Anita M. Cassard, a Ph.D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences student specializing in Leadership and Organizational Change, and Donna Daniels, a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration student, were each awarded a Walden University Fellowship in Research and Applications for Social Change.

Sherpa Model of Leadership
Cassard will use her fellowship to study the Sherpa model of leadership.

Anita M. Cassard

“In general, Sherpa refers to someone who leads others to a successful summit,” Cassard says. “In my proposed research model, it refers to a woman who carries the weight of a mission until it is near completion and then steps aside to see the mission completed by men.” 

Cassard will conduct her research via 10 interactive interviews with professional women in Binghamton, N.Y., and Fayetteville, N.C., and try to answer several fundamental questions:

• Why is the power of long-term vision often of greater importance to women in business than tactical strategies to ensure their competitiveness and survival in the organization?
• What reasons underlie the decision to step aside and let someone else take over a business leadership position, and which factors contribute to the success of women who do get to the top?

The lack of women in professional leadership positions is a cause of concern globally, notes Cassard.

“Although the Department of Labor reports that the percentage of women in executive roles nearly tripled in the last three decades of the 20th century, women in the highest positions in large corporations are still rare,” Cassard says. “This is an issue of social totality and warrants further research and studies taking into account that most research in this area has consistently underrepresented women.”

Cassard credits Walden with helping her acquire the skills to conduct this much-needed research. “I found the AMDS 8427 course rich in information and extremely helpful in deciding which research methodology to select for my chosen field of inquiry,” she says. “In general, it was the structure of the KAMs, in combination with the required coursework, that helped clarify my understanding of doctoral research.”

Drug Use by Offenders on Parole and Probation
Donna Daniels will use her fellowship to explore the relationships between an individual’s level and intensity of post-treatment drug use and the severity of his or her new criminal behavior.

Donna Daniels

Within the Fox Valley, Wis., area there are more than 5,000 individuals on probation or who have parole status, says Daniels, who lives in the area. “This project is intended to survey these individuals to determine specific correlation of drug use to specific crimes in order to help identify trends,” Daniels says.

Daniels, who will be conducting the first research of this type in Fox Valley, notes that understanding the drug/crime relationship and the environmental influences are important to policy and budget decisions.

As state coordinator for the national anti-drugs initiative Parents Corp, Daniels is well-suited for work in the drug research field, says her dissertation chair, Dr. Mark Gordon of the School of Public Policy and Administration.

“Donna is a known drug-use-prevention advocate in her community,” he says. “Her study results will be applied to current Wisconsin policy and the programs offered to probation and parole clients.”

Daniels already has the support of her community, which awarded her a grant for more than $10,000 to begin an impact study after her baseline data findings have been approved and implemented. In addition to those community members who Daniels says have a great desire to implement social change, she also notes Walden’s role in preparing her for the project.

“The Walden coursework and opportunities have been a large contributor to my ability to conduct my research,” says Daniels, who plans to present her ultimate findings to the Wisconsin Department of Justice and to the National Institute of Justice in Washington, D.C.

Fellowship in Research and Applications for Social Change
Walden’s Fellowship in Research and Applications for Social Change was established to enable members of the Walden community to make a significant and meaningful change in academic and social communities, both locally and globally. The fellowship, which provides up to $10,000 in funding, is awarded to the applicant(s) who submit outstanding proposals reflective of Walden’s mission and determination to uniquely effect positive social change worldwide.

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