ABOUT THE AUTHORS

John Kmiec, PhD, serves as research associate at the Jack and Patti Phillips Workplace Learning and Performance Institute, The University of Southern Mississippi, where he recently graduated from the Human Capital Development program. A 27-year veteran of the United States Air Force, Kmiec has broad experience training, educating, evaluating, and developing human capital resources in order to improve work processes, products, services, productivity, and performance. His recognitions include the United States Air Force Chief of Staff Team Quality Award and Rochester Institute of Technology/USA Today Quality Cup. He was in Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities in 2010. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Sandra Dugas, PhD, is a highly respected, nationally recognized executive coach, speaker, and author, with extensive professional experience maximizing workplace learning and performance in many diverse industrial settings. Co-author of The Savvy Manager: Five Skills That Drive Optimal Performance (ASTD Press, 2009), Dugas has contributed immeasurably to the seminal research of a learning intervention for work engagement and the university's first human capital development PhD graduate. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Cyndi Gaudet, PhD, is professor and director of the human capital development doctoral program, and director of the Jack and Patti Phillips Workplace Learning and Performance Institute, The University of Southern Mississippi. Gaudet was principal investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor's Geospatial Technology Apprenticeship Program. Her workforce development research has received awards from the National Aeronautic Space Administration and the Southern Growth Policies Board. Gaudet has made more than 100 regional, national, and international conferences; and her research has been published in Performance Improvement Quarterly, Performance Improvement Journal, and HRD Quarterly among several others. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Heather Annulis, PhD, is an associate professor of workforce development and assistant director of the Jack and Patti Phillips Workplace Learning and Performance Institute, The University of Southern Mississippi. Annulis blends teaching and training management experience to coordinate the MS program in workforce training and development and the training and development certificate program for training and human resource development professionals. Annulis was Co-PI for the U.S. Department of Labor's Geospatial Technology Apprenticeship Program. Her research has garnered numerous awards, including recognition as one of Mississippi's Top 40 Under 40. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Mary Nell McNeese, PhD, serves as associate professor in the department of educational studies and research at The University of Southern Mississippi. She has taught doctoral statistics in three of the university's five colleges. She served as co-principal investigator on the Preparing Mississippi's Teachers to Use Technology Grant, and as Co-PI on the AmeriCorps Campus Link Grant to create a corps of college student volunteers at 11 campus and community sites, who will help develop campus volunteer centers focused on hurricane relief, recovery, and preparedness. Publications include the International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities, and Nations, The International Journal on E-Learning, and The Journal of At-Risk Issues. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Susan Bush is the student services coordinator at Gulfport High School's Technology Center (GHSTC). She has been with the Gulfport School District (GSD) for 17 years. Bush's current responsibilities include identifying and assisting students who may have barriers to achieving success in their Technology Center program. Bush has served in leadership positions at GHSTC; most recently as co-chair of the SACS/ AdvancEd and Office of Civil Rights committees. She received both her bachelor of science in business administration and master of education degrees from The University of Southern Mississippi and is currently a student in the human capital development PhD program. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it