Meet Our Business and Management Faculty

Monica Sava Bruenn

Program Chair, Master of Science in Management (Core Courses), and Collegiate Professor

Monica Sava Bruenn is a strong business professional with more than 30 years of experience teaching in the health, business, and education fields. During this time, she has taught undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and professional students. She earned a prestigious Presidential Award from UMGC in 2015, a UMGC MBA Excellence Award in 2003, and the Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award in 2003.

Bruenn earned a PhD and MA in measurement, statistics, and evaluation from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a BS in mathematics from Fordham University. She has experience within both the education and biomedical/pharmaceutical research industries. Her areas of expertise include healthcare administration, IT management, experimental design, global environments, organizational processes, measurement, survey methodology, health informatics, statistical sampling, statistical data analysis, data warehousing, clinical trials, functional diagnostic nutrition, and herbalism.

She is also president and owner of Pond Brook Horse and Herb Farm, a Connecticut-based organization that rescues animals from slaughterhouses and rehabilitates them.

Maggie Elgin

Program Chair, Nonprofit and Association Management

Maggie Elgin begin her work with the Graduate School at University of Maryland Global Campus in 1986 as an adjunct professor teaching research methods. Concurrently, she worked at major associations in downtown Washington, D.C., including the American Bankers Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Home Builders. Her primary responsibilities in these associations were adult education and market research. In 2008, she joined the Graduate School full-time as program chair of the nonprofit and association management program.

Her teaching experience involves adult learners and she is focused on teaching in the nonprofit and association management program. She primarily teaches NPMN 655: Process and Outcome Evaluation for Nonprofit Organizations. Elgin is a recipient of the Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award.

Elgin's degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in sociology, a Master of Arts in psychology, and a PhD in counseling adult students and research. She is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.

Mitchell E. Marovitz

Program Chair, Public Relations, and Collegiate Professor

Mitchell E. Marovitz, APR, Fellow PRSA, is a collegiate professor and chair of the public relations program in the Graduate School at University of Maryland Global Campus. He also serves as the 2018 chair of the Universal Accreditation Board, which oversees the largest certification program of PR professionals in the United States, and as the immediate past chair of Public Relations Society of America's Mid-Atlantic District. He is a past president of PRSA's National Capital Chapter and was elected to the National Capital Public Relations Hall of Fame in 2016.

Marovitz led strategic communications teams in support of intelligence community and Department of Defense clients while at Booz Allen Hamilton from 2004 to 2012.

Marovitz retired from the Army in 2002 as a colonel after serving 30 years in a variety of public affairs positions including public affairs officer, 5th Signal Command; chief, Army Public Affairs–Los Angeles Branch; and director, media operations, American Forces Information Service. He also served as the commander of American Forces Radio and Television Service networks in Central America and Europe as well as the commander and publisher of the European edition of the newspaper Stars and Stripes. While serving in Los Angeles, Marovitz worked with regional and state authorities to coordinate crisis communications plans and represented the Army with the entertainment industry.

Paula O'Callaghan

Program Chair and Professor of Marketing

Paula O'Callaghan teaches marketing with emphasis on legal and ethical considerations. She has more than 20 years of experience, including 10 years as a manager with marketing responsibilities and 10 years teaching graduate students management and marketing.

O'Callaghan's marketing experience spans both U.S. and non-U.S. markets. She has been quoted in industry publications, such as Marketing News, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times.

She is a member of the American Marketing Association, including the AMA Marketing and Society Special Interest Group and the AMA DC chapter. She holds industry certification as a certified professional marketer (PCM®) from the AMA.

O'Callaghan earned a JD and an MBA from Syracuse University as well as a certificate in executive leadership from Cornell University. She has received multiple awards for teaching and research, including the 2012 Stanley J. Drazek Teaching Excellence Award at UMGC.

Sandeep Patnaik

Chair and Professor of Marketing Programs

sandeep.patnaik@umgc.edu

Sandeep Patnaik has more than 10 years of experience teaching graduate-level marketing and management courses in the United States, India, and Europe. Patnaik is an active researcher in the area of marketing communications. He has led research on advertising strategy at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, resulting in the publication of the handbook “Persuasive Advertising.”

Prior to joining UMGC full time, Patnaik was the research director at Gallup and Robinson, a leading market research firm affiliated with the Gallup organization. In that role, he was involved in promoting facial electromyography techniques to measure emotional reactions to TV advertisements. His current research explores the synergistic relationship between traditional media and social media and developing strategies to successfully integrate both into marketing campaigns.

From 1997 to 2000, he was a research fellow at the University Of Pennsylvania.

Patnaik earned a PhD in management from the University of Delhi in India. He is a member of multiple professional organizations and has published research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He was awarded the 2012 UMGC Teaching Recognition Award based on student recommendations.

Freda Powell-Bell

Chair and Professor of Acquisition and Supply Chain Management Programs

Freda Powell-Bell has more than 25 years of teaching and professional experience and has taught topics including acquisitions and supply chain management, contemporary logistics, pricing and negotiations, organizational leadership, business management, motivation and leadership, organizational behavior, communication in organizations, and management and supervision.

Her research interests include business resource methods; contract and supply chain management; and entrepreneurial, organizational, and global leadership. Prior to serving as the program director for the Graduate School’s ASCM program, Powell-Bell’s professional experience included serving as a manager of business proposal development and training for a Department of Defense contractor, as well as a procurement officer, financial business analyst, vendor procurement analyst, and operations and resource manager for various private and public institutions.

Prior to joining UMGC, Powell-Bell served as an adjunct faculty member at the Community College of Baltimore County, Stevenson University, Devry University, and National-Louis University. She is a certified Professional in Human Resources and a member of several professional organizations including the National Contract Management Association and the Institute for Supply Chain Management.

Powell-Bell received her PhD in organizational leadership and entrepreneurship studies from the School of Global Business Leadership at Regent University, a master's degree in adult education and human resources development from North Carolina State University, a Master of Divinity from Liberty University, and a bachelor's degree in computer science with a minor in math education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Harriet Smith

Program Chair of Interdisciplinary Studies in Management Program

Harriet Smith began her teaching career a decade ago at the Washington Adventist University (Columbia Union College) where she taught in the School of Graduate and Professional Studies. She joined UMGC’s Graduate School as an adjunct professor teaching courses in management, leadership, and organizational theory and behavior. Her areas of interests include leadership, strategic alliances, organizational theory and behavior, and work teams.

Smith's professional experience includes senior management positions at organizations such as the University of Maryland at Baltimore, the Maryland State Department of Education, T. Curtis and Company, and the United States Air Force. She earned a Doctor of Education in Human Resource Development from The George Washington University, a Master of Science in Administration from UMGC, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hampton University. 

Smith is a member of the Academy of Management, Organizational Development and Change Division, and The Council for Adults and Experiential Learning.

Rudy J. Watson

Program Chair of Project Management Programs

rudy.watson@umgc.edu

Rudy J. Watson is a PMI Certified Project Management Professional with broad and diverse experience in information technology. He holds a PhD in Logistics, Technology, and Project Management from The George Washington University.

Throughout his storied teaching career, Watson has taught courses in technology management, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He has instructed students in face-to-face, online, and adult degree programs. He has been teaching in UMGC’s project managements programs since 2007.