Ph.D. Faculty & Staff

Hello, I’m Dr. Kevin Bottomley and I am proud to serve as Assistant Professor for the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program here at Indiana Tech. I have worked most of my career (24-years) in the YMCA with the last 15-years serving as a branch Executive Director.  I see myself as a true scholar-practitioner who looks for ways to apply research in the field.  Before coming to Indiana Tech I have also been teaching in doctoral programs for the past 7-years. 

I look forward to connecting with our students and faculty who are also scholar-practitioners who want to change the world.

Hi, I am Dr. Angie Fincannon.  I have been in education throughout my career, with the past 25 years serving in Higher Education.  I have a vast array of experiences, some of which include teaching junior high and high school students, coaching volleyball at the collegiate level,  serving as a tenured faculty member and department chair, serving in several academic leadership roles surrounding Dean, Director of Athletics, Associate Provost and Vice Chancellor.  I have led several educational and athletic global trips, and am committed to leading our program to the best possible global opportunities available for our PhD students. 

What I have enjoyed most about my career in higher education leadership is the opportunity to provide leadership, strategy and support to create and enhance opportunities for students.  I believe that the common denominator for success in all leadership roles is to gather outstanding people for a team and do everything that can be done to help that team’s potential be actualized through growth, support and motivation.  Team dynamics, leadership efficacy and leadership of women are of particular interest to me. 

I love the PhD program in Global Leadership here at Indiana Tech!  Our students are outstanding, working professionals with full lives and responsibilities, but in our program because there is a calling for high impact leadership.  Our program strives to provide the best possible combination of top quality academic accessibility with collaboration, connection and support from our faculty and staff.  We make no apologies for the rigor in our program but we believe that, with the right amount of support along the way, our students will meet and surpass our expectations. 

Hi, I am Dr. Tina Abrefa-Gyan. I have been in education for the most part, with the past thirteen years serving in Higher Education.  I have a vast array of experiences, some of which include guest speaking at K1-12 schools, serving as a tenure-track faculty member, and chairing some committees, and leading faculty-led international service learning, faculty-exchange global trip programs.  I am prepared and committed to leading our program and the students to the best possible global opportunities in the Washington, DC area and around the world. 

I believe that the single most important quality of a leader is the ability to gather team of experts with teachable personality traits to provide innovations that will help improve the quality of life of people in the global sphere. Gender, ethnicity, development, and leadership of women are of particular interest to me. I am honored to be part of a strong team of educators with schola-practice orientation, who value student relationships and growth, academic excellence, and cutting-edge research.

Greetings! I have been an adjunct faculty member at Indiana Tech since 2017. In this role, I have enjoyed mentoring students in their graduate training and doctoral dissertation research.  I teach several courses in the program, including the quantitative research methods class, and I serve on numerous dissertation committees. I have also been involved in several administrative committees regarding curriculum development and course redesigns. It has been a pleasure to work alongside great colleagues in this program.  

In terms of research, I have written on the institutional contexts of public-private partnerships, the role of trust in civic engagement, school-to-work transitions, and international research methods. I collaborate with researchers from a variety of countries and disciplinary backgrounds. My recent papers have appeared in “Advances in Global Leadership, European Societies”, and the “International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy”. I regularly present at international conferences. Most recently, I presented a co-authored paper on the role of multiculturality in cross cultural research and data collection. Those research activities closely guide my teaching. At the same time, I gain new perspectives and rich insights from my work with students which in turn inform my research.  

Greetings! I am Dr. Jason J. Caldwell, and I am thrilled to be joining Indiana Tech as an adjunct faculty member. I started as a freshman seminar instructor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and transitioned to become an Assistant Professor and Director of the John Wesley University School of Business. After my tenure at JWU, I served as a non-profit executive director, interim assistant dean for student success and part-time instructor in the Willie A. Deese College of Business & Economics at North Carolina A&T State University, where I led a global immersion course in Panama, and the CEO/Senior Consultant of Ubuntu Consulting. I have a passion for helping people find their purpose, and my belief is rooted in the philosophy of a shared humanity. I look forward to working with you as you traverse along this journey!

Hello! I teach courses and coordinate the Independent Global Practicum (IGP) in IndianaTech’s Ph.D. program. In the IGP, I co-design courses with students to combine an international personal, business, or academic trip with the Global Practicum course. I also serve on dissertation and administrative committees in our program. I am honored to be part of a strong team of faculty and staff who value student relationships, academic excellence, rigorous research, and application of theory to practice.

