Judith H. Katz, Ed.D.
Trustee Emerit | Fielding Graduate University
Washington, DC, UNITED STATES
Thought leader, practitioner, educator, and strategist for more than 40 years in organization development, inclusion, and strategic change.
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Biography
Fueled by her passion for addressing systemic barriers, known for her boundless energy and sharp analytical mind, Judith Katz has distinguished herself as a thought leader, practitioner, educator, and strategist for more than 40 years. She has created new paradigms in organization development and pioneered cutting-edge approaches to white awareness, inclusion, the leveraging of differences, covert processes, and strategic change.
Throughout her career, Judith’s thought leadership has brought critical ideas and issues to light. Few people, for instance, have connected the ability of all individuals to do their best work with the future of organizations as eloquently or persuasively. Colleagues and clients speak highly of her generosity, her humility, her approachability, her sense of humor - and her resolute commitment to partnering with all people so they can step fully into their own personal power.
Judith began her career by earning a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. After continuing in academia, Judith joined The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc. (KJCG), in 1985 and currently serves as Executive Vice President. She has led many transformational change initiatives in the United States and around the globe, partnering with such organizations as Allstate, Ecolab Inc., EILEEN FISHER, INC., Merck, the City of San Diego, Telecoms of Singapore, and United Airlines. She also co-created the Covert Process Concept and Lab with Bob Marshak.
Judith has been widely recognized for her extensive contributions. She was named a Pioneer of Diversity by Profiles in Diversity Journal in 2007 and a Legend of Diversity by the International Society of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals in 2012. In 2014, Judith received the Organizational Development Network's Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also received ODN's Larry Porter Award (2009) and the Outstanding Achievement in Global Work Award (2012). She received the DTUI Cultural Competency Professional Award in 2004 and the American College Personnel Association Voice of Inclusion Medallion the same year. In 2015 she was recognized as a Forum on Workplace Inclusion Legacy Leader. Judith serves as an Expert Panelist for The Diversity Collegium Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks.
Industry Expertise (4)
Education/Learning
Executive Search
Corporate Leadership
Program Development
Areas of Expertise (9)
Organization Development
White Awareness
Inclusion
Covert Processes
Strategic Change
Workshop Facilitation
Leadership Development
Culture Change
Strategic Planning
Accomplishments (5)
Lifetime Achievement Award (professional)
2014 Organizational Development Network
Outstanding Achievement in Global Work Award (professional)
2012 Organizational Development Network
Legend of Diversity (professional)
2012 International Society of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals
Larry Porter Award (professional)
2009 Organizational Development Network
Pioneer of Diversity (professional)
2007 Profiles in Diversity Journal
Education (1)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst: EdD, Organizational Behavior, Education 1976
Affiliations (2)
- NTL Institute : Member
- College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst : Dean's Council Member
Media Appearances (3)
The gains from diversity
Harvard Gazette online
2013-12-23
Pate said that ensuring diversity and inclusion is a process that requires leveraging differences to be more creative. Referring to “The Inclusion Breakthrough” by Frederick A. Miller and Judith H. Katz, he said, “Inclusive organizational cultures leverage diversity by creating an environment with a broader bandwidth of acceptable styles of behavior and appearance, thereby encouraging a greater range of available paths to success.”...
The Hidden Waste In Manufacturing — And How To Address It
Manufacturing online
2013-07-11
We all know about the cost savings generated when we eliminate waste from manufacturing processes. How many of us consider the savings available when we address another source of waste: the waste that occurs in our workplace interactions?...
The Paradox of Differences and the Illusion of Sameness
Human Resource Executive Online online
2011-10-31
Many of us seek out the familiar in our relationships. We are naturally comfortable with others of similar heritage, background, job title and specialty, because they seem familiar to us. We connect with others through what we have in common, such as shared interests and circumstances, and we build bonds through those commonalities. It is hard to overestimate how deeply ingrained this process is. Consider the central conflict of Romeo & Juliet (or its modern musical version, West Side Story): the principals' love against the prevailing culture of "stay with your own kind" and "different is bad."...
Articles (5)
Judging Others Has Not Worked… So Let's Join Them
Leader to Leader
2013 Within organizations, there is a crucial distinction between judging others and joining them. Katz and Miller contend when we are instinctively wary of others it “slows us down in a world that demands speed.” When in joining mode, you gain more and faster ...
Diagnosing covert processes in groups and organizations
Handbook for Strategic HR-Section 3: Use of Self as an Instrument of Change
2012 By definition, something covert is undercover. It is concealed, disguised; in short, hidden from view. How then does one go about detecting the presence of a covert dynamic at work in a group or organization? When we first began thinking about covert processes, this was ...
The Next Leap Forward
OD Practicioner
2007 OD practices, principles and approaches lay at the very core of work to leverage diversity and create cultures of inclusion so organizations will experience breakthrough performance. OD practitioners play a critical role in challenging clients to aim higher with their inclusion ...
Coaching leaders through culture change.
Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research
1996 Coaching of senior leaders is presented as a key component in changing organizational culture, based on the authors' more than 40 yrs of combined experience in organization development consulting and executive coaching. To enable organizations to ...
The sociopolitical nature of counseling
The Counseling Psychologist
1985 Counseling is a sociopolitical act. However, many counselors are unaware of the fact that the profession has at its core a set of cultural values and norms by which clients are judged. In order to make the counseling psychology field more responsive to the needs of ...
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