Julie Benesh

Julie Benesh, PhD, MFA, serves as Associate Professor and Department Chair at The Chicago School's Online campus, leading the IO/Business Psychology, Organization Leadership, and Behavioral Economics department. With over 20 years of cross-industry consulting experience and a decade directing Organizational Development at an academic medical center, she specializes in culture change, talent development, and infrastructure transformation.

Her educational credentials include:

• PhD in Human and Organizational Systems, Fielding Graduate University
• MA in Human and Organizational Systems, Fielding Graduate University
• MFA in Creative Writing-Fiction, Warren Wilson College
• MS in Management & Organizational Behavior, Benedictine University
• BA in English, Washington University

Dr. Benesh's research examines authentic leadership in virtual environments, ethical decision-making, and behavioral economics applications in organizational development. She integrates design thinking into transformative learning frameworks and investigates synergies between online, adult, and workplace education systems. Her work addresses critical challenges in employee motivation, introversion in extraverted teams, and virtual-friendly organizational mindsets.

As Program Chair for ODN/C (Chicago Regional Organizational Development Network), she actively shapes professional discourse through presentations at International Leadership Association (ILA), Academy of Management (AOM), and OD Network (ODN) conferences. Her advising philosophy emphasizes transformational growth, urging students to 'be open to transformation!' while developing competencies in employee development, leadership assessment, and performance management.