C. Roland Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning

William (Willis) Emmons is Senior Lecturer and Director of the C. Roland Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard Business School. He oversees programs to promote and support teaching excellence and innovation within Harvard Business School, and to provide leadership and expertise on case method teaching and participant-centered learning for instructors at other institutions in the United States and abroad. He also serves as a section chair in the MBA program and teaches in a variety of MBA and Executive Education courses.

From 1999-2004, Emmons was Associate Professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, where he received the Graduate Teaching Award (2003). At Georgetown he taught courses on strategic management and international business. Emmons was a member of the Harvard Business School faculty from 1989-1999 in the Business, Government, and International Economy (BGIE) unit. He has taught extensively in corporate executive development programs on issues relating to business strategy and government policy.

Emmons received the A.B. cum laude in Government (Phi Beta Kappa), the M.B.A. with high distinction (Baker Scholar), and the Ph.D. in Business Economics, all from Harvard University. His book, The Evolving Bargain: Strategic Implications of Deregulation and Privatization (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2000), winner of the 2001 Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award, explores the implications of domestic and international market liberalization for established firms and new ventures. Emmons has published articles in various scholarly journals, including The RAND Journal of Economics, The Review of Economics and Statistics, and The Journal of Economic History. He is the author of over thirty Harvard Business School cases.

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Matt Kuchar is the Christensen Center's Assistant Director. Matt conducts and supports a wide cross-section of the Center's work with faculty, including faculty observations and consultations, video coaching, educational research, and course evaluation analysis. He is most interested in issues pertaining to discussion leadership and discussion dynamics.

At the University of Oregon, he worked as a Faculty Consultant for the Teaching Effectiveness Program while co-directing the University's Writing Lab. Additionally, Matt has taught courses and seminars in argument, writing, academic research, and pedagogy at Colby College and the University of Oregon. He received his B.A. magna cum laude in English and Philosophy (Phi Beta Kappa) from Colby College and his M.A. in rhetorical theory from the University of Oregon.

In his spare time, Matt enjoys sea kayaking, hiking, telemark skiing, and photography.

Clare Flaherty is the Christensen Center's Manger of Projects and Media. Clare is responsible for the all of the center's multimedia products and projects, including website, coaching videos, and all media content for both internal and external clients. Clare joined the Center in 2005 as Coordinator and has also worked as a Faculty Assistant here at the Business School. Before HBS, Clare was an Advertising Associate Producer, producing television and radio commercials for regional and national clients.

Clare received her Master's in English Literature from Harvard University Extension School in May 2011 and her thesis on Anne Brontë's Didactic Philosophy was short listed for the Dean's Outstanding Thesis Award. In January 2013, her article on the influence of Humphrey Davy on Anne Bronte was published by Bronte Studies.

Tara Abbatello joined the Christensen Center in August 2006 as Teaching and Learning Analyst. Tara assesses teaching and learning-related data to support the Center's service offerings to HBS faculty. She also assists in the tracking the Center's activities as it continues to expand the scope of its services and faculty clients.

Tara previously worked at HBS as a Faculty Assistant and as a Research Associate. As a Research Associate, she worked with faculty and doctoral students to design and implement experiments and surveys to study negotiation and decision making, with an emphasis on how biases affect decisions. Tara earned her B.A. cum laude in Psychology (Psi Chi) from Boston University.

Outside of work, Tara enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with her husband and their two beautiful sons. She has also been known to make extremely decadent chocolate truffles.

Nancy Edmunds joined the Christensen Center in September 2010. Nancy is the point person for all center scheduling and direct service coordinating; she oversees the administrative functions for the center, and assists with project work. Nancy's previous careers include theatrical stage management and administration, banking, and freelance editing and she continues to teach writing. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from UMass Boston, and an M.A. in English from Westfield State College.

Curriculum Vitae

Alexandra Sedlovskaya is a Senior Researcher at the C. Roland Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard Business School. Alexandra designs and executes research pertaining to management education and pedagogies that support participant-centered learning. Project areas include case teaching, curricular innovations, program assessment, gender and diversity, student evaluations of teaching, and teaching effectiveness.

Alexandra obtained her MS, MPhil, and PhD in Psychology from Yale University in 2011 and extended her research training as a postdoctoral associate at the Yale School of Management. As a doctoral student, Alexandra has been awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Grant to conduct research on diversity and social stigma within organizations. Alexandra earned her BA at Wesleyan University, graduating as a valedictorian in 2004.