Bailey to lead AAAS workshops

Dr. Allison Bailey, associate professor at the Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis (IESA) at the University of North Georgia (UNG), will be leading a series of leadership workshops titled "Successfully Leading Culturally Diverse Teams and Audiences" during the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference on Feb. 16 in Boston.

During these conference workshops, attendees will be working to grow their professional people skills through enhancing their knowledge on diverse cultures, cultural norms and leadership qualities. By engaging a deeper education in these factors, these members will have a larger influence on their intended audience being able to show more courtesy, sensitivity and respect while also considering the needs and feelings of a variety of people in different situations.

"Becoming a more effective leader is always about continual learning; as the culture and social norms change, leaders must continually assess preconceived biases and recognize individual strengths and weaknesses both in themselves and in others. As scientists and leaders who perform excellently within their specific disciplines, each must pursue ongoing self-development to meet the demands and needs of culturally diverse audiences," Bailey said.

Bailey has a bachelor’s degree in English education, a master’s degree in speech communication with extensive graduate-level study in geography, geology, environmental sociology, and GIS.  She also holds an Ed.D. in administrative leadership and has nearly 20 years of experience teaching interpersonal communication classes on the collegiate level.