DBA 9 Candidates

Noor Ashouri

Noor has spent the past 10 years in marketing, recruitment, and business development for one of Northeast Florida’s largest cardiovascular practices. She received her undergraduate degree in Nutrition from the University of North Florida. She then went on to receive her Master’s in Health Communications from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL where she learned how to design communication strategies to positively influence healthcare outcomes.

Noor is passionate about education. She hopes to use her Doctorate in Business Administration to build a career in academia and be a part of another student’s journey in pursuing their passion.

Noor is a daughter of Syrian immigrants. She is happy to be raising her little girl in Jacksonville, FL, alongside her husband. On the weekend, she enjoys time outdoors, pilates and traveling.

Brandon Charpied

Brandon is the Executive Director of two international non-profit academic organizations: the Management & Organizational Behavior Teaching Society (MOBTS) and the International Association for Conflict Management (IACM). He has led these academic organizations and consulted for numerous others in the field of organizational behavior since 2010. In addition to his executive leadership role, he provides conference management having run over 45 academic conferences around the world and virtually.

Brandon earned both his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a marketing concentration and his MBA from the Wall College of Business at Coastal Carolina University. After earning Doctorate in Business Administration with a concentration in Organizational Behavior, Brandon intends on remaining in his current line of work; however, to focus more on his own research interests, publishing, and conference participation as opposed to simply being the individual running such operations. Long-term there is certainly a desire to teach both domestically and abroad.

Karen Chin

Karen Chin is starting her first year at Jacksonville University with the DBA program and is interested in pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Leadership. Karen completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Florida and her MBA at Saint Leo University. Karen is currently employed with The Department of Veterans Affairs and holds positions to include Administrative Officer and Supervisory Program Specialist. She is responsible for administrative management, resource management, training/competencies administration, supervisory, onboarding of new staff, and customer service. Under her administrative management, clinic utilization and productivity have continued to increase. She has identified critical staff productivity challenges and conducted performance-based interviews in identifying competent administrative staff across multiple sites.

Karen serves as an advisor on the Compliance and Business Integrity Program; and she serves on the Medical Records Review Committee. She participates as a team member and coach on VISN8 System Redesign collaborations. She has good knowledge of HR, VA fiscal and budgetary issues, program administration, supply chain management, system policies and procedures, redesign, and leadership principles.

Karen was accepted into the very prestigious and competitive VA succession-planning leadership development program, Competency Development for Leaders (CDL) and completed a project “Enrollment through Compensation and Pension Clinic” this was outside her typical scope and focused on enhancing enrollment in the VA system. She completed this project admirably.

Karen never complains about taking on extra duties to help others, instead she assists with a quiet determination, perseverance, and effectiveness. When not working or at school Karen spends her time with her husband traveling and volunteering.

David Fashion

David is eldest son of a retired Air Force officer. He has lived in many places, but considered his home Moncks Corner, South Carolina.  David has over 15 years of experience in operations and engineering, holding positions from process engineer to operations manager.  He has recently transition to healthcare from the manufacturing/production industry.  David is currently a Patient Transport and Escort Manager for Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  He is responsible for managing inpatient and outpatient internal patient movement for Mayo Clinic’s downtown campus, which includes the Mayo Clinic and Methodist Hospital.  David has also held leadership positions at Sodexo - Healthcare Division and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.   

David has earned a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the College of Engineering and Sciences at Clemson University in Clemson, SC.  He also attained a few advanced degrees after obtaining his bachelor’s.   He received a Master of Science in Project Manager from the School of Business at The George Washington University in Washington DC; M.B.A. from the Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University and M.H.A. from the School of Health Professions and Human Services at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.  David also earned a Greenbelt in Lean Six Sigma from the University of Georgia.  He is a member of a few professional organizations and honor societies, which includes Beta Gama Sigma Honor society, Upsilon Phi Delta Honor Society, American College of Healthcare executive, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and National Association of Health Services Executives.   

