Professional Profile
As a researcher, I interrogate organizational change through intersectional and critical theoretical perspectives, investigating how institutions navigate complex transformational initiatives while grappling with deeply embedded power relations. My research agenda examines the political dimensions of organizational becoming, with particular attention to anti-racist change processes, sensemaking, paradoxes, and resistance in both formal and informal organizational contexts. My dissertation explores how organizations proclaim and navigate anti-racist change, examining the constitutive role of power in organizational becoming and surfacing how various stakeholders make sense of and experience these complex change processes.
Education & Background
PhD in Business Administration (Organizations and Social Change)
University of Massachusetts Boston | Expected Dec. 2025
MSc in Prosperity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
University College London (UCL) | Distinction | Best Dissertation Award
Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resource Management
First Class Honors | University for Development Studies, Ghana
Best Graduating Student, RAINS Cash Prize for First Female to attain First Class Honors
Diploma in Integrated Business Studies
Distinction | University for Development Studies, Ghana
Awards & Recognition
I am an American Association of University Women (AAUW) International Fellow (2023-2024). Currently, I am completing my Ph.D. in Business Administration (Organizations and Social Change, ABD) at the University of Massachusetts Boston's College of Management. I earned my MSc in Prosperity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship with Distinction from University College London (UCL), where my dissertation on employee-driven green human resource management received the Best Dissertation Award. I also hold a Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resource Management, Honors) from the University for Development Studies, Ghana.
I have received over $272,000 in fellowships and scholarships, including the American Association of University Women (AAUW) International Fellowship, The Dean Fellowships, and the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship. I have also been recognized with the Critical Management Studies Division's Most Promising Early Career Paper Award (Academy of Management, 2024), Ph.D. Award for Academic Distinction in Organizations and Social Change (College of Management, UMass Boston, 2023), Beacon Emerging Leader Award (University of Massachusetts Boston, 2023), and University College London Institute for Global Prosperity Best Dissertation Award (2021). Additionally, I was named Best Graduating Student at the University for Development Studies (2019) and received the RAINS Cash Prize as First Female to attain First Class Honors.
Scholarly Practice
My scholarly practice is deeply informed by ongoing engagement with practice through my role and experience with working local organizations advancing women's and girls' empowerment through research, advocacy, and action, particularly in Northern Ghana.
Areas of Expertise
Organizational Change and Resistance
Power Dynamics and Sensemaking
Informal Economies and Grassroots Leadership
Sustainability and Green Human Resource Management (GHRM)
Rural Entrepreneurship and Gender
Contact Information
For collaboration opportunities or to discuss my research, please contact me at Patricia.naya001@umb.edu.