Joel Harmon, Ph.D; Interim Executive Director, ISE ; Professor of Management, Silberman College of Business, Fairleigh Dickinson University

BA, City College of New York, MS Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute;
PhD, State University of New York at Albany

Dr. Joel Harmon is a Professor of Management in the Silberman College of Business at Fairleigh Dickinson University, a Distinguished Faculty Fellow of its Center for Human Resource Management, and Director of Research for its Institute for Sustainable Enterprise.  During his 24-year academic career, he has served as Department Chair, President of the University Faculty Senate, President of the Eastern Academy of Management, co-leader of the Sustainable Practices Action Research Community workshop series (1997-2007) at the Academy of Management, and founding member of the Academy. Theory-to-Practice Executive Steering Committee. Before joining academia, he held several management positions in industry.

Dr. Harmon earned his doctorate in organization communication and change from the  State University of New York at Albany, and a M.S. degree in environmental policy and planning from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  He specializes in organization strategy and transformation, focusing on linkages between people, learning and sustainability practices, and corporate performance.  He has published widely in a variety of leading academic and practitioner journals (including Health Care Management, Case Research, Human Resource Planning, Cost Management, Group Decision & Negotiation, and Organization Behavior & Human Decision Processes), receiving awards for his papers and case studies.  Most recently, he was Principal Investigator on a four-year action-research project in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs funded by the National Science Foundation.

Jeana Wirtenberg, Ph.D. is co-founder and Senior Advisor, Institute for Sustainable Enterprise (ISE) www.fdu.edu/ise in the Silberman College of Business at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and president of Jeana Wirtenberg & Associates, LLC www.whenitallcomestogether.com.   Her work at the Institute focuses on bringing people together to learn how to develop and lead thriving, sustainable enterprises that are “in and for the world.”  

B.S., The City College of City University of New York;  M.A.,  Ph.D., The University of California at Los Angeles

Jeana is lead editor of The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook:  When It All Comes Together, published in summer 2008 by Greenleaf Publishing and AMACOM. www.TheSustainableEnterpriseFieldbook.net She is a designer and lead author on the worldwide study Creating a Sustainable Future:  A Global Study of Current Trends and Possibilities 2007–2017 sponsored by the American Management Association (AMA, 2007).  She is currently editor of “Transitioning to the Green Economy” an upcoming Special Issue of People & Strategy Journal to be published by the Human Resource PlanningSociety (HRPS) 1Q 2010.

Jeana’s consulting firm focuses on building sustainable enterprises through leadership, culture change, collaboration, and learning.  She recently launched a new business called Transitioning to Green™ www.transitioningtogreen.com to help organizations and individuals successfully transform themselves into the new green economy.

Formerly, she was HR director at Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), where she was responsible for a variety of functions to transform the firm and build organizational capacity. Previously she held positions in AT&T and led research programs in the U.S. federal government at the National Institute of Education and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Jeana serves as articles editor for the organization effectiveness knowledge area for People and Strategy (HR Planning Society’s Journal) www.hrps.org.  Jeana received her Masters and Ph.D. with honors in Psychology at The University of California at Los Angeles. 

Daniel Twomey, DBA;  ISE Director, International Relationships; Director Emeritus,CHRMS; Professor of Management, Silberman College of Business, Fairleigh Dickinson University

BS, MS, State University of New York at Albany; DBA, Kent State University

Professor Twomey is published in the areas of enterprise sustainability, competitiveness, strategy, corporate entrepreneurship, organization design and business-academic relationships in E: CO-Emergence: Complexity and Organization, Competitiveness Review, International Journal of Organizational Analysis, the Academy of Management Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior and the Journal of Small Business Management. Dr. Twomey is a national leader in creating partnerships between business and academia and is Director Emeritus and a co-founder of the Center for Human Resource Management Studies. He is a member of the Board of Directors of LearnShare. Professor Twomey has taught and conducted research at West Virginia University, University of Bradford, England, University College Galway, and Durham University Business School, England.

