Leslie McCalla

Leslie McCalla is a doctoral student at the University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies, pursuing a Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on information systems and technology. She is Senior Manager of Intelligent Automation at Love's Travel Stops and Country Stores, where she leads the enterprise process automation team. Her earlier career in treasury, financial reporting, and enterprise resource planning systems, along with an MBA in finance and the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) credential, grounds her work at the intersection of finance, technology, and organizational change.

Leslie's dissertation examines complexity leadership strategies that help U.S. family-owned small and medium-sized enterprises adopt emerging digital technologies while preserving the identity, relationships, and socioemotional wealth that make these businesses distinct. This focus grew from what she observed while leading automation and AI adoption in practice: these tools change not only how work gets done but how people connect, and their promise is realized only when leaders protect the trust, conversation, and belonging that hold a workplace together. 

Her research interests include technology, AI, and organizational culture; social capital, psychological safety, and belonging in the workplace; and leadership approaches that keep the human element at the center of digital adoption. Her aim, in research and in practice, is to help organizations adopt emerging technology in ways that are practical, sustainable, and centered on the people whose work and livelihoods depend on getting the change right, and she looks forward to learning alongside the center's members and contributing to its mission of healthier, more connected organizational cultures.