About Cheryl
Dr. Cheryl Robinson is an international speaker, founder of Ready2Roar, leadership workshop developer and regular contributor at ForbesWomen. She focuses on women who have pivoted within their careers, emphasizing their mindsets. Having interviewed over 400 women and counting, she has had the fortunate opportunity to meet and engage with some of the most powerful, influential and inspiring women in the world, including Suzanne Shank, Kathleen Kennedy, Bobbi Brown, Diane von Furstenberg, Susie Wolff, Claire Williams, Christie Pearce Rampone, Maria Sharapova, La La Anthony, Melissa Rauch and Candace Cameron Bure. In addition, she has been featured in the ForbesWomen newsletter multiple times and has earned 27 Editors’ Pick recognitions.

As an international speaker, Cheryl has spoken, moderated and conducted workshops and panels for over 20 years. Her speaking portfolio includes engagements at Columbia University, Penn State, the Acronis Women in Tech & Motorsports in Abu Dhabi and the U.N.’s Girl Up Teen Advisory Board. She successfully defended her dissertation on how individuals successfully pivot in their careers. She is now a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership. She develops and hosts leadership workshops for corporations. Topics include pivoting, leadership, self-marketing & branding and navigating the media landscape.

Cheryl's Dissertation-in-Practice Research
I studied in-depth how people successfully pivot in their careers through a quantitative approach. Six participants shared with me their pivot stories. I identified three core themes to successfully pivoting with multiple sub-themes. All participants exhibited that it takes self-confidence, the courage to take a risk and a strong network to successfully pivot in a career.

How the Program Influenced Cheryl
What sticks out the most from the program is the idea of how leadership spans all aspects of a company, not just employees but all stakeholders. That has helped me when developing leadership workshops for corporations. I now make a conscious effort to develop activities that impact everyone at a corporation. It's a different way of thinking of one's own leadership style. Additionally, the doctorate degree has given credibility and opened new doors for my career; if I didn't have the doctorate, I wouldn't have had some of the opportunities I've had the past few years.

About Marquetta
Marquetta Alexander is an accomplished educator with more than 22 years of teaching and leadership experience.  She was responsible for data-driven classroom instruction, writing new curriculum for high school CTE programs, to solid leadership strategies and practices that enhanced teaching and learning for an entire school community.  

Marquetta has explored teaching as far as Kenya where she co-taught with native instructors committed to educating children in orphanages, and have trained teachers in both New York City and Washington, DC on several technological simulations that supported technology-based learning.  She served on several district-level committees to improve school climate, and served as an active participant in Seton Hall’s transformational leadership certification program.  

Marquetta earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology at William Paterson University, Master’s of Science degree in Educational technology at Ramapo College of New Jersey, and her doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Stockton University where she completed extensive research on school climate and leadership capacity.  She then went on to complete her certification in Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell University.  

Her work in Paterson Public Schools included Technology Instructor, Technology Coordinator, Teacher Coordinator and Supervisor.  In 2020, she launched Edvance Educational Consulting, LLC where she offers Diversity and Inclusion training to learning institutions and corporations. Marquetta is now a Director of Diversity and Inclusion at RWJBarnabas Health where she now provides culturally competent training to medical staff to ensure equitable and culturally sensitive health care services. Her role allows her to be a passionate contributor to the Ending Racism Together initiative which aims to improve health equity in all areas of RWJBarnabass.

Marquetta's Dissertation-in-Practice Research
A K-12 public school district was studied to evaluate school climate and leadership practices using the explanatory sequential mixed methods research design. School climate surveys for staff were assessed and the outcomes were used to develop a better understanding of how leadership capacity impacts school climate by reviewing seven different action logics in vertical leadership. This information was used to help Paterson Public Schools develop a leadership program where post-conventional leaders would serve as coaches or mentors to leaders of earlier action logics, using heutagogical approaches for personal and leadership development. The findings would uncover how leaders of post-conventional or near post-conventional action logics were able to sustain higher levels of staff morale and professional development opportunities, resulting in positive school climate for the entire learning community.

How the Program Influenced Marquetta

Stockton’s LEAD Program in Organizational Leadership provided formal and in-depth training on leadership development in a cross-organizational setting that allowed me to gain new insight from others whose experience was very different from my own.  Upon program completion I decided that I wanted to narrow my leadership focus diversity and inclusion, and the job search began.

