Simmons School of Management

Specialization

Leadership, Gender, Diversity, Organizational Behavior, Corporate Social Responsibility

Bio

Deborah Merrill-Sands has served as dean of the School of Management at Simmons College since 2004. Dr. Merrill-Sands is an authority on gender dynamics in the workplace, women and leadership, and organizational change. As dean, Dr. Merrill Sands led the School’s successful process for earning the prestigious business school accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 2009. Less than 10% of business schools world-wide have AACSB accreditation. During her tenure she has also overseen the development of the School's nationally-ranked entrepreneurship program; integrated a focus on “principled leadership,” including business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and environmental sustainability, into the curriculum; expanded the faculty; strengthened faculty research; and, expanded global education and partnerships. She oversaw the design and development of a new “green” building for the School of Management that received Gold Level certification from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) in 2009. As dean, she serves as a member of the President’s senior leadership team at Simmons College.

In her previous role as the School's associate dean, she was responsible for executive education, research, development and alumnae relations, and corporate relations. She partnered with Deloitte to fund the School's first endowed chair in Women and Leadership and secured new Fortune 50 companies as Executive Education clients. Dr. Merrill-Sands is a co-founder and former co-director of the Center for Gender in Organizations, the research arm of the School of Management focused on deepening understanding of gender and diversity dynamics in the workplace and their impact on women's opportunities for leadership and on organizational performance. The Center was launched and supported through a multi-million dollar grant from the Ford Foundation.

Before joining the School of Management in 1998, Dr. Merrill-Sands was the leader of a major women's initiative in a large, global consortium of prestigious international research centers. Previously, her research, executive training, and consulting focused on strengthening research management in public sector research organizations in developing countries. Her research focused on research methodologies and organizational mechanisms that enable the integration of the perspectives of poor farmers into agricultural research priority-setting and technology development.
Dr. Merrill-Sands has considerable international experience, particularly in Europe, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa. She has consulted widely with major foundations and international development organizations, including the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, the International Development Research Center (IDRC), and several UN agencies. She has served on the boards of not-for-profits and international research organizations.
Dr. Merrill-Sands has received fellowships and grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Inter-American Foundation, and Fulbright-Hays. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in applied anthropology from Cornell University and her B.A. from Hampshire College. She is also a graduate of Porters’ School.

She is the author of numerous monographs, book chapters, and journal articles. Recent publications include: "Women Pursuing Leadership and Power: The Myth of the 'Opt-Out' Revolution", CGO Insight, 2005; "Creating and Sustaining Diversity and Inclusion in Organizations: Best Practices for Today and Tomorrow", in The Psychology and Management of Workplace Diversity (2003); and, "Social Differences Lens", in Reader in Gender, Work, and Organization (2003).

Recent speaking engagements include “Women and Leadership: What does gender have to do with it?”, keynote at Aetna’s Diversity in Action Series; “Reaching the Top Rung: Implications for Women in Leadership”, keynote at YWCA’s 2009 Women’s Leadership Conference; and, “Principled Leadership: Integrating Profitability and Social Responsibility”, keynote for PriceWaterhouseCooper’s Advisory Women’s Leadership Network.

Dean Merrill-Sands is quoted frequently in the media as an expert on women and leadership, including recent coverage on NPR’s “Tell Me More,” Bloomberg Radio, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Chicago Tribune, NY Times, and Boston Globe.

