Trudy Bourgeois

Trudy Bourgeois is one of America's leading experts on transformational leadership and a highly regarded leader in the field of leadership and diversity and inclusion. An expert at developing managers and leaders on how to unleash the greatest potential of every employee, Bourgeois is a highly sought-out resource. She is the founder and CEO of the Center for Workforce Excellence and has been leading the organization for nearly two decades. Her firm is known for building inclusive leaders that can create inclusive cultures, leading to better business results.

Dollars and Sense Magazine honored Bourgeois as one of the "Best and Brightest Women Leaders". In her various roles as author, speaker, teacher and researcher, Bourgeois continues to utilize her superb management and interpersonal skills. Known as the "truth teller", Bourgeois has a rare ability to tackle very difficult subjects such as race and bias without triggering negative emotions. Drawing on her own life's experience of being born into segregation, she operates from a principle that "everyone has something to learn" on the journey to accepting each other across differences and building workplaces that are truly inclusive.

Trudy has authored four leadership books, HER CORNER OFFICE: A Guide to Help Women Find a Place and a Voice in Corporate America and Her Corner Office (2nd Edition) and THE HYBRID LEADER: Blending the Best of Male and Female Leadership Styles, her latest book entitled, EQUALITY: Courageous Conversations About Women, Men, and Race To Spark a Diversity and Inclusion Breakthrough has served as a strategic resource to many leaders who want to understand how to become an inclusive leader.
She has also written numerous articles and white papers, and she contributes regularly to educational materials for corporations, associations and trade groups. She is a frequent blogger. Trudy has served on a number of nonprofit organizations that pursue equality including LEAD- Europe, Conscious Capitalism Advisory Board to advance Diversity and Inclusion, The Network of Executive Women, WOCIP (Women of Color in Pharma) and the University of North Texas at Denton. Trudy is now pursuing placement on a Board where she can use her extensive expertise to advance shareholder interests by creating a healthy diverse and inclusion organization.

Trudy has served as an advisor to the creation of multiple research studies produced by Coqual including the "Being Black in Corporate America: An Intersectional Exploration" research study. She is the lead consultant for the creation and launch of the Executive Leadership Council's Game Changer Conference on advancing Black leaders initiative. In this capacity, Trudy and her team have worked with CEO's/Chairman and members of their C-Suite, such as Tim Ryan, Chairman PWC, Brian Cornell Chairman and CEO Target, and David Taylor, CEO of P&G.

She has received numbers awards for her contributions in advancing equality including the Network of Executive Women's 2016 Pioneer Award, the National Black MBA Dallas Chapter Empowering Visionary Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 and D Magazine's most powerful business leaders in North Texas 2021.

She has been married to her husband (Mike Bourgeois) for 41 years and is the mother of Adam and MaryEllen. The family embraced Ryan Brence as their son in law in 2017. Trudy relishes her new role that started in 2019 as "Grand Mere" of her first grandchild of Grace Elizabeth Brence. In August of 2021 "GrandMere" welcomed a second grandchild Avery Prescott Brence. Trudy resides in Prosper Texas.