Advancement of Leadership Programs

Dr. Kathy L. Guthrie is professor in the higher education program at Florida State University. She serves as director of the Leadership Learning Research Center and coordinator of the Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership Studies. She currently serves as the editor for the New Directions in Student Leadership series. Her research focuses on leadership learning outcomes, socially just and culturally relevant leadership education, and use of technology in leadership education.

Michael Chikeleze holds the Richard C. and Francelia A. Gozon University Chair in Values-Based Leadership and associate professor of communication. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the International Leadership Association. He received his undergraduate degree in economics from Enugu State University in Nigeria, and his graduate degrees at Washington University in St. Louis (M.B.A. and J.D.) and Benedictine University (Ph.D. in Values-Driven Leadership). Prior to joining Valpo, he was faculty member for five years in leadership studies programs at Louisiana State University Shreveport and Xavier University Cincinnati. His leadership career includes roles in higher education administration (Cincinnati State College and University of Cincinnati) and business management (Procter & Gamble and Chase Bank). Michael writes and lectures on leadership topics, specializing in ethical leadership, law and ethics and sustainable real estate practices. His research focuses on the impact of ethics on decision-making. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Journal of Leadership Studies, Journal of Leadership Education and Journal of Sustainable Real Estate. He is a member of Academy of Management, Missouri Bar, and International Leadership Association.

Nicole draws on her background in critical cultural theory to explore the ideological and gendered discourses of leadership and leadership development in a variety of contexts. She has published in the Journal of Business Ethics, Leadership, Gender Issues, and the Academy of Management Proceedings. Her current research focuses on the competitive and cultural dynamics of the leadership industries and the critique of popularized leadership narratives and fashions.

JAY GARY, PhD, is Associate Professor of Strategic Leadership at Oral Roberts University. Educator, Entrepreneur and Futurist, Jay comes to ILA with 18 years of curriculum, teaching, and assessment experience in leadership studies, ranging from the bachelors, masters to PhD level. He now serves at the Dean level of an online learning unit that enrolls 1,300 students across 25-degree programs. His most recent project has been launching a multi-disciplinary Doctor of Strategic Leadership program for mid- to senior career professionals. For more information visit https://oru.edu/faculty/jay-gary.php or https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaygary/.

Trisha Gott is an assistant professor and associate dean of academics at the Staley School of Leadership. Gott teaches undergraduate and professional coursework related to considering the ethical dimensions of leadership and leadership development. Gott focuses on practice-based leadership education and development for professionals. Since 2016 she has served as co-PI and co-director for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Civic Engagement and Leadership Institute at Kansas State since 2016. Gott is particularly interested in understanding how leadership interventions sustain, translate, and advance community leadership in a global setting.  

Antonio Jimenez-Luque, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the University of San Diego. From 2004-2013, Jimenez-Luque was the Coordinator for the International Cooperation for Development at the University of Barcelona Solidarity Foundation working with universities, grassroots organizations, and social movements in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In 2014, he moved to the United States to work at Gonzaga University for the Associate Vice-President for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion as Intercultural Research Associate, and taught a variety of classes including Leading Across Cultures. Since 2018, he has been teaching at the University of San Diego and developing his research agenda on issues of leadership and social justice from a critical, global, and intercultural perspective.

Dennis C. Roberts is an independent consultant, speaker, and author. Former Assistant Vice President of Education for Qatar Foundation, he served for seven years to guide the establishment of student development and support services for its branch universities at Education City in Doha. He served previously as Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at Miami University. He is past president of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and long-term member of the International Leadership Association.

Rian Satterwhite is Director of the Office of Service Learning & Leadership at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Teaching Faculty at Claremont Lincoln University. He is Co-founder of the ILA Sustainability Leadership member community, five-time facilitator and 2020-2022 co-chair of the ILA Leadership Education Academy, and former chair of the ILA Leadership Education member community. Rian is experienced with co-curricular as well as undergraduate and graduate credit-based leadership education and development and is the author of numerous publications. He specializes in sustainability leadership, systems thinking, and critical perspectives of leadership.

Oliver Seale is a leadership development specialist, lecturer and researcher. He is the Director of the Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) programme at Universities South Africa (USAf). Before that, Oliver was the Director of Executive Education at the Graduate School of Business Leadership in UNISA. Some of his other former positions include: consulting as a strategist and advisor to public and private higher education institutions, acting CEO at Universities South Africa, Director in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office at Wits University, and Deputy Director-General for Training Delivery at the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA).

Oliver has extensive experience in strategic planning, change management, business development, programme/project management, relationship and stakeholder management in various organisational environments. He has a keen interest in university governance, leadership and management, organisational development, performance management and leadership development. He holds a PhD in Leadership Development from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and has published various academic papers on university leadership, management, deanship and leadership development.
Oliver’s book titled Deanship in the Global South: Bridging Troubled Waters was published in 2021.

Spencer has over 35 years of experience working in higher education. Spencer is the Director of the
Illinois Leadership Center. Spencer served as the Chair of the National Association for Campus
Activities She serves on the Council for Advancement of Standards (CAS) for Higher Education and
chaired the CAS review of the Student Leadership Programs Standards, released in 2020.