The Emerging Leader Program

Dr. Linda LaCoste holds a Bachelor's of Science in Social Work from Iowa State University, a Master's of Education from Drake University and an MBA from Ottawa University. She has completed a PhD in Higher Education Administration from UNT, focusing her research on the relationship between culture and college persistence for Hispanic females. As the Director of Executive MBA programs at TCU, Dr. LaCoste was responsible for the overall academic and co-curricular experience as well as study abroad programs. Linda also served as faculty member for the Leadership Development course and oversaw the Executive MBA leadership development process. Prior to joining TCU, she served as the Chair of the Business Department and the Achieving the Dream Coordinator for Tarrant County College-Trinity River campus. Presently, Dr. LaCoste is the Executive Director of Graduate Programs for the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University in New York City.

Dr. LaCoste’s corporate experience includes ten years with the Walt Disney Company as a senior manager of operations and a corporate trainer for company-wide e-commerce initiatives and the Walt Disney World Travel and Resort contact center. Linda was recognized with the Disney Spirit award, given to less than 1% of the company’s employees.

Cindy has more than 25 years of leadership experience managing teams of 20 employees up to several hundred employees in size. Her experience is focused primarily as a senior human resources leader with additional expertise in operations and business management. Cindy is currently the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition and Employee Development for Elbit Systems of America in Fort Worth Texas. Prior to her role at Elbit, she was the Vice President of Human Resources at the Options Clearing Corporation and was previously a Senior Vice President at AmeriCredit. Her depth of expertise in the human resources function includes talent acquisition, employee relations, HR systems, organization development, culture, business partnerships, training, and total rewards. She has developed a multitude of learning and development programs targeted at individual, team, and organizational development. Cindy is also a partner in her family’s agricultural business based in the Fort Worth area.

She holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration and Master’s in Human Resources Management from Dallas Baptist University. From the same university, she is currently a PhD candidate in Leadership Studies, basing her research on the confidence of women leaders who work in male-dominated organizations. She is certified in 360^o degree feedback from the Center for Creative Leadership, certified in Hogan Assessments, and is a certified coach from the International Coaching Federation.

Ryan Stafford brings significant operations experience and human resource expertise to the classroom. For the past 25 years, Ryan has held numerous leadership positions at AT&T. Over the past decade he has turned his attention to Human Resources unbridling his passion for leadership development, culture, and talent strategy. He currently serves as AVP – Human Resources serving the AT&T Network Organization as the HR executive overseeing 30K employees. Ryan also has significant labor relations and learning and development experience.

Ryan holds an MBA from the University of Dallas and Masters in Human Resource Management from Colorado State University. He holds the SHRM-Senior Certified Professional certification. Ryan enjoys developing the next generation of leaders teaching: leadership foundations, talent development, coaching, communication, conflict management, and change management, at Collin Corporate College and Texas Christian University.

Ryan and his wife live in Dallas.  Their son is attending Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. Ryan and Brandy love to travel and go on bike adventures with their favorite rescue dog, Bella.