I started teaching in higher ed ten years ago when I was invited to teach a Management & Organizational Behavior course. I was honored to receive the Excellence in Teaching Award my first year of teaching and have been teaching ever since! Over the years, I have also worked in higher ed administration and have developed a number of new courses and programs as well as conducted research on higher ed program development and internationalization. I hold three professional coaching certifications and teach with a facilitative, experiential style. My coaching certifications are: Certified Personal and Executive Coach, Certified Positive Psychology and Well-being Coach, National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

In addition to teaching, I have been an owner/operator in 14 entrepreneurial start-up and growth stage companies over the past 20 years and an executive coach and consultant to more
than 1,000 global leaders. Prior to this, I led in operational roles as a Director at Honeywell, Inc. while teaching Total Quality Leadership programs to employees world-wide as part of an internal executive education team. My undergraduate degrees are in Finance and International Business and I have lived, worked and studied in Europe and Asia. I am also co-founder of a non-profit organization that adopted a village on the island of Borneo, Indonesia and is providing educational opportunities and scholarships.

My interdisciplinary research interests mirror my industry experience as I iterate theory and practice in global leadership, entrepreneurship, well-being, adult learning and transformative learning, change management, and the academic research process. I frequently attend and present at academic and professional conferences. I am a member of ILA, AOM, NAFSA, Harvard’s Institute of Coaching, the International Coach Federation, and other professional organizations.

When I’m not in my office, you can find me hiking in the mountains of Colorado, gardening on my small urban farm, leading yoga and mindfulness sessions, and spending time with my family.

Hello, I’m Dr. Ashraf Esmail and I serve as an adjunct faculty member in the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program at Indiana Tech.  It is an honor and privilege to work for Indiana Tech. I have worked in Higher Education for 20 years and doctoral programs for over 16 years.  It is my honor and privilege to mentor doctoral students to becoming international scholars.

Greetings!  I am a full-time faculty member for the College of Business and teach leadership, management, organizational behavior, and financial services courses for the day program at Indiana Tech.  I also teach in the MBA program and PhD programs.   Prior to working full-time at Indiana Tech I worked in finance. In my spare time I enjoy kayaking and spending time with my two children.

Greetings! I am Dr. Staci Lugar Brettin. My students refer to me as “Dr. Staci.” I have been teaching in marketing, management, and entrepreneurship for over 17 years. My professional experience includes work to support the international market development and growth for a global consumer products firm in Brazil and Western Europe, development and management of strategic marketing plans for non-profit and for-profit organizations, and business development and growth consulting for start-up and existing business owners. I have presented on the topics of women’s entrepreneurial and economic empowerment for the State Department’s Study of the United States Institute, instructional design and teaching at regional teaching conferences, and business innovation and growth at the Edward Lowe Foundation and Anderson University Flagship Enterprise Center. I have published multiple articles in the area of scholarship of teaching. I teach the OLM 7002 Strategic Branding and Public Relations course and enjoy engaging learners in sharing how their own experiences connect them to global branding and influence.

Hello!  I’m Dr. Jenny Murnane-Rainey. I have been an adjunct faculty member at Indiana Tech since 2017 and have been teaching at the university level since 2000.  I really love the program here because it allows me to meet and learn from students and faculty all over the world with different backgrounds and experiences.  My personal leadership and academic experience is somewhat varied.  I began my professional career in the financial services industry where I held positions such as financial analyst, customer service manager, and director of account transfers.  I have also held numerous leadership positions in higher education ranging from curriculum development, operations, research, and sales. In 2015, I transitioned into consulting services in the areas of human capital management, strategy, and analytics and I currently own my own consulting business, JAM Group.

Hello, my name is Daryl Ono and it is a privilege to be a part of the Indiana Institute of Technology.  Before I moved into education full-time I split my career in the financial services business and the engineering industry. 

I truly believe in the on-line teaching modality and I think it will become a critical component of higher education in the future. The on-line teaching modality continues to improve technologically and will be an important step into becoming a “life-long learner”.  Research and data analytics are becoming increasingly more prominent.

I am a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and a Certified Cost Estimator/Analyst (CCE/A).

In my free time I enjoy playing basketball and working on cars.

I look forward to working with you. 

Thank you.

My career has involved service at several different types of higher education institutions, large public universities, a public two-year college, and a small private university, all located in different states.  My roles included faculty, department head, dean and vice president for academic and student affairs.  A highlight of my career is the creation and launch of this program and subsequently seeing so many of our students enroll in and graduate with their Ph.D. 

In addition, I have served many years as a consultant-evaluator with the Higher Learning Commission, the regional institutional accreditor for 19 states in the mid-section of the United States.  This work involves reviewing colleges and universities with regard to their institutional accreditation as well as institutional change requests.  I also serve as a panelist to review the work of other teams who have conducted reviews to assure consistency in the recommendations emanating from their reviews.