During my interview I often referenced the research I completed as a doctoral student at Stockton University, explaining how much it helped me to teach differently while serving as an active participant on several leadership teams. The confidence that came as a result from learning and practicing leadership from an unconventional perspective opened several doors for new career opportunities. I chose RWJBHBarnabass for its world-class Diversity and Inclusion model. Today I am thrilled to work in the D&I space, particularly, at an anti-racist organization where tangible policies and practices are in place to promote equity for all.

About Akeel
Akeel Gaines is a Senior Enlisted Advisor in the United States Army where he has served for over 18 years. Akeel specializes in developing leaders, teambuilding, and people empowerment. A strong advocate for leadership growth and development, Akeel focuses on discovering, developing and deploying people to
help reach their maximum potential. Akeel graduated with his Master’s degree from Rowan University in Wellness and Lifestyle Management and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in the Organizational Leadership program at Stockton University. He has one wife and four beautiful children who helped shape the man he is today. Akeel enjoys reading and staying physically fit. He embraces and understands the inherited responsibility associated with leadership and therefore lives by the scripture, To whom
much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48).

Akeel's Dissertation-in-Practice Research
Historically, WLB (Work-Life Balance) was an employee-centric problem to manage, as opposed to the current environment where managers now understand their needed involvement in the process (Major et al., 2013). Although the study's topic focuses on Army leaders and the importance of WLB from a holistic approach, limited research exists. Therefore, the review takes on a broader perspective discussing topics all leaders face and utilizing the data to anticipate how comparable results will apply to an Army-focused group. Terms such as Family to Work Conflict (FWC), Work to Family Conflict (WFC), Work-Life Balance (WLB), and Work-Life Conflict (WLC) will appear throughout the review. The thesis surrounding this study intends to prove that Army senior leaders need training in WLB concepts, both from a personal and professional perspective. Organizational cultures designed to encourage personal development and how it is communicated to employees, is championed at the senior leader level (Litano & Major, 2016). The review will discuss leadership styles and their relationship to WLB, WLB strategies and their impact on mental well-being, the results of WFC, the whole-life approach, leadership stress, and COVID-19’s influence on current work and life roles. The themes mentioned above will generate critical data to explain how senior leadership will benefit from training focused on improving the components of WLB.

How the Program Influenced Akeel
The information discovered during the study provides skills and concepts applicable to senior leaders within the full-time Active Guard Reserve (AGR) force from a strategic perspective. The senior noncommissioned officer (NCO) establishes training, educating, coaching, and advising to help shape a successful organization. The relationship between the components of WLB and their effect on leader and employee wellness is vital to comprehend to ensure the execution of the commander's intent. Applying the concepts and methods revealed from the study will allow me to introduce this topic in an educational setting and socialized in other leader councils. As a Senior Enlisted Advisor, the application of researched data could occur during scheduled synchronized meetings, daily staff interactions, and leader engagements to gain insight from a diverse group of individuals. The feedback from various perspectives could assist in the creation and implementation of a new Army policy to address the topic. Personally, my research on this topic has provided fresh insight and accountability to ensure my life and work balance regimen changes and develops to reach optimal results.

About Renai
Renai Ellison, EdD, MA, is the Founder and CEO of EMBRACE LIFE Enterprises. She began her journey as a Life and Leadership Development Coach, Consultant, Trainer, and Speaker after earning a Christian life coach certification and then a life and leadership coach certification. She holds a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential from the International Coaching Federation (ICF). After accomplishing her lifelong dream of obtaining an Educational Doctorate in Organizational Leadership, Renai gravitated toward hours of training in the areas of anti-oppression, anti-racism, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She is passionate about social justice and expanding the consciousness of humanity—one individual at a time.

Renai launched her career as a model when she was a junior in college, and soon became a television host and actress, appearing on television networks like QVC, HGTV, PBS, and MyPHL17. As a first-place speech contest winner, club member, and leader with Toastmasters International, Renai speaks to people globally, nationally, regionally, and locally about the value of relationship, community, and connection. She also believes strongly in the power of authenticity and self-discovery. A devoted daughter to her mother, Maryan, and a loyal friend, Renai values and prioritizes quality time with the people she loves most.

