Master Of Business Administration

Dr. Mike Zwell is a Professor, Co-Founder, and Chancellor of the Wright Graduate University.

From his earliest memories, Mike has wanted to make a difference in the world. When he was fourteen, his older sister took him to Washington DC for the first March on Washington in 1963, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. Mike remembers the moment when he thought to himself, "I will dedicate my life to truth and justice." Helping students develop into scholar-practitioners applying their values fully is a central part of fulfilling his mission.

Dr. Zwell’s doctoral research applied a mathematical approach to anthropology, and his career prior to founding Wright Graduate University focused similarly on applying analytics to business culture concerns in hiring and training, making him a globally-recognized expert on competency development.

After teaching at Rutgers University, consulting, and writing a book, Mike began a career in executive search in 1980. He founded his own firm, Zwell International, in 1982, initially focusing on executive search in financial services. By the mid-1990s he was filling CEO and board positions as well as consulting for organizations on their human capital processes and systems. In 1998, he founded Exxceed Inc. to automate those processes on the web.

At Wright Graduate University, Mike teaches in the MA and MBA programs, focusing on the specialized group dynamics, transformational leadership, and coaching courses in the second year of those programs, as well as the management and operations series of the MBA, where he applies the acumen he has gained as a Great Game of Business® certified coach.

Mike also serves as President of the Graduate School Alliance for Education in Coaching, an international alliance of universities providing coach education. Wright Graduate University was the first school to have its coaching programs recognized as GSAEC-recognized programs.

In addition, Mike applies his scholarship in leadership and coaching as the managing director and consultant in the Wright Foundation’s corporate division, Human Emergence Group.

Dr. Gordon Medlock is a faculty member at the Wright Graduate University as well as a co-chair of the Research Committee of The Graduate School Alliance for Education in Coaching (GSAEC), dedicated to validating and disseminating best practices for educating coaches.

At Yale, Gordon won a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Award intended for students who showed promise as teachers. Gordon loves the teaching and learning process, especially seeing his students and clients have insights and use them to do something they've never done before.

Gordon has had a lifelong interest in coaching psychology. He began his professional career in the 1970s as a professor of philosophy and education at the College of Wooster in Ohio. His primary interest was the application of existential-humanistic theories to the field of education, which led him to discover his own yearning to live the existentialist principle of authenticity.

For WGU’s doctoral program, Gordon is a member of the curriculum design team and directs research. He also provides career development and job search support for students in all programs. He is fueled by facilitating scholar-practitioners to apply their education in service of their own personal and professional missions.

Dr. Phil Blue approaches his life and scholarship as an experiment in full-on living and pushing the boundaries.

Following his undergraduate study of psychology, Phil delved into the inner workings of the brain at the Social Neuroscience Lab at the University of Chicago. Always a student of humanity, Phil then traveled to Argentina to perfect his Spanish, and a chance meeting led him to audit psychology at la Universidad de Buenos Aires.

Having assessed that learning Chinese in addition to his Spanish would allow him to communicate fluidly with 41% of the world’s population, Phil moved to Dalian, China, with no prior knowledge of the language and a commitment to not speak English for an entire year. Learning Chinese as a child would – from studying children’s books and TV shows in Chinese, and engaging a tutor who walked and talked with him in Chinese through the city streets – Phil gained enough skill to apply for a coveted place in a top Ph.D. program conducted exclusively in Chinese.

Phil completed his Ph.D. in Social Neuroscience under Professor Xiaolin Zhou at Peking University (Beijing University;北京大学) in 2017. During his studies, his cognitive neuroscience work and command of the Chinese language opened doors for him to begin his professional career with speaking engagements at local Chinese manufacturing companies and the Chinese government.

Dr. Blue received the IBM Distinguished U.S. Scholar in China Award (2017) and several research awards, including being selected as the speaker for his graduation commencement address, presented in Chinese. Dr. Blue has also published twelve articles in scholarly journals on neuroscience and its effects on social status as well as various published papers.

After China, Phil was offered post-doctoral opportunities in the Middle East that fed his desire for new experiences, but the unique educational approach of Wright Graduate University led him back to Chicago and to his position as faculty here. Phil teaches in the MA and MBA programs and is a key faculty member in the first-year student experience. 

Dr. Rich Blue is a consultant, trainer, small group leader, and executive coach in a wide variety of organizations.

As Founder and Clinical Director of the Center for Christian Life Enrichment, his coaching and counseling practice, Rich has thirty years of experience in human development. He is also the Founder of a nonprofit consultancy, Second Order Ministries. Through Second Order, he focuses on training senior leadership teams in religious organizations on self-awareness, communication, enhancing charitable giving, conflict resolution, leadership, and self-development. Rich brings this self-reflective approach to his work with students, facilitating their emergence as more responsible, contributing leaders.

