Staff

...has focused on holistic faculty support, mentoring, training, and authentic development. She has extensive expertise in student support resource development, academic operations, and student services. Dr. Blake’s teaching experience includes undergraduate student success and critical thinking courses and facilitating workshops along with new student orientations. Dr. Blake also enjoys empowering learners when teaching doctoral-level leadership and research classes while serving on dissertation committees. Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s in Psychology, a Master’s in Education focusing on Adult Distance Education as well as Curriculum and Instruction, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration. Her research interests include faculty/student connectedness, leadership, learner-centeredness, and belongingness as a Fellow for the Center for Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Research (CWDIR).

...experienced researcher and doctoral educator for over 40 years.  Her research has been focused on HIV/AIDS with studies completed in 5 African countries, Honduras, Finland, and in the US.  Her latest study was compassion and empathy in nursing students in Finland.  Dr. Taliaferro has had 18 research studies that were funded from NIH, NIMR and different foundations.  Her academic career has provided her an endowed professorship, tenured professor, and associate dean of research in face-to-face universities.  Dr. Taliaferro is past president of the International Association for Human Caring and has published articles in various journals with colleagues and with students.  She has consulted in curriculum, comprehensive exams for PhD programs, leadership development, and has taught online with UOPX for over 18 years.

...Doctoral Studies in 2009 and is the Doctoral Area Chair for the ACCESS program and Panel Validators. 

Dr. Hill earned her PhD in educational leadership, administration, and foundations from Indiana State University, a Masters in secondary administration and a BA in teacher education with licensure in elementary and middle school from Oakland City University, Oakland City, IN. Marty’s first educational achievement was a degree in Commercial and Industrial Photography.

Marty’s research interests are varied and include leadership in an on-line environment, adult learning and pedagogy, and on-line curriculum and implementation in the beginning stages of the doctoral experience. 

Marty’s professional experiences include the directorship of a master’s in education program, teaching master’s and undergraduate educational courses, master’s theses and doctoral dissertation chair, teacher licensing agent for the state of Indiana, coordinator for an off-campus at-risk program for middle school and high school students as well as teaching in K-12 and post-secondary institutions both face-to-face and online.

...Business Programs. He has been with the University of Phoenix since August, 2007 in a variety of roles and have been with the College of Doctoral Studies since September, 2015. He has 4 beautiful grandchildren that he loves to spoil and spend time with. Every day as he works with doctoral students his goal is to support their development into scholar, practitioner, and leaders, seeking to empower their creative action that will make a difference in their lives and in their communities. One of the goals of our Doctor of Management program is to produce competent, confident, and skilled thought leaders employing critical thinking to make a difference. Dr. Huffman's research interests are in Leadership and how leadership is conducted.  He enjoys doing research on the Four Pillars of Leadership (Honesty, Integrity, Humility with Self-Discipline, and Trust) and how the Four Pillars of Leadership affect 21st Century Leadership.

...researcher with over 4,800 peer-reviewed citations. She is deeply passionate about educational research and has extensive experience as a research methodologist and instructional designer. She is dedicated to mentoring doctoral students and supporting faculty members in their research and publications in the field of education. Dr. Kebritchi is the founder and chair of the Center for Educational and Instructional Technology Research at the College of Doctoral Studies, University of Phoenix. Additionally, she leads workshops such as the Dissertation to Publication and the Research to Publication, the Research Methodology Group, and the Alumni Research and Support Group. She has been a guest editor for the Phoenix Scholar Special Editions on Adult Learners in Online Higher Education and Reshaping Education through Innovation.

Dr. Kebritchi is passionate about finding new and creative methods to enhance the quality of education in different settings, whether K-12, higher education, or corporate environments, both online and in-person. Her recent work focuses on a variety of topics, including exploring the contributing factors for the success of online doctoral students, the implication of using artificial intelligence in education, motivating faculty in online higher education, cultivating grit in students, enhancing critical thinking skills through Decision-Based learning, and issues and challenges of teaching successful online courses. She also investigated learning analytics methods, benefits, and challenges in higher education, a conceptual framework for evaluating higher education institutions, preferred teaching methods in online courses from learners’ views, and the impact of computer games on students' achievement and motivation. She has shared her research with international audiences through publishing in journals and presenting at conferences. Dr. Kebritchi earned her Ph.D. in Education, Instructional Technology from the University of Central Florida and her Master of Arts degree in Education, Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Specializing in Computer Applications from the University of Toronto.  The complete list of Dr. Kebritchi’s publications can be viewed at her Google Scholar site.

... Strategy, Innovation and Development for the College of Doctoral Studies. He is also the Chair for the Center for Leadership Studies and Organizational Research. He has worked for the University of Phoenix for over 20 years in various leadership roles. He also maintains a private practice as a licensed professional counselor with his own private practice called Inspirethought LLC. In addition to these roles, he also serves as the lead contact and approver for the Committee on Research [COR], and lead designer for the Phoenix Scholar research periodical. Dr Luster holds a Master of Science degree in Psychology and Sociology from Our Lady of the Lake University, a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology and Human Science from Capella University, and conducted his residency in counseling at John Hopkins University.

Rodney is a published researcher working with a variety of publishers from IGI Global Press, Routledge Press, Journal for Leadership Studies, and Emerald. Some recent works include the Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Organizational Resilience During Unprecedented Times [chptr] The Rise of the Stress Arc: Managing Rapid Onset of Change (ROC) and VUCA Phenomena Through Efficacious Strategy, [chptr] The Cohesive Factor in Building Resilience and Team Dynamism in a Turbulent Era: Team Motivation and the Organizationally Resilient, and the Journal for Leadership Studies Relational Leadership Perspectives of Key Constructs on Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Equity in Higher Education. He has also written for social media with pieces that include, "The Psychiatric Times" — First Responders and Mental Health: When Heroes Need Rescuing, "Giddy Magazine" Are We in the Middle of a Mental Health Crisis? and "Everyday Health Magazine" What Is a Healthy Relationship With Work?  He also maintains his own blog for Psychology Today Magazine. Dr. Luster is an active national presenter and conference speaker and has presented at the [APA] American Psychological Association's National Conference and the International Leadership Association's [ILA] conference regularly. He is frequently interviewed as an SME on a variety of topics such as KPI Institute's SERO Boost Podcast on the topic of Happiness and Hope.

...in diversity management and strategic planning in business, government and higher education. She serves as the University Research Chair for the Center for Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Research at UOPX. As a highly recognized thought leader and consultant, Dr. Underwood’s research agenda includes numerous publications, conference presentations, and speaking events including topics surrounding organizational diversity socialization processes, generational research, fostering organizational belonging, building inclusive leadership, diversifying STEM fields, research methods, and diversity management strategies. She has also received numerous awards for teaching and research excellence throughout her academic career, including the UPCEA Research and Scholarship Award and Georgetown University’s Tropaia Outstanding Faculty Award.

Dr. Underwood earned her Ph.D. in Educational Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago, Executive Certificate in Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Management from Georgetown University, and certificates in Diversity and Inclusion for Human Resources, Conflict Resolution, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Building a Diverse Workforce from Cornell University.