Renai's Dissertation-in-Practice Research
Ideally, Black women should possess the kind of social support and acceptance that their White counterparts experience (Kneaval, 2020). However, oppression due to race, gender, and class interferes with their ability to garner the support and acceptance they need and give the support they desire. Additionally, there is a void in the literature regarding women’s ministry and women’s ministry leadership, and a need to critically examine the role of women’s ministry leadership in non-denominational and Protestant churches. The central focus of this dissertation was to examine the lives of 10 Black women’s ministry leaders using the qualitative method of narrative inquiry. Findings indicated that wholehearted leadership of a women’s ministry was a result of their commitment to their service and devotion to God and to people. Every participant replied that they prayed daily and read the Bible frequently or daily. Most participants either attended church frequently or always. Some motivators for Black women to do the work of leading a ministry included having a relationship with the Lord, their love of God, and receiving a calling from God. Underlying issues Black women have encountered that drive the need for the existence of women’s ministry include women craving sisterhood, needing connection, and experiencing emotional pain. Measurement of impact on the women they serve manifests itself by personal fulfillment, feeling that God is pleased, and feeling that the people served are pleased. The results of this study may benefit local churches that are interested in leadership development for women’s ministry leaders.

How the Program Influenced Renai
Becoming a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership unleashed a confidence, clarity, and competence in me that has strengthened and supported my belief in myself and the power of God. After being passed over by two doctoral programs, and then accepted by one whose offer I declined, I discovered the Ed.D. Program at Stockton University. I experienced an interdisciplinary, applicable, research-based program that has prepared me to contribute as an influential leader in business, education, faith-based and non-profit organizations. I have blazed an uncommon trail from a career as a model, television personality, and actress, and transformed into a certified and credentialed leadership development coach, trainer, consultant, speaker, and Founder/CEO of my own company, EMBRACE Life Enterprises. Personally, the courage and tenacity that it took to research, write, and defend my dissertation while going through a divorce in the middle of a global pandemic, has fortified my faith and served as a catalyst for my own personal RENAIssance.

About Shy
Dr. Shy Garden worked as a Detective throughout the State of New Jersey in police departments and county prosecutors’ offices for six years, specializing in the areas of Special Victim cases and Gangs, Guns, and Narcotics, before leaving law enforcement. It was while she was an urban city detective that Dr. Garden decided she wanted to contribute more to the inner city and policing through research, writing, and teaching. After leaving law enforcement, she pursued her doctoral degree at Stockton University and became a criminal justice professor at Salem Community College. She has taught and trained law enforcement officers on updated state laws and policies. Dr. Garden has provided live training to thousands of students in different school districts; introducing participants to the criminal justice system and law enforcement practices and explaining how to interact with modern law enforcement to build and create better encounters between police and citizens.

 

Dr. Garden has served in the New Jersey Army National Guard for over ten years and is currently a First Lieutenant Human Resources Staff Officer. She is the founder and president of the Annie Lee Jones Foundation. The foundation is named after her late great-grandmother, Annie Lee Jones, and was founded out of her passion to reach out and help students achieve academic excellence and be future-ready for life generally and the professional world. Before that, Dr. Garden chaired the Delta G.E.M.S. of Central Jersey Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a mentoring program designed to help female high school teenagers prepare for college and excel academically. Dr. Garden is an entrepreneur, with over 10 years of working experience, a prolific writer, and the author of two must-read books for children, Proud Black Girl and Proud Black Boy. Dr. Garden refers to her mother and late grandmother as her living icons and she boldly says she owes all her success to them. They told her to “Dream with your eyes open” and that “anything is possible through hard work.” The wildest thing she ever did was believe them.

 

About Shy’s Dissertation-in-Practice Research
The disproportionately adverse treatment of African Americans by police officers compared to their behavior towards people of other races and ethnic groups remains a controversial feature of contemporary police behavior. It has prompted questions about implicit bias among police officers and their role in driving these behaviors. Recent high-profile cases have brought this issue into focus. They have alerted the public and law enforcement to the possibility that decisions made under stress may be influenced by implicit biases that result in excessive use-of-force, racial profiling, and even the killing of African Americans. These cases and similar encounters have prompted the inquiry into police officers’ implicit bias and its impact on police decision-making when interacting with African Americans. The theory of implicit bias explains that we link people without awareness, whether we know them or not, to the characteristics and stereotypes associated with their groups. This study examined and explored police officers' implicit bias at the entry level by evaluating whether incoming police recruits’ attitudes towards disenfranchised groups, specifically African Americans, changed during police academy training. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) was used to measure incoming police recruits' racial biases before and after training. A majority of the police recruits entered the police academy with implicit racial bias against African Americans and these attitudes and beliefs persisted throughout the basic academy training. Police recruits reported that trainees are provided diversity training but there is no emphasis on ways to manage personal biases.

