Meet Dr. Gallardo

My name is Dr. Rachel Gallardo and I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but raised mostly in and around the Houston area.  After high school, I went back to BR to get my Bachelor’s of Psychology from Louisiana State University…GEAUX TIGERS!!!  From there, I returned to Houston, received a Masters in Business Administration, a Professional in Human Resources certification, a Masters in Industrial Organizational Psychology, and completed a Ph.D. in I/O Psychology.  

After approximately 10 years of working in the corporate world as a manager/director in Human Resources capacities, I left corporate HR for teaching in higher education and opportunities in writing and public speaking.  I enjoy teaching students in human resources, business, organizational development, and psychology classes.  My research focuses on workplace burnout and counterworkplace behaviors. I also enjoy coaching and presenting on various leadership competencies to improve organizational operations and workplace culture. 

In my personal life I like to watch movies and playing golf with my husband Adam. I also have a podcast devoted to leadership principles and overcoming burnout in the work environment. The podcast is called Level the Field Leadership and can be found on most platforms.

In the August issue of SBIT Faculty News there was a substantial list of Professional Associations for faculty to consider joining. Having a membership in such organizations is beneficial to us as individuals as it provides opportunities to engage with a worldwide network of colleagues. It also helps us to elevate the awareness of Purdue Global’s contributions to academic innovation, research endeavors and cutting-edge curriculum design. 

Since 1991, I have been an active member of the International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (ISTTE) and was a committee leader on the Board of Directors between 2015-2021. It continues to be a wonderful journey, and it is hard to believe that this will be my 34th year participating in this organization. I have made meaningful connections and some lifelong friends by engaging with faculty, administrators, graduate students and tourism industry professionals from around the world. ISTTE is more like a family and is welcoming to anyone who desires to enhance research and teaching practices related to hospitality and tourism.

In January 2024, I joined another industry organization on the recommendation of some ISTTE friends to continue expanding my network and the reputation of Purdue Global. My new membership is with the Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education (ICHRIE) which has been in growth mode for the past three years, expanding from 700 active members to over 2800. This affiliation brings additional opportunities to learn from many new partners about their best practices mentoring and educating hospitality and tourism students who are the future of the industry workforce. 

I engaged immediately with ICHRIE and submitted a proposal for a symposium topic titled, “How Can Human Engagement and Artificial Intelligence Coexist in The Online Classroom” to be considered for presentation at their 2024 annual conference.  I was among the 250 accepted papers and received an invitation to present at their Annual Conference held recently in July in Montreal, Canada. I was beyond excited to have been accepted and to be able to visit this destination which is currently the number one sustainable city in North America as this directly relates to our new Bachelor’s concentration in Hospitality Sustainability for which I am a course lead.

The conference was attended by 375 members, including representatives from all six of their worldwide federations covering Europe/Africa, Asia/Pacific, South America/Caribbean and the three North America zones. There were 50 of us who were first time attendees, five keynote speakers discussing themes from Reinventing Hospitality Education to Fear of Failure and Adapting to Change. There were four separate awards ceremonies, 99 Poster Presentations, dozens of research presentations and symposiums focusing on everything from Assessment Resiliency to a Hospitality Bootcamp. 

While at the conference I discovered they have Special Interest Groups (SIG) covering a wide range of topics and I immediately gravitated to their Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity (DEI) session and quickly became a member. I also learned more about Le Sheraton Montreal, our host location and their solid practices of sustainability that align with the city itself. The conference committee also touted its own strong focus on sustainability by offering an electronic-only poster session, schedules that could only be accessed by a Mobile App, their Call for Papers was completely online, and the food and beverage department at the hotel donated all left-over food to worthy causes and community organizations in Montreal. At the end of the conference, I made a side trip to Quebec to visit Le Château Frontenac. It is the first historic hotel in Canada to be carbon neutral and most notable is that guests can decline daily housekeeping in exchange for the hotel planting a tree for each visit. They also only purchase local, organic, Fair Trade and sustainable food products. 

Upon my return home, I have been composing my presentation into a manuscript that I have been invited to submit to a peer-reviewed publication, preparing to learn more by working with the SIG committee on DEI and to apply as much of the information I learned at this conference into two course revisions in the Hospitality and Tourism concentration. 

I consider my involvement in these organizations as a significant part of my professional development and service to the university. But more importantly, when I return from an ICHRIE or ISTTE conference, I bring back a profound sense of enthusiasm and passion for teaching and inspiring my students on their academic journey.