About
Dr. Joleen Cowan
Organizational and Leadership Consultant specializing in Neuroscience and Evaluation
Dr. Joleen Cowan is an organizational and leadership consultant specializing in neuroscience and evaluation, the founder of Leadership Archway and the creator of the High Performance Shift Methodology. She holds a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Claremont Graduate University and is a Professional Neuroplastician® (P.npn). Her work treats burnout as a leadership and system issue, not a personal failure.
Background
A New Model for Leadership
Dr. Joleen Cowan earned her PhD in Organizational Behavior from Claremont Graduate University in 2015, after an M.A. in Organizational Behavior and Program Evaluation (2009) and a B.A. in Psychology from Chapman University (2007). Before founding Leadership Archway, she spent more than nine years in corporate roles, leading sales operations strategy and cross-functional initiatives across multiple business lines.
She also spent seven years at the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College, conducting original research on leadership in teams, women in leadership, and organizational behavior. What she consistently observed was a pattern that would define her life's work: the most capable, committed people were burning out first, not because they were weak, but because the systems around them were broken.
That realization became the ARCHWAY Method, a systems-based framework that treats burnout not as a personal shortcoming, but as organizational data. In 2026, she deepened that work by earning her Professional Neuroplastician® (P.npn) certification, formally bridging organizational research with applied neuroscience. Today, she consults executives, advises organizations, and speaks on stages from corporate boardrooms to university commencements.
Credentials
Education, certification and research
Education
- PhD, Organizational BehaviorClaremont Graduate University, 2015
- M.A., Organizational Behavior and Program EvaluationClaremont Graduate University, 2009
- B.A., PsychologyChapman University, 2007
Certification and recognition
- Professional Neuroplastician® (P.npn)2026Verify the credential
- Marquis Who's Who Honored ListeeView the badge
- Alumni Board PresidentClaremont Graduate University
Research, evaluation and consulting
- "Reel Leadership: The Use of Film in Teaching"Published in Illumine, a scholarly publication distributed by the International Leadership Association
- Original leadership researchKravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College, 2008 to 2015
- Program evaluationDeveloped evaluation designs and assessment tools for a college leadership development center, and reported findings to stakeholders
- Organizational development consultingExecutive-team work from 2009 to 2015, including a vision statement, succession planning and the Gallup Q12 employee engagement assessment
Skills and Methods
Areas of Expertise
About Leadership Archway
Leadership Archway (leadershiparchway.com) is the consulting practice founded by Dr. Joleen Cowan. It offers executive advisory, organizational consulting, leadership development and keynote speaking on burnout, organizational design and sustainable performance.
Learn more about the ARCHWAY Method, the core offerings and keynote speaking.
Ready to Lead Differently?
Let's Build Systems That
Don't Cost Us Ourselves
Dr. Joleen personally reviews every inquiry. Most clients begin with a complimentary 30-minute discovery call.