 

How the Program Influenced Shy
The Doctoral Program of Organizational Leadership has enhanced my professional goals by providing a space and multiple opportunities to work closely with law enforcement agencies. These opportunities have allowed me to aid in helping agencies build their community relations and capability through using evidence-based solutions to improve performance. Also, through the course assignments, I was given the space to evaluate law enforcement organizations and present the findings and recommendations. This allowed me to combine my scholastic and practical experience. This enhancement came through class assignments, individually and in group settings. Overall, the greatest enhancement the doctoral program has had on my professional goals is learning the process of research, analyzing organizations, and developing my presentation skills (both verbal and written).

About Mark
Command Sergeant Major Mark Rizzo began his military career with the New Jersey Army National Guard in 1985 as a Tank Crewman for Alpha Company 3-102^nd Armor, Pitman, NJ until transitioning to a Senior Tank Crewman in 1997. He became a Tank Commander of C Troop 5-117^th Cavalry in 2001 and served in that capacity until December 2003. On January 2004, he was transferred to B Battery 3-112^th Field Artillery where he deployed as a Platoon Sergeant to IRAQ in support of Iraqi Freedom for a one year tour serving in Fallujah, Sadr City and Baghdad, Iraq. After his service with B Battery 3-112^th Field Artillery he was hired as a Readiness NCO with the Recruiting Command. He served as the Recruit Holding Company NCOIC in Sea Girt, NJ. After serving in Recruiting Command he was promoted to Master Sergeant with the Joint Training and Training Development Center in 2007 and served as the Senior Operation Sergeant. In February 2009 he was promoted to First Sergeant of Alpha Troop 1-102^nd Cavalry and deployed again to Iraq for one year in support of Iraqi Freedom to Bucca, Iraq. After returning home he served in the G-3 as the Quota Source Manager until 2013. In January of 2014 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major where he deployed to Afghanistan and served as the Operation Sergeant Mentor to the 1^st Mobile Strike Force Afghanistan Command Sergeant Major. He was stationed at Camp Phoenix, Kabul for a year training and mentoring members of the Afghanistan Army on the MRAP and ASV equivalent vehicles. Upon his return from Afghanistan, he became the Operation Sergeant Major with the 50^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and served in that capacity until September 2017. He was promoted to Command Sergeant Major and served as the senior advisor to the 150^th Attack Helicopter Battalion until March of 2021. Currently Command Sergeant Major Rizzo serves as the senior advisor of the 44^TH Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Command Sergeant Major Rizzo’s military and civilian education includes the Primary Leadership Development Course, the Basic Noncommissioned Officer’s Course, the Advanced Noncommissioned Officer’s Course, the Master Resiliency Trainer Course, The Joint Security Forces Assistance Course. He graduated from the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy, Class 05-12, May of 2012. Command Sergeant Major Rizzo currently holds a Bachelor’s of Science from Roger Williams University and a Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University. He is a Doctoral Candidate in Organizational Leadership at Stockton University. Command Sergeant Major Mark Rizzo is married to Jo-Anne Rizzo.  He has three daughters, Denni, Anita, Lexi and a son Giavanni.  He has one grand-daughter, Deanna Lockman.

Command Sergeant Major Rizzo’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (3^rd Award), Meritorious Service Medal (4^th Award), Army Commendation Medal (2^nd Award), Army Achievement Medal (2^nd Award), Army Good Conduct Medal (4^th Award), Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/M device (2nd award), National Defense Service Medal with one Bronze Service Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal w/four campaign stars, Afghanistan Campaign Medal w/one campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/M Device, NCO Professional Development Ribbon with Numeral 5, Army Service Ribbon, Army Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserves Component Training Ribbon, NATO Medal, New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal w/ Oak Leaf Cluster, The Combat Action Badge and The Order of Saint George, Bronze Medallion.

