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The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
View Dr. David Szabla's research and publications

Dr. David Szabla is a faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology, College of Education and Human Development, Western Michigan University where he leads and teaches in the MA and PHD Programs in Organizational Change Leadership. For over twenty years Dr. Szabla has been guiding managers and leaders working in not-for-profit, for-profit, education, government, and military organizations to reach increased levels of organizational performance. His consulting expertise centers on organizational design, mergers and acquisitions, and individual, group, and organizational development. Dr. Szabla’s research centers on leadership and organizational change. Research underway include projects that are exploring organizational change momentum, the structuring of resistance to organizational change, and leadership in the era of emerging technologies. Dr. Szabla is also developing and validating two survey instruments: one that assesses perception of change strategy as perceived by those undergoing an organizational change, and one that assesses receptivity to organizational change along cognitive, emotional, intentional, and behavioral dimensions. Currently, he is editor-in-chief of the Palgrave Macmillan Handbook titled, The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Information Age Publishing Book Series, Research in Management Consulting, and the Edward Elgar Handbook of Research Methods in Organizational Change. Dr. Szabla has been published in several journals including Human Resource Development Quarterly and Research on Organizational Change and Development. Dr. Szabla received his doctorate in Human and Organizational Studies from The George Washington University.

Dr. Tova Sanders is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research and Technology, College of Education and Human Development, Western Michigan University where she teaches in the MA and PhD Programs in Organizational Change Leadership.  Tova is recognized as an innovative thought leader with 18+ years of experience instructing undergraduate and graduate courses and leading high-performance teams to create, implement, and scale robust academic curriculum focused on leadership, organizational and adult learning, and organizational change. Recognized for outstanding coaching, mentoring, and facilitation in on-line, hybrid, and face-to-face environments with adult learners from diverse industries including healthcare, technology, manufacturing, not-for-profit, governmental service, and education, Tova has demonstrated success serving as the doctoral advisor for 52 doctoral students representing 9 countries toward the successful completion of their dissertation research and feels fortunate to have this global impact and opportunity to learn from, and with, her students.

Tova’s research interests align with her practitioner experience in leadership, talent development, and the future of work.  She is keenly aware that transformation is occurring across all sectors, requiring shifts not only in organizations, but also how we develop and deploy talent.  Viewing this from a systems perspective, she recognizes the need to integrate workforce development, talent development, education, and technology in order to meet the needs of organizations and promote economic and inclusive prosperity. Works in progress involves the role of business leaders within cross-sector social partnerships, the impact of AI on corporate talent development, the experience of women leaders in consulting and entrepreneurship, and leadership in the context of the future of work.

Dr. Margaret Gorman is a seasoned OD scholar-practitioner, consultant, and educator with a deep passion for guiding transformative change that improve systems to help people work more efficiently and that enable high-performing teams to thrive in VUCA World. Thriving in dynamic, forward-thinking environments, she boasts a proven track record of contributing to organizational growth across diverse sectors, from founder-owned companies to university business units.  Dr. Gorman’s primary focus lies in enhancing systems to facilitate effective collaboration and harnessing emerging technologies for empowering individuals to work and learn from anywhere.

Dr. Gorman has guided managers and leaders in education, energy, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, military, nonprofit, and government agencies. She has held leadership roles in the corporate sector, management consulting firms, and higher education. In the realm of education, Margaret excels in design and delivering curriculum catering to working professions that offer various formats individual and cohort, and various forms including in-person, hybrid, and full on-line. Her teaching spans core content areas related to Organizational Change Leadership and a broad spectrum of research methods, survey design, evaluation, and measurement.  She’s actively contributed to the academic community serving on wide range of committees and administrative roles.  She’s served on dissertation committees at several universities, and she has chaired over eighty (80) dissertations to successful defense. Recognized for her outstanding service and teaching, she’s received multiple awards to include Excellence in Teaching our Outstanding Contribution at Academy of Management. 

Dr. Gorman earned her doctorate in Organizational Studies in 2004 and her master’s degree in human resource development in 1996, both from The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development.  Her groundbreaking dissertation, “Creating Organizational Knowledge During Transformational Change: A Multi-Site Case Study,” employed mixed methods in examining firms in the financial services and power industry. Dr Gorman has published chapters in “The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers” and in “Advancing Doctoral Leadership Education.”  She regularly presents at national and international conferences; served as a reviewer for the British Journal of Management and Leadership Quarterly. University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development.  Her dissertation: “Creating Organizational Knowledge During Transformation Change: A Multi-Site Case Study” in the financial services and power industry using mixed methods.

Dr. Jennifer P. Bott holds academic rank as professor of management and has earned a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification.

She served as provost and vice president for academic affairs from 2017 to 2022. As the chief academic officer and chief administrative officer following the president of Western Michigan University, her responsibilities included the oversight of all academic policies and activities throughout the university, as well as the development and execution of long-range planning for—and coordination of administrative support functions of—the University’s academic enterprise. She served as a member of the President’s Cabinet and collaborated with senior executive and vice-presidential colleagues to propel the University forward in pursuit of its mission through innovation and strategic risk.

Prior to coming to Western Michigan University, she served as dean of the Miller College of Business at Ball State University. During her tenure as dean, Bott raised over $15 million in gifts and donations to expand the scope of the college’s many programs and initiatives. Before serving as dean of the Miller College, Bott was associate provost at Ball State University leading the online and distance education programs. Duties included oversight and administration of over 60 degrees and nearly 10,000 students. Bott garnered a $1.2 million investment to build the Integrated Learning Institute (iLearn), a faculty development unit housing instructional designers, instructional technologists and custom asset developers. She also created iLearn Research, a fully self-supporting research institute generating primary research in best practices for online and blended education. The online programs grew under Bott’s leadership, increasing institutional tuition revenue by $30 million.

