Dr. Carla Rutley
Founder, CEO
Dr. Carla Rutley followed her passion for music landing her first professional marketing position as marketing manager for Summerfest, located along Lake Michigan in Milwaukee Wisconsin. A decade later she became a co-founder of one of the Midwest’s largest outdoor music festivals, Country USA in Oshkosh Wisconsin. She continued her entrepreneurial spirit with interest in developing her home region of Southeastern Wisconsin and brought together community leaders, CEOs, and local officials to start WCAN, an economic development think tank designed to grow sustainable businesses and build a pipeline of prepared workforce talent for individual and community prosperity.
Carla’s interest in developing professionals lead her to obtain an MBA and a Doctorate, both in business administration, and a concentration in marketing. She has been teaching to the adult learner for over 15 years initially in the classroom, and now online only, for the past 10 years. It is important to Dr. Rutley that higher education students learn rigor that is relevant to on-the-job needs and performance. She continues to develop a curriculum for universities across the nation. Her business, Rutley Remote Solutions offers small businesses virtual operations and marketing consulting, and provides career coaching for individuals looking to advance their professional status.
Dr. Rutley and her husband traded the harsh Wisconsin winters for the white sandy beaches of the Gulf of Mexico and relocated to Florida. Carla still enjoys live music with a mix of classic rock and country. She likes to kayak in The Sound off Navarre Beach and continues to adopt older rescue dogs, providing them a wonderful retirement forever home. Her daughter and grandchildren reside in Fort Worth Texas and enjoying coming to Nana’s to spend holidays at the beach together.
