Administrative
ManagementImmersion Program

Andrew Quagliata is a Senior Lecturer in Management Communication at Cornell University’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration. Dr. Quagliata teaches courses in business writing, persuasive communication, entrepreneurial communication, and real estate communication. He engages with industry by speaking and delivering workshops on topics related to interpersonal communication, presentation skills, workplace writing, relationship building, storytelling, and influence. Professor Quagliata holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from the University at Buffalo. Prior to his arrival at Cornell, he held professional positions in finance and higher education.

Michelle M. Duguid is Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and an associate professor of management and organizations at the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University. Professor Duguid’s primary area of research investigates the interplay of social status, power, politics, influence, and diversity in organizations, with a particular focus on the effect of social status, power, and inter- and intra-group relations on perceptions and interactions. She also performs research examining individual and group processes that affect creativity and the quality of decision making. Professor Duguid serves on the editorial board of Organization Science, the Academy of Management Journal, the Academy of Management Review, and Personnel Psychology. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Cornell University. 

Dr. Theomary Karamanis is a multiple-award-winning communication professor and consultant with 25 years of global experience. She is a full-time Senior Lecturer of Management Communication at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and regularly delivers executive education programs in leadership communication, crisis communication, and strategic communication. Dr. Karamanis has held several professional leadership positions, including Chair of the Global Communication Certification Council, Chair of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Academy, and Chair of the IABC Awards Committee.

Dr. Karamanis’s academic background includes a Ph.D. in Communication Studies, a Master of Arts in Mass Communication, and a post-graduate certificate in telecommunications, all from Northwestern University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the Athens University of Economics and Business. She also holds professional certifications as a Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP), online facilitator, and executive program instructor.

Dr. Karamanis has been actively engaged in various industries (private, nonprofit, and government) and fields of expertise, including corporate communication, media and PR, higher education administration and teaching, and consulting. She has lived and worked in Canada, Greece, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America.

Dr. Karamanis is the recipient of 40 professional communication awards, including 12 Platinum MarCom awards, seven Gold Quill awards, four Silver Quill awards, and a Comm Prix award. In 2020, she received the Award for Excellence in Communication Consulting by the Association of Professional Communication Consultants and the Association for Business Communication. Dr. Karamanis is the author of several books and academic papers on communication and regularly delivers presentations at international conferences and other business forums.

Bradford S. Bell is the William J. Conaty Professor of Strategic Human Resources and Director of the Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) in the ILR School at Cornell University. He received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Michigan State University. Professor Bell’s research and teaching interests include talent management, team development and effectiveness, and virtual work. He is a former editor of Personnel Psychology and a fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and the American Psychological Association (APA).

Stephen Sauer’s research and teaching activities focus on issues of leadership, team processes, entrepreneurship, and status and diversity in management. His work has been published in a number of academic journals including Leadership Quarterly, Organization Science, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Human Resource Management. His research has also been featured in a variety of mainstream media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Forbes.com, and USA Today, among others.

His teaching experience includes courses in Leadership, Strategy, Negotiations, and Organizational Behavior at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and he has extensive experience leading executive education workshops and seminars for a number of major corporations. He is also an Entrepreneur in Residence at Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement and Rev: Ithaca Startup Works and is a member of the teaching team for the NSF Innovation Corps national program.

Dr. Sauer graduated with a PhD in Management and Organizational Behavior from Cornell University, where he also earned an MBA and a Master’s in Business and Policy Administration. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Prior to embarking on an academic career, he worked as an organizational change consultant and as a plant manager, after serving for seven years as an armored cavalry officer in the US Army.

Kathy is a consultant and executive leadership coach whose goal is to help leaders discover their purpose, passion, and personal mission by allowing them the space and freedom to explore new possibilities for their life and work, and align their behaviors, actions, and interactions to their vision. At Cornell, Kathy has increasingly held senior leadership roles, starting as a staff writer/marketing specialist and then executive assistant to a vice president to becoming an AVP. Armed with first-hand knowledge of the often-rigorous expectations for leadership success, Kathy inspires people to understand what has meaning to them so that they can keep that front and center throughout their leadership journey and use their awareness to transform themselves and their organizations. In Kathy’s current role as AVP for Organizational Development and Effectiveness at Cornell, she leads a team that provides consulting, coaching, and training across Cornell’s campuses. In addition, she enjoys working with private industry and non-profits. Her goal is to work with leaders to create individual and organizational excellence which leads them, and their teams, to more effectively and efficiently accomplish the mission and goals of the organization, and experience more enjoyment while doing so. Kathy holds a Master’s and Ph.D. from Cornell University in educational psychology with an emphasis in organizational behavior. She completed her undergraduate education at Iowa State University majoring in agricultural education and journalism.

