Cortney Baker, PhD

Dr. Cortney Baker is a speech therapist, business owner, entrepreneur, speaker, philanthropist, wife, mother of three, and proud native Texan. She received her doctoral degree from Pepperdine University in Organizational Leadership, where she conducted research on women who had overcome challenges in their careers in healthcare but had achieved incredible success. Cortney has a passion for helping others achieve their greatest potential, specializing in leadership development, with an emphasis on helping women. She is owner and CEO of KidsCare Therapy, a pediatric home healthcare agency that employs over 300 people and helps assist nearly 2000 pediatric patients throughout the state of Texas. Most recently Cortney has opened Baker Management Group, a consulting and executive leadership coaching and training business in which she can pursue her dream of helping others grow and develop to their full leadership capacities.

Cortney is no stranger to struggle, perseverance, and hard work. She became a single mother at the age of 19 and worked diligently to put herself through school while juggling studies, work, and being a mom of a pre-schooler. Cortney desired to beat the statistics, which stated that only 2% of single, teenage moms go on to obtain their college degrees. As a result of hard work and dedication, Cortney was able to earn her undergraduate and master’s degree in Communication Disorders and Sciences at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Upon graduating in August 2001, Cortney moved back to the Dallas area, a place that she still calls home. After working for the school district for one year and then trying pediatric home healthcare at another agency, Cortney started KidsCare Therapy in 2003, shortly after marrying the love of her life. “It was a stressful, wonderful, scary time in life! It’s never easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you’re putting payroll on credit cards with no end in sight, but everything came together and started working at just the right time,” Cortney said about the start-up phase of KidsCare.

KidsCare Therapy took off and became a venture that Cortney was able to delegate to other people whom she trusted and had faith in. After deciding to follow her dream of obtaining her doctoral degree, Cortney enrolled in Pepperdine University’s nationally ranked Organizational Leadership program beginning in the summer of 2012. However, on September 18, 2012, Cortney suffered a stroke at the age of 37, requiring her to undergo a 7 hour brain surgery. She took the fall 2012 semester off to recover, but in true Cortney Baker fashion, she bounced back and re-enrolled in same program for the Spring 2013 session.

Cortney graduated from Leadership Texas in 2014 and she was also named one of the top three finalists for Texas Business Woman of the Year 2014. She finished her doctorate degree in December 2015.

Cortney has become a much sought-after speaker and executive leadership coach for executives striving to achieve their full career potential. Cortney brings her humor, wit, experience, and savvy to each situation and is able to help others “just be real”.