Dr. Joan Marques is a trailblazing scholar, author, and educator whose work reshapes the way we think about leadership, ethics, and spirituality in business. As Dean of the School of Business at Woodbury University, she has pioneered a bold academic vision that fuses mindfulness with management, turning conventional leadership models on their heads.

Armed with dual doctorates—a PhD in Social Sciences from Tilburg University and an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine—Marques has architected a revolutionary academic vision spanning three decades. Born in Suriname and steeped in international experience, she commands unprecedented scholarly influence with over 40 published books, 180+ peer-reviewed articles, and an extraordinary 5,946 citations alongside an impressive h-index of 36.

Her masterwork, the Encyclopedia of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Spirituality (Springer 2025), exemplifies her ability to synthesize complex interdisciplinary research into transformative societal impact. Beyond this achievement, Marques has repeatedly assembled large cohorts of scholars and practitioners to produce influential handbooks and anthologies for Springer, Palgrave-Macmillan, Routledge, and other premier publishers.

Among her acclaimed single-authored works are GAIN Positive and Mindful Self-Leadership, Lead with Heart in Mind, Leading with Awareness, Leadership: Finding Balance Between Ambition and Acceptance, Ethical Leadership, Business and Buddhism, and The Awakened Leader.

Beyond traditional academia, she co-founded the Academy of Spirituality and Professional Excellence and the Business Renaissance Institute, fostering global consciousness across continents. Honored as “Commandeur in the Honorary Order of the Yellow Star” by the President of Suriname, and recipient of the Dr. Nelle Becker-Slaton Pathfinder Award from the Association of Pan-African Doctoral Scholars, the Kankantrie Lifetime Achievement Award in Education from the Suriname-American Network Inc. (SANI), and the Dora Kirby Award from Woodbury University, Marques embodies the rare synthesis of rigorous scholarship and soulful wisdom—a dynamic catalyst awakening conscious leadership for the 21st century.

Watch Dean Marques talk about the School of Business

Watch Dean Marques talk about DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION

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Education

PhD, Social Sciences, Tilburg University, Netherlands
EdD, Organizational Leadership, Pepperdine University
MBA, Woodbury University