Rebecca Borders

Background

Rebecca Borders holds a Master of Business Administration with a focus on data analytics and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Livingstone College. Her professional journey spans more than a decade in higher education, human resources, and compensation strategy, where she has developed a deep understanding of organizational behavior, workplace equity, and performance management. These experiences have fueled her passion for advancing equitable compensation practices and driving organizational effectiveness through data-informed HR leadership.

Currently, Borders serves as a compensation analyst at North Carolina A&T State University, where she leads the analysis and implementation of classification and compensation programs to ensure internal equity, market competitiveness, and compliance. In this role, she collaborates with university leadership to design strategic pay structures, support talent acquisition, and enhance employee retention. Her work bridges policy, analytics, and people-centered strategy, reinforcing her commitment to ethical leadership and inclusive practices.

In addition to her professional work, Borders is the founder of We Thrives, a platform dedicated to empowerment, holistic health, and career development. She also supports the operations of How Is Your Heart?, a health-focused initiative that promotes physical wellness through CPR training and educational workshops. These ventures reflect her personal mission to uplift others by promoting both well-being and professional growth.

Borders chose to pursue the Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) at UNC Charlotte to merge research with real-world application, particularly in the areas of strategic HR management and organizational culture. The program’s emphasis on practitioner-based scholarship and its collaborative learning environment align with her goals to become a transformative leader and scholar. She is eager to contribute to research that shapes more equitable and human-centered organizations—where both people and performance thrive.

Research Interest

Borders’ research interests focus on how entrepreneurial mindsets can be leveraged as tools for educational advocacy and community empowerment. Specifically, she aims to examine how principles such as innovation, resilience, and opportunity recognition can be cultivated within underserved communities to drive systemic change in education and economic development. By exploring the intersection of entrepreneurship, social impact, and leadership through an applied research lens, she hopes to generate insights that help educators, community leaders, and policymakers create sustainable models of empowerment that foster growth, self-efficacy, and long-term community resilience.