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About Mike
Helping leaders navigate difficult decisions with clarity, courage, and perspective.
Dr. Mike Thirtle works with senior leaders who carry significant responsibility and must navigate complex decisions. His coaching provides space for thoughtful reflection, strategic perspective, and leadership clarity. Throughout his career, he has empowered leaders such as executives, boards of directors, senior military leaders, and national decision makers on strategy, leadership, and organizational performance.
Mike’s perspective on leadership has been shaped by decades of experience across military service, strategic analysis, consulting, and executive leadership.
He has served as:
• a U.S. Air Force officer at the Pentagon.
• a strategy analyst at the RAND Corporation.
• a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
• a nonprofit CEO (2x).
• a board member.
• a faculty member.
These experiences inform how he works with leaders today—helping them step back, examine complex situations, and clarify the decisions that matter most.
He holds a Ph.D. in Policy and Economic Analysis from the RAND Graduate School, along with an MBA in Finance and an MS in Economics. Mike is a proud graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and has completed executive leadership programs at the Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Through insightful coaching conversations, Mike assists leaders in stepping back from complexity, thinking more clearly, and moving forward with greater confidence, ultimately enhancing their fundraising efforts and organizational impact.
Who I Work With
Mike works primarily with leaders who carry significant responsibility, including:
• senior executives.
• nonprofit leaders.
• board members.
• military and public sector leaders.
These leaders often face complex decisions and benefit from a confidential space to think strategically about their challenges.
Experienced + Thoughtful + Trusted
Mike's business coaching approach is shaped by decades of leadership, teaching, and advising senior decision makers. As a former CEO and strategic advisor, he has led large organizations through periods of transformation while working closely with boards, executive teams, and national leaders facing complex decisions, particularly in the nonprofit sector and during critical fundraising initiatives.
In addition to his executive leadership experience, Mike has spent more than 15 years teaching economics, leadership, finance, and analytical methods at universities across the country. This extensive background allows him to combine practical leadership insight with thoughtful questioning that empowers leaders to see challenges from new perspectives.
Mike is also trained in the Co-Active coaching model, one of the most widely respected approaches to professional development. His work focuses on helping leaders think clearly, navigate uncertainty, and move forward with confidence when the stakes are high.