Dr. Turner has over twenty years of experience in education and nonprofit leadership, having served as a K-12 teacher and administrator, fund development/grant writing expert, and serving in a variety of leadership capacities through organizations such as Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Greater St. Louis, Children’s Advocacy Services of Greater St. Louis, Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Turner is a Professor of Nonprofit Administration at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at Lindenwood University – Plaster School of Business & Entrepreneurship. She serves on the board of directors for Community Council of St. Charles County and is the Regional Chair of Thrivent Financial-Heartland Region and is actively involved as a community volunteer in a wide range within school, nonprofit, and church settings.

Dr. Turner was recognized as “Professor of the Year” by the Lindenwood Student Government Association (2020); received the “Emerson Award for Teaching Excellence” (2015) and the “Lindenwood Service Award” (2018) as well as serving as a Faculty Fellow for Student Engagement in 2019. She was recently notified that she will be a recipient of the ATHENA Leadership Award for Women-St. Charles County for her professional achievements, commitment to community betterment, and to the advancement of women.

Greetings! I have been teaching in the Ph.D. program since 2016, focusing on global leadership development, global talent management international leadership research courses. During this time, I have also served on numerous dissertation committees and have led global practicums. I genuinely enjoy the close working relationships we are able to build with students and our focus on excellence in academics and professional practice. I am a proud recipient of the Faculty of the Year award (2019) for the Ph.D. program.

My full-time role outside of Indiana Tech is serving as Lead Faculty for the B.A. and M.A. Leadership degree programs at Forbes School of Business & Technology at Ashford University. Prior to Ashford, I worked as a director and associate faculty at Thunderbird School of Global Management in the Najafi Global Mindset Institute and Thunderbird Executive Education. My career background is in corporate leadership development and talent management within Fortune 500 organizations and as a consulting partner. I have worked with diverse audiences in North America, South America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Australia.  I have depth of experience in Latin America, having studied and worked in Spain, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru.

My research tends to focus on global leadership development and cross-cultural management.  I frequently present my research at academic and professional conferences (ILA, AOM, SHRM, ATD, HCI, etc.) and in publications (Journal of Management Education, Advances in Global Leadership, HR People & Strategy Journal, SHRM We Know Next, Inside HR Magazine, etc.). I also co-authored the book, Developing Your Global Mindset: The Handbook for Successful Global Leaders.  Current research activities include serving as a CCI for the GLOBE U.S.A. research team, exploring the effectiveness of international immersion experiences for global leadership development, and examining the motivations, obstacles and success strategies of women leaders.

Well hello there! I am Dr. Brenda C. Williams and I have had a long career in Maryland with 20 years in Higher Education in several areas: HR, Student Affairs, IT and Workforce Development and Continuing Education where I was the administrator of record and part of the opening the first Refugee Center representing students from over 70 countries and watch them become New Americans!

I have loved teaching as an adjunct professor for Indiana Tech University since 2013 in the PhD Leadership Program. I have had the good fortune to work with the students in the PhD in Global Leadership and watch them thrive and finish their doctoral journey. I am also very humbled to have been voted Faculty of the Year in 2017 and 2019! It has been a real joy to have served on approximately 20 dissertation committees and be able to say “Welcome them to the Academy.”

A few fun facts about me: I am an identical twin my sister, Linda, and I have a pure-bred Bichon Frise, Luci! Living in Maryland has been a great location as I am close to D.C. and Virginia which we call the DMV with the best blue crabs in the nation!

Hello, I am Dr. Woody Wu. I have lived in Dallas for 40+ years and enjoy the food, weather, and people here. During the weekends, I enjoy playing guitar and driving my convertible.

I have a Doctoral of Management degree in Organizational Leadership from University of Phoenix, a M.S. degree in Telecommunications from Southern Methodist University and a M.A. degree in Journalism from University of North Texas. I have also completed 40 credit hours in a Master of Computer Science program.

I have been working in the computing, networking and telecommunication industries for 20+ years. I have worked for Japan-based NEC and Sweden-based Ericsson as a permanent employee, for U.S.-based MCIWorldCom as a contractor, and for China & U.S.-based Santera (a start-up company) as an employee and stockholder – enjoy working for different types of companies. During my career in networking and telecommunications, I have been serving different roles including CEO, manager/supervisor/leader, system engineer, standard engineer, patent engineer, designer, tester, quality assurance engineer, customer support engineer, and technical training instructor.

I have 5 telecommunications patents granted and holding the Cisco CCAI certificate. Besides teaching in the industry for Ericsson and Santera, I also have 10+ years teaching experiences at universities for the management, networking, and telecommunications courses.