Susan R. Madsen papers, 2000-2019

Dr. Susan R. Madsen is the Orin R. Woodbury Professor of Leadership and Ethics in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University, where she has taught since 2002. She is also a Visiting Fellow of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb (Croatia) and a Fellow of The Leadership Trust Foundation in Ross-on-Wye, England. Dr. Madsen has been heavily involved for much of her career in researching the lifetime development of prominent women leaders. She has personally interviewed a host of women university presidents, U.S. governors, and international leaders, as well as studying many aspects of women and leadership more broadly. Susan has conducted related research in the U.S., the six Arab Gulf countries, China, and Eastern Europe.

Overall, Susan has authored or edited six books and has published nearly 200 articles, chapters, and reports. She is a globally recognized speaker in local, national, and international settings. For example, she has presented at United Nations NGO sessions, The New York Times, the Argentina Parliament Palace, the House of Commons in England, and in many countries around the world. Susan is the founder of numerous successful networks, including the International Leadership Association's (ILA) Women and Leadership Affinity Group, and she serves on many nonprofit, community, and association boards and committees. She has received numerous awards for her teaching, research, and service. She is the lead editor of the Women and Leadership Book Series and co-edited the first three volumes. More about her national and global work can be found on her speaking website: Madsen Global Leadership.

Dr. Madsen is a leadership and change consultant and loves to teach, research, and write. She also enjoys her involvement in various service assignments and activities within Utah as well. She founded the Utah Women and Education Project in 2009 and continues to work with key Utah stakeholders on related efforts as the Director of the Utah Women & Education Intiatitive. In August of 2013, she founded the Utah Women & Leadership Project that she continues to direct today. These efforts have led social change in the state for advancing girls and women in Utah. She received her doctorate from the University of Minnesota in human resource development. She earned a master's degree in exercise science/wellness from Portland State University and a bachelor's from Brigham Young University in Speech Communication Education. She started her career many years ago as a junior high speech and debate teacher. Susan and her husband (Greg) are the proud parents of four young adult children (Mike, Brian, Staci, and Scott) and one amazing 2-year-old grandson.

This biography is a reprint from her professional page at Utah Valley University, and is used courtesy of Utah Valley University.