In his consulting practice, Rich has helped nonprofit organizations successfully campaign for over $12 million in philanthropy funding through fundraising, sales, and high-level one-on-one development work. He has also worked with dozens of small and mid-sized for-profit companies, including developing a renowned social-emotional intelligence program for restaurant managers and employees that eventually included 60+ restaurants in the Lou Malnati’s family in Chicago.

Since beginning his leadership development training at the Wright Foundation in 1987, Rich has contributed to Wright in various roles, most recently as a leader and facilitator in the Men’s Leadership Collective, where he focuses on Group Process Leadership, Group Dynamics, and Principled Leadership. Rich joined Wright Graduate University as Adjunct Faculty in 2016, and his areas of teaching include human development, coaching, and leadership development.

Dr. Denise Delves has over twenty years of experience in hospital and university administration as well as being faculty in the nursing programs at the University of Illinois and Resurrection University. Through her various leadership roles, she has provided ongoing quality improvements to increase outcomes in current practices and workflows. Denise loves to facilitate learning - helping students discover for themselves what is moving with them and how they can apply their knowledge to better both themselves and the world.

Denise is Assistant Professor at Resurrection University where she teaches Leadership and Management. She also is involved in curriculum development, study skills, and instruction in critical thinking. She developed a curriculum for the Critical Thinking Group at Resurrection University and a curriculum on legal and ethics in healthcare as part of a program at Interprofessional Education.

At Wright Graduate University, she is Adjunct Faculty for the certificate, Master's and Doctoral programs, focusing on mentorship of first-year students. Her areas of focus include business, management, and leadership. Denise is a volunteer leader and facilitator in the Wright Foundation’s social-emotional intelligence programs, women’s leadership programs, and couples program. Students enjoy Denise’s wry sense of humor and dedication – both to their growth and development and to her own.

Dr. Gordon Goodman is dedicated to the integration of psychology, sociology, performing arts, and experiential learning for both business effectiveness and personal fulfillment.

Gordon’s career began in the performing arts, a love of his since creating his first musical at the age of 11. He has since performed with symphonies internationally and has been seen on stages and televisions across the country. Later in his career, Gordon developed a deep curiosity about human potential and ultimately advanced his studies in psychology and counseling. He has done extensive work in the field of stage fright and supported countless individuals in accepting themselves and presenting authentically to the world.

Gordon joined WGU as adjunct faculty in 2020 after teaching undergraduate psychology and sociology and using gamification in his course design. He brings his experience consulting major gaming and virtual reality studios (Sony, Dreamworks, Microsoft) on participant engagement and other psychological considerations. He has also developed programs for clients such as The Walt Disney Company, Ford, Century 21, McMillin, and Coldwell Banker.

At WGU, Gordon serves as a mentor and instructor to master’s-level students. He supports students to dig into their beliefs about themselves and their capacities to facilitate their emergence in powerful ways.

Dr. Gertrude Lyons’ approach to coaching and supporting students is rooted in a deeply held belief that many of us overlook the potential for transformational change in the lives we are leading right now. Gertrude specializes in identifying and mapping transformational opportunities in moment-to-moment experiences, especially for women and mothers.

Gertrude was always drawn to work that maximized opportunity for people to change their lives. She applied her undergraduate business degree as an economic analyst at a nationally recognized litigation consulting firm, helping ensure that civil litigants receive fair awards. After being introduced to life coaching as a powerful tool of transformation, she pursued advanced education in psychology and became a coach herself, both for personal and family coaching and also executive coaching.

Gertrude’s scholarship includes a mixed-methods study in which she applied the Wright Model of Human Development to women preparing for motherhood. Emerging from this research, Gertrude has become a thought leader in women’s empowerment. She has presented to audiences of women at companies including Google and Acuity and conducted workshops helping women to “Rewrite the Mother Code®.”

As Adjunct Faculty at WGU, Gertrude teaches in all master’s and certificate programs, integrating her business experience with transformational development methodologies to support students to realize and fulfill their potential.

Dr. Kelley Nichols led a successful career as an auditor at a national CPA firm before pursuing her MBA and transitioning her professional role to CFO and consultant.

In her MBA study group, Kelley’s experience tutoring fellow students made her realize she had an innate talent for explaining complex economic, financial, and accounting concepts and that she found tremendous joy and satisfaction in supporting students’ growth and development.

Kelley came from a long line of educators and had initially rejected that career path. However, her own transformative experience working with students led her to realize that teaching was her gift and way of contributing to others. Her family picked up and spent three years in Norman, Oklahoma, where she entered a Ph.D. program in accounting. Leaving behind her executive salary was a huge investment in her future, but the joy of being in the classroom and watching students grow was a gratitude she had rarely experienced elsewhere.

Kelley became full-time faculty at Drury University and taught there for 24 years. Currently Kelley trains and develops curriculum for the Great Game of Business®, where she harnesses her passion for financial literacy.

As Adjunct Faculty at Wright Graduate University, Kelly teaches accounting-focused coursework in the management and operations series, where the Great Game of Business® is applied in the open book management methodology.

