Yvonne Phelps

Title: Senior Lead Faculty, General Education

Highest degree and school: Ph.D., Organizational and Management, Capella University

Teaching at SDI since: 2022

Yvonne Phelps has worked in education and entrepreneurship since the early 1980s. In addition to spending many years as an administrator for academic affairs for a large university, she also owned a real estate company, a Subway franchise, a business consulting firm, and a non-profit self-care corporation. In 2021 co-authored the book You Reimagined: Leveraging Goal Setting and Vision Boarding to Design the Life of your Dreams!. Hired to teach business classes at SDI in early 2022, Yvonne currently serves as a Lead Faculty, where she trains and coaches faculty in effective teaching and engagement strategies. She says she chose SDI dually because of “the incredible people on the Academic Affairs team, and second my passion for training and mentoring faculty.” The thing she enjoys most about teaching is sharing information from her past experiences and helping students connect the dots between theory and practical application.

Yvonne is proud to be a lifelong learner. In addition to an MBA from California State University, she earned a Ph.D. in Organization and Management from Capella University, where her dissertation focused on the impact of downsizing, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. She also trained to become a Doctor in Clinical Hypnotherapy from the Institute for Clinical Hypnotherapy. One of her current learning pursuits is the emerging artificial intelligence field, and particularly how it will impact the future of our economy and our planet.

Currently based out of Goodyear, AZ, this native Californian’s idea of a perfect day would be to wake up in Maui with friends and family “overlooking the ocean with a fruity drink and breakfast while conspiring on how to spend the day in paradise. Chances are it will include lounging by the pool, reading, and playing in the ocean.” Yvonne is a proud mom of a son and a daughter, and loves spending time with her two grandbabies. When not teaching, she enjoys traveling, new adventures, and conspiring with colleagues.