 

Greg Helms

Greg graduated from The Citadel with a degree in Psychology.  After twenty-five years in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, he earned his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Florida State University.  Greg has held many different leadership roles in Sales and Marketing for large CPG companies and currently is a Sales Leader for a team of strategic customers for his current employer, Church & Dwight Co., Inc.  Greg is originally from Atlanta, grew up in North Carolina, has moved up and down the eastern seaboard a dozen times due to his career, and currently lives in the Jacksonville area.  Greg enjoys leading people and plans on using his doctorate degree to influence others in his current industry and ultimately tapping into his practical experiences and utilizing his newfound scholastic skills by instructing.  In his free time, Greg enjoys competing in Ironman triathlons and spending time with his wife and kids.

 

Kenisha Kerr

Born and raised in Ocho Rios Jamaica, Kenisha attended Ocho Rios High school where she majored in business administration. Upon completion of her two years at a community college she moved to the United States and has been living in Jacksonville FL since 2014. She earned her Bachelor of Healthcare Management and graduated with a Master of Health Administration from Louisiana State University Shreveport in 2019. She holds certificates in Business Analytics from Harvard Business School and Project Management from Syracuse University. She is also PMI certified Project Management Professional.

After serving 8 years in the United States Navy as Leading Petty Officer for engineering department. She is currently the Business and Finance Manager for nursing services at one of our local hospitals. In this role she oversees the day-to-day business and finance operations while collaborating with Sr Directors and management team to plan, operate and organize capital for all the departments of a level 1 Trauma and Magnet hospital.

She is pursuing her DBA with a concentration in Strategic Management and is interested in how top management impacts the performance and value of a firm.

Outside of work and pursuing her DBA, she is a mother. She enjoys meditating, yoga, reading self-help books and weight training.

Solomon Nkang

Solomon currently works at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors for one of its Sponsored Projects, where he serves as Grants Manager. He offers Grant management and administrative and operational support to help the team’s global impact projects, and he is responsible for maintaining grants records, grantee database, and knowledge of systems.

As Grants Manager, he leads and manages grantee engagements, develops, and implements effective grantmaking strategies, and provides operational guidance to support the programmatic strategy and goals. He is actively involved in the continuous improvement of systems, expanding grantmaking structures, process and equally assists with developing operational policies and procedures.

Since starting this role, Solomon has leveraged his problem-solving skills to introduce process improvements and best practices, enhancing grants management and grantee relationship. 

Solomon earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Covenant University and a Master of Arts degree in Strategic Communication from the State University of New York, Oswego. In August 2021, he started a Master of Business Administration at Jacksonville University, Florida, where he now pursues a Doctorate in Business Administration. His educational and research experiences include studying Organizational Culture and Leadership, Management, Communications, Gender issues, Policies, and Politics. 

Upon completing his Doctorate in Business Administration, Solomon hopes that through research and his professional experience, he can contribute further to developing best practices and revolutionizing organizational leadership within philanthropic and non-governmental organizations. 

Solomon is passionate about building systems, connecting people, Gender Mainstreaming, Climate change, and investing in small-scale and start-up businesses within Nigeria, Africa, and low-income communities to help actualize their dreams, which in turn creates wealth, employment, and a better life for people. He hopes to influence more people to become purposeful leaders. 

Solomon, also known as Idorenyin, was Born and Raised in Nigeria. He currently lives in the Jacksonville area of Florida and enjoys traveling, listening to music, watching tv shows, and playing board games. 

 

Charles "Cole" Woodard

Originally from Eastern Kentucky, Cole earned his Bachelor of Busines Administration and Master of Business Administration from Marshall University. For the last seven years he has lived in Jacksonville where he earned his Juris Doctor from Florida Coastal School of Law.

Currently, Cole owns his own LLC, doing consulting work for many local businesses. He is also licensed as an Enrolled Agent with the IRS. Prior to opening his LLC, he was a director for a local business for many years. As well as experience as a Real Estate Agent and Appraiser, a Mutual Fund Trader, and managing multiple businesses.

He is pursuing a DBA with a focus in Organizational and Strategic Management. Currently focusing on workplace dynamics and organizational structures.