlines.
  • He doesn’t just close deals — he builds systems that scale. As VP of Business Development at Universal Technical Institute, James built the entire partnerships function from zero, establishing the KPIs, processes, and team infrastructure that delivered 14% year-over-year growth.
  • A trusted advisor to growth-stage and enterprise organizations alike. Whether leading corporate development at a private equity-backed education group or coaching national sales teams through market expansion, James brings the strategic rigor and relationship intelligence that turns opportunity into revenue.
  • Revenue growth is in his DNA. His teams have consistently delivered — including $60M+ in new contracts in a single year and double-digit YoY growth across multiple organizations.

Stacie

Co-Founder • Leadership Placement & Coaching

  • 25+ years building people-first organizations that actually perform. Stacie has served as Chief People Officer and CHRO across Fortune 50 companies, high-growth startups, and purpose-driven nonprofits — from CVS Caremark (leading a global recruiting team of 180+) to scaling healthcare clinics from 42 to 1,200+ employees.
  • Her signature? Turning trust into a measurable business outcome. At Community Medical Services, Stacie reduced cost-per-hire by 85%, cut turnover in key clinical roles by 18%, and built the leadership coaching model on which Lead With Trust is founded.
  • The operator behind the culture. Stacie has led M&A integrations, built DEI programs with 94% positive impact scores, deployed AI-driven HR tech at scale, and guided organizations through IPO prep — always connecting employee experience directly to business results.
  • An executive coach and strategist who has done the work herself. Certified in Trauma and Resilience Coaching and 7+ year podcast creator and host of the Nationally syndicated HX Podcast — she’s not advising from theory, she’s built it, broken it, fixed it, and scaled it across industries.

Our story, approach, and what you can expect

James and Stacie bring a complementary powerhouse of expertise: he builds the external partnerships and revenue engines; she builds the internal trust and people infrastructure. Lead With Trust exists because they’ve seen — inside some of the country’s fastest-growing organizations — that sustainable results only come when both are working together.

Leader facilitating a team discussion in a modern office.
Why we exist

Trust is the multiplier

When leaders build trust, teams communicate clearly, make better decisions, and deliver stronger outcomes—especially in complex environments like healthcare, education, and service industries.

Clarity on expectations and priorities

Accountability without blame

Leadership behaviors people follow

How we work

Practical, measurable, and people-centered

We combine executive coaching with operational support to turn plans into repeatable practices—so progress continues after the engagement ends.

Assessment → alignment → action

Simple tools teams actually use

Metrics tied to business outcomes

Consultant and client in conversation during a coaching session.
Professional advisor speaking with a client in an office setting.
What we deliver

Capability you can sustain

From talent pipelines to workforce programs and leadership placement, we help you build the internal capability to lead through change and grow with confidence.

Talent pipeline design & activation

Workforce development programs

Leadership placement & coaching

About Lead with Trust

Leadership that earns trust—and delivers results.

We partner with executive teams to strengthen leadership, sharpen strategy, and build sustainable growth through talent pipelines, workforce development, and leadership placement & coaching.

Executive team collaborating over a tablet to align on strategy.

What leaders say

A few examples of the impact our clients look for when they partner with Lead with Trust.

★★★★★

“Lead with Trust helped our leadership team align on priorities and create a cadence of accountability that actually stuck.”

Professional headshot of an executive.

COO

Healthcare organization

★★★★★

“Their coaching approach was practical and direct—our managers gained confidence and our communication improved immediately.”

Professional headshot of an executive.

VP of Operations

Service industry

★★★★★

“We moved from planning to execution with a workforce program we could operationalize and scale.”

Professional headshot of an executive.

Chief People Officer

Education sector

Tell us what you’re working on and choose whether you’d like to meet with James or Stacie. We’ll respond within 1–2 business days.

Book a consultation

Serving organizations nationwide