DBA

Background In 2017, after more than 25 years leading and growing sales teams in the technology industry, James Fyles “retired” to begin a second career in academia. He currently serves on the faculty at Appalachian State University as the executive in residence within the department of marketing & supply chain management. From 2017 – 2020, James […]

Background Richard Gerdts’s academic and work history are a mix of engineering and business.  Most of his formal education is technical, including a B.S. in Computer Engineering and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University, and an M.S. in Computer Engineering from NC State University.  Richard used that knowledge to work in the […]

Background Hussein is the Chief Information Officer for Purdue Pharma L.P. In his role, Hussein leads the Information Technology and Information Security functions for the organization and its U.S. subsidiaries. Before moving to the U.S., Hussein assumed multiple leadership roles internationally. In addition to his experience in managing multiple complex information technology transformations in pharmaceutical, […]

Background Nicole Elliott Godlock is a Senior Project Delivery Leader in the Healthcare and Life Sciences division of Pegasystems. She obtained a Master of Science in Health Informatics from UNC Charlotte and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Emory University. As a Senior Project Delivery Leader, she is responsible for managing software implementations and […]

Background John A. Gory has over 30 years of military experience and skills across the spectrum. His experience spans an extensive wealth of knowledge, skills, and abilities in the management and leadership capacity. Dr. Gory’s passion to teach coach, train, mentor and develop others is what drove his interest in the doctoral field of study at the UNC Charlotte Belk […]

Background Melissa Graham is the Chief Financial Officer for a not-for-profit in Greenville, SC. Prior to her current role, the bulk of her career has been in finance and management. She had served as CFO in different business sectors, including higher education. She also worked for a not-for-profit for eight years consulting in areas of […]

Background Valrie Grant is a serial entrepreneur and geospatial strategy and business development consultant. She is best known for her work in the geospatial community and for her company GeoTechVision, a knowledge services company she built into an internationally reliable and quality provider of a range of customized services and data-driven solutions for governments, NGOs […]

Background Wesley is a native of Petersburg, VA, where he enlisted in the United States Navy following graduation from Petersburg High School. In 1994, he graduated with honors from Morehouse College where he studied economics and was awarded the Secretary of the Navy Distinguished Graduate award. Wesley received his MBA at the University of Georgia […]

Background Joumana Haidar, MBA, is the deputy director and the implementation science lead for the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health. Joumana has been working at UNC for fifteen years and has exclusively focused on […]

Background Melissa Hall is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Melissa graduated from Pfeiffer University with a Master of Business Administration in 2017. She currently serves as the Chief Operations Officer/Executive Vice President for Monarch, a behavioral healthcare organization. Monarch serves over 30,000 adults and children who […]