Michael E. Perry, Ph.D.

Dr, Mike Perry hails from Portsmouth, Virginia, the launching point for a life and career that have molded him into an impactful leader and influencer in government, corporate, and community organizations. Mike believes that people—not products or processes—are the primary drivers of success in every organization on the planet. He is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst Executive Advising & Development. Leveraging world-class psychology training and world-wide leadership experience, Mike is equipped to help leaders solve people-problems and create places people choose to work every day…and a culture that retains them.

Mike refined his leadership skills while serving over 20 years in the U.S. Army, ultimately retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He mastered a striking diversity of roles in medical facilities, academic institutions, executive agencies, and combat units across the United States, Asia, and the Middle East. With positions including command, staff, faculty, clinical, and executive functions, Mike has taught and practiced leadership in many contexts. He would say he has been most rewarded by witnessing people grow and rise from junior roles on his teams, into their own style of influential leadership.

Mike has assembled a team of coaches and consultants who employ their deep understanding of human learning, motivation, and interaction to deliver a life-changing growth experience for individuals, teams, and entire organizations. Mike and his team equip leaders by revealing the role of the human experience and its influence on how people show up every day in the workplace—better preparing those leaders to transform culture, motivate teams, and exceed their most ambitious goals.

Mike earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and his Master of Science Degree in Medical Psychology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, also known as “America’s Medical School.” He also holds a Leadership Coaching Certification from Georgetown University and Adaptive Leadership Certificate from Harvard University. Having mastered a curriculum that rivals any in the world, coupled with challenging real-world experiences, Mike is exceptionally well-prepared and uniquely equipped to make the connection between the complex union of thought, biology, and behavior. He is currently licensed to practice Psychology in the states of Georgia and Washington and is among an exclusive group of coaching practitioners in the nation certified to administer the Attentional and Interpersonal Style Assessment.

Mike’s clients include private sector corporations, universities, non-profit organizations, medical facilities, and local, federal and state government agencies.

Mike is a committed husband and father. His wife of over 20 years, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Wendy Perry, is also his partner on the Family Life Ministries Speaker Team and co-leader in marriage ministry for nearly a decade. They have two beautiful daughters—Sydni, a 20-year-old Creative Writing and Film major at Agnes Scott College, and Morgan, an 18-year-old Musical Theater major at Syracuse University.