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Dr. Gordon is a high reliability expert. She provides consulting services and training for leadership and staff as they make the paradigm shift toward becoming a High Reliability Organization (HRO). Her focus includes transforming managers into leaders, setting the stage for supporting psychological safety, and creating a continuous learning environment. She enjoys conducting studies to measure program effectiveness.
Within the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Dr. Gordon managed teams to develop training programs and products within an eLearning environment for over 100,000 staff in the Office of Nursing Services, Systems Redesign and Improvement, and Pain Management and Opioid Safety. She has taught High Reliability Organization and Change Management to VHA leaders and staff with a focus on zero harm to Veterans and employees.
Dr. Gordon’s career started at IBM in New York, where she served in different management roles involving product development, corporate training, marketing, and sales. From there, she joined Lucent Technologies, where she was recognized for her leadership abilities while managing international projects and Business-to-Business technical teams. As an Adjunct Professor, she shared her business knowledge in an online environment with undergraduate and graduate students.
For the past 15 years, Dr. Gordon has worked in military medicine, where she led the training efforts during the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) for what is now the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). Her career continued at WRNMMC, serving as Program Manager for Staff Resiliency and launching the first Workplace Violence Prevention Program for the Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency, National Capital Region. For years in the Leadership Academy, Dr. Gordon taught Emotionally Intelligent Leadership. She continues her work at WRNMMC through the American Red Cross as a volunteer supporting staff resiliency and teaching Clinical Leadership in the Charge Nurse course. She also currently assists staff in Inpatient Oncology. Previously, Dr. Gordon served on the MedEvac team for the Wounded, Ill, and Injured.
Dr. Gordon earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Instructional Design and Technology with minors in Cognitive Psychology and Cultural Anthropology from The Ohio State University. Her B.A. is in French from Fisk University, where she graduated with high honors and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Joan has produced programs across blended learning environments, worked behind the camera, and even performed in front of the camera. You may catch her in a previous Law and Order television episode.
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