Archives: Instructors

Empowering leaders and executives to successfully navigate change by turning challenges into opportunities, and to ascend the leadership ladder by providing unique perspectives to problem solving and personal branding.  Christie Chung, PhD, is an Executive Director (aka CEO or Dean) of a multidisciplinary institute at an R1 University. Apart from this executive role, she has also served as Associate Provost, Associate Dean, and many other key Chair and leadership positions at both R1 and liberals arts college settings. Christie has over 1.5 decades of experience as a cognitive psychology faculty and researcher, is a TEDx speaker, and an accomplished author in cognitive aging and cross-cultural cognition. Christie also has extensive experience in navigating complex institutional changes, especially ones involving institutional restructuring and mergers.   In her coaching practice, Christie empowers leaders and executives to turn challenges into opportunities for growth and advancement. Christie is skilled in personal branding principles, which are critical as leaders position themselves for job opportunities and promotions. Christie inspires academics to impact the world through their leadership while championing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion/Antiracism/Belonging (DEIAB) principles. Christie has experience in supervising programs and grant-funded initiatives, fundraising, mediating conflict, and has been a key leader in supporting the campus community […]

Dr. Kim Eby joined the Mason community in 1996. A faculty member in the School of Integrative Studies, she is also affiliated with Women and Gender Studies. In 2002, she was awarded the George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award. Her professional and scholarly interests include issues surrounding violence and gender, leadership, organizational development and change, and collaboration and community building across a variety of contexts. She was a consultant for the National Learning Communities Project and has presented at national meetings and consulted with individual institutions on topics such as leading institutional change; learning space design; interdisciplinary collaboration; working with student and faculty diversity, equity, and inclusion; and other issues related to faculty, teaching and learning, and leadership development. Kim served for nine years as the Director of the Center for Teaching and Faculty Excellence (CTFE, now Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning) and Associate Provost for Faculty Development, providing programming, consultations, and professional development support to Mason faculty and graduate students, with an emphasis on teaching and learning. Currently Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Development, Kim is responsible for all matters pertaining to Mason faculty’s professional well-being, development, and success, including providing support for faculty career development, recognizing […]

In her previous role as Assistant Dean for Administration and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in International Studies and Programs, Ashley provided leadership in the implementation and administration of international programs and global initiatives that advance and strengthen university-wide missions related to research, outreach, and engagement activities. She oversaw a variety of administrative functions, including international partnership processes and protocols. Ashley also serves as the Principal Investigator and Director of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, Fulbright Programs, and Peace Corps. As ISP’s DEI Director, Ashley was tasked with ensuring that the global dimension is integrated into campus DEI efforts and activities. She created and chairs a cross-campus Global DEI Task Force charged with developing campus resources to reinforce inclusive practices in a global context. She has led local, national, and international discussions, delivered conference presentations, authored articles, and engaged in private consulting around diversity, equity, and inclusion topics from a global lens.

I know what it feels like to be caught between institutional pressures and personal values. I also know the joys of leading with integrity to build institutions that serve as engines of democracy and social uplift—places where everyone, not just the privileged few, can thrive. As a Latina, first-generation college student who became a professor, academic leader, licensed clinical psychologist, and certified executive coach, I’ve navigated the complex terrain of higher education from multiple vantage points. I understand the unique challenges facing leaders who are working to dismantle oppressive systems while building careers and lives of meaning and purpose. My Coaching Philosophy I first experienced coaching when I began a newly created position reporting to a provost. Having a confidential person who had my back as I navigated politics, built out of my office, and made strategic decisions was essential to enhancing my confidence and effectiveness. It was a liberating experience that led me to pursue a coaching certification. My coaching philosophy is grounded in liberation psychology—the same framework I detail in my book Leading Toward Liberation: How to Build Cultures of Thriving in Higher Education (Hopkins Press, 2025). This approach involves “reading reality” with compassion and curiosity, recognizing that […]

Juanita is the owner of Equity Consultation Designs and Services, a veteran, woman-owned consulting firm. She is a highly sought-after researcher and career educator who has dedicated her life to creating an equitable and inclusive educational space for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) students in the educational system. Organizations such as Savannah State University, Texas State University, Maryland State Department of Education, NC Department of Public Instruction and NASA are included on the list of organizations that Dr. Ashby Bey has worked with.  Juanita prides herself on implementing practices that disrupt traditional methodologies and value systems, replacing those with meaningful, authentic, inclusive methods, mindsets, and practices. Her areas of expertise include, but are not limited to: Program Development and Management; Culturally Responsive Curriculum Development, Modification, and Implementation; Leadership Effectiveness; Culturally Responsive, Outcomes-Based Approaches for Assessment; Strategies to Resist Racial and Other Social or Cultural Biases; Research-Based Practices; Culturally Relevant Instructional and Leadership Practices; Teacher Preparation; Culturally Responsive Teaching; Critical Pedagogy; Teacher Identity Development; Assessment for Accreditation; and Intervention Models for Transformation in Education.  She brings a mix of corporate, collegiate, and K-12 expertise that is unparalleled by big-box companies who focus on quantity over quality. Her team has […]

Andrea Talentino is the president of Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. She previously served as Provost at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York, and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont. In her administrative work, she has focused on building strong teams and developing positive organizational culture, including chairing a task force at Norwich to address campus climate for employees. She began her career at Tulane University and received her Ph.D. in Political Science (International Relations) from the University of California, Los Angeles, and completed a post-doc at Princeton University’s Center for International Studies.

Prior to his current appointment, Walt was a university dean for nine years—seven as the Dean of the College of Social Sciences at San José State University (2015-2022), and two as the founding Dean of the College of Social Sciences & Professional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (2013-2015). Prior to joining UW-Parkside, he was on the faculty of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for fourteen years, including five years as the Chair of the Department of African American & African Studies (2007-2012). He received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (1990), and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology from Indiana University-Bloomington (1995, 1999). He has received department, college, and university awards for undergraduate teaching. Walt is the author of Speaking the Lower Frequencies: Students and Media Literacy (State University of New York Press, 2005) and Ghostbox: A Memoir (iUniverse, 2007). He has published 29 journal articles and book chapters and has co-edited several books and journals. Walt is deeply invested in higher education leadership mentoring and coaching activities, and in May 2022, he earned a certification as a Hudson life/executive coach. For six years, he served on the Board of Directors for […]

I guide higher‑ed leaders to grow with clarity, confidence, and intention, equipping them with the insight and tools needed to achieve meaningful, measurable success throughout the evolving circumstances of their careers, their institutions, and those they lead. Dr. Marie Hansen is a nationally recognized executive coach and organizational strategist who helps leaders elevate performance, strengthen teams, and achieve sustainable results. With more than 25 years in higher education—including 13 years as Dean of a multi‑school college of business—she brings deep experience supporting faculty, staff, and leaders at every level. Her background includes supervising over 100 faculty and professional staff, leading strategic planning and corporate partnership initiatives, developing leadership training programs, and securing grants and fundraising support. She has also taught in business, criminal justice, law, and organizational behavior. A PCC‑credentialed coach, Marie works with emerging and seasoned leaders to expand self‑awareness, set meaningful career goals, and achieve measurable success. Her coaching integrates social and emotional intelligence, positive psychology, and mindfulness—an approach shaped by her doctoral research on imposter syndrome among women in mid‑level leadership roles. She helps clients strengthen resiliency, interpersonal effectiveness, conflict resolution, influencing skills, trust‑building, and change leadership. Marie’s clients value her strategic mindset, steady presence, and ability […]