Bott attained her master’s and doctorate in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Akron in 2004. Her research interests center around methodology and statistics to applied business problems as well as pedagogical improvement across modality and discipline. 

A well published researcher, Bott has more than 25 published articles in some of the best journals in her field, including Journal of Business Venturing, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Small Group Research, and the Journal of Business and Psychology. Her teaching evaluations consistently ranked in the top five percent of her college. She was recognized nationally for innovation in teaching and as a frequent recipient of student selected teaching awards. Bott has received national recognition, including being named a Woman of Influence in 2017 by the Indianapolis Business Journal, receiving the Silver Award, Principal, Major and Special Giving Programs from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and the Innovation in Business Education Award from the Midcontinent AACSB Deans Association. In addition, her work as associate provost for learning initiatives led to Ball State being recognized nationally with Institution-Wide Excellence in Online Education by the Online Learning Consortium and for Strategic Innovations in Online Education by the University Professional and Continuing Education Association. Bott achieved numerous top 20 rankings in U.S. News and World Report’s online program rankings.

The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Dr. Liliana Meneses has worked in higher education since 2003, teaching undergraduate and graduate students at George Mason University, Northeastern University, the George Washington University, and the University of Maryland Global College. For several years now, she has developed Organizational Studies and Human Resource Development and Management curriculum at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels. Her teaching roster includes courses in the content areas of organizational culture, organizational change, organizational leadership, organizational communication and qualitative research methods. In addition, she has consulted overseas with a variety of non-profit organizations and educational institutions. Her academic and research focus is on organizational culture, global competency development, cross cultural training, and cultural identity development. She feels fortunate that her work has allowed her to travel and teach all over the world, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Prague, Santiago and Rio de Janeiro. Liliana holds a master's degree in International Education (Framingham State) and a doctorate in Human Resource Development (the George Washington University). She has presented at various national and international conferences primarily on societal and organizational culture based on the topic of her dissertation and has also contributed to the book “Writing Out of Limbo: International Childhoods, Global Nomads and Third Culture Kids” (Cambridge Scholars Press). She has also written a children's book, The Pink Dolphin, which is available on Amazon.

Highlighted presentations and publications:

1. Meneses, L.(2012)  Reconceptualizing “Internationalization” in Distance Higher Education. Business Research Yearbook, vol. XIX (1), pp. 151-157. A publication of the International Academy of Business Disciplines  
2. Meneses, L. & White, B. (2012) Impact of Direct Instruction on Student Perception of Teaching Presence in Online Learning. Journal of Teaching and Education, vol. 1 (2). 
3. Gamification in Higher Education. Maryland Distance Learning Association Annual Conference, March 2014 
4. Intercultural competence and Distance Learning. 2013 Keynote Distinguished Guest. Dialogue of the Civilizations. May, 2013, Boston. 
5. Developing Intercultural Competence in Online Education Programs. 13th International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change in Organizations. June, 2013. Vancouver. 

Dr. Debra M. Rockey, Psy.D., teaches courses in talent management and organizational change leadership and coaching within the Masters of Arts in Organizational Change Leadership program at 51������. Her dissertation research investigated the role of efficacy in organizational change capacity. She continues to study self-efficacy and group-efficacy in environments of continuous and transformational change from the lens of the emerging leader and their career. Dr. Rockey is a Global Career Development facilitator, an ICF certified coach and a ProSCI certified change practitioner. She is also certified in DiSC, SennDelany Cultural Transformation and Human Centered Design. Dr. Rockey continues to work in the healthcare industry serving her organization as a regional director of organizational development and talent management, providing oversight to regional transformation, the leadership academies, organizational culture and colleague engagement. Her teaching and facilitation philosophy is grounded in evidence-based studies and incorporates both positive psychology and applied improvisation. Dr. Rockey is a member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists, the OD Network, Michigan Inforum and the Applied Improvisation Network.

David E. Reva is a part-time faculty member in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology, College of Education and Human Development, Western Michigan University where he teaches courses in the Organizational Change Leadership Program. David has been teaching various courses in organizational change, organizational learning, and organizational consulting in the department for over 15 years. David is known in the department as an excellent instructor. In fact, David was a 2018 recipient of the CEHD Mary L. Dawson Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty at 51������. In addition to his years of teaching experience, David also has over twenty-five years of consulting experience with leadership at various levels in the education sector through which he helps organizations to reach increased levels of performance. More specifically, his consulting expertise centers on learning management system design, deployment, and individual, group, and organizational development. His research interests center on HRD, Design Thinking, Needs Analysis and Evaluation and their impacts on technology-driven organizational change.

Vanessa Hills, MA, teaches in the Organizational Change Leadership Program and is enrolled in the Organizational Change Leadership Doctoral Program 51������ Michigan University. She brings to the classroom a deep understanding of organizational culture and communication with a special interest in diverse environments. Vanessa has lived and worked in North America, Asia, Europe, and Africa, settling in Kalamazoo in 2017. Her career includes over a decade of writing, communication strategy, and consulting for organizations around the world. Vanessa’s research interests include Dialogic Organization Development, Generative Change, and psychosocial approaches to organizational change.