Michael Cilla

I’m deeply fascinated by creativity and organizational innovation!  Constantly reading and learning about technology, psychology, and society from everything including academic journals, business best-sellers, and magazines such as Fast Co. and Wired, to Harvard Business Review blogs.  My dream job is somewhere at the intersection of people and data, possibly in an organizational learning and development leadership role for organizations that value and promote an atmosphere for supporting creativity and innovation.  However, I also strive to stay humble and modest, as life seems to always teach me something new. That being said, I have been in a few leadership positions already, so I also know how to shoulder responsibilities and develop those around me- something I am quite proud of and enjoy immensely.

As presented on my resume, I have a background in retail management from working in two locations of a musical instrument retailer.  I carried out all of the administrative and human resources’ related responsibilities, as well as safety, loss prevention, inventory control, and management of store facilities and maintenance.  While under my direction, I trained three additional operations managers.  I’m especially proud to say that one of them has since gone on to attend medical school at George Washington University and is currently in his second year.

My own education has equipped me with a variety of micro-organizational behavior skills required for survey development, assisting in driving organizational development, and conducting program assessment/evaluation.  I’m proficient performing complex statistical analyses, including multiple regression, validation studies, factor analysis, and hypothesis testing.  My research interests have included organizational citizenship behavior (pro-social behavior), employee creativity, and organizational climates for promoting innovation.  These topics were especially salient to Silicon Valley’s culture- the location where I completed my master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology.  Spending three years working and studying in San Jose, California left me with a deep appreciation for the balance between the theoretical and practical aspects of my field.

Prior to my current position, I contracted as an assistant for the VP of Profitable Creativity at Electronic Arts in their corporate university, where the focus is building and implementing organizational learning and development programs.  I also provided research and operational support to academic leaders in the College of Business at San Jose State University during a comprehensive institutional curriculum enhancement project. 

My time was concurrently divided between the College of Business, my graduate studies’ coursework and thesis research, and working cross-functionally for Evolv- a very successful workforce data analytics startup located in San Francisco.

Presently I also mix my efforts between teaching upper-level psychology electives as an adjunct instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University, and co-founding a disruptive technology startup (Talentology).