Rosemarie Twomey, JD;  Professor of Business Law, Silberman College of Business, Fairleigh Dickinson University 

BA, State University of New York at Albany; J.D. West Virginia University College of Law

Professor Twomey specializes in the laws governing human resource management and has published articles in the Northeast Journal of Legal Studies, Business Forum, and Journal of Managerial Psychology. Prior to entering the field of education, Professor Twomey was in the full-time practice of law.

Gerard Farias, Ph.D;  Associate Professor of Management, Silberman College of Business, Fairleigh Dickinson University

B.S., Ness Nadia College of Commerce, India; M.B.A., Xavier Labor Relations Institute, India; M.S., Ph.D., Texas Tech University

Dr. Farias' core areas of expertise are organizational design and change, with specific emphasis on the design of High Performance Work Systems.  He is particularly interested in the application of complexity theory to the organization sciences.  He has published in journals like the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Human Resource Planning Journal and Organizational Development Journal.  He has presented his work at major conferences like the Academy of Management, the Irish Academy of Management and the Eastern and Western Academies of Management.

Gwen Jones, Ph.D; Associate Professor of Management, Silberman College of Business, Fairleigh Dickinson University

BA, Gustavus Adolphus College, BS University of Wisconsin-Madison, MS St. Mary's University, Ph.D., University at Albany, State University of New York

Dr. Jones specializes in change management, management skills, and human resource management. Her research interests include effectiveness of change management strategies, unethical behavior in organizations, and diversity issues. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Human Resource Management Review, and Journal of Business Ethics among others. She has conducted executive training and organizational change consulting in a variety of profit and non-profit organizations.

Kent Fairfield, Ph.D; Assistant Professor of Management, Silberman College of Business, Fairleigh Dickinson University 

Ph.D., M.A., Columbia University; MBA, Harvard Business School

 Formerly a Vice President at the Chase Manhattan Bank, he then founded Kent Fairfield Associates, consulting on teams, leadership development, and change management.  His current research concerns interdependence between employees and managers, between groups, and between organizations.  He emphasizes learning from experience in his teaching, including requiring students to conduct community service projects and carry on mentor relationships with executives. 

Dr. Farias’ area of specialization is Environmental and Natural Resource Economics and Public Finance.  Her research focuses on the economic value of deforestation, energy and  carbon sink markets and  poverty alleviation and sustainability.  She has presented her work at workshops and conferences like the New York Economics Association, Midwest Economics Association and Midsouth Academy of Economics and Finance, Business as an Agent for World Benefit and the Eastern Academy of Management and forthcoming at the American Society for Competitiveness Conference.  She has published her work in conference proceedings, refereed journals as well as contributed towards a book chapter in a volume on Poverty, Poverty Alleviation and Social Disadvantage.   She has initiated and guided the formation of a student Green Club, served as the Green Club’s founding Faculty Advisor and is an active member of the Sustainability Initiative at Fairleigh Dickinson University.  In addition Dr. Farias has received an award for outstanding contribution to campus sustainability from the Campus Provost and will be receiving an award from the Morris County Municipal Authority for her efforts to promote recycling and sustainability in the county.    

Joan Slepian, Ph.D;  Assistant Professor of Management, Silberman College of Business, Fairleigh Dickinson University

B.A., Baldwin-Wallace College;  M.S., Syracuse University, MSW, University at Albany; M.Phil. and Ph.D., Yale University. 

Dr. Slepian is an applied behavioral scientist, academic researcher, teacher, and organizational consultant. She specializes in the application of social science research methods in organizational settings.  Her work crosses sectors and integrates organizational sociology, economics, public policy, political science, adult development, and psychology to study human behavior and organizational change in turbulent economic and social contexts. Her international work includes in-country experience in the U.K., Netherlands, Spain, Hungary, Turkey, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Kenya, and Senegal. 

Bill Russell, M.B.A;  ISE Research Fellow; Founder, SKN Worldwide USA

B.A., University of Maryland; MBA , Rutgers University

Mr. Russell is a leader in advancing sustainable development aligned strategies, management systems, process improvement programs, performance measurement systems and implementing best practice information technology solutions.   