About Mark’s Dissertation-in-Practice Research
Over the past seventeen years, I invested my time and effort in the process of education because it dealt with employee’s capacity level in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA) environment. Understanding my own capacities was an important component of my growth. Achieving my Ed. D. and developing my own learning capacities was an important process. One of the most exciting developments I chose to focus my research in practice encountered and provide appropriate guidance to change policy at the state level. Understanding the dynamic of leadership in a VUCA environment and its effects on employees executing a mission is critical if not handled correctly and with the right leadership execution. Leaders are not created nor are they challenged in a simple environment. Leaders are challenged when the environment erodes into a complicated or complex environment. I studied leadership in the New Jersey National Guard through the full range leadership model developed by Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio which posits a range of leadership from passive avoidant through transactional to transformational leadership. What I found through leadership research analysis is that although leaders are aspirational towards transformational but function more as a transactional leadership. This is expressed expectation mentorship and coaching of their subordinates, but often there is a gap between the mentee and the mentor. The gap increases when you place the leader in a complex or chaotic environment and ask them to mentor their subordinates.

How the Program Influenced Mark
The Ed. D. program was an excellent program that gave me perspective into other team members managing and leading capabilities. Formal education is important because it allows for a foundation of learning in an environment that is respectful towards your classmates or peers. Stockton provided that type of learning environment for me. The relationship continues to flourish with my peers. We talk about the good times and the learning experiences. I will forever be grateful to Stockton University for providing me perspective on leadership, an opportunity to flourish and giving me the chance to build relationships.

About Bill
A life-long resident of New Jersey, Dr. Bill Perkins writes Emergency Management policy and protocol at the William J. Hughes Technical Center, a major research and development (R&D) hub for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He is also an Adjunct Professor at Stockton University, teaching Operations Management and Risk Management, as well as assessing leaders for the Resilience Builder Leadership Program's credentialing. After graduating the Ed.D. program, Bill furthered his "Vertical Leadership" journey by attaining certification as a Leadership Agility Coach via Changewise, equipping himself with the competencies to pursue his latest venture as a leadership coach and mentor. In 2020, after 32 years of service, Bill retired from the United States Air Force, where he climbed the highest of the enlisted ranks as the Command Chief of the 177th Fighter Wing. Bill attributes his military career success to the Ed.D. program, where he bolstered his leadership knowledge and skills with a more developed mindset and greater capacity to lead. He also attributes his success to the mentorship he experienced within the program by the faculty, accompanied with the peer mentorship associated with the pool of talent that surrounded him each day with his fellow cohort members. When he's not writing or developing leaders, Bill spends his downtime with his wife and family, enjoying life at the beach. 

About Bill’s Dissertation-in-Practice Research
My research involved a multifaceted approach to identifying how awareness of adult development stage (action logic) impacts a leader's capacity to lead through complexities. Moreover, at what adult development stage is a leader able to exercise optimal mindset and capacities in implementing leadership knowledge, skills, and competencies when faced with leadership challenges in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. I not only interviewed an array of leaders and world-renowned theorists in adult development and Vertical Leadership, but assessed lived experiences of practicing leaders faced with VUCA occurrences and environmental contexts. The Ed.D. program was a catalyst for me to present my research on the world stage through the Center of Creative Leadership.

How the Program Influenced Bill
The program was structured "post-conventionally" as a professional development program within a doctoral program, which was the architects' "evil genius" way of fostering learners, who were interested in truly developing vertically as a leader, to develop to a later stage of adult development. I "drank the Kool-Aid" and was exposed to the most enriching learning and development experience of my life, which says a lot about the program, considering the Air Force invested a lot of time, money, and effort developing me as a leader. Personally, it not only redefined me as a leader but as a person. Professionally, the program was a catalyst to promotions and many doors opening up to me in the realm and professional world of leadership. Holistically, I was surrounded with a very talented group of leaders who inspired me, developed me, and cultivated friendships. I'm forever grateful to have been a part of the program.

About Shirlene
Dr. Shirlene A. Henry-James is an accomplished technology engineer with over 30 years in industries including telecommunication, education, and financial technology. She has a Master of Science in Computer Science from Howard University and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Hofstra University. As a Howard University graduate, she became active in the Alumni Club in Metropolitan-Trenton, New Jersey. As a member of the alumni club, she participated in discussions on careers in technology for underrepresented groups. Within the next year, she was elected President of the Howard University Alumni Club of Metropolitan-Trenton. With this election, she further assisted disadvantaged students to get to college and pursue their dreams.

Her passion for the education field grew, which led to her becoming a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lawrence Township Education Foundation. The Lawrence Township Education Foundation provides funding for programs that foster excellence, creativity, and achievement in education for all students in Lawrence Township Public Schools. After 30 years in technology, she decided to pursue her lifelong dream and receive her Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership from Stockton University. She is currently a manager of portfolio and delivery management in the financial technology industry.