Publications

Selected Published Work

• Gupta, V., House, R. J., & Merrill-Sands, D. (2007). Principled Leadership in India: Linking GLOBE Findings with the Research at Simmons College. In Sarita Seshagiri (Ed.) Cross-cultural Leadership. ICFAI University Press.
• Merrill-Sands, D., Kickul, J., Ingols, C. (2005). Women Pursuing Leadership and Power: The myth of the “opt out revolution.” CGO Insight, No. 20. Center for Gender in Organizations, School of Management, Simmons College, Boston, MA.
• Holvino, E., Ferdman, B., & Merrill-Sands, D. (2004). Creating and Sustaining Diversity and Inclusion In Organizations: Best Practices For Today And Tomorrow. In F. Crosby and M. Stockdale (Ed.) The Psychology and Management of Workplace Diversity. Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell Publishers.
• Merrill-Sands, D. & Holvino, E. (2004). Working with Diversity: A focus on global organizations. In R. Ely, E. Foldy, M. Scully and the Center for Gender in Organizations (Ed.) Reader in Gender, Work, and Organizations, (pp. 327-342). Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell Publishers.
• Merrill-Sands, D. and Kolb, D. (2001). Women as Leaders: The paradox of success, CGO Insight, No. 9. Center for Gender in Organizations, School of Management, Simmons College, Boston, MA.
• Kolb, D. & Merrill-Sands, D. (1999). Waiting for Outcomes: Anchoring gender equity and organizational change in cultural assumptions. Women in Management Review, 14 (5).
• Merrill-Sands, D., Fletcher, J. K., & Acosta, A. (1999). Engendering Organizational Change: A case study of strengthening organizational effectiveness in an international agricultural research center. In A. Rao, R. Stuart, D. Kelleher (Ed.) Gender at Work: Organizational Change for Equality. Weston, CT: Kumarian Press.
• Merrill-Sands, D., Holvino, E., & Cumming, J. (2000). Working with Diversity: A Framework for Action, Nairobi, Kenya: CGIAR Gender and Diversity Program.
• Fletcher J. and Merrill-Sands D. (1998). Looking Below the Surface: The gendered nature of organizations. CGO Insights, No. 2. Center for Gender in Organizations, School of Management, Simmons College, Boston, MA.
• Kolb, D., Fletcher, J., Meyerson, D., Merrill-Sands, D., Ely, R. (1998). Making Change: A Framework for Promoting Gender Equity in Organizations. CGO Insight, No. 1. Center for Gender in Organizations, School of Management, Simmons College, Boston, MA.
• Joshi, J. & Merrill-Sands, D. (1998). The Role of Boards in Addressing Gender Staffing Issues, Washington, D.C.: CGIAR Gender Program, CGIAR Secretariat, World Bank.
• Joshi, J., Goldberg, E. Scherr, S., & Merrill-Sands, D. (1998). Towards Gender Equity: Model Policies, Washington, D.C.: CGIAR Gender Program, CGIAR Secretariat, World Bank.
• Merrill-Sands, D. (1995). Women Scientists and Managers in Agricultural Research in the Philippines, The Hague, Netherlands: International Service for Agricultural Research (ISNAR).
• Merrill-Sands, D. & Kaimowitz, D. (1992). The Technology Triangle: Linking Farmers, Technology Transfer Agents, and Agricultural Researchers, The Hague, Netherlands: International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR).
• Merrill-Sands, D. & McAllister, J. (1988). Strengthening the Integration of On-Farm Client-Oriented Research and Experiment Station Research in National Agricultural Systems, The Hague, Netherlands: International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR).
• Merrill-Sands, D. (1986). The Technology Applications Gap, Rome, Italy: United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Research

Research and Program Grants

• 2002: Senior Advisor, Teen Girls on Business Study, The Committee of 200 and Simmons School of Management ($162,000).
• 2001: Principal Investigator, "CGIAR Organizational Change Program," Ford Foundation
  ($500,000).
• 2001: Co-Principal Investigator, "Institution Building Grant, Phase II, Center for Gender in Organizations, School of Management, Simmons College," Ford Foundation ($875,000).
• 2000: Principal Investigator, "Workload, organizational performance, and gender equity," action research project, International Development Research Centre ($135,000).
• 1999: Principal Investigator, "Promoting gender and diversity in research organizations," Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research ($25,000).
• 1998: Co-Principal Investigator, "Institution-Building Grant, Phase I, Center for Gender in Organizations, School of Management, Simmons College," PRI-Ford Foundation ($1,200,000).
• 1986: Principal Investigator, On-Farm, Client-Oriented Research: An international study, Government of Italy ($900,000).

