Dr J.M. Ford (Judith)

Judith Ford joined the Amsterdam School of International Business (AMSIB) in August 2021 as a lecturer and researcher in leadership, cross-cultural management and sustainability. Her teaching related courses to first, second- and fourth-year bachelor students, as well as supervising graduating students through their internships and theses, draws from twenty years of international communication, marketing, strategic and sustainability planning work in the high tech and experiential design industries. She coordinates the first year course on Ethics, Responsibility and Sustainability, collaborated with AMSIB colleagues to create a minor focused on Changemaking, and in July presented the first round findings from a PUMP-PRME-funded research project on Sustainable Leadership for Climate Resilience in the Northern Temperate Atlantic Bioregion .

Dr. Ford's interdisciplinary PhD research within the Athena Institute for Science and Society at the Vrije Universiteit looked at how an institutionalised western worldview has shaped the concept of climate change - limiting the range of solutions deemed viable to address it - and how regional resilience can be built upon the unique assets of place. She is an experienced designer and facilitator of pan-sector collaborations around social and environmental issues. Following her PhD defence, she conducted a three year fellowship in Sustainability and Resilience with the Center for Environmental Inquiry at Sonoma State University, the results of which were outlined in the chapter for Palgrave, “Building a Better Ark: The Potential of Engaging Cultural Thought Leaders and Addressing Power Differential in Authentic, Community-Driven Resilience Planning”. Her concurrent work within the Wine Business Institute research team on organisational trust and resilience in the face of natural disaster resulted in multiple academic and trade articles and presentations, impacting policies within the Sonoma and Napa Valley wine industry. She holds a BA in Communication from California State University, Northridge and an International MBA from the University of San Diego.