Shirlene’s Dissertation-in-Practice Research
The study examined the racialized enclosure that African American/Black women in technology and engineering experience as they navigate to executive leadership. This qualitative narrative inquiry research explored, through lived experiences, the racialized enclosures inhibiting African American/Black women from excelling in executive leadership positions in technology/engineering organizations. Eight narrative one-on-one interviews were conducted using open-ended, semi-structured questions focused on the participants’ past, present, and future as it relates to the trajectory of their career in technology/engineering. This research aimed to explore enclosures and intersectionality concerns that African American/Black women encounter excelling in technology/engineering executive leadership. Five major themes emerged from the interviews of these African American/Black women technology/engineering professionals including; foundation in math and science in their early education, challenges/racialized enclosures faced in organizations, navigating through the organizational hierarchies, the effects of race and gender (intersectionality) on upward mobility, and lessons to pass on to the next generations.

How the Program Influenced Shirlene
Stockton University’s organizational leadership program has influenced my career by increasing my awareness on leading a transforming organization in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous climate. This has helped me become a more effective cross-functional leader.

About Ed
Serving as the Delaware River Port Authority’s new and first African American Police Chief, Cobbs started his career with the DRPA Police Department as a patrol officer in 1994. The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) is a bi-state regional transportation agency that serves as the steward of four bridges that cross the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey: the Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry, and Betsy Ross Bridges. Also, within its jurisdiction, the DRPA operates the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) transit rail line which travels between Camden County, New Jersey, and Center City Philadelphia. 

During his career, he has served as a patrol officer, corporal, sergeant, and lieutenant. Prior to being promoted to Police Chief, he served as the Captain of Bridge and Transit Operations. He has received numerous commendations and law enforcement service awards throughout his career. In addition to his 28-year law enforcement career, Cobbs is an armed forces veteran who served in the U.S. Army as a military police K-9 officer.

Cobbs has earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University-Camden, a master’s degree in Administrative Sciences from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership from Stockton University. As a lifelong learner, he has attended numerous administrative and leadership courses, including Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command, the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police [West Point] Command and Leadership Program, and the State of New Jersey’s Certified Public Manager’s Program. He has also attended the FBI Mid-Atlantic Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar at Princeton University. 

Chief Cobbs is certified as an Accredited Command Executive (ACE) through the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police (NJSACOP). Additionally, he is a member of several law enforcement associations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA). Additionally, he serves as an Adjunct Professor at Wilmington University and Rowan College in Burlington County. 

A Gloucester Twp., NJ resident, Ed is married with two sons. Besides enjoying time with his family, he relaxes by playing sports and fishing. 

Ed’s Dissertation-in-Practice Research
This study was based on examining the applications and practices of the Full Range of Leadership (FRL) model, specifically, Transformational Leadership Theory, in an organization undergoing a significant transformation to determine the influence transformational leadership has on a police department’s leadership and the workplace environment. The quantitative study focused on 41 participants who were identified as holding supervisory ranks within the Delaware River Port Authority Police Department (DRPA PD). The study explored the self-perceived leadership styles of the participants through a quantitative survey instrument that utilized a 45-question Likert scale. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) was developed by Bernard Bass and Bruce Avolio and distributed by Mind Garden, Inc. The primary findings show that the group of leaders, with a mean score of 3.1 out of 4.0, perceived their transformational leadership behaviors above the validated benchmark score of 3.0. With the findings for transactional leadership equaling or exceeding the benchmark score of 2.0-3.0 and the findings for the passive and avoidant behaviors associated with laissez-faire leadership between the benchmark score of 0.0-1.0, the findings support the presence of transformational leadership within the police department.

How the Program Influenced Ed
As a lifelong learner, I continually research opportunities to enhance my knowledge, skills, and abilities. The program played a vital role in expanding my learning capacity. The curriculum of the program and the sharing of knowledge through interactions with my fellow cohort members have greatly contributed to my individual growth and success as a leader. Professionally, I was recently promoted to the highest rank within the police department, Chief of Police. Personally, I have grown in many ways.

One principle that is highly encouraged in the program is the ability to self-reflect on oneself. Professionally and personally, I have continued this practice and it has made me a better leader, husband, father, and friend. I am forever indebted to the lessons learned throughout this leadership journey and it started with Stockton University’s Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership Program.