Professor Emerita, University of Southern California Marshall School/Preventive Medicine Research. Author of THE SECRET HANDSHAKE, SHADOW CAMPUS and DAMNED IF SHE DOES
Professor Emerita, USC Marshall School of Business with a joint position in preventive medicine, Kathleen is a Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Mortar Board and a member of the International Women's Forum (IWF). She was a featured blogger at Huffpo from 2005 to 2016 and for Big Think. She is the author of numerous articles, including The Harvard Business Review classic, "The Memo Every Woman Keeps in Her Desk," and "Courage as a Skill." She has published ten nonfiction books on communication, persuasion, negotiation, gender issues and politics in organizations, including bestsellers THE SECRET HANDSHAKE and IT'S ALL POLITICS. She has consulted extensively for organizations and was visiting professor at Stanford University and Distinguished Research Scholar at The Irish Management Institute. She has turned her hand to fiction as well. Her debut novel, SHADOW CAMPUS, captures the behind-the-scenes culture of a university where moral turpitude is common and a young woman's tenure, her relationship with an estranged brother, and her life hang in the balance. Forbes described it as a "fast-paced" and "masterful debut." The sequel, DAMNED IF SHE DOES (2020), a NYC-based crime mystery, was described by Kirkus Reviews as "informed and searing" and a "page-turning success." Kathleen is originator and co-founder of The First Star Academies overcoming obstacles and preparing foster children to attend college. She received the University of Connecticut Alumni Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2013. Kathleen lives in Ireland where she writes and is an artist in watercolor and oils. She developed an art website for people with Parkinson's disease at www.paintingdoc.com. Her political writing and other art is at www.kathleenkelleyreardon.com and at a Facebook page, Kathleen Kelley Reardon.