Abbreviated Resume

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Independent Organizational and Survey Research Consultant

Dr. Foster collaborates with organizations to address their organizational research, data analytics, and employee survey needs. His expertise enables him to deliver accessible and actionable insights that drive strategic decision-making and enhance employee engagement.

Sr. Employee Experience and Listening Analyst

RTI International, 2024 - 2025

Developed, led, and managed employee listening activities in support of improving the employee experience throughout the employee lifecycle. Reports findings and insights from employee listening and research and provides data driven recommendations to help leaders make sound people decisions.

People Analytics and Employee Listening Consultant

SAS Institute, 2021 - 2024

Led the design and administration of action-focused employee surveys in collaboration with HR leaders and strategic partners. Conducted advanced analytics and research to produce actionable talent insights. Created concise, accessible reports for stakeholders. Acted as a consulting partner, advising on quantitative research methodologies and enhancing analytics literacy across the HR function.

Research and Teaching Fellow

North Carolina State University | Poole College of Management, 2020 - 2023

Engaged in collaborative research efforts in the Department of Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship to produce high-quality research for presentation at academic conferences and publication in academic journals. Responsibilities included conducting literature reviews, research ideation, designing studies, preparing IRB submissions, managing data collection, conducting statistical analysis, and writing research manuscripts. I also taught undergraduate courses in HR Analytics and Leadership.

Survey Research Consultant

The Collaborative on Academic Careers on Higher Education, 2020

Served as an external research consultant, partnering with COACHE to assess the impact of COVID-19 on survey data validity. Consulted with organization leaders to align on needs, conducted quantitative analytics, and delivered study findings to key stakeholders.

Research Associate

Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, 2019 - 2020

Managed the PACE Climate Survey administration, from survey programming to report delivery, in collaboration with a team of research associates. Directed the enhancement and validation of survey items, conducted data analysis, generated actionable insights, and delivered detailed technical reports to clients.

Senior Institutional Research Analyst

Kennesaw State University, 2017 - 2019

Leveraged social science research methods and statistical analysis techniques to derive insights for decision-making, synthesizing data across sources to assess organizational outcomes. Communicated findings through various mediums including reports, dashboards, and presentations, while managing multiple projects and maintaining stakeholder relationships.

EDUCATION

Industrial-Organizational Psychology - Ph.D.

North Carolina State University

Higher Education Administration - M.Ed.

North Carolina State University

Accounting - B.S.

Tuskegee University

PUBLICATIONS

Foster. D. (2020). COVID-19 impact study: Technical report. Analysis of the COVID-19 pivot on the spring 2020 administration of the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey. The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education. (Download report PDF here)

Foster, D. M., & Carr, J. C. (2023, April). Altruistic leaders and the power of appreciation: Retaining them when the going gets tough [Poster Presentation]. 2023 NC State Graduate Student Research Symposium, Raleigh, NC.

Foster, D. M., Baur, J. E., & Carr, J. C. (2022, October). Measuring perceived accountability: The development and validation of an adaptable multidimensional scale [Presentation]. Annual Meeting of the Southern Management Association, Little Rock, AR.

Foster, D. M., Carr, J. C., & Meade, A. W. (2022, April). Does the supporter feel supported? Modeling supervisors’ motivation to give emotional support [Poster Presentation]. 2022 NC State Graduate Student Research Symposium, Raleigh, NC.

Foster, D. M., Carr, J. C., & Meade, A. W. (2021, November). Testing a moderated motivation model of supervisor emotional support-giving [Presentation]. Annual Meeting of the Southern Management Association, New Orleans, LA.

Foster, D. M. (2021, April). An exploratory study of job attitude shifts before and during COVID-19 [Poster Presentation]. Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Whatley, M., Foster, D., & Paul, S. (2023). We before me: Developing a self-referent measure of cultural humility for postsecondary students. Journal of Studies in International Education, 28(2), 259–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/10283153231173224

Gumpertz, M., Foster, D., Grasso, M., & Huet, Y. (2022). Creating continuous change: Adapting an NSF ADVANCE approach to the development of the AGEP-NC Model of Institutional Transformation. ADVANCE Journal, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.5399/osu/ADVJRNL.3.1.6

Grimmett, M. A., Conley, A. H., Foster, D., & Clark, C. W. (2021). A thematic analysis of the impact of MY MASCULINITY HELPS as a tool for sexual violence prevention. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(5-6), NP3369–NP3387. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260518772106

PRESENTATIONS

TECHNICAL REPORTS