Awards & Accolades

• 1985: Postdoctoral Fellow in Social Sciences, Rockefeller Foundation.
• 1980: Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship on Social Change, InterAmerican Foundation.
• 1980: Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellow, Fulbright-Hays.
• 1980: Doctoral Dissertation Research Fellow, Social Science Research Council.
• 1978-1980: Andrew D. White Fellowship, Cornell University.

Professional Services

Board Member: Advisory Board

• 2007: Technical Advisor, Women in Healthcare Leadership Project, Catalyst, the Women's Health Program at the University of Michigan Health System, and the Griffith Leadership Center at the University of Michigan School of Public Health (National).
• 2004-2009: National Council for Research on Women, Corporate Circle, New York, New York (National).
• 2002-2009: Ms. Foundation, Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Program, New York, New York (National).
• 2001: Reviewer, National Science Foundation, ADVANCE Program Grants.
• 1999-2000: Gender and Diversity Program, Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research, Washington, District of Columbia (International).

Board Member: Board of Trustees

• 2003-2007: Miss Porters' School, Farmington, Connecticut (National).
• 1999-2001: International Center on Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya (International).

Consulting Work

Dean Merrill-Sands has taught extensively in Simmons School of Management Executive Education, including modules on leadership, leading change, and managing gender dynamics in custom leadership development programs for women with Deloitte, Time Warner, and Verizon, as well as the open enrollment program, Strategic Leadership for Women. Merrill-Sands has consulted widely with for-profit and not-for-profit organizations on policies and practices for enhancing leadership opportunities for women of diverse backgrounds. Earlier in her career, she consulted on research organization and management in the public sector in developing countries.

Speaking Engagements

Selected Speaking Engagements

• 2009: Aetna Diversity in Action Series, “Women and Leadership: What does gender have to do with it?” Hartford, CT.
• 2009: YWCA Women’s Leadership Conference, “Reaching the Top Rung: Implications for Women in Leadership,” Cleveland, OH.
• 2008: PriceWaterhouseCooper’s Advisory Women’s Leadership Network, “'Principled Leadership: Integrating Profitability and Social Responsibility,” Boston, MA.
• 2007: Morgan Stanley, Gender Dynamics: Implications for Women's Leadership, Tarrytown, NY.
• 2007: Fashion Institute of Technology, “Gender Dynamics in the Workplace: Implications for Women and Leadership,” New York, NY.
• 2004: Northern Trust Senior Women's Conference, “Gender Dynamics in the Workplace: Implications for women and leadership,” Chicago, IL.
• 2004: Hewlett Packard, “Gender Dynamics in the Workplace: Implications for women and leadership,” San Diego, CA, Portland, OR, Boise, ID.
• 2003: JPMorgan Chase Global Senior Women’s Conference, “Gender Dynamics in the Workplace: Implications for Women and Leadership,” New York City, NY.
• 2003: Financial Women's Association, "Women as Leaders: Paradox of success - Claiming your leadership value," Chicago, IL.
• 2003: Goldman Sachs, "Women as Leaders: Paradox of success - Claiming your leadership value," New York City, NY.
• 2003: State Street Bank, "Women as Leaders: Paradox of success - Claiming your leadership value," Boston, MA.
• 2003: Sun Life Financial, "Women as Leaders: Paradox of success - Claiming your leadership value," Boston, MA.
• 2002: John Hopkins University Committee on the Status of Women, “Perspectives on Gender Equity: Strategies for Change,” Baltimore, MD.
• 2002: Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Dental Medicine Joint Committee on the Status of Women, "Advancing Women as Leaders: Paradox of success," Boston, MA.

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