Researcher & People Analyst
Dr. Esther L. Jean is a people analytics researcher for Google. Before transitioning to industry, she spent over a decade in academia working in career services and leadership development, primarily serving mid to late-career professionals. Her experiences as an administrator inform her research and expertise in organizational behavior and human resources. Her research focuses on identity, leadership, well-being, and quantitative research methods. Esther is originally from Miami, Florida, and earned a B.S. in communication from the University of Miami, an M.Ed. from the University of Georgia, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington. In her spare time, Esther enjoys spending time with her boys, traveling, exercising, watching tv crime dramas, and finding new adventures.
Education Background
Ph.D. - University of Texas at Arlington
M.Ed. - University of Georgia
B.S.C. - University of Miami
Past Professional Experience
Adjunct Professor, UTA College of Business
Assistant Director, Toppel Career Center
Program Manager, Illinois Leadership® Center
Research
Esther's research interests reflect a passion for individual internal processes that drive leadership and overall work-related behaviors. Her overarching research agenda focuses on identity exploration in the workplace and how organizations influence such processes. Along with her primary interests in identity-related phenomena, her pipeline also includes related interest in leadership and employee well-being in organizations as well as research methods that advances research transparency.
Identity | Leadership | WELL-BEING | Research Methods
Teaching
Esther's teaching strategy includes three key components: 1) creating an engaging learning environment, 2) maximizing opportunities for real world application of course material, and 3) varying teaching methods to appeal to a variety of learning styles.
Her courses are interactive and include the use of technology and hands-on learning strategies that involve students in the educational process. Her teaching strategy challenges students to take ownership of their learning and contribute to a dynamic classroom environment. Her teaching strategy helps students recognize how the ideas discussed in class operate outside of the classroom by using a variety of teaching methods that appeal to different learning styles and contexts.
SHARED LEARNING FOR THE REAL WORLD
Service
Esther's commitment to contributing to academia through service lies in her core belief that we can get farther by working together and serving each other. As such, she has served as a reviewer for Academy of Management Annual Conference and the Southern Management Association meetings annually since 2017. Her committee work includes Academy of Management New Doctoral Student Consortium, Illinois Leadership Coordinating Committee, Illinois Student Affairs Student Leadership Awards Committee. She also served as an elected member of the executive committee for the PhD Project, Management Doctoral Student Association.
LEADERSHIP THROUGH SERVICE