By: Wade Ellett
Photos: Bailey Sadowsky
As a 20-year veteran of the Marine Corps, Gene Coughlin understands the value of good leadership. He started his military career as an enlisted Marine, then became an officer and completed several tours in the Middle East.
Throughout his career, he’s experienced firsthand the positive effects a good leader can have on a team. After retiring from military service, his passion for understanding and promoting leadership took him to Pepperdine University in Malibu, where he earned his Doctorate of Education (EdD) and organizational leadership.
These experiences culminated in the creation of RBLP, a leadership training and certification company that Gene founded in 2018. “RBLP stands for Resilience-Building Leader Program,” Gene explained. “The resilience part has to do with the collective resilience of teams to work together to get hard work done.”
Gene believes in the importance of resilience and good leadership. That was a driving force behind the creation of RBLP, and business has been good. The organization provides the only nationally recognized series of leadership certifications, and many colleges and universities provide credit for completing the exams.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Defense credentialing programs and the GI Bill fund certification for active-duty military and veterans.
With success comes opportunity, and for Gene, that meant relocation. After his kids graduated and left home, he and his wife, Monica, decided to leave Burbank, California. That decision included moving RBLP’s corporate headquarters as well. It was a big transition, and they started their hunt for a new home with specific factors in mind. “We narrowed the search to states that didn’t have state income taxes or capital gains taxes. I also wanted to be in the center of the country because we’re a national organization,” Gene said.
That brought the couple to Wyoming, and they were considering making the move there when Monica asked, “What about Rapid City?”
“I hadn’t considered it, and then we realized that there was a great regional airport in Rapid City, which is important to us. We have kids on both coasts, and we plan to host national conferences,” Gene explained.
They visited in December 2024 and stayed at the Hotel Alex Johnson. “I woke up in the morning on the first day, and it was snowing. I looked down at the skating rink there downtown, and I think I made my decision at that exact moment, because I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie,” Gene said with a small laugh. They secured a space for a new headquarters in just a couple of days and made things official in March 2025. RBLP had its official new home.
“We have no doubt this was the right move,” Gene said. “This is an incredibly business-friendly environment, and there’s a great talent pool here. Rapid City is a great place to have a conference where all my partners and other people can visit.” The new headquarters location provides a view looking down Main Street, which instantly connected them to the downtown business community and its patrons.
The move was good for more than business, their personal lives have also flourished here. In a short time, Gene and Monica have found their place in Rapid City, making friends, joining groups, and finding time to enjoy getting involved with people in the area. As a veteran, Gene has enjoyed connecting with the military and veteran community that exists in western South Dakota, and like most people that find their way to the area, they love the Black Hills.
With the relocation complete, the next step awaits RBLP. “We have about 50 partners across the country, and we’re scaling now,” Gene said. “We plan to scale up to 500 partners in the next few years, and we’re excited to do that here.”
The plan is to make Rapid City a part of that growth. They hired their first local employee in March and they’re currently looking for additional team members. As they expand, Gene expects to create more local jobs, as well as host annual conferences here, the first of which will take place in September 2026.
“We got everything we wanted when we moved to Rapid City,” Gene said of both the business and his personal life. “We love it here; we’re never moving again.” e here are so welcoming and we’re excited to now call this region home.”
Original Article available in the January edition of Elevate Magazine
