GET TO KNOW RUSTY TUGMAN

Rusty Tugman is a seasoned organizational leader, executive coach, and leadership development professional with more than 30 years of experience helping individuals, teams, and organizations maximize their potential. As President of Strata, Rusty provides strategic leadership with a people-first philosophy grounded in humility, curiosity, and a deep belief that healthy organizations are built by aligning people, culture, systems, and values around a shared purpose. His approach combines strategic thinking with genuine care for people, creating environments where trust, accountability, growth, and excellence can thrive.

A Professional Certified Coach through the International Coaching Federation, Rusty has dedicated his career to developing leaders and strengthening organizations across government, higher education, corporate, nonprofit, sports, and faith-based settings. He has coached and trained leaders at every level, from emerging supervisors to senior executives, and has been a sought-after keynote speaker at national and regional events.

Prior to becoming President of Strata, Rusty spent three decades leading in complex environments where he developed a reputation for serving others with integrity, compassion, and skill. Most recently, he was a Leadership Trainer and Workplace Coach for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, an organization of more than 6,000 employees. In that role, he advised and developed supervisors, managers, and executives in leadership, organizational culture, communication, conflict, and employee engagement. He also created and led an innovative internal coaching program that was the first of its kind within Oklahoma state government. The program gained international attention and helped establish Rusty as a pioneer in building coaching cultures within large organizations.

Rusty holds two master’s degrees and multiple professional certifications spanning organizational leadership, systems theory, conflict resolution and mediation, counseling, communication, project management, personality development, and leader-employee relationships. In addition to his Professional Certified Coach credential, he is a Certified Team Coach and Certified Change Leadership Coach through the Center for Executive Coaching.

As President, Rusty is committed to advancing Strata’s mission of “elevating life at work” and strengthening its impact for clients and communities. He believes the best leadership development is not simply about teaching leaders what to do—it is about helping people become the kind of leaders who bring out the best in others.

Outside of work, Rusty is a proud husband and father, a bad but enthusiastic guitar player, an avid reader, and a lifelong baseball fan who still holds out hope of someday playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Connect with Rusty Tugman on LinkedIn.