Spotlight on Three Outstanding PhD Candidates
ODC Division PhD Consortium Participants 2025
We're excited to put the spotlight on three exceptional PhD candidates who are participating in this year's ODC Division PhD Consortium. Each of them brings unique perspectives, inspiring research interests, and a strong commitment to the field of organization development and change.
Get to know them below - and don't hesitate to connect with them during the Academy of Management Annual Meeting or through the ODC community!
Julia Shipitsyna-Buchholz
Julia is a Ph.D. candidate in Business Administration and Management at the BA School of Business and Finance, with an expected completion in 2028. She holds three master's degrees in Finance (University of Latvia, 2007), Socio-cultural Anthropology (University of Latvia, 2014), and International MBA (Steinbeis University Berlin / University of Latvia, 2009).
Julia has over 15 years of in-house experience with international corporations such as Samsung Electronics, L'Oréal, Mars & Wrigley, TCS Group. She also worked as a Strategic Director at advertising agencies and executed cross-functional initiatives in marketing, HR, finance, and team management.
She is a certified Enterprise Business Agility Strategist and ICAgile Certified Professional, specializing in leadership in transformation and change. She is trustee of Agile20Reflect festival that was awarded by Global Agility Awards for organization of international educational project.
Julia is actively involved in academia as a university lecturer and researcher. She teaches courses in Change Management, Marketing Strategy, and Leadership to both bachelor's and master's students. She has taught at Riga Stradins University, Moscow State University (Higher School of Business), National University of Science & Technology MISIS, has participated in a global EDGE project with Penn State University, Pricewaterhouse Academy etc.
Her doctoral research centers on trust in digital leadership, integrating neuroscience and behavioral theories to understand the biological and cognitive mechanisms behind trust-building in hybrid and remote teams. In addition to her neuroleadership focus, Julia is especially interested in the role of trust in times of organizational change and transformation. She believes that trust is a critical leadership capacity for successfully guiding teams through uncertainty, resistance, and rapid transformation, which are increasingly common in today's organizations.
She also applies her research in corporate training and coaching for senior executives, helping leaders translate neuroleadership and change management knowledge into practical leadership strategies.
Currently Julia is in her 2nd year, writing her PhD thesis and preparing her first publication. Looking for mentors in the areas of neuroscience, organizational psychology and change management, as well as academic writing (article publications, dissertation etc) and research methods (survey design, data collection and analysis).
Currently Julia is working on her own start up (leadership development app) and is looking for a co-founder with technical background in mobile application development, as well as neuroscience experts for brain-based product methodology development.
Email: julija.sipicina@gmail.com
Corey McPherson
Corey McPherson is a PhD candidate in Sustainability Management at the University of Waterloo and the Associate Director, Planning and Implementation at Royal Roads University. His doctoral research examines how structural conditions, power dynamics, and agency-based motivations shape municipal leadership in climate change mitigation. He is a researcher with the Municipal Net-Zero Action Research Partnership (N-ZAP), where he contributes to Working Group 5: Knowledge Mobilization, supporting the national dissemination of tools, training, and resources to municipalities across Canada.
At Royal Roads, Corey leads major strategic initiatives in transnational education, including the planning and implementation of international branch campuses-most recently in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates-and supports institution-wide transformation efforts through integrated planning and academic innovation.
Corey brings over a decade of leadership experience spanning the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. He has held senior roles at BC Transit, co-founded Local Urban Bites Inc., a sustainable food enterprise, and serves as Vice President of the QChat Support Association, a 2SLGBTQIA+ peer-support organization.
Corey's recent peer-reviewed publication includes:
https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/12/12/207. Klik of tik als u deze koppeling vertrouwt." rel="noopener">Leadership and Climate Change Mitigation: A Systematic Literature Review, in the journal Climate (2024)
He has forthcoming work focused on comparing sustainability education in business programming, a life cycle analysis of a British Columbia-based meal kit company, and finally, a systematic literature review looking at external and internal organizational structures and how they impact climate policy and action. Corey also played a lead role in the creation of the University of Waterloo's new micro-credential, Climate Adaptation Accounting and Financing, designed to support municipal professionals navigating climate and financial planning challenges.
As an educator, Corey has taught and supported courses at the University of Waterloo, Royal Roads University, and Camosun College. His teaching portfolio includes:
- ENBUS 602 - Introduction to Sustainability for Business (Graduate, University of Waterloo)
- BBA 300A/B - Applied Business Projects (Royal Roads University)
- BUS 150 - Introduction to Management (Camosun College)
- BUS 290 - Applied Business Strategy (Camosun College)
- BUS 508 - Accounting for Strategic Decisions (MBA Accounting Coach, Royal Roads University)
Elaine Daly
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elainemarydaly/. Klik of tik als u deze koppeling vertrouwt." rel="noopener">Elaine Daly is a university lecturer and PhD candidate in the https://www.bth.se/english/about-bth/departments/department-of-strategic-sustainable-development. Klik of tik als u deze koppeling vertrouwt." rel="noopener">Department of Strategic Sustainable Development at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Sweden. Her research explores how organizations can foster employee change agents to drive sustainability transformations. With over 12 years of experience in transformational education, Elaine integrates systems thinking, leadership in complexity, and dialogic organizational development into her teaching and research.
She is interested in research around sustainability agency, voice, privilege, diversity (neuro/cultural/gender etc.), psychological safety, burnout and the emotional work of sustainability, emancipatory education and building action competence and sustainability competencies.
Elaine's work is grounded in transdisciplinary sustainability science and transdisciplinary action research with partner companies. She holds degrees in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Mathematics, and Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability. Her professional background spans consulting, coaching, and development work across Europe and Africa.
Elaine is passionate about catalyzing change and creating spaces for new ways of thinking and being. She looks forward to connecting with fellow scholars and practitioners at the Academy of Management to exchange ideas and deepen her engagement with the ODC community.
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Danny Montfort
Nyenrode Business University
Maasbracht
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