CPM-Certified in Project Management.
Master of Business - Business Administration.
Bachelor of Science – Business and Economics.
Dr. Virginia Leight Whitlock Obstannozazo is an executive leader, scholar, and educator with over 20 years of experience across healthcare, technology, telecommunications, finance, retail, and energy. She has led global operations and customer success organizations of more than 450 professionals and managed portfolios exceeding $650M in revenue, delivering large-scale initiatives with a 95% on-time, on-budget success rate.
Her expertise spans organizational leadership, customer success strategy, CRM and ERP optimization, and operational excellence. Through data-driven decision-making and the application of Six Sigma principles, Dr. Whitlock has reduced processing times by 15%, decreased operational inefficiencies by 12%, and increased client retention by 30%.
Dr. Whitlock holds a BA in Screenwriting, a BA in Economics, an MBA, and a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership Psychology. Her research centers on the underrepresentation of Black and Brown women in executive leadership and the systemic barriers that shape access, advancement, and organizational value creation. She is a PMP-certified project manager, nonprofit board member, and an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
She has spent the past five years as an adjunct professor teaching General Business, Business Strategy, Economics, Financial Management, Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods, Globalized Leadership Management, Supply Chain Operations, and Operations Management in both online and classroom environments. She also leads a monthly doctoral residency weekend for Ph.D. students at Westcliff University, supporting scholarly development, research design, and academic progression.
Dr. Whitlock is a published thought leader on LinkedIn and ProQuest. Her work includes The Cost of Exclusion: How the Absence of Black Women Weakens Economic Ecosystems, along with essays such as Imposter Syndrome, The Miseducation of DEI, Two Sides of the Same Coin, Audacity of Perspective, Reclaiming, Lean In: Maybe It’s Our Fault, and DEI and the Cost of Silence.
Professor of: Economics