Author biographies

Bob Boland has had and continues to have a rich and varied career. With an MD and MPH from Johns Hopkins University and DBA and ITP (International Teachers Program) degrees from Harvard Business School, he started as a charted accountant in London, England. Dr. Boland worked for various organizations as a US Certified Public Accountant, including Pete Marwick in the USA and Arthur Andersen in Europe. He was instrumental in setting up the management school for MBA and Executive programs at Cranfield Business School in England. He also helped create the business school at INSEAD in Fountainbleau, France, and the Graduate School of Business at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Dr. Boland invented AGL (Autonomous Group Learning) as management training which is used by the Institute of Directors and other organizations around the globe. The program has been translated into nine languages and is used in thirty countries around the world for over 100,000 managers. He also invented BOL, which offers 450 language systems in ten languages. A member of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Boland has worked in forty countries on research development projects and teaching accounting, the environment and management.The author of many books and publications, Dr. Boland also offers CreativeLearning Exercise (CRE) courses for language, health, and management training. He has also consulted for many global organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Agency for International Development (AID), the Peace Corps, Shell Corporation, and Nokia.

Victor M. Cassidy is a professional writer and conservation volunteer based in Chicago , Illinois . He has published in conservation periodicals and, in 2004, edited Hunting for Frogs on Elston, a volume of nature journalism.

Cassidy has edited trade journals, written art criticism, and has slowly discovered the vibrant environmental movement in the Chicago area. As his interest in this subject deepened, he took courses which included field ecology, plant identification, wetlands, and prairies, leading to a Naturalist Certificate from the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.

For nearly ten years, Cassidy has worked as a field volunteer in nature preserves near Chicago. Recently, he helped organize field seminars at restoration sites where advanced volunteers exchanged information about their work. He also helped to organize a daylong series of workshops for more than 700 conservation volunteers. Henry Chandler Cowles: Pioneer Ecologist is his first ecology book.
To learn more visit www.victorcassidy.com


Richard (Dick) Edington has been a freelance photographer for over 25 years, specializing in landscapes and nature subjects. Having lived in Iowa, Illinois and Ohio, much of his work is of the Midwest. However, he has photographed many other areas, including both US coasts, Canada and Europe.

Dick began his photographic interests in the darkroom, printing black and white images as well as color prints directly from transparencies. He has since moved to the digital world and has been using digital cameras and software for the past several years.

His credits include award-winning photos in numerous competitions and his images have appeared in several calendars and various publications. Exhibits in art centers and libraries have displayed his work. He has been a photo judge and instructor.

Dick and his wife, Pat, reside in Westfield Center, Ohio and have two adult children and two grandchildren.

David Jowsey was born and raised in Middlesbrough, England. He trained as a primary school teacher at Bretton Hall College where he studied Visual Arts, and is currently a teacher at Ravensworth Junior School. This is his first novel. To learn more visit www.davidjowsey.com and www.dragonsinthesky.com.


Andrew Kakabadse is Professor of International Management Development at Cranfield University, School of Management in England. He was ACT Visiting Professor at the Australian National University, Canberra, was Visiting Professor at Hangzhou University, China, was Visiting Fellow at Babson College, Boston, USA, was Honorary Professorial Fellow, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia, and was the H. Smith Richardson Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Creative Leadership, North Carolina, USA, Oct 2005-06. Andrew is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Ulster, Visiting Scholar in Residence at Thunderbird, School of Global Management, USA, and Visiting Professor at Macquarie Graduate School of Management, and at Swinburne University, Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Management, Fellow of the British Psychology Society and Fellow of the British Academy of Management. Andrew has consulted and lectured in the UK, Europe, the USA, SE Asia, China, Japan, Russia, Georgia, the Gulf States and Australia. He was also Vice Chancellor of the International Academy of Management and has been Chairman of the Division of Occupational Psychology, British Psychological Society, 2001. His current areas of interest focus on leadership, governance, boardroom performance, change management, improving the performance of top executives and top executive teams, excellence in consultancy practice, social and public administration, organisational behaviour and international relations. Andrew is currently involved with on a major world study of boardroom effectiveness and governance practice. A number of governments are participating in this new study, including British Ministers of State. He has been awarded a £2 million research grant to examine Governance and Leadership in the private sector and with governments. He has published 30 books, over 190 articles and 18 monographs, including the best-selling books Essence of Leadership, Politics of Management, Working in Organisations, and The Wealth Creators. His five latest books are entitled, Geopolitics of Governance, Smart Sourcing: International Best Practice, Corporate Social Responsibility: Reconciling Aspiration with Application, Leading the Board and Governance, and Strategy and Policy: Seven Critical Essays. Andrew is co-editor of the Journal of Management Development and Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society. He also sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Managerial Psychology and the Leadership and Organisation Development Journal. He held positions on the boards of a number of companies and has also been adviser to a Channel 4 business series.


