Norman Cooling

At Johns Hopkins, Brigadier General Norman L. “Norm” Cooling, USMC (Ret.), serves as a lecturer in the MS in Organizational Leadership program where he brings substantive experience in senior government leadership into the classroom. With more than 33 years of military service—including 11 deployments and five combat tours as an infantry commander and ground combat operations officer—Cooling offers students practical insights into leading high-performing teams in complex, fast-changing environments.

Today, he is President and Founder of N. L. Cooling Strategic Consulting, a firm focused on leadership development, education, and training. His work with businesses, government organizations, nonprofits, and academia reflects the same principles of strategic thinking, organizational transformation, and mission-focused leadership that defined his military career.

Cooling has directed the operations of organizations as large as 225,000 personnel, having served as the deputy COO for both the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. European Command. He commanded ground task forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and served as Operations Officer for both NATO’s Regional Command Southwest and the 1st Marine Division during critical combat operations. These experiences inform his teaching, helping students translate theory into practice, and build leadership confidence in real-world decision-making scenarios.

As Deputy Director of Operations for U.S. European Command, Cooling led a strategic transition from a security cooperation posture to a fully warfighting-capable headquarters, producing the Command’s first Theater Campaign Order since the Cold War. He also directed the development of a comprehensive, multinational, and interagency Counter-Terrorism Plan—examples he draws from to teach systems thinking, strategic alignment, and cross-functional leadership. His several assignments in legislative affairs, including serving as the Congressional liaison for NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the Commandant of the Marine Corps, afford students exposure to stakeholder engagement and strategic communication planning.

Cooling holds a doctorate in educational leadership from High Point University, where he received the James E. Surratt Outstanding Doctoral Student Award. He graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy. He holds master’s degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and the Marine Corps University. Cooling previously served as a Distinguished Professor of Leadership at Carolina University and remains active in service as a board director for Veterans Bridge Home, a Blue and Gold Officer for the U.S. Naval Academy, and a member of the Board of Ambassadors at High Point University.