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| Educational Background |
Ph.D.: Education (Symbolic Systems), Stanford University, 2010 M.A.: Instructional Design and Technology, The University of Iowa, 2000 B.A.: St. John’s College (Maryland, US), Liberal Arts, Mathematics and Philosophy focus, 1990 |
| Prior Employment |
2015 – 2023: Consultant, Research and Content Strategy, Bold, LLC, San Francisco, US 2014 – 2015: Senior Manager, Human Capital Management Solutions Marketing, Appirio, San Francisco, US 2013 – 2014: Independent Consultant and Author, multiple clients 2011 – 2013: Director, Solutions Management, HR Line of Business, SAP AG, Palo Alto, CA, US 2010 – 2011: Independent Consultant and Author, multiple clients 2005 – 2008: Director/Senior Analyst, American Society for Training & Development, Alexandria, VA, US |
| Profile |
Ray comes to academia from industry, where he has nearly two decades of experience in both the theory and practice of human capital management, in roles that have included product manager, software designer, strategic researcher, executive advisor, author, and scholar. He has worked in businesses that produce software designed for job seekers and the organizations that hire them, which has afforded him a unique perspective of the employee experience, one that accounts for both the side of the employee and employer. Throughout his career in industry, Ray has been preoccupied with how STEM professionals communicate effectively within their work environments. A primary interest of Ray’s is the communication ritual of job seekers and their prospective employers, and how those rituals transfer to job proficiency after hiring. He is also interested especially in how tech product managers and executive teams communicate among their professional peers and with outside stakeholders, such as customers and strategic partners. Ray believes firmly that communication effectiveness, especially in intercultural work environments, is an indispensable soft skill that is also highly predictive of professional advancement in STEM fields. Ray joins the ShanghaiTech faculty seeking to combine academic research and industry best practices, toward the aim of complementing ShanghaiTech students’ acquisition of scientific and technical skills (hard skills) with high proficiency in intercultural competence and professional communication (soft skills). Ray believes thus equipping STEM students enables both smooth integration into the global professional community, and lasting visibility within it. |
| Publications |
Rivera, R. J. & Smolders, F. (2013). Operational workforce planning is quietly transforming HR. Workforce Solutions Review, 4(2), 4-9. Rivera. R. J. (2007). WLP Scorecard: Why learning matters. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press. Rivera, R. J. & Paradise, A. (2006). 2006 State of the industry report: ASTD's annual review of trends in workplace learning and performance. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press. Sugrue, B. & Rivera, R. J. (2005). 2005 State of the industry report: ASTD's annual review of trends in workplace learning and performance. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press. Bernhardt, E. B., Rivera, R. J. & Kamil, M. L. (2004). The practicality and efficiency of web-based placement testing for college-level language programs. Foreign Language Annals, 37(3), 356-366.
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