Kelley loves watching "ah-ha" moments and hearing students share how they are applying their growth and development in their workplaces, their communities, and their lives.

Dr. Lisa Sanden is a dedicated educator with a strong background in teaching and consulting, and expansive social-emotional intelligence and coaching skills.

Lisa’s dedication to education and social-emotional intelligence is no surprise. By fifteen, she fell in love with the human potential movement. Her stepmother's bookshelves contained the likes of Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, Paul Tillich, and more. She acknowledges the influence of these thinkers on her capacity to see possibilities in everyone.

A life-long learner, Lisa first saw possibilities for herself as a teacher when her young children were enrolled in a Montessori school. She decided to pursue her certification as a Montessori teacher and spent 26 years in the classroom with children ages 3 – 6 while also developing herself and serving as a school consultant, administrator, development director, and university faculty. Her experience and education give her the skills to be able to provide consulting, mentoring, and coaching to those with educational and other professional backgrounds.

As WGU faculty, Lisa teaches in all programs. She also coaches, consults, and provides training through the Wright Foundation’s corporate services division, the Human Emergence Group. With her expertise in human development and educational methodology, Lisa helps students and clients thrive and grow not only in their positions but in their personal missions as they make their own discoveries about themselves and the world around them.

Publications:
Dissertation: The Emotions of Montessori Teachers: Facilitating Awareness, Expression, and Regulation Using the Wright Developmental Model.
Presented “Best Practices and Strategy in Student Acquisition and Retention.” with Bob Wright at the AMI Refresher 2012
Presented “The Power of Emotions in Teaching: Increasing Resilience and Creativity” at the AMI Refresher 2022

Dr. Karen Terry’s first career in media and communication spanned thirty years of writing, production, journalism, and training/development curriculum support for firms such as AT&T and Slack & Company. Her work won several awards and spanned multiple industries including business and healthcare.

In 2008, Karen shifted her career to focus on human emergence and development. She joined the Wright Foundation as a professional coach with a focus on personal relationships and career development. After earning her EdD, Karen became Adjunct Faculty at WGU and later at Northwestern University. Her areas of expertise include human development, coaching, and leadership development.

At WGU, Karen teaches in all master’s-level programs and devotes special attention to serving as faculty for students completing the Master’s Capstone Project. In this role, Karen works closely with students as they bring together the central themes of their learning and development and chart their course for the future. She also is involved in institutional research to evaluate the personal and career impact of WGU’s capstone process.

In the community, Karen serves or has served on several boards such as The Talking Farm and the Evanston Public Library. Currently, she is the President of the Board of Trustees for The Village Chicago which helps older Chicago residents engage, connect, and enjoy life over the age of 50. She also continues to consult clients on corporate and executive communications.

Brian Laperriere specializes in leading and implementing human resources and organizational development strategies in rapidly-scaling global companies – from nutrition to cosmetics to technology. For over 20 years he has led positive culture changes in contexts highly driven by private equity, M&A, and divestiture activities.

A lawyer admitted to the state bars of Michigan and Illinios and a lifelong learner, Brian applies his expertise in human capital in the academic context teaching courses in Wright Graduate University’s business fundamentals track. He seeks to bring out in his students an exploration of how to create and live out their individual missions and contributions to their industry.

As SVP of Human Resources for multiple firms, he has led companies to greater employee satisfaction, morale, and retention even through several restructurings. He is an integral facilitator in driving cultural change, and he brings these skills to leading discussions with WGU students.
Brian has been a long-time contributor to the Wright community as an organizational development consultant, facilitator, and participant in leadership programs for men, families, and couples. 

Dr. Bernie Luskin has led a successful career in many fields, including higher education, psychology, and media. In fact, the University Business Magazine selected Bernie as a person who has had exceptional careers in education and business. Bernie has authored best-selling books as well as produced award-winning television shows. He has received two Emmys for his work in media.

Bernie has functioned at the founder, President, and CEO level of multiple companies and universities such as Orange Coast College, Philips Interactive Media, Philips Education, Touro University, Moorpark College, Oxnard College, and Luskin International.

As an educator and administrator, Bernie has been a national leader in efforts to advance the effectiveness and impact of community colleges, notably as the government relations specialist in the American Association of Community Colleges and most recently in directing the Kellogg Community College Leadership Legacy Project.

He has also taught at many universities, including UCLA, USC, Claremont and Fielding Graduate Universities, Pepperdine University, Touro University, and California State University. Bernie has also been a trailblazer in education, particularly in adult distance learning, as well as helping to launch the first Media Psychology Ph.D. program at Fielding Graduate University and the first Media Psychology and Social Change MA program at UCLA.

At Wright Graduate University, Bernie serves as a curriculum developer and advisor to multiple graduate programs, bringing his expertise in education, psychology, and business to his work with students and to the university’s strategic vision.