Ph.D Alumni

Leah Pezer - Ph.D 2024
Director of Athletics, University of Alberta

Harrison Boss - Ph.D 2023
Principal Consultant, Boss and Short Consulting

Lorena Solis - Ph.D 2023
Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Hartford

Lorena completed her doctorate from the University of Calgary in September 2023. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology concentrating in Industrial-Organizational and Latinx Psychology at the University of Connecticut, Hartford. Her research interest is diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), specifically focusing on understanding how inequality manifests in hiring, retention, and career advancement practices for historically minoritized groups. She is the lab director of Resisting Inequality in Society (RIS) at UConn Hartford.

Timothy Wingate - Ph.D 2022
Assistant Professor of OB/HRM, Lazaridis School of Business, Wilfrid Laurier University

Timothy researches and teaches courses on topics related to organizational behaviour and human resource management. His main areas of focus are personnel selection strategies, person perception, and various forms of work performance.

Eden-Raye Lukacik - Ph.D 2022
Assistant Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Saint Mary’s University

Amanda Julian - Ph.D 2021
Co-Founder & Chief Resource Officer, Monark

Amanda is the Co-Founder and Chief Research Officer (CRO) of Monark, a company that is revolutionizing leadership development for a new generation. Monark's approach combines evidence-based content, an on-demand platform, reminders, automatic feedback, and engaging activities to drive lasting behavior change. As CRO, Amanda brings research evidence to the company's processes and practices and primarily oversees assessment and content creation.

Stephanie Law - Ph.D 2021
Senior Organizational Psychologist, Talent Research & Insights, Shopify

Stephanie is currently a Senior Organizational Psychologist at Shopify where she leads a team of mixed-methods researchers to diagnose the health of teams, inform the build of people systems and programs, and empower leaders across Shopify to make data-informed decisions. She brings her deep expertise in designing deep dive research and translating scientific understanding into digestible and actionable insights. Her team supports leaders across a variety of critical initiatives such as assessing and fostering effective leadership, supporting employee engagement and wellbeing, and building a new performance management system.

Nicole Larson - Ph.D, 2020
Lecturer, Deakin Business School

Nicole accepted a tenure-track position at Deakin Business School in Melbourne, Australia. She teaches undergraduate and MBA classes in Organizational Behaviour and continues her research on team dynamics. In the short term, she is working toward publishing her dissertation research, which examines how team members’ psychological needs (i.e., achievement, affiliation, and power) influence trust dynamics within the team. In the long term, she plans to advance the teams literature by adopting a temporal lens and longitudinal methods to understand how, when, and why teams change.

Amanda Deacon - Ph.D, 2020
Analyst, Plum.io

Amanda works as an Industrial Organizational Psychology Analyst for Plum.io. Plum.io helps companies make predictive talent decisions by combining evidence based personality and cognitive ability assessments with artificial intelligence in order to quantify people’s innate strengths and match them to jobs where they thrive. Amanda works with clients to ensure their talent management needs are met, including assisting pilot projects with regards to career pathing, employee development, and emerging leadership / high potential identification. She brings her expertise of working with psychometric data to help analyze, interpret, and communicate data to client stakeholders with a practical spin.

Dave Mayers - Ph.D, 2018
VP of Business Development, RightHire

Dave currently divides his time between teaching statistics and research methods in Calgary and working in the private sector. He works in the area of employee selection. He is the VP of business development at RightHire, and conducts executive assessments on behalf of executive search firms.

Sam Chow - Ph.D, 2018
Data Scientist, Borealis AI

Sam is a product manager at Borealis AI in Toronto, Canada.

Julie Choi - Ph.D, 2018
Senior Consultant, Leadership Advisory Practice, Odgers Berndtson

Julie is an experienced consultant who integrates her in-depth scientific knowledge with best practice to help organizations and their talent reach their fullest potential. She has supported both national and international clients across a range of industries including financial services, oil and gas, mining, professional services, transportation, and education. From assessing executives for selection and development to creating a methodology to identify high potential talent, she helps clients on a broad range of human capital challenges.

Jocelyn Wiltshire - Ph.D, 2016
Associate Professor, University of Lethbridge

Jocelyn is an Associate Professor in the Dhillon School of Business at the University of Lethbridge Calgary Campus. She is in the Human Resource Management and Labour Relations Area. Her research is focused around the “darker side” of the workplace, which is founded from her interest in manipulative and deceptive personalities. Her current program of research is based around organizational politics, leadership, and interpersonal influence tactics.

Joshua Bourdage - Ph.D, 2012
Associate Professor, University of Calgary

Joshua Bourdage is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Calgary. After graduating from the University of Calgary, he worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of Western Ontario, before returning to the UofC in 2013. He does research in the areas of personnel selection, technology in hiring, workplace politics and impression management, and personality, and works with organizations in these areas.

Jennifer Nicol - Ph.D., 2011
Senior Organizational Effectiveness Advisor, Husky Energy Inc.

