Elena K Taborda Ph D

Courses taught: - Managing Change: Supporting Communities and Embracing Cultures This graduate level course examines key concepts of change in community settings, introducing students to methods and perspectives on activism, advocacy and community organizing. The course teaches students strategies for identifying and addressing issues in the change-management process, and for managing change more effectively, giving consideration to the cultural, racial, ethnic, and socio-economic make-up of the community. The role of culture and the impact of globalization on change efforts and implications for practitioners in global inclusion and social development is considered as well. Students learn how to assess the needs and abilities of communities for change and to evaluate community change efforts with a particular emphasis on stakeholder involvement. - Strategies for Systemic Change Systems change is an important undertaking in organizational development, and represents a mechanism by which organizations respond to shifting dynamics in government, business, community and interpersonal environments. This graduate level course introduces students to the concept of organizations as systems and to major theories on systems and systemic change, including assumptions of the nature of change and the change process. Students learn about approaches, strategies, and methods to planning, implementing, and evaluating systemic change and to engage stakeholders in the change process. - Capstone Seminar This graduate level course offers students an opportunity to undertake community-based research, increase their impact and effectiveness as leaders, or explore other dimensions of global inclusion and social development. Students develop an initiative for a real-life project that can be work-, community-, or university-based. The capstone project is an action-based project intended to help students demonstrate their ability to enact positive change.