Cynthia Whitfield

Cynthia Whitfield is the founder, President and CEO of INSPIRE1, LLC, an executive coaching & business consulting firm, launched in 2020 to help experienced leaders and organizations navigate change, sharpen strategy, and build stronger leadership capacity.

Cynthia has over 35 years of experience working as a coach, consultant and mentor. She blends practical business experience with a people-first approach to help clients solve problems, accelerate performance, and develop the next generation of leaders.

Before creating INSPIRE1, Cynthia spent a long career at Allstate Insurance, rising to Field Senior Vice President for the Southern Region. In that role she oversaw five states, managed roughly $2 billion in business, and led 2,500 sales professionals and 86 regional staff. Her earlier leadership roles across Operations, Accounting, Finance, Risk Management and Product Operations, informs her pragmatic, results-oriented approach coaching and consulting.

Cynthia holds a master’s in management from Indiana Wesleyan University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Rutgers University. She is certified in Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Executive Coaching, and Hogan Personality Assessments.

A committed community leader, Cynthia served as Board Chair of the Nashville YWCA (2022–2023) and is currently Chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee and Chair of FiftyForward. She also serves on the Girls Inc. Advisory Committee of the YWCA and on boards for Advancing Women of Nashville and Nashville State Community College. Among other honors, she was named a Nashville Business Journal Woman of Influence (2020), received the AMEND Together Macdonald-Negri Service Award (2018), and was the recipient of the 2024 ATHENA Leadership Award.