Gary Lehrer has had distinguished career in corporate America despite his struggle with dyslexia. Beginning in the textile industry, he climbed the ranks in multi-billion dollar world class companies, exceeding expectations as he contributed to growth expansion with his business skills while performing as Production Manager, District Manager, Assistant General Manager and General Manager. He has worked in many sectors, including service and construction.

After chalking up success and capturing the attention of organizations with his track record of producing growth and profits, Gary has spelled out the secret of his success in Driving Results: A Positive Effect on Employee’s Lives. To learn more about Gary, visit www.lehrerlehrer.com.


Nada Kakabadse is currently Professor in Management and Business Research at the University of Northampton, Business School. Previously, she held the position of Senior Research Fellow at the Cranfield School of Management. Before entering academia, Nada was a Senior Information Technology Officer with the Australian Public Services Department of Employment, Education and Training. She has worked for international organisations in Scandinavia, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as for the Canadian Federal Government. She has a BSc in Mathematics and Computing, a Graduate Diploma in Management Sciences, a Masters Degree in Public Administration at the University of Canberra (Australia), and has earned her PhD in Management at the University of Western Sydney - Nepean (Australia). Nada has co-authored eight books (with Andrew Kakabadse), Leadership in Government: Study of the Australian Public Services (1998), Essence of Leadership (1999), Creating Futures: Innovative Applications of IS/IT (2000), The Geopolitics of Governance (2001), Smart Sourcing (2002), Intimacy (2004), Governance, Strategy and Policy: Seven Critical Essays (2006) and CSR in Practice: Delving Deep (2007). She has contributed 48 chapters to international volumes and has published over 100 scholarly articles. Her current areas of interest focus on governance, CSR, leadership and boardroom effectiveness, leadership and governance of governments, addictive effect of ICT and strategic sourcing. She is co-editor of the Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society and Journal of Management Development. Nada and her co-authors won the William E. Mosher and Frederick C. Mosher Award for the best article written by an academician in the journal of Public Administration Review (PAR) in 2003 as well as best paper of the year in the Journal of Managerial Psychology (JMP) in 1998.


Irene Malvezi was born in Brazil and now lives and works in England. After qualifying at The Surrey Institute of Art and Design with BA Honours in Graphic Design, she has spent much of her professional career on technical design, illustration and photography for highly prestigious companies including The Royal Collection, Bloc Eyewear and Veritas Gifts (Corporate Luxury Accessories). She met Linda Nissen Samuels while exhibiting her work at “The Untitled Artists Fair” in Chelsea, London, and was immediately captivated by Linda’s ideas for Draw Water and Other Things.

To learn more about Irene, visit www.irenemalvezi.co.uk.


Laurie Mook is director of the Social Economy Centre of the University of Toronto. She has degrees in accounting, international development, and education. She was a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada doctoral fellow at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. As part of her research, Mook has taken the lead in designing accounting statements that are appropriate for organizations with a social mission. One such adaptation is the Expanded Value Added Statement (EVAS), a statement that illustrates the impact of the organization upon the surrounding community and the effects of the organization on an array of stakeholders. In her Ph.D. thesis, Mook has applied this framework to environmental accounting.


Patrice Ann Nuq is Associate Professor and Department Head of Marketing and Management at the International University in Geneva, Switzerland. Professor Nuq draws on extensive international market experience in strategic and operational marketing aimed at customer loyalty and satisfaction. Professor Nuq is the founder and director of Synergies Marketing, providing global marketing services. As Director of Marketing, Customer Development, Patrice was instrumental in launching Orange into the Swiss market building on her successful track record in the marketing of leading high technology brands, having started her career in the United States working at RCA Global Communications and ITT World Communications.

