Corey Stutte, Ph.D.
Principal and Founder
Dr. Corey Stutte is an experienced public and private sector executive, with an extensive background in the private sector, higher education, local government and the federal government.
Corey most recently served as Deputy County Administrator for Manatee County, Florida, a $1.4 billion government serving 450,000 residents, while overseeing 950 employees. In this role, he directed organizational performance, fiscal strategy, grant strategy, advocacy, and policy implementation across multiple departments. Before this role, Corey was a two-term mayor of Hastings, Nebraska. Corey oversaw an approximate $200 million budget, including solar and coal power generation at Whelan Energy Centers 1 & 2, infrastructure development, COVID-19 response, Emergency Operations Center (EOC) leadership, economic development, dozens of grants, and 400 employees. While serving as mayor, Corey built relationships with Nebraska’s federal congressional delegation, the governor’s office, state senators, and local elected officials throughout the state. Prior to being elected Mayor of Hastings in 2016, he served on the Hastings Public Schools Board of Education and the City of Hastings Planning and Zoning Commission. Corey also served as a planner in the Land Development Division at the Polk County Board of County Commissioners in Florida, and served on the City of Bartow’s Code Enforcement Board and Planning Commission. While completing his graduate work at the University of Central Florida, Corey was a research associate for the Florida Benchmarking Consortium, and co-authored a book chapter on public-private partnerships.
In addition to his work in local government, Corey served at U.S. Pacific Command (now Indo-Pacific Command), Special Operations Command, and Special Operations Command Pacific as a senior intelligence analyst and Navy Reserve intelligence officer. He also founded a geopolitical intelligence company, GeoPioneer.
Corey has also held various faculty, research, and administrative leadership positions at the University of South Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Hastings College.
Corey graduated with a Ph.D. in Public Affairs from the University of Central Florida, an M.S. in International Relations with a concentration in National Security Affairs from Troy University, and a B.A. in Organizational Communication from the University of Central Florida.
Corey lives in Hastings with his wife, Laura, his 9-year-old daughter, Lila, and his goldendoodle, Carmelo.