ABOUT CHARLYNDA
Where the battlefield
meets the boardroom
Charlynda Scales is a decorated U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, serial entrepreneur, and impact strategist whose career spans national defense, food entrepreneurship, and community economic development. She has directly influenced over $5 billion in federal acquisition programs and raised more than $5 million in philanthropic capital for inclusive entrepreneurship.
When her grandfather's 1956 barbecue sauce recipe came into her hands, she did not just preserve a family legacy — she turned it into a national brand. Mutt's Sauce has been featured by Shark Tank's Daymond John, landed on QVC, and become a symbol of what happens when purpose meets execution.
A Harvard Kennedy School and Dartmouth Tuck graduate, TEDx speaker, and published author, Charlynda brings audiences something rare: the discipline of two decades in uniform and the lived reality of building a business from scratch.
SPEAKING TOPICS
Leadership and resilience
From military command to entrepreneurship, Charlynda teaches leaders how to build cultures that hold under pressure, recover from setbacks, and perform when it matters most. Combat-tested. Business-proven.
Secret Sauce: Tell Your Story
The story and the framework behind turning her grandfather's 1956 barbecue sauce recipe into a national brand. A masterclass in heritage, grit, and building a business that outlasts you.
Financial literacy and the founder
The financial clarity and strategic tools founders and professionals need to scale sustainably — without burning out or burning through capital. Built from two decades of running businesses and programs.
READ THE WORK.
LIVE THE FRAMEWORK.
