Note Category: Student

PhD in Leadership and Change student Lynn Horan recently published two articles on her research regarding embodied leadership and boundary work of female clergy. The first, “Separation of Church and State Fails to Protect Female Clergy,” was published by Young Clergy Women International, and the second, published by Presbyterians Today, is entitled “A Time to Dance, Belief and Healing Begins in Our Bodies.” Horan is an ordained Presbyterian minister and leadership consultant specializing in women’s leadership development in both secular and religious contexts.

PhD in Leadership and Change student Techa Smalls-Brown recently facilitated the workshop “Creating a Sustainable Whole Child Ecosystem” at the 2022 Collaborative for Spirituality in Education Spirituality Mind Body Institute Teachers College of Columbia University’s annual conference. The Collaborative for Spirituality in Education is dedicated to nurturing the innate spiritual capacity of educators through enriching activities, engaging discourse, scientific research, and contemplative practices. Smalls-Brown is an expert in mindfulness and meditation. An experienced educator with over two decades of service, she specialized in helping educators in all facets, especially in regard to the ways in which to reclaim their passions

PhD in Leadership and Change student Emily Aiken has been awarded The Utah Phillips / J. David Singer Chapter 93 Veterans For Peace Scholarship Award. The scholarship offers support to students in programs that actively promote the study of global conflict resolution or issues of peace and justice and is in recognition of Emily’s commitment to bringing people together across cultural differences to promote peace and understanding. Aiken is a Program Coordinator and Qualifying Seminar Instructor for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). The IDI is a diagnostic tool that provides an opportunity for individuals and groups to learn more about

Renee Bradford, PhD in Leadership and Change student, was recently honored with inclusion in the International Association of Management, Spirituality, and Religion’s (IAMSR) annual conference in Vienna, Austria. The conference brought together participants from eighteen countries and four continents to share insights and reflect on the future of management, spirituality and IAMSR. Bradford is a servant leader, philanthropist and champion for women, children and families. She is Founder and Vision Keeper for First Purse, Inc., an innovative nonprofit organization that empowers girls and young women to be financially literate, invest in their communities and to own their “first purse” of

Alesia Grace Thompson, PhD in Leadership and Change student and Chief Executive Officer and Principal Owner of ClearVision Mediation, recently facilitated an impactful interview with communications coach and author Lorraine Segal which was hosted by Meditate.com, an online resource for the global mediation community. For nearly two decades Thompson has been providing NGOs, families, foundations, and nonprofit organizations with mediation expertise, conflict resolution, and diplomacy.

Tyler G. Olson ’23 (GSLC, PhD) won the 2022 APSA Community College Faculty Award. Olson’s doctoral work focused on understanding how consciousness plays a role in leaders’ capacities to navigate conflict constructively during organizational change periods, specifically in higher education. Olson has also used his background in conflict resolution, dialogue processes, higher education, and leadership to manage and teach in an academic certificate program in the Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies program at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio. Olson serves in leadership roles on the Racial Justice Committee, the Advancement of Women in Equity and Inclusion Taskforce, and the

Kathy Hoffman, PhD in Leadership and Change student, was awarded the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board Director’s Office Employee of the Year Award in recognition of the way in which she changed the agency’s business related to stakeholder engagement, public processes and outreach, and overhauled their policy and regulatory development. Additionally, she was invited to serve on a four-person panel to discuss cannabis regulation from the regulators perspective at the 5th Annual Cannabis Law Institute hosted by the International Cannabis Bar Association at George Washington University Law School in Washington DC. She is also a panelist on several topics

PhD in Leadership and Change student Nicole Williams recently presented the plenary session entitled “Finding and Embracing Your Leadership Identity: Exploratory Perspectives of Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Intersections” at Merrimack College’s Higher Education Master’s 10th Anniversary Celebration and Symposium. Nicole is Merrimack’s Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Director for their Unity House.