Lauren Xavier Edwards

Background

Lauren Xavier has attained two graduate degrees: an MBA with a concentration in management and a Master of Arts in industrial and organizational psychology, both from UNC Charlotte. She completed both of these degrees while continuing her full-time career, which spanned both the public and private sectors.

Lauren began her career as a high school teacher in Charlotte. She utilized this background to pivot into instructional design and later corporate human resources. For the better part of the last decade, Lauren has worked for three Fortune 50 companies in internal consultant roles as a people, talent and executive business partner. She currently serves as a chief of staff for a mobile app engineering organization at Ford Motor Company. Lauren is a current member of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and is looking forward to furthering the intersections between her academic and professional identities in the coming years.

When she’s not working or studying, Lauren spends time attending live theatre (Broadway, opera, symphony, ballet—you name it!). She’s also a cardio enthusiast, currently training for her second marathon and trying to survive the Southern heat.

Research Interest

Through a culmination of her academic and professional experiences, Lauren has developed a keen research interest in the development of rising female executives, particularly in multinational enterprises. This interest arose from a background in executive coaching and human capital strategy, as well as a passion for supporting the development of underrepresented groups in key decision-making roles. In particular, she is looking to better understand the implications of male sponsorship on female development in top-level roles in matrixed organizations. Additional research interests include workaholism, work centrality and identity in business.