He has worked with a broad range of worldwide clients including small and large corporations; government and intergovernmental organizations; NGOs, non-profits and Universities.  In 2003, he founded SKN Worldwide-USA, Inc. a sustainability consulting and technology services company.  In 2004, he founded the Sustainability Knowledge Network (SKN), a collaborative workspace portal to educate and integrate diverse communities of people and engage stakeholder organizations working to implement whole system collaborative projects and programs that advance sustainability.  Mr. Russell is also currently affiliated with The Center for Environmental and Economic Partnerships (CEEP), a non-profit 501c-3 corporation facilitating public private partnerships.  

Current consulting engagements have focused on implementing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs and Sustainable business strategies, stakeholder assessments and engagement and building social networks to enable whole systems perspectives to decision making. 

Example projects and clients include: Assisting PetroChina to identify, evaluate and select an environmental management information system solution; advising a hedge fund on water related investment strategies, propose fund structures and build a worldwide network for water project development partnerships and global multi-stakeholder water organizations; conducting an organizational assessment and strategy development for E+Co, an energy investment company working to deliver renewable energy solutions to developing countries; and assisting Metropolis development corporation on a truly innovative and sustainable redevelopment proposal for Governor’s Island, New York. 

Mr. Russell is a member of the advisory board of The University of Michigan’s ERB Institute  and a member of the technical advisory board of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors.  He is also a leading member in several professional societies and industry associations. 

Jonathan Cloud, M.A., ISE Entrepreneur in Residence

B.A. (Hons), Victoria University of Wellington, N.Z.; M.A., Sociology, York University, Toronto, Canada

Jonathan Cloud is a lifelong environmentalist, community organizer, and entrepreneur. An early pioneer in passive-solar design and construction in Canada in the 1970s and 80s, as well as an environmental community activist, he received a UN Environment Award in 1985, in recognition of his work in renewable energy, conservation, and appropriate technology.

His career has spanned journalism, politics, invention, housing design and construction, database, software, and Internet development, financial services, networking, nonprofits, network marketing, and sustainable business development.

He has lived in over a dozen countries, spoken several languages, and published articles and translations. His passion, however, is human transformation and empowerment in the broadest sense. He was a longtime volunteer and IFLP Leader with Landmark Education, a university lecturer, a Millionaire Mind graduate, and the founder of a successful local business network in one of the wealthiest areas in the U.S.

His current focus is on developing the ISE's Sustainable Business Incubator, which will assist entrepreneurs with start-up ventures in renewable energy, CO2 reduction, and other environmental technologies, as well as with emerging business models involving carbon trading, sustainability consulting, and sustainable social enterprises. For the latest information on the Incubator, please visit http://sustainablebusinessincubator.com.

Matt Polsky, M.B.A., M.A.; ISE Research Fellow

BA, Rutgers College; MBA, New York University; MA, New York University

Mr. Polsky works on several ISE projects, including the Sustainable Business Incubator.  He is a sustainability change-agent.  He has extensive sustainability and green economy experience, as well as unique cross-sector experience working in government, for environmental groups, business, and as an adjunct professor.  He focuses on helping groups and key individuals understand sustainability more deeply, providing multidisciplinary perspectives, facilitating cross-sectoral communication, and introducing unfamiliar sustainability concepts. 

He was the Sustainability Team Leader at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, led an interagency sustainability work group, and advised sustainability initiatives. He has taught sustainability courses at Cook College, Kean University, Montclair State University, NJIT, and Ramapo College.  He was a marketing manager at AT&T Microelectronics. Currently, he is the Director of the Land Trust, buying and preserving 251 acres of land for the environmental group, the Passaic River Coalition.  He volunteers for many environmental and sustainability groups at all scales, ranging from some in his town (Cranford), the State, to internationally, helping NGOs and students in South Africa, Brazil, and Europe.

He has published in The Seton Hall Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, Greenbiz.com, and occasionally writes op-ed pieces for local and state newspapers; makes presentations on aspects of sustainability; and testifies to state agencies.
 
As a perpetual student, he has a BA in Psychology from Rutgers College, an MBA in Economics and MA in Humanities & Social Thought from NYU, and is pursuing a Certificate from NYU’s Center for Global Affairs.  He has taken additional courses with some of the giants of the sustainability field.  He was named a Finalist as “Green Executive of the Year” by NJBiz Magazine.