Laura Syer assumed the position of Vice President for Budget and Planning at Cornell University in August 2021 reporting jointly to the Provost and to the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. She serves as the senior administrator responsible for managing Cornell’s resources and the annual budgeting process. Syer provides leadership in applying university resources to meet Cornell’s institutional priorities and academic programming needs through financial and capital planning processes, administrative and academic reviews, and by providing information and research to support decision making and strategic planning. Her specific areas of responsibility also include institutional research and planning, operating and capital budget development, and space use planning.

Laura joined the Cornell community in 2012, where in her most recent role prior to the Division of Planning and Budget, she held the position of Associate Dean for Finance and Administration at the SC Johnson College of Business. For 6+ years, Syer provided leadership to the College’s administrative units in Finance, Human Resources, IT, Facilities, and Academic Support while supporting the academic mission of the School. In her role on the College Leadership Team, she also supported the organizations long range planning efforts for the College under the direction of the Dean. Syer held a prior management role in the Division of Budget and Planning at Cornell.

In addition to her primary role at Cornell, Laura serves on three boards supporting the local and regional communities, Cornell University Veterinary Specialists, The Friends of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Arnot Realty Corporation.

Before Cornell, she worked in International Finance at ESPN under the Walt Disney Company where, in her last management role, she was responsible for financial reporting for ESPN entities in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Deportes TV Network.

Syer holds a BA from Ohio University, an MS from Canisius College, an MBA from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and an MS from INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France)

Laura Georgianna is a senior lecturer in Management and Organizations, executive director of Leadership Programs and the director of the Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows program at Johnson. Through these roles, Laura oversees the articulation of Johnson’s perspective on leadership and our strategy for building the leadership capability of each student within our MBA community. She teaches a wide variety of our leadership development experiences for students and used her training as an executive coach to provide one on one support to students throughout the MBA development journey.

Laura has spent her career working with leaders and their organizations to empower them to deliver results, grow the business, and achieve long-term goals. Most recently, she worked for Cornell’s ILR school designing and teaching programs in intrapreneurial leadership for companies around the globe.

Before Cornell, Laura was senior director, organization capability and development at Welch Allyn, Inc., where she led talent management, leadership development, performance management, and organizational development for the firm. Prior to that, she held roles in executive education, transformational change, and organizational development at Merck & Co. Inc. She also spent a number of years with Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters) in Account Services leadership roles.

Laura received an MBA with distinction from Johnson, where she was a Roy H. Park Leadership Fellow, and an MILR from Cornell’s ILR School. She holds a BA from the University of Rochester, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.

Wendy Tarlow leads the Ithaca office’s employment practice, advising university clients on all aspects of employment matters and representing the University in employment, civil rights, and other matters before administrative agencies. Wendy also handles a range of other legal matters, including athletics, affirmative action, disability law, Title IX, and faculty affairs. Wendy received her undergraduate degree in philosophy from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and her J.D. from Cornell University Law School.

Professor Dana Radcliffe is the Day Family Senior Lecturer in Business Ethics and senior lecturer in management at the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management. Professor Radcliffe, who has been at Johnson since 2000, teaches classes in business ethics and corporate culture. He also holds adjunct faculty appointments at Syracuse University, teaching ethics courses in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and the College of Engineering and Computer Science. He is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and he has blogged for the Huffington Post on ethical issues in business, politics, and public policy. Previously, he worked in strategic real estate consulting for Deloitte & Touche in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Professor Radcliffe earned a PhD in philosophy from Syracuse University, an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, an MPhil in philosophy from Yale University, and a BA in philosophy from Fort Hays State University.