This was followed by international roles where she lived and worked in the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland, working with world leaders such as: British Telecommunications, Digital Equipment /Compaq, and Orange Communications.

Patrice is recognized for maximizing company and customer value while sustaining competitive advantage and profitability having received various corporate service awards for building customer value and satisfaction throughout her corporate career. Patrice has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a Masters in Business Administration from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Management in the United States.


Klaus Oestreicher is a Senior Lecturer in International Business with the Worcester Business School of the University of Worcester. Specialising in fast moving consumer goods and the Home Entertainment industry, Klaus brings over twenty years of practitioner experience to academia. He has served as director and has been a member various multinational company boards and has consulted for European and overseas customers.

Often a guest lecturer around the globe, Klaus is a Chartered Marketer and Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, an Accredited Practitioner and Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, a Fellow with the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management and a Member of CEROS, Centre d’études et de recherches sur les organisations et la strategie with the Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, France. His research, which has appeared in numerous European and US publications, is focused on Innovation and Strategic Communication.


Jack Quarter is a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, specializing in the study of nonprofits, cooperatives, and the social economy. He is one of the first researchers in English Canada to undertake a comprehensive study of the social economy, published in his 1992 book, Canada's Social Economy. Quarter is the author of 12 books and over 100 journal papers and book chapters addressing a broad range of social issues. He is the principal investigator for large number of research projects funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), including the research currently being undertaken through the Social Economy Centre, but his more recent work has, together with Mook and Richmond, focused upon social accounting and its application to nonprofits and cooperatives.


Betty Jane Richmond (B.J.) is a professor in the Faculty of Education, York University, specializing in inclusive education, adult and community education. Richmond has extensive experience in the nonprofit sector including work with a large Ontario-wide funder of nonprofits. For her doctoral thesis (under the supervision of Jack Quarter) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, Richmond developed the Community Social Return on Investment model and applied it to a community-based training agency for people on social assistance because of various forms of disability. Richmond won the outstanding dissertation award for 1999 from ARNOVA (Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Associations), the leading learned society in this field.


Linda Nissen Samuels was born in South Africa where she earned a Fine Arts degree with honours. She later settled in the United Kingdom. A teacher for 25 years, as well as a prolific artist, Linda has exhibited at the Royal Society of Marine Artists and The Sunday Times Watercolour competition in the Mall Galleries. Many of her pupils are successful artists and designers. Her exclusive greeting cards for the international charity, WaterAid, have raised substantial sums for the organization.

Linda exhibits frequently in France and has won several awards at the International Grand Prix of Art in Cannes, winning her second Gold Medal in 2009. Her four passions are her family, painting, teaching and the light and landscape of Southern France.

To learn more about Linda, visit www.nissensamuels.com.


Susan L. Taft has led two very different lives. Her professional vocation has been as a research chemist, engineer, and manufacturing business owner. She is an entrepreneur with over thirty years of experience in a wide range of industries and currently provides business consultant services to a range of clients. However, her avocation and passion has always been in whitewater paddling. This interest drove an infatuation for exploring and tracking the history of whitewater culminating in the publication of the The River Chasers, which was accepted into the U.S. Library of Congress. She has been a regular contributor to American Whitewater as well as the Executive Director of the International Whitewater Hall of Fame and is frequently contacted for her expertise of the history of whitewater. To learn more visit www.theriverchasers.com and www.flowingwaterpress.com.


Justin Thorne was born in Jersey, Channel Islands and was raised on the island, in Australia and in the UK. He has an MSc in Marketing from the University of Glamorgan and is considered one of the UK's leading authorities on online communities and post-modern marketing. He is a Chartered Marketer and has managed global and national brands including Coca-Cola, Hovis, Schweppes, Budweiser, Lloyds TSB and Pepsi. He currently lives in Jersey with his girlfriend Ellie, his two children and a cat, where he continues to write fiction, music, academic journals and provide strategic marketing support for the world's leading organizations and brands. To learn more visit www.justinthorne.com.