Joel Harmon, Ph.D; Executive Director, Institute for Sustainable Enterprise;Co-founder of ISE and 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, the Executive Director of its Institute for Sustainable Enterprise, and a Distinguished Faculty Fellow of its Center for Human Resource Management.  During his 25-year academic career, he has served in numerous leadership positions for the University and for professional associations.  Before joining academia, he held several management positions in industry. 

Dr. Harmon earned his master’s in environmental sciences from Rensselaer Polytechnic University and his doctorate in organization strategy from the State University of New York at Albany.  He specializes in organization strategy and transformation, focusing on linkages between people, learning practices, sustainability and business performance.  He has carried out major research and consulting projects with such organizations as AT&T, Honeywell, Ingersoll-Rand, Ricoh, Roche Pharmaceuticals, Toyota-Raymond, and the US Department of Veterans affairs.  He has secured funding for his projects from the Alcoa, First Energy, Geraldine R. Dodge, Kessler, PSEG, Robert Wood Johnson, and National Science Foundations.  He has published widely in a variety of leading academic and practitioner journals (including Health Care Management, People and Strategy, Case Research, Human Resource Planning, Cost Management, Group Decision & Negotiation, and Organization Behavior & Human Decision Processes), receiving awards for his papers and case studies.

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, Kent Fairfield 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. 

Jeana Wirtenberg, Ph.D;  Co-founder and Senior Advisor, Institute for Sustainable Enterprise (ISE) www.fdu.edu/ise 

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

She is editor of “Transitioning to the Green Economy” a Special Issue of People & Strategy Journal 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 www.whenitallcomestogether.com.  She also writes a weekly newsletter on Sustainability for the Wall St. Journal.

Jeana is lead editor of The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook:  When It All Comes Together, published in 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). 

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. 

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. 

Matt Polsky, M.B.A., M.A.; ISE Senior Fellow for Sustainability Innovation & Multidisciplinary Thought

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.

Bill Russell, M.B.A;  ISE Research Fellow

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 works with a broad range of worldwide clients including small and large corporations; government and intergovernmental organizations; NGOs, non-profits and Universities. 

Bill is a Principal of Transitioning to Green, LLC (TTG), whose mission is to help companies and individuals identify business and career opportunities that are emerging in conjunction with a new Green Economy. TTG responsibilities include leading its Sustainability Assessment and Consulting Services and administering its membership and LinkedIn social media communities including its network of affiliated sector and function specific Green Business practitioner leaders. He also serves as a Green Career Coach for the TTG, ISE and FDU’s Petrocelli College Green Career Certification and Job Development Program which is a New Jersey State DOL’s Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) service (http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=7795) for unemployed workers.  

Bill is also a Managing Director of SustainEdge, helping that St. Louis-based company transition its business from general project management services to its current focus on holistic Sustainability Program Management and helping companies journey towards sustainability while maintaining and enhancing profits.

Bill is co-author of The Sustainable Enterprise Fieldbook, published by Greenleaf Publishing and previously served as the US environmental practice leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is an adjunct professor at FDU and in conjunction with ISE is advising communities on how to become more sustainable, including serving as Chairman of the Green Team for Leonia, New Jersey.

Robert Benjamin, M.A; ISE Fellow; Founder, Sustainable Hamilton

Mr. Benjamin is a writer, consultant, and business coach.

B.A., Queens College, City University of New York; M.A. New School for Social Research; Certificate in Managing Technological Change, Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Rob Benjamin has performed and led business and technology improvement projects for over 30 years, as a consultant, team leader, practice director, and independent professional.  Certified by ISACA (formerly the Information Systems Audit and Control Association) in Governance of Enterprise Information Technology Mr. Benjamin specializes in business and technology governance, and related functions.

As a business and technology consultant and practice leader, he has experience in several industries, where he

• developed and improved control process frameworks
• performed strategic audits and problem-solving projects
• planned and led strategic quality and risk management projects

He has also been an environmental activist since 1968, organizing and supporting community groups, writing and editing newsletters and articles, and developing the first release of the Municipal Climate Action Plan for Hamilton Township, New Jersey.  He is a member of the Hamilton Township Environmental Commission and participating in redevelopment of the Hamilton Master Plan.  In 2009, he founded Sustainable Hamilton and works with other Sustainable Community organizations in Central New Jersey on inter-local sustainability planning initiatives.

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.

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. 

Daniel Twomey, DBA;  Director Emeritus, ISE, and Retired ISE Director of 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;  Retired 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.