A SCHOLAR-PRACTITIONER JOURNEY

My career spans higher education, business leadership, and human capital strategy, allowing me to connect academic ideas with the demands of organizational practice.

My academic foundation is interdisciplinary. I earned a Doctor of Business Administration in Business Administration and Management, a Master of Arts in Human Resources Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Financial Banking. Together, these disciplines inform how I examine the relationships among people, financial decisions, strategy, and organizational systems.

My education and career have extended across the United States, United Kingdom, Jordan, and Bahrain. These experiences have deepened my understanding of how culture, communication, and institutional context shape leadership, learning, and organizational effectiveness. They have also strengthened my appreciation for the different perspectives people bring to academic and professional settings.

My professional experience includes district- and territory-level business leadership, organizational turnaround, performance improvement, and support for underserved and immigrant-owned businesses. These responsibilities have required attention to both strategic priorities and the daily realities of staffing, resources, customer needs, and execution.

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WHAT I DO

As an Assistant Professor and Doctoral Dissertation Chair, I teach business courses and work closely with doctoral students as they develop their research. I help students examine business problems, evaluate evidence, and explain the reasoning behind their conclusions. In doctoral mentoring, I guide candidates in developing research that is methodologically sound and makes a clear contribution to knowledge and professional practice.

I am also Founder and CEO of CleverXEL, a business solutions company providing outsourcing, implementation, operational support, and advisory services across people, operations, data, and technology. My work includes developing workforce systems, establishing HR policies and procedures, addressing compliance requirements, strengthening performance management, and improving operational efficiency through process improvement, analytics, and appropriate uses of automation and AI.

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AREAS OF FOCUS

My work focuses on human capital strategy, workforce planning, leadership, and organizational change, with particular attention to emotional intelligence and coaching. I am interested in how leaders develop people, manage workplace relationships, and guide teams through changing expectations and organizational demands.

A related area of focus is the organizational infrastructure that supports people and performance: HR systems, policy governance, compliance, and operational processes. I examine how these elements establish clear responsibilities, support consistent decisions, and connect workforce needs with organizational priorities.

My interests also include business intelligence, people analytics, and the responsible application of artificial intelligence. I am particularly interested in how organizations assess the value of these technologies, interpret the information they produce, and maintain human judgment and accountability in their use.

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MY PERSPECTIVE

I view academic knowledge and professional experience as complementary sources of understanding. Research helps explain patterns and test assumptions; experience brings attention to the conditions under which ideas must be applied.

A sound idea does not operate in isolation. An organization’s culture, resources, policies, and people influence what is possible. An approach that succeeds in one setting may require substantial adaptation in another. This attention to context shapes how I understand organizational performance and the relationship between scholarship and practice.

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MY APPROACH

I begin by clarifying the problem, examining the available evidence, and listening to the people affected. I distinguish between symptoms and underlying causes and consider whether the evidence supports the way a problem has been framed.

Whether I am working with students, doctoral researchers, or organizations, I question assumptions, evaluate alternatives, and explain the reasoning behind a recommendation. I consider its ethical implications, the resources needed to carry it out, and how its effectiveness can be assessed.

I approach improvement as an ongoing responsibility. That means following through, learning from outcomes, and revising decisions when new evidence warrants a different course.