Our students comprise a diverse group of individuals working in a variety of functional areas (e.g., human resources, information systems, marketing, production, distribution, organization development and administration), organization types (e.g., for-profit, not-for-profit, military and government), and industry sectors (e.g., computer, consulting, education, health care, construction, manufacturing, information and financial services).
Our student body comprises:
- directors and managers responsible for internal change initiatives
- consultants and coaches seeking to sharpen existing skills or develop new abilities
- human resource professionals, performance management professionals, facilitators and trainers involved in helping human systems undergo organizational change
- individuals who are transitioning to new roles and are interested in consulting either within their organization or to outside organizations.
Hear from our students
Student ambassadors
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Sally Stephenson
Undergraduate: Bachelor of Science, Nazareth College, Kalamazoo MI, 1991
Graduate: Master of Arts, Organizational Change Leadership, Western Michigan University, 2020
Career Interest: Food Safety, Quality Control & Quality Assurance
Career Industry: Ingredient Manufacturing, Food Manufacturing, Quality SystemsAbout Me: I am the Senior Manager of QA/QC at an ingredient manufacturing company in Kalamazoo. In leading a team of twenty, and working cross-functionally in Kalamazoo and across the globe, the OCL program has helped me gain tangible results in the areas of team building, mentoring, coaching, strategic planning, and change consulting across my organization. With my Master of Arts in OCL, in addition the tremendous personal growth I have achieved, I am now positioned to grow professionally.
Contact Sally
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Charles C. Golden
Undergraduate: Business Administration: Management, Western Michigan University, 2006 & Bachelor of Arts: Africana Studies, Western Michigan University, 2009
Graduate: Master of Arts, Organizational Change Leadership, WMU, 2021
Career Interest: Organizational Development, Leader Development, Consulting, Culture Transformation, Performance and Talent Management
Career Industry: Health CareAbout Me: Currently, I manage a HR Service Center for Spectrum Health Human Resources. Spectrum Health is an integrated West Michigan health system with over 30,000 team members. Prior roles and responsibilities include, Senior HR partner supporting our Post-Acute Services with change management, talent management, strategic initiatives for improving retention as well as transforming services and delivery of services. Senior Organizational Development Specialist, working with a small team of internal consultants with responsibility for our performance management practices and evolution of that practice as well as leading talent management and succession planning efforts with entities within the organization.
I am also certified facilitator of Cultural Intelligence and Unconscious Bias through the Cultural Intelligence Center. Additionally, I am a former facilitator of a cultural transformation program adopted by Spectrum Health a few years ago.
The MAOCL program has provided foundational knowledge in leading change and consulting at individual, team, and organizational levels. This program has also provided relevant experiences for navigating project management and consulting through the capstone seminar which gives students the opportunity to pull together theory in individual, team and organizational psychology and change with real research projects to finish off the program. The coursework and experiences I gained at WMU while pursuing my MAOCL degree were instrumental to my achievements and contributions at Spectrum Health.
Contact Charles
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Asa Davis
Undergraduate: Business Administration: Finance, Western Michigan University
Graduate: Master of Arts, Organizational Change Leadership, Western Michigan University
Career Interest: Helping organizations achieve more through employee engagement and process improvement
Career Industry: FinanceAbout Me: I work as a business analyst at a wealth management firm in Kalamazoo, MI. Much of my work involves project management and helping to coordinate training for our team members. The OCL program helped me understand the human side of organizational change and how important leadership is to change facilitation. The academic rigor of the program reinforced the need to engage in organization change techniques that are grounded in science and research rather than the flavor of the month recommendations from popular pundits. I use the material from the OCL program continually, whether it be analyzing groups, recommending change strategies, or communicating with teammates.
Contact Asa
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Juliana Espinosa
Undergraduate: Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara
Graduate: Master of Arts, Organizational Change Leadership, Western Michigan University | Library and Information Science, San Jose State University
Career Interest:Education
Career Industry:Higher EducationAbout Me: Juliana Espinosa is from Los Angeles and has lived in Boston, New York, Salt Lake City, and Santa Barbara, CA. She now lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan where she serves as the User Engagement Librarian at the Western Michigan University Libraries. Western Michigan University’s organizational change leadership program provided the opportunity to develop critical skills in leading effective change, develop individuals, groups, and organizations, as well as serve as a research-based practitioner in your current and future organizations.
Contact Juliana
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Elizabeth Jennings
Undergraduate: Bachelor of Arts, Communication Studies: Public Relations, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Graduate: Master of Arts, Organizational Change Leadership, Western Michigan University
Career Interest:Organizational Development, Organizational Learning, Project Management, Leadership Development, Group Dynamics, Coaching and Consulting
Career Industry:Higher Education/Non-Profit, Grant Funded ProjectsAbout Me: I am currently the Program Manager for the High Impact Leadership Project at Western Michigan University. This project is a recipient of the Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) Grant Program funded by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). In this role I oversee the Project's internal operations, systems, policies, and procedures. As a young professional, the MAOCL Program provided me with an opportunity to learn both as a practitioner and as a scholar. I was fortunate enough to work alongside Dr. Szabla, Associate Professor for the OCL Program, on a publication for the ROCL Journal that focused on the renowned American Women of Organizational Change. That experience, combined with the engaging coursework, supplemental readings, and countless night classes spent sharing dialogue around key concepts of organizational development and change leadership helped me reach where I am today. I am actively using the knowledge and skills I obtained as a result of this degree, particularly as it pertains to being adaptive, grounding my work in evidence based practices, and managing large complex change initiatives. I am excited to continue growing and learning in this field because I know the demand for change agents will only continue to increase over the years.
Contact Elizabeth
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Ashlie Bustillos
Undergraduate: Bachelor's in Business Administration, Marketing, Baker College of Muskegon
Graduate: Master of Arts, Organizational Change Leadership, Western Michigan University
Career Interest:Supply Chain Professional
Career Industry:Mechanical Sales ManufacturingAbout Me: Currently, I am a Buyer in Supply Chain as well as a Project Lead. The commodities I am responsible for sourcing are non-metallic raw materials as well as indirect tooling. The OCL program has helped me tremendously by giving me the tools, frameworks and concepts that I have utilized to integrate new processes and change initiatives within my organization.
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Shannon Ferguson
Undergraduate: Business Management and Organizational Development, Spring Arbor University
Graduate: Master of Arts, Organizational Change Leadership, Western Michigan University, 2021
Career Interest:Change Management, Communication, Training and Development, Consulting
Career Industry:Consulting, Training, Medical Device ManufacturingAbout Me: Shannon Ferguson is an influential, enthusiastic and positive leader with a passion for people, change management, communication, training and development. She has 20 years of experience in the medical device industry from start-up ventures to large corporate settings, across a wide range of disciplines. WMU’s Organizational Change Leadership program has been a wonderful resource for her, rounding out and enhancing the change management experience she had acquired throughout her career. Shannon resides in Kalamazoo, Michigan and is looking forward to the opportunity to use her knowledge to help organizations successfully implement and sustain change.
Contact Shannon