Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Rebecca Carew

Rebecca Carew (Class of ‘25), discusses how her EdD has impacted her current role at Google and discusses her experience at Spalding.

I knew I wanted a terminal degree. I looked at PhD and EdD programs and decided to pursue an EdD because I’m a problem solver and focusing on real-world issues appealed to me. When I saw there were courses in leading innovation, ethical leadership, and leadership in local and transnational contexts, combined with Spalding’s commitment to inclusiveness and compassion, Spalding became my first choice.

I am a Learning and Organizational Effectiveness Program Manager at Google. My team manages leadership development, career development, and organizational effectiveness programs for Google Data Centers. I help my teammates measure the impact and effectiveness of our programs and come up with creative solutions for complex learning and organizational challenges, and mentor peers across the Google learning community in how to successfully integrate technology into their training solutions.

The idea for my board game came from a brainstorming session for a training event. I brainstormed a role-playing activity with a colleague, and the concept of a road trip with coworkers, a scenario full of potential conflicts and collaborative problem-solving, stuck in my mind as an interesting real-life situation. I proposed a road trip board game as a project in Dr. Calleroz White’s Leading Innovation and Creating Change across Communities course. We needed a decision-making activity for a leadership development program, one that would encourage strategic thinking and collaborative problem solving, and the interactive nature of a board game seemed like the perfect fit to appeal to most of the participants. I’ve always been fascinated by decision-making; I designed a course about decision-making in the context of the 20th century for Dr. Jefferson’s class, so the subject matter was fresh in my mind.

Road Trip was designed to allow players to practice empathy, strategic thinking, and decision-making in a familiar environment. Everyone has been on a road trip of some type and struggled with choosing lodgings and places to eat that everyone could agree on. One of the things I love about road trips is novelty destinations. There are so many off the beaten track experiences that show the kitschy side of a community, and there are eighteen possible ‘tourist traps’ to visit during the game. The game takes place on a mid-century diner style map; teams of players move their cars from spot to spot on their way to an event. At every stop, they must make a decision: where to eat, where to sleep, which tourist trap to visit, who changes a flat tire, and so on. Each player is assigned a persona at the beginning of the game, and these personas drive their decision-making. The game has been played in-person and virtually with a facilitator for almost a year, and the feedback has been very positive, with participants reporting an increase in decision-making confidence and a greater understanding of diverse perspectives. The game also increases the participants’ understanding of the importance of empathy when working in teams.

I can’t think of just one! Early in the EdD program, I was struggling to reconcile my understanding of leadership with some of the real-world examples I was witnessing. Coming out of a time of heightened societal division, and having recently experienced organizational restructuring at work, I found it difficult to think of leadership in positive terms. Dr. Harbolt provided invaluable guidance by helping me broaden my perspective.

Dr. Jefferson encouraged me to pursue decision-making as a research topic. I wrote one of my favorite papers in his class; a study of Daniel Ellsberg’s decision to release the Pentagon Papers. Dr. Jefferson understood how important it was for me to write that paper and provided fantastic feedback.

Road Trip would never have come to fruition if it weren’t for Dr. Calleroz White. We’ve stayed in touch, and she’s been a constant source of encouragement, celebrating my successes alongside me. Her course was a pivotal turning point for me, both academically and professionally. Before her class, I don’t think I fully recognized or had confidence in my own potential. Her unwavering support and mentorship have empowered me to achieve goals I never even imagined setting.

I have several exciting speaking engagements coming up, including a workshop on board game design and a research and innovation summit where I’ll discuss how board games can drive workplace performance. I’ve also just completed testing a new card game, and the final artwork has been sent to the publisher.

Looking ahead, I plan to continue collecting Road Trip data, with the goal of conducting a longitudinal study on the game’s impact on decision-making within my organization.