My name is Richard Carson and I recently joined the Academy and this group. I joined after I found the group's existence through a literature review for my doctorate. My doctorate dissertation is actually in organizational change. I am in a unique program at Washington State University called the Individual Interdisciplinary Doctorate Program (IIDP) which allows a candidate to create and pursue a doctorate that is not part of an established discipline. As all of you know, organizational change and development is a unique hybrid of psychology and sociology that is applicable to both political science and business. Which explains why my doctorate advisory committee draws from all four academic groups.
I also do this for a living. After 30 years working as a government manager, I went into consulting and advising government agencies how to achieve positive change. I work for a company called Citygate Associates. I have spent the last 10 years working with government in four western states (i.e., CA, OR, UT, WA). The bad news is that I usually get called in when the excrement has hit the proverbial fan. No organization seems capable of proactively using change to prevent an organizational meltdown. The good news is that I am not complaining because I like the work.
I belong to several professional associations beside this one. I also belong to the Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychology (SIOP), Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), Organizational Development Network (ODN) and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). The latter is because of my public-sector focus. I also hold the federal trademark for PSOCM® which stands for Private/Public-Sector Organizational Change Management. I have a website by the same name.
I look forward to reading what you have to say and gaining from your collective insights.
Richard H. Carson, MPA