Born and raised in North Carolina, Adrienne Utz graduated with a dual international master’s degree in December 2017. Her first degree is from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a Master of Business Administration and her second degree is from the University of Valencia in Spain with a Master of International Business Management. During this time she completed research and a master thesis, The Effectiveness of Social Media Communication in the Formation of Consumer Perception of Brands. Adrienne completed a Post Bachelor's Business Foundations Certificate from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2016, which allowed her to focus on core business skills and gain the knowledge necessary to understand the structure and operations of contemporary organizations. Adrienne graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in December 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. During her undergraduate years, she held numerous leadership positions where she was President, Vice President and Head of Community Service. She was selected by her school to be a representative as a People to People Student Ambassador of The United States to France, Italy and Spain and during her undergraduate studies was a program assistant for the same ambassador program.
Currently, Adrienne works as a Human Resources Specialist for the Department of Defense. Her goal in obtaining the doctorate degree is to serve as a catalyst in the public sector, in particular the Department of Defense. Through this doctorate program, she can accomplish and offer solutions to problems that could have a positive impact in serving the military, her community and the country.
Adrienne chose UNC Charlotte because, being an alumna of UNC Wilmington and UNC Greensboro, she knows that UNC Charlotte is a school of academic excellence, a leader DBA in the Carolinas and she would like to continue to be a part of the UNC system. Some of her interests include reading, yoga, golf, travel and spending time with family and friends.
Adrienne is interested in the public sector leaders’ strategies to improve employee retention. In particular, factors influencing the retention of employees in the public sector and employee turnover rate.