Recipient of the National Management Association “Leader of the Year Award,” Cuddy has also received distinctions from seven years on the faculty of Maryville College and 10 years as director of the Center for Leadership and Employee Development at Lockheed Martin Energy Systems in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She has also served as director of student financial aid at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and as a consultant to the Tennessee department of education. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s in business administration from the University of Tennessee, and she is a certified instructor and consultant of Franklin Covey, Kepnor Tregoe, Developmental Dimensions Inc., and Tom Peter’s Leadership Challenge.