Joan Marques

Joan Marques (TEDx talk: https://youtu.be/LJPLY-SJakM) migrated in 1998 from her home country, Suriname, in South America, to California in the USA. With a two decades spanning background in radio and television production and a Bachelor's degree in Business Economics, she decided that education would become her second career. She earned an MBA (Woodbury University, '99), a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership (Ed.D., Pepperdine University, 2004), another Doctorate in Social Sciences (Ph.D., Tilburg University, 2011), and started facilitating courses at the University level. She also started writing short articles and columns for various sources worldwide. Based on the encouraging responses she received, she decided to move to the next level: publishing books. In 2004/2005, she published a compilation of her articles in "Empower the Leader in You!" and a short story about performing with a global mindset, titled, "The Global Village."

In 2007, Joan published "The Awakened Leader" and "Spirituality in the Workplace" (co-written with Satinder Dhiman and Richard King) through Personhood Press. In the same year, she had two other works published through ICFAI Business School in Hyderabad, India: "Interbeing: Thoughts On Achieving Personal And Professional Excellence Toward Greater Mutuality", and "Seasoned Adages for Modern Days' Leaders", a compilation of more than 100 ancient sayings (odo's) from her homecountry, Suriname, interpreted into leadership behavior.

In 2008, Joan initiated a major project with multiple authors, which led to the 2009 production "The Workplace and Spirituality: New Perspectives in Research and Practice," (SkyLight Paths). This book became a valuable anthology on workplace spirituality, an increasingly important topic for members of the global workforce, entailing contributions from 25 authors worldwide.

In 2010, Personhood Press published "Joy at Work: Work at Joy: Living And Working Mindfully Every Day." This wonderful hardcover book contains a daily quote, action plan, and a point to ponder, and aims to help members of the workforce regain their inner balance and willpower to attain personal and professional excellence at work and anywhere else.

In 2011, Joan finalized her studies in Buddhist Psychology in work environments, earning a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from Tilburg University in The Netherlands. In 2011 and 2012 she co-wrote and co-edited several works, published through Palgrave-MacMillan and Kendall-Hunt. Additionally, she launched two illustrated giftbooks, "101 Pebbles to Pave Your Way through the Day", and "Life is a Jewel" in 2012.

Joan has since (co-)wrote and (co-)published several works with Palgrave-MacMillan, Springer-Nature, and Routledge:

Courage in the Twenty-First Century (Palgrave MacMillan - Pivot, 2013), Leadership and Mindful Behavior (Palgrave MacMillan, 2014), Leading Spiritually: Ten Effective Approaches to Workplace Spirituality (Palgrave MacMillan, 2014), Business and Buddhism (Routledge, 2015), Leadership Today: Practices for Personal and Professional Performance (Springer, 2016), Leadership: Finding balance between ambition and acceptance (Routledge, 2016), Spirituality and Sustainability: New Horizons and Exemplary Approaches (Springer, 2016), Ethical Leadership: Progress with a Moral Compass (Routledge, 2017), "Engaged Leadership: Transforming through Future-Oriented Design Thinking" (Springer, 2018), Lead with Heart in Mind: Treading the Noble Eightfold Path For Mindful and Sustainable Practice (Springer-Copernicus, 2019), Exploring Gender at Work: Multiple Perspectives (Palgrave, 2021), Innovative Leadership in Times of Compelling Changes: Strategies, Reflections and Tools (Springer, 2021), Leading With Awareness: A Roadmap for Awakened Leaders (Routledge, 2021), Leadership after COVID-19: Working Together Toward a Sustainable Future (Springer, 2022), and Leading With Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Approaches, Practices and Cases for Integral Leadership Strategy (Springer, 2022).

Aside from writing books, Joan serves as Dean of the School of Business and Full Professor of Management at Woodbury University's School of Business, facilitating courses in both, the MBA and BBA programs. She presents a bi-weekly radio program called "De Andere Kant" ("The Other Side") through Mart Cultural Radio and Television Network in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For more than 10 years she also wrote a weekly newspaper column titled "Goeiemorgen Suriname" in "De Ware Tijd", one of the largest daily newspapers in Suriname, South-America. She co-organizes and presents workshops for business and non-profit entities in the Los Angeles area through ASPEX, the Academy of Spirituality and Professional Excellence.

Joan has three children, and four grandchildren. She lives in Lakeview Terrace, California. Her website is at www.joanmarques.com, and her email jmarques01@earthlink.net