AboutI teach and consult with individuals and organizations working to navigate unprecedented levels of change and uncertainty with curiosity, courage, and mental and emotional agility. I emphasize exploration and action in support of the public good across sectors and professions because I believe we need a whole society response to address wicked problems such as climate change, political polarization, and mental health crises. My own experiences and research suggest we are all effected to varying degrees by the quality of our social and environmental contexts—and we all have something to offer as well as some responsibility when it comes to improving these contexts.
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My approach draws on my cross-disciplinary academic background in Organizational Communication and Public Policy & Administration as well as my 20-plus years of experience as a practitioner and consultant. I currently serve as Assistant Professor of Professional Studies and Program Coordinator for the University of Virginia (UVA) Public Administration Certificate Program. I also consult with organizations on behalf of Engaged Advisors and Org Management Group. I use a variety of tools and disciplinary lenses to engage in co-inquiry and co-creation as I have found all problems and possibilities are rooted in local context and are generally best approached via curious inquiry and selective adoption of tools and practices by critical stakeholders.
Before coming to UVA, I served as the Hazel Cramer Endowed Chair in the Department of Public Policy and Administration at Sacramento State University, where I taught and conducted applied research on organizational communication, planning, leadership, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to this, I taught as an adjunct professor for the Price School of Public Policy and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC).
I have served in multiple practitioner and consulting roles. I worked as Associate Director and Organizational Development Specialist for the California Comprehensive Center at WestEd, an educational research, development and service agency. I also served as a deputy county administrative officer, personnel director, and First 5 director in northern California.
I earned my PhD in Organizational Communication at the University of Colorado at Boulder, my Master of Public Administration from USC, and a B.A. in Liberal Studies from CSU Monterey Bay.
My specialties are public administration; communication; organizational development; project management; university teaching; research; local government policy and operations; grant-writing; strategic planning; and personnel management.
In my spare time, I love hiking, dancing, cooking and eating with friends, and reading detective novels (slowly) in Spanish. I live in Charlottesville, Virginia with my husband Bryon and our two amazing cats.
Before coming to UVA, I served as the Hazel Cramer Endowed Chair in the Department of Public Policy and Administration at Sacramento State University, where I taught and conducted applied research on organizational communication, planning, leadership, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to this, I taught as an adjunct professor for the Price School of Public Policy and the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California (USC).
I have served in multiple practitioner and consulting roles. I worked as Associate Director and Organizational Development Specialist for the California Comprehensive Center at WestEd, an educational research, development and service agency. I also served as a deputy county administrative officer, personnel director, and First 5 director in northern California.
I earned my PhD in Organizational Communication at the University of Colorado at Boulder, my Master of Public Administration from USC, and a B.A. in Liberal Studies from CSU Monterey Bay.
My specialties are public administration; communication; organizational development; project management; university teaching; research; local government policy and operations; grant-writing; strategic planning; and personnel management.
In my spare time, I love hiking, dancing, cooking and eating with friends, and reading detective novels (slowly) in Spanish. I live in Charlottesville, Virginia with my husband Bryon and our two amazing cats.