Jennifer’s work involves the design, implementation, and management of the following organizational programs: Organizational Competencies, Succession Planning, Career Development/Career Pathing, Performance Management, Leadership Development, Employee Engagement, Onboarding and Orientation.

Tunde Ogunfowora – Ph.D., 2009
Assistant Professor, University of Calgary

Tunde worked as an Assistant Professor of Human Resources and Organizational Behaviour at the Faculty of Business Administration, University of Regina (for two years) and the Goodman School of Business, Brock University (for one year) before returning to the University of Calgary as an Assistant Professor in the Haskayne School of Business. Tunde’s research interests include leadership (both ethical and unethical), personality, and team behaviors.

Joe Schmidt – Ph.D., 2008
Assistant Professor, University of Saskatchewan

After graduating from the University of Calgary, Joe moved on to become a consultant at a major consulting firm, Hay Group, for several years. Joe has since moved on to become an Assistant Professor in the Edwards School of Business in the University of Saskatchewan. Joe studies strategic human resource management, teams, and personality.

Chelsea Willness – Ph.D., 2008
Professor, Department of Human Resources & Organizational Behaviour, Edwards School of Business

Dr. Willness is a passionate champion of community-engaged scholarship and teaching. She has held two national research grants (SSHRC) for her research on how stakeholders—like job seekers, employees, or consumers—respond to organizations' environmental practices and community involvement (e.g., corporate social responsibility). She has published this work in top journals and book chapters, and presented to academic and professional audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.

Chelsea has received University, college, and international teaching awards, including the USSU Teaching Excellence Award (2016), University of Saskatchewan’s Award for Distinction in Community-Engaged Teaching & Scholarship (2014), and the Provost’s College Award for Outstanding Teaching (2014). In 2012, she was awarded an Innovation in Teaching Award from the Academy of Management for her design and implementation of HR courses that integrate community-based experiential learning. Most recently, she was the recipient of the University’s highest honour for teaching, the Master Teacher Award (2017), recognizing her educational leadership in creating authentic learning communities.

Sarah Carroll – Ph.D., 2007
Program Director at the Professional Examination Service, New York

After graduating from the University of Calgary, Sarah worked as an Assistant Professor at Hofstra University in New York. She has since moved on to work at Professional Examination Services. She manages the assessment-related activities of national and international licensing and credentialing examinations for various client associations.

Kelly Piasentin – Ph.D., 2007
Psychometrician at Yardstick, Testing and Training Experts, Toronto

After graduating, Kelly has worked several fascinating jobs, including a Project Consultant with Assessment Strategies Inc., and several years working as a Defense Scientist for the Department of National Defense doing research related to organizational behavior to support military operations, including the study of cultural competence, and evaluation of training tools. She has recently begun work as a Psychometrician with Yardstick, Testing and Training Experts

Hal Whiting – Ph.D., 2006
Program Manager at Hewlett-Packard Global Employee Engagement, Dallas

Hal is responsible for workforce planning and talent management within the LaserJet and Enterprise Services Division. He also acted as a lead business partner for five GM and vice-presidents and two VPs as well as thirty eight directors.Hal has also worked as a Sr. Consultant for Deloitte Consulting doing validation of leadership development and selection tools, as well as competency modeling. Prior to this, he worked for Bigby Havis doing consulting services in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Pat Ferris – Ph.D., 2005
Partner at Janus Associates Psychological Services, Calgary
Partner at Calgary Psychology Group, Calgary

Pat is a partner in and owns two large psychological practices: Janus Associates and Calgary Psychology Group Inc. The companies provide individual, couple and family counselling as well as Employee Assistance Programs and organizational development/training programs across Canada. These companies have 22 psychologists in their Calgary office and over 100 in their extended network. Pat oversees the practice along with the other partner, see clients and conduct training sessions on a wide variety of topics. I do critical incident work as well. Pat is also co-chair of the International Association for Workplace Bullying and Harassment Special Interest Group: Therapeutic Practitioners and is leading an international project to explore treatment of individuals who have been exposed to workplace bullying.

Laura Hambley – Ph.D., 2005
Industrial/Organizational Psychologist, Adjunct Professor, University of Calgary
Partner with The Leadership Store and Founder of Calgary Career Counselling, Calgary

Dr. Laura Hambley is an Organizational Psychologist, Keynote Speaker, Business Leader, Author and Podcast Host. She is a sought-after thought leader on workplace psychology and career development in Canada, with 22+ years of experience providing organizational consulting and developing leaders in Canada and internationally. Dr. Laura is a thought leader on the evolution of work and understands the intersection of business and people.

Dr. Laura’s areas of expertise include leadership, team, and culture development in organizations, remote/hybrid workplace success, and mental health/developing resiliency through turbulent times. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from the University of Calgary, where she is currently an Adjunct Professor. Her research on remote leadership and team effectiveness was recognized for a decade before the pandemic, and has helped countless organizations adapt to hybrid workplaces.

