Home / Lectures / Armando Estrada, Temple University
Examining Harassment Experiences Among National Park Service Employees

Armando Estrada, Temple University
Description
Semester:
- Fall 2019
Speakers:
Lecture Time:
Fri, September 27, 2019 @ 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Lecture Location:
R0220 Ross School of Business
Speaker Webpage(s):
No speaker websites available.
Introduced By:
Jieun Chang
Abstract
In September of 2014, the Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Sally Jewell received a letter of complaint from 13 former and current National Park Service (NPS) employees who described incidents of discrimination, retaliation and hostile work environments they experienced or witnessed over their 15 years of collective employment at NPS (US Department of the Interior, 2016a). These complaints were validated by the DOI Inspector General and subsequently triggered investigations and congressional hearings into the nature and extent of sexual harassment within the NPS work environment. In response to these events, the leadership of the NPS renewed its commitment to making substantial and long-term cultural changes at the agency to prevent sexual harassment and to ensure every employee has a safe and respectful work environment (Reynolds, 2016). As part of these efforts, the leadership of the NPS commissioned a study of the work environment at the NPS. The study was designed to assess employees’ attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors on a wide range of topics related to the character, context, correlates and consequences of harassment and/or assault behaviors experienced by employees within the NPS work environment. This presentation will present findings related to employees’ experiences with harassing and/or assault behaviors and situational factors surrounding these experiences. The presentation will also report findings regarding demographic, occupational, and organizational factors linked with harassing and/or assault behaviors experienced at work; and job-related consequences of harassing and/or assault behaviors experienced at work. The presentation will discuss how the results from the study served to inform, influence and impact strategic and long-term efforts to change the NPS culture, to prevent sexual harassment and ensure that every employee has a safe and respectful work environment.
Recording & Additional Notes
Armando X. Estrada is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies at Temple University. He previously served as a Program Manager and Senior Research Psychologist with the Foundational Science Research Unit of the US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Before his government service, Dr. Estrada spent much of his career in academia as a tenured professor within several institutions including Washington State University; US Naval Postgraduate School; Industrial College of the Armed Forces and National Defense University. He earned a BS and MS in Psychology from the California State University at Los Angeles and PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Estrada has accumulated extensive university teaching expertise across civilian and military institutions of higher learning. He has taught and mentored traditional and non-traditional college students (first generation college students, single-parents, working students, older students, ethnic minority students, immigrant students, non-native speakers of English), Junior (Captains, Majors) and Senior Military Officers (Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, General Officers) and Senior Federal Employees from both the US and Foreign nations (GS 14/15, Senior Executive Service). He has taught a wide array of undergraduate and graduate courses in Statistics, Experimental Design and Analyses, as well as specialty courses in Industrial & Organizational Psychology, Social Psychology, Diversity and Inclusion in Organizations, Military Psychology, Executive and Strategic Leadership, and National Security Strategy. He has supervised and directed 40 Thesis and Dissertations; and assisted with the leadership, administration and management of academic programs in Leadership Education and Development; Executive and Strategic Leadership; Experimental Psychology; and Adult and Organizational Development.
Dr. Estrada‘s research expertise center on the assessment of job attitudes and behaviors; training development and evaluation; and strategic planning and assessment. His research examines (1) factors influencing the diversity, inclusion and engagement with particular focus on women and minorities in civilian and military organizations; and (2) factors influencing cohesion, readiness, resilience and effectiveness of collectives in civilian and military organizations. His research has been carried out in the United States, Sweden and Mexico with support from various sponsors to include the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness (OUSD P&R); Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Equal Opportunity (OUSD-EO); Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS); United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM); Tank and Automotive Command Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems (TACOM PEO/GCS); Swedish Department of Defense; Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA); Washington State Board Association Leadership Institute Fellows Program, Clark County Human Resources; and the US Department of the Interior.
In addition to his teaching and research expertise, Dr Estrada is actively involved in the Society for Military Psychology. He has served as the society’s first graduate student representative, Chair of the Membership Committee, Member at Large, President of the Society for Military Psychology in 2011 and most recently as Editor in Chief of Military Psychology. Dr. Estrada has been named Fellow of the Inter-University Seminar in the Armed Forces; the Society for Military Psychology; the Society for the Psychology of Women; and the American Psychological Association. Dr. Estrada is the recipient of the 2014 Charles S. Gersoni Award for Excellence in Military Psychology from the Society for Military Psychology. Prior to his professional career, Dr. Estrada served in the United States Marine Corps from 1987-1995.