About

Meet Todd

Todd Popham is an entrepreneur, professional coach and teacher. He currently serves as the founder and president of Popham & Associates, LLC in Millersville, Maryland—a professional services firm providing small business consulting, leadership coaching and interpersonal skills training to clients throughout the United States.

Todd spent most of his career at State Farm, rising from division manager to Zone Strategy Manager, working with company executives in the Mid-Atlantic Region. As part of his 32-year career climb, he relocated his family several times, including to New York, Oregon and Illinois, as he took on new positions and expanded his skills. After a corporate reorganization, Todd paused and took a moment of reflection. Stopping for gas at Exit 68, Todd realized he wanted something new—he’d always found it rewarding to mentor younger associates and new hires, and as he moved up in senior leadership, he’d had less time to do that. He wanted to spend more of his time connecting one-to-one with people, or working in teams at companies, on how each person can find a more personalized effectiveness and satisfaction at work.

Popham and Associates was born in 2012. Initially, Todd focused on corporate clients, but soon he found himself connecting with people in academia and entrepreneurs looking to grow their small businesses. His messages of getting “unstuck” and leading with integrity have resonated with hundreds of people, and he continues to conduct leadership coaching sessions for Fortune 500 firms and municipalities. He’s been called, “an excellent sounding board for the challenges a leader faces when leading an organization through transformation,” by one of the organizations for whom he’s coached. He began publishing an online newsletter [LINK], which started as the Opportunity Coach and is now called The Generous Leader, detailing contemporary research and conversations around workplace and personal leadership. In 2017, Todd put out his first book, Five Minutes to Lead, sharing some of the top leadership lessons which have resonated with his coaching clients and with his newsletter readers.

Todd believes that one should continue learning and giving back to their community at any age. He earned an executive MBA from the Foster College of Business at Bradley University, where he was awarded the outstanding MBA student award by the Bradley Faculty and now serves as Graduate Faculty and Executive Coach. Todd also received the Richard A. Gerrond Teaching Excellence Award from the Society of CPCU for interpersonal skills training.  He serves on the Board of ATHENA International, an organization dedicated to developing and honoring women leaders.

Todd is a resident of Severna Park, Maryland and is married to Alicia Popham who is a Sales Leader with State Farm Insurance.  They have two children, Chelsea and Austin, and two grandchildren, Luke and Mackenzie.

Vision

To be a trusted advisor building generous leaders and healthy organizations

Misson

We offer consulting, coaching, and training services to promote individual and organization growth

Values

• Integrity
• Excellence
• Change
• Relationships

Testimonials

“I had the pleasure to work with Todd as the newly appointed President for ATHENA International, a non profit with a mission to create a balance in leadership worldwide. Todd is an excellent sounding board for the challenges a leader faces when leading an organization through transformation. Todd gets my highest recommendation as an executive coach that goes above and beyond. His unique ability to recognize, understand, and explain complex business relationships has revolutionized my thinking, and most importantly, my actions. I feel fortunate that I was able to work with Todd throughout this last year of my personal leadership journey.”
Andrea Conner

President, ATHENA International

“Todd has been a business advisor for CEM the past five years.  He leads our monthly Owner Meetings, keeps us focused on our business goals, and is a trainer/coach for our leadership team.  We appreciate his advice on strategy and human resources challenges, based on his many years of leadership experience. Todd has helped us identify and implement long-range goals to grow our business, including a new human resources department. We highly recommend Todd to any small business looking for a trusted advisor to recognize new opportunities and execute results.”
Eric Andersen & Chris Anderson

Co-Owners, Continental Engineering & Manufacturing

“I have worked with Todd in different activities for over 10 years. He enjoyed a solid reputation at our company as an effective leader and as a coach to many employees. We never worked directly together at our employment, but collaborated on different events and functions in other domains, especially in industry organizations. I saw Todd’s solid work ethic and competencies first hand in those settings. He also served as an excellent mentor, sounding board, advisor, and counselor to me in many aspects of my professional life over many years and we consulted each other often about all types of matters. He was my most respected adviser and I trusted him implicitly.”
Tom Mellor

Trainer and Agile Practices Coach & Consultant, SCRUM

“Personally Todd’s coaching style was exactly what I needed. Through a customized plan he helped me determine what was getting in the way of my career advancing and he helped me develop an action plan to move forward. During this process I was also able to examine some things in my personal life that needed to change. The results have had a considerable impact! Since my coaching sessions with Todd my career has moved in a new direction. There is also more harmony in my personal life as well. I will continue to benefit from his coaching.”
 
Thanks for all you have done for me Todd!!
Donna Logan

Vice President

“Todd has served the past five years as a member of our Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, including one year as Board Chairman. Todd is a strong board member who has helped our Chamber grow membership, improve our board governance, and focus on long-term strategy. He has successfully led our leadership development, membership growth, legislative, and board governance efforts, strengthening the core elements of the Chamber. Todd is a strategic leader who inspires others to excel, which benefits individual leaders as well as organizations. I highly recommend Todd for consulting, coaching, and leadership development opportunities—he is an excellent resource for both non-profit and for-profit organizations looking to grow.”
Claire Louder

Louder Non Profit Strategies LLC

“I have known Todd for over 10 years. During that time, the insights and mentoring he has provided have made a huge difference in my career and development as a leader. Todd’s education and variety of experiences have equipped him to provide valuable insight regardless of company or industry, as he has a gift of asking the right strategic questions and challenging one to continue to grow as an inspirational leader of their people. I highly recommend Todd to anyone looking for a coach/mentor.” 
Awan Kazi

Sales Leader

Popham Associates History

January 18, 2012—a date easily forgotten yet one I will never forget. I celebrated my 55th birthday by walking into the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, and leaving with Popham & Associates, LLC. My dream of being an entrepreneur became reality.

Popham Associates began in Millersville, MD with no clients, great optimism, and a five-year plan. The plan had been in place for several years—it needed a start date.

I retired after 32 great years as a leader with State Farm Insurance with a vision of rebranding myself—offering consulting, coaching, and training services. My goal was to use the wisdom and experience I had gained to help individuals and organizations grow and prosper.

We owe our growth to our clients—allowing us to meet their needs, sharing their expertise and feedback to make us better, and referring us based on a quality experience. The Popham Associates journey has now expanded beyond Maryland to serving clients in eight other locations: Virginia, Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, & North Carolina.

Popham Associates—we are called to build generous leaders and healthy organizations. Come grow with us!

Todd Popham
Founder & President

CERTIFICATIONS / TRAINING

Edward Tufte, Beautiful Evidence

Droste Group, Everything DISC

Droste Group, Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Droste Group, Facilitation Skills

Droste Group, Trusted Advisor

Hogan, Hogan LEAD Certification

Center for Creative Leadership, 360 Assessment Certification

Myers Briggs, MBTI

USA Hockey,  Level 5 Master Coach

Balanced Scorecard Initiative, Balanced Scorecard Certificate

Corporate Coach University, Coaching Clinic

Center for Creative Leadership, Coaching for Development

University of Michigan, Managing for Managers

Six Sigma,  Green Belt

Darden—University of Virginia, Service Excellence

Darden—University of Virginia, Managing Change

Harvard Negotiation Project, Negotiation & Leadership

Graduate School

Bradley University, Executive MBA 2004
Outstanding MBA Student Award

Professional Insurance Designations

FLMI, 2005

CLU, 1987

CPCU, 1983