Dean Nancy Coleman

Dean Coleman is a leader in professional and continuing education, focusing on place-based as well as online learning technologies and innovations that improve access to and quality of programs. She is dedicated to extending opportunities to learners of all ages and backgrounds.

She holds a doctorate in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University and an MBA from Boston University Questrom School of Management. She is past president of the University Professional Continuing Education Association and has held senior roles in corporate and higher education, including associate provost and founding director of strategic growth initiatives at Wellesley College, VP of academic services at Keypath Education, and director of distance education at Boston University.
 

Education:

• Ed.D. in Human and Organizational Learning, George Washington University
• M.B.A., Questrom School of Business, Boston University
• B.S. in Marketing, Stonehill College
   

Leslie John

Leslie John is a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Currently, she teaches on the topics of Negotiation, Marketing and Behavioral Economics in various Executive Education courses, including in the Program for Leadership Development. She has also taught extensively in both the required and elective MBA curricula.

Professor John is a behavioral scientist who studies how people make decisions, and the wisdom or error of those decisions. In her primary line of research, Dr. John studies privacy decision-making, identifying what drives people to share or withhold personal information, as well as their reactions to firms’ and employers’ use of their personal data. In another line of research, Dr. John studies health decision-making, devising psychologically-informed interventions to help people make healthier choices.

Her work has been published in leading academic journals including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Psychological Science, Management Science, The Journal of Marketing Research, and the Journal of the American Medical Association. It has received media coverage in outlets including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Time Magazine. She has received numerous awards, including from the Association for Psychological Science and the Marketing Science Institute; and was named a Wired Innovation Fellow.

Professor John gives keynote talks and consults for a variety of companies and organizations. Past clients include: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Genzyme, Glaxo Smith Kline, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Mars, Pepsico, Weight Watchers. She also provides expert testimony on issues of consumer behavior, privacy, and disclosure.

Professor John holds a Ph.D. in behavioral decision research from Carnegie Mellon University, where she also earned an M.Sc. in psychology and behavioral decision research. She completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Waterloo.
 

Vikram Patel

Vikram Patel is the Paul Farmer Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and holds honorary Professorships at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the Public Health Foundation of India. He co-leads the Mental Health for All lab and GlobalMentalHealth@Harvard initiative, and his research focuses on the global burden of mental health problems, their links to social disadvantage, and community-based solutions. He co-founded Sangath, an Indian NGO recognized with international awards, and several global mental health networks. A Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and member of the US National Academy of Medicine, Patel has served on India’s first National Mental Health Policy committee, co-led two Lancet Commissions on mental health, and received major honors including the Rhodes Scholarship, Sarnat Prize, Pardes Humanitarian Prize, an Honorary OBE, and the Canada Gairdner Award. He holds multiple Honorary Doctorates and was named to TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in 2015.
 

Todd Rogers PhD '08

Todd Rogers is the Weatherhead Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. He designs, evaluates, and scales innovations that help people thrive, make organizations more effective, and strengthen society.  This work leads to peer-reviewed research, new governmental policies, large-scale partnerships, and social enterprise startups.

His current work strengthens social connection by harnessing sports fandom (e.g., Why All American Should be Football Fans).  To support this research program, he founded and lead the Harvard Fandom and Social Connection Initiative.

His previous research reduced student absenteeism by engaging families (e.g., 3 Things You Need to Know About Chronic Absenteeism and Attendance Is a Family Affair), and improved communication by making reading easier for skimmers (e.g., Writing for Busy Readers and It's Time to Streamline How We Communicate at Work.)