Cheryl Brodnax
I joined the Crossroads coaching team after retiring from 20 years of public service. Originally trained in marine science, I have accumulated an uncommon set of professional skills that has bridged business, science, and humanities.
My educational journey began at LSU in the early 1990’s. There I earned my undergraduate degree in zoology, followed by a Masters in Oceanography and Coastal Science. This launched my early career as a marine biologist working on coastal restoration issues. After some time, I returned to LSU and earned my Masters in Business Administration where I recognized my affinity for project and program management. Most recently, I answered a spiritual call to become a licensed professional counselor and received my Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Grace College and Theological Seminary. As such, I have had the joy of being part of both the Crossroads coaching and counseling teams since 2018.
During the past 20 years of state and federal service, I have directly overseen the design, planning, and implementation of over a dozen large-scale restoration projects with a combined budget of over $300 M. As project manager, I honed professional skills in budget development and tracking, team management, public relations, and effective oversight of project performance. These projects were conducted under partnerships with other private and public entities, which required knowledge of landrights, grants, contracts and negotiation, and conflict resolution.
Most notably, during my federal service I was part of a senior management team tasked with settling the natural resource damages resulting from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and overseeing its $8 B implementation. I directly led multiple interagency teams in developing the governance structure and all administrative oversight; including the design, development, and implementation of the financial and project tracking systems to ensure consistency and transparency across the five gulf states and four federal trustee agencies. As daunting a challenge as this was, the experience provided me with a depth of knowledge in operational management and process development that would not have been achieved otherwise.
On a personal note, I love having a background in science, business, and interpersonal relationships because they often intertwine in the professional world and among organizations. I have enjoyed working with clients on strategic development, problem solving, employee training and communication, and operational and process management. This has allowed me to combine and create synergy from my various areas of experience, and apply them to Godly principles of business ownership.