About Me

Dr. Cynthia J. Young, Founder/CEO
Dr. Cynthia J. Young, PMP, LSS MBB, CMQ-OE is the founder and CEO of CJ Young Consulting, LLC, a knowledge management consulting firm in Chesapeake, VA. Before founding CJ Young Consulting, Cindy retired from the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer after 23 years of active duty.
Dr. Young holds various professional certifications:
- Project Management Professional
- Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
- ASQ-Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence
- Project Management Professional
- Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
- ASQ-Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence.
She holds several accredited degrees:
- Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in Project Management from Walden University. Her doctoral study, Knowledge Management and Innovation on Firm Performance of United States Ship Repair, provided her the opportunity to gain additional professional and academic expertise to facilitate improvements in organizational knowledge management.
- Two Masters of Business Administration (MBA), one in e-commerce and one in advanced management studies, from Trident University International
- Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English Language and Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park
Dr. Young enjoys speaking at knowledge management, operational excellence, and process improvement conferences with human-centric knowledge management as a primary element in her presentations.
She spoke (virtually) for TEDxBeaconStreet, A Knowledge Mindset: What You Know Comes from Where You Sit.
Cindy is also the co-author of two #1 Amazon best-selling books.









Cindy has published and contributed to numerous articles specializing in human-centric
knowledge management and business.
- Managing a New Team, Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work Magazine, 55(4), 22, April 2023
- Building a Team without Team Know-How, The Lean Mag, 14, 4-6, February 2023
- Insist on Quality Sponsorship, Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work Magazine, 55(1), 24, January 2023
- Pushing Through the Discomfort, Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work Magazine, 54(10), 22, October 2022
- Playing the Waiting Game, The Lean Mag, 12, 10-11, August 2022
- When Your Best Employee Gives 2 Weeks’ Notice, Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work Magazine, 54(7), 22, July 2022
- Three Methods of Integrating Knowledge Sharing to Support Lean Implementation, The Lean Mag, 11, 28-29, May 2022
- Make Knowledge Sharing Part of Your Culture, Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work Magazine, 54(1), 22, January 2022
- How to Use Knowledge Management Practices to Support Workforce Retention, Northcentral University (NCU), Center for the Advancement of Virtual Organizations (CAVO) Blog, December 10, 2021
- Mentorship is Not a One-Way Street, Harvard Business Review (HBR) Ascend, December 1, 2021
- Learning to Not Re-Learn: Acknowledging the Good and Bad, The Lean Mag, 9, 12-13, November 2021
- Do Inside Hires Make the Best Managers?, Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work Magazine, 53(9), 20, September 2021
- Best Practices in Project Management, Source for Smartsheet, September 10, 2021
- Non-Utilized Talent…Possibly the Largest Organizational Waste, The Lean Mag, 8, 28-29, August 2021
- Knowledge Management and the Shingo Guiding Principles: Part 3: Enterprise Alignment, The Lean Mag, 7, 21-23, May 2021
- Seating Solution: An Education Learned by Doing with the Audience in Mind, Lean & Six Sigma Review, 15-17, February 2021
- Knowledge Management and the Shingo Guiding Principles: Part 2: Continuous Improvement, The Lean Mag, 6, 4-7, February 2021
- Knowledge Management and the Shingo Guiding Principles: Part 1: Cultural Enablers – The Lean Mag, 5, 28-29, November 2020
- Doctors Appointments, Extreme Disappointment, and Gemba Walks – Oh My!, Women in Lean (WiL) Mag,1, 8-10, November 2020
- Knowledge Management in the Age of Remote Work, Source for SHRM, September 25, 2020
- Learning to Share, The Lean Mag, 4, 25-26, August 2020
- Starting Your First Job Remotely? Here Are the Real Skills You Need to Learn, Harvard Business Review (HBR) Ascend, July 27, 2020
- Discovering Knowledge Management to Combat the Eight Wastes of Lean, Cost Management, 11-14, July/August 2020
- Implementing Knowledge Management Practices, The Human Element, 14(2), 2-3, June 19, 2020
- I Wasn’t Told” and Other Excuses You Need to Stop Making at Work, Harvard Business Review (HBR) Ascend, June 8, 2020
- Improving Processes in the Navy and Beyond: Veteran’s Career Path was Buoyed by Support from a Female Commander, Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work Magazine, 52(6), 33-34, June 2020
- Knowledge Puzzles, The Lean Mag, 3, 4-6, May 2020
- Leaders Must Conquer Remote Workers’ Guilt in Order to Maintain Their Teams, Thrive Global, April 29, 2020
- The Case for Learning from More Experienced Colleagues – Harvard Business Review (HBR) Ascend, April 15, 2020
- How to Make the Most of Your First Speaking Gig as an Alumnus, Harvard Business Review (HBR) Ascend, April 2, 2020
- Highlighted in the Celebrating Women in Project Management Series – Elise Stevens – February 2020
- What a DBA Degree Is and Why You Might Want One | Top Business Schools | US News, Contributor to US News and World Report, January 27, 2020
- Mind Mapping in 6 Simple Steps for Business Development, Industrial and Systems Engineering at Work Magazine, 51(12), 34-38, December 2019
- What is Knowledge Management and Why is It Important?, Contributor to Upjourney, November 19, 2019
- In the Spotlight: Meet Dr. Cynthia J. Young, Educator and Author, RHG Magazine & TV Guide, October 2019
- Empowering Your Employees with Knowledge Management to Improve Your Firm Performance, Contributor to Virginia Ship Repair Association The Eight O’Clock Report Newsletter
- Experts Decipher People vs. Process: Where Should Your Focus Be?, Contributor to the Process Excellence Network/OPEX Summer, August 2018
- BTOES EXCLUSIVE SLIDE DECK: Best Practices for Merging Business Strategy and Business Transformation, Slide deck from BTOES 2018 Conference
- Knowledge Management and Innovation on Firm Performance of United States Ship Repair, Dissertation, 2016
- TTGL instructor addresses national conference | News | militarynews.com, Contributor to The Flagship, 2011
- Cindy Butler, Instructor, Mentor, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, U.S. Navy, Featured in ASQ Six Sigma Forum, 201
- March 6, 2021
- May 11, 2020
- February 27, 2020
- January 6, 2020
- December 31, 2019
Read more about Cindy’s experience on her LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/in/drcindyyoung/.