Development Partners

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TED Speaker / Amazon #1 Best Selling Author / Award-Winning Teacher and ResearcherTT

Will Sparks serves as the Dennis Thompson Distinguished Chair & Professor of Leadership at the McColl School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte. Concurrently he serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Leadership and Executive Education (CLEE) where he leads the school’s executive education and leadership programming. He received the Fuqua Distinguished Educator Awardfor excellence in teaching at Queens in 2003 and 2005, and was awarded the inaugural McColl School Leadership in Teaching Award in 2009 and again in 2024.

He is the author of “Actualized Teamwork: Unlocking the Culture Code for Optimal Performance” (2024) and “Actualized Leadership: Meeting Your Shadow & Maximizing Your Potential” (2019) by SHRM Books. Both books debuted as Amazon #1 Best Sellers and are based on leader and team assessments that he designed and validated, and that have been translated into nine languages. He is the co-author (with Peter Browning) of the book “The Director’s Manual: A Framework for Board Governance” (2016, Wiley). In addition to his books Will has published numerous research papers and book chapters and has appeared in several media outlets, including The Washington Post, Inc., and NPR. His TED Talk “The Power of Self Awareness” was released in 2018. 

While on sabbatical from Queens in 2015-2016 he served as Global Vice President of Talent with EnPro Industries (NYSE: NPO), a $5B global manufacturing company headquartered in Charlotte, NC. In this role he was responsible for all corporate-wide leadership, human resource and talent management initiatives. 

Will serves as the Managing Director for William L. Sparks & Associates, LLC, a professional services firm founded in 1997 focused on leader and team development, executive coaching and change management. In 2023 he founded The Center for Human and Organizational Potential, a 501c3 not-for-profit research and educational organization focused on human performance and flourishing. He serves on the Board of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. 

He completed his Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior and Development under the direction of Dr. Jerry B. Harvey from The George Washington University’s School of Business and Public Management, where his research focused on group dynamics, organizational culture, and leadership. He resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife Erin and son Bennett.

Dr. John Repede serves as a Partner in Actualized Performance Solutions where he leads the firms research, analytics and system development efforts.

In addition, he serves as a Professor of Management Science and  Information Systems in the McColl School of Business and former Chair of  the Information Systems Department at Queens University of Charlotte.  Prior to his appointment at Queens University, he held academic  positions at Eastern Kentucky University and then at UNC-Charlotte,  where he introduced major changes in teaching methods and created  educational software.

In addition to his teaching and research, he is an industry  consultant and commercial software developer. John has extensive work  experience in both the private and public sectors. He has held positions  in municipal emergency services, retailing, health care, information  technology and non-profit foundations.

John has contributed research and has made presentations at numerous  national conferences. He has authored, co-authored and has been a  contributing author to sixteen textbooks in Information Systems and  Operations Management. He has published in the leading journals in the  Operations Management field and has successfully written grants. He has  served as a consultant and expert witness in civil and criminal  computer-related cases, including expert testimony for the Federal  Bureau of Investigation.

He received an Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts and an  Associate of Applied Science degree in Fire Science Technology from  Harper College. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management from  the University of Illinois-Springfield, a Master of Business  Administration degree in Management Information Systems from the  University of Illinois-Urbana, and a Doctorate of Business  Administration degree in Management Science from the University of  Kentucky.

Dr. Repede is a member of the Charlotte Concert Band, an amateur ballroom dancer and a student of Yoga.

Jane serves as the Operations Manager and Leadership Consultant with Actualized Performance Solutions, LLC.  In this role, she leads the  operational aspects of the business while  simultaneously serving clients in various consulting, facilitation, and  coaching engagements.  In addition, Jane is the Program  Manager/Assistant Director of Leadership Initiatives in the McColl  School of Business at Queens University of Charlotte.

Her work highlights coaching and leadership development for individuals,  teams, and organizations. She is certified in a variety of assessments  including the Actualized Leader Profile (ALP), Actualized Team Profile (ATP),  Actualized Leader Profile 360 (ALP360), Hermann Brain Dominance Indicator (HBDI), Work/School Place Big Five, WorkPlace 360, and the Values Profile.

Jane  holds a M.S. in Organization Development, along with an Executive Coaching Certificate, both from the McColl School of Business at Queens.  Her undergraduate degrees include  a B.S. in Sociology at North Carolina State University and an A.A. in  Liberal Arts from William Peace University.

Dr. Elizabeth Repede is an educator, consultant, and clinician in integrative health and wellness. She is a board certified Family Nurse  Practitioner with a focus on integrative health. She currently serves as  the Nurse Practitioner for Health and Wellness at Comporium  Communications in Rock Hill, SC where she provides on- site medical  care, oversees the medical clinic, implements improvement processes, and  is actively developing and implementing programs designed to maximize  employee and corporate health.

Dr. Repede holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the McColl School  of Business at Queens University of Charlotte. She has also held faculty  appointments at the School of Nursing at Western Carolina University in  Asheville, NC, Eastern Carolina University, Gardner Webb University and  has been a faculty and consultant for the Birchtree Center for  Healthcare Transformation based in Massachusetts.

In addition to teaching and consulting, Dr. Repede has presented  numerous peer reviewed presentations at national conferences, has  authored or co-authored over 14 publications in professional journals  and book chapters, and serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Holistic  Nursing. She travels extensively across the U.S. facilitating workshops  on resilience, integrative health, and transformation and change in  universities, major healthcare organizations, and retreat settings.

Dr. Repede has an extensive background in diverse healthcare settings  as a clinician, manager, and educator. She has experience in hospitals,  primary care, retail clinics, corporate wellness, and higher education.  Her research interests include resilience, psychoneuroimmunology, and  the interactions between human perception and healing.

She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of  Kentucky in 1987, Master’s Degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner from  the University of South Carolina (1993), and her PhD in Nursing with a  focus on the study of consciousness and healing from the University of  North Carolina at Greensboro (2009). In addition, she received her  certification in Medical Hypnosis in 2003 from the American  Psychological and Mental Health Association and a certificate as an  AcuDetox practitioner from the National AcuDetox Association in 2007.  Dr. Repede has extensive training in guided imagery, meditation,  Emotional Freedom Technique, dream work, and energy medicine.

Dr. Repede enjoys reading, yoga, and travel.