Diane
Garga, Ph.D. – Senior Consultant
Diane Casbolt Garga has an extensive career in Organization Development and Human Resource Management that includes a full range of experience in corporate, government and non-profit organizations in the U.S. and abroad. As an organization development consultant, she has worked with executives to examine and align their company’s work culture in view of its mission, vision, values, diversity, and business. As a stand-up trainer, she has designed and delivered training programs to over 2000 supervisors, managers and executives. Diane is responsible for program development and delivery for Idea Connection Systems’ clients as well as oversight of the cognitive and intercultural instruments, and organizational culture and communication assessment tools used by the company.
At Ohio University, Diane focused her master’s and doctoral work on the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and communication processes on organizational outcomes. Her research examined the affect of cognitive diversity on team performance and innovation.
While living overseas in the Middle East for seven years, Diane was Director of Workforce Planning and Human Resource Development for a highly diverse organization of 700 employees from over 60 different countries and cultures. She gained first hand experience dealing with the impact of diversity and the dynamics of cross-cultural communication on the workforce. This experience prompted Diane to further understand the impact of intercultural sensitivity in today’s organizations and communities.
Since her return to the US in 1997 and joining Idea Connection Systems in 1998, Diane has been working with organizations and communities that seek to develop inclusive cultures. In 2001, she was instrumental in establishing The Breakthrough Project in Lodi, California, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing a community that celebrates its diversity and works to eliminate all forms of racism by offering guidance and educational programs that foster open communication, cross-cultural relationships, understanding, and cooperation among all community members.
Her clients have included Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Bausch and Lomb, City of Greensboro, NC, Eastman Kodak, ExxonMobil, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, the Ohio State Department of Mental Health, and Wegmans Food Markets.
Diane remains active in her field by teaching graduate courses in organization behavior and communication, serving as President of the Board of the Rochester Chapter of the Association for Women in Communications and membership on the Greater Rochester Diversity Council.
Diane is married. She has lived in Buffalo, Columbus, Ohio, Chicago, Haifa, Israel, Lodi, California and Rochester. She enjoys golf, racquetball, gardening, photography, travel and theater.