As a passionate entrepreneur, Dr. Laura has founded several psychology practices in Canada since 2009, including Work EvOHlution™, Canada Career Counselling, Calgary Career Counselling, and Synthesis Psychology. She runs the podcast Where Work Meets LifeTM, where she interviews global experts on a variety of topics around wellness, career, and culture.

David Jones – Ph.D., 2004
Associate Professor at School of Business Administration, University of Vermont

David A. Jones is the John L. Beckley Professor of Management at The University of Vermont‚ Grossman School of Business, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior (2020-2022). As an educator, David strives to achieve scaling social impact through evidence-based teaching that empowers learners to create value by applying leadership and teamwork skills, and practical tools to execute sustainable business strategies. From 2015 to 2019, he served as a Program Director of The Sustainable Innovation MBA‚ the #1 ranked Green MBA in the U.S. for three consecutive years (Princeton Review, 2018-2020).

As a practitioner, David applies principles of shared value creation, such as by helping companies design corporate volunteerism programs and evaluate associated employee outcomes (e.g., retention, extra-role behaviors). He regularly conducts professional development seminars through which he has trained over 1,400 executives and managers to date.

As a scholar, David is a recognized thought-leader in the study of how and why employees and job seekers perceive and react to an employer’s socially responsible and environmentally sustainable practices. His research has appeared in premier academic journals, including Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Journal of Management where he currently serves on the editorial board.

Wayne Ormond – Ph.D., 2004
Manager Talent Management & Diversity at Husky Energy Inc, Calgary

This role includes oversight of the following departments and functions: Recruitment & Selection, Onboarding and Orientation, Leadership Development, Performance Management, Succession Management, Competency and Learning Management, Organizational Change Management, Knowledge Management, and Diversity and Inclusion.

Stephanie Paquet – Ph.D., 2004
Senior Consultant at Knightsbridge Leadership Solutions, Calgary

Stephanie has spent most of her career consulting with various organizations in the area of talent management, including the design of selection systems, facilitation of leadership development initiatives, succession planning, and assessments. She has worked with leaders at all organizational levels by becoming a trusted partner and coach. She offers sound technical knowledge in the area of industrial and organizational psychology, combined with solid business experience in a variety of industries and sectors.

Krista Uggerslev – Ph.D., 2004
Applied Research Chair – Leadership and Talent, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT)

Krista’s job has three main aspects. First, she conducts a research program funded by SSHRC focused on the bookends of talent (recruitment through to retention), as well as senior leadership pipelines, and demographic and economic challenges leading to labour shortages. She is also responsible for building the research capacity of her colleagues in the JR Shaw School of Business at NAIT; the JRSSB is the largest business school in Western Canada (about 8000 students), and it is new for their faculty to be conducting research – all of which is focused on making a practical impact to organizations today. She also designed, developed, and will deliver two series of leadership development programming at NAIT: one to the leaders at NAIT in the most senior leadership positions, and the second for aspiring leaders through those who have been in their leadership roles for many years.

Colleen Lucas – Ph.D., 2004
Senior Consultant, Knowledge Management at Alberta Health Services

Colleen is currently employed with Alberta Health Services, having started working with the Calgary Health Region as an Evaluation Coordinator upon graduation. Some of the projects she is involved in include: system level evaluation, program evaluation, performance measurement, strategic planning for mental health services, and research in service delivery of mental health services. She also does work in the area of team effectiveness, leadership development, and these days, predominantly knowledge management.

Aoife Brennan – Ph.D., 2003
Project Manager at the Public Service Commission of Canada

Aoife has held many interesting positions since graduating from the I/O psychology program at the UofC. For several years, Aoife worked as a Program Manager at IBM. Following this, Aoife worked at the Public Service Commission of Canada, including work in the Personnel Psychology Centre, and work in the areas of Organizational Development and Organizational Effectiveness.

Janine Keown-Gerrard – Ph.D., 2002
Academic Expert at the Athabasca University; Independent Research Consultant, Contractor

Following graduation, Janine worked within a consulting firm and as an independent consultant in Ontario and Alberta. Upon moving back to Alberta, she re-engaged with teaching both in traditional classroom settings and online. Since 2008, she has primarily taught at Athabasca University in three different faculties, including courses in Managerial Communication, Research Methods, Statistics, Organizational Culture, and Personality.

Sandra Rever – Ph.D., 1999
Faculty of Management, University of Lethbridge

Upon graduation Sandra was quickly picked-up by Calgary-based SMED as an internal consultant. Over the last decade or so, she has held several fascinating positions, related to human resources and employment practices in both the applied and academic realms. Within the applied realm, she has worked with Maritime Life, Manulife Financial, and Agrium. She also worked for several years as an Assistant Professor at Mount Royal University, before transitioning to the University of Lethbridge.

Yvonne Sell – Ph.D., 1998
Head of Leadership and Talent at HayGroup Consulting

Yvonne chose to accept a consulting position at Doilette Consulting upon graduating. She has since moved to HayGroup Consulting where she enjoys the fast-paced life of a very successful Calgary-based management consultant. In 2010, Yvonne took up a position as the Head of Leadership and Talent at Hay Group in London, UK.