Hilary Bradbury, Ph.D.
Curator Director
Hilary Bradbury, Ph.D., is founder & curator at AR+ | Action Research Plus Foundation. With a Ph.D. in organization psychology and years as a Professor (Case Western, USC and OHSU), Hilary’s expertise brings a transformative action research ("learn by doing") approach to social change methodology. She plays a global community organizing role among action researchers reflected in her position as Editor in Chief of the premier, international peer reviewed Action Research Journal. As curator at AR+ Foundation, she supports global educator-change leaders and universities. She emphasizes integrating developmental reflexivity and social learning as Action Research for Transformations.
Through AR+ Hilary works with learner-leaders of all types both within and beyond formal institutions in transforming their response to the social-ecological crisis of our times. She wants more of us to avail of transformative action methodology and become more responsive to our eco-social crisis in our scholarly practice.
Hilary started this millennium as a recipient of the George and Cynthia Mitchell Young International Scholar Award for Sustainable Development and has authored dozens of journal articles and chapters, starting with a best dissertation award (Academy of Management). Her most cited academic paper concerns Relationality published in Organization Science. She shepherded the accessible volumes of the multilingual AR+ Cookbooks (Bradbury and AR+ Associates, 2017, 2019) and the Sage Publications bestselling series Handbooks of Action Research.
Hilary is listed as one of a small group of inspiring global scholars in consideration of the importance of action research for a time of increasing eco-social crisis. The AR+ community itself is celebrated as a Top 10 Transformation Initiative and is proud to work with educator, change-leaders in a number of global, action researching, universities. Hilary was named Distinguished Professor at De La Salle University in The Philippines, and Chalmers Jubilee Professor at Chalmers University in Sweden.
Early examples of Hilary's scholarship include multi-year action research with National Science Foundation funding, and designing and leading a multi stakeholder learning process with the Port of Los Angeles to integrate environmental sustainability into the functioning of the port so that multinational supply chains reduced carbon emissions.
Hilary grew up in Dublin, Ireland. Her undergraduate and early graduate education was at Trinity College Dublin and then at the Divinity Schools of Harvard and University of Chicago where she focused on Philosophy, Religion and Literature. Her PhD is from Boston College (in Organizational Change and Transformation). She started her academic career as Assistant Professor of Organizational Development at Case Western in 1998, where she founded the Weatherhead Institute for Sustainable Enterprise ("WISE") before advancing to Associate Professor in 2003. In 2005 she became Associate Research Professor at USC and Director at the USC Center for Sustainable Cities. In 2010 she became Full Professor at OHSU (Uni. Oregon - Portland). In 2016 she started to dedicate herself full-time to AR+ ActionResearchPlus Foundation with its many partners around the world.
Hilary recently rematriated home to Ireland where she lives with her family. Her latest book How to do Action Research Transformations: ART at a time of eco-social crisis is published by Elgar (Bradbury, 2022). See also a more personal statement at the AR+ members page.
Contact: admin@actionresearchplus.com
Hello, Hilary Bradbury, Ph.D., founder & principal at AR+ Foundation here. I am a scholar-practitioner focused on the human and organizational dimensions of creating healthy communities. Having been a Professor of Organizational Development for over twenty years, I now support educators of all types as well as educational institutions in transforming their response to the social-ecological crisis of our times. For this I emphasize the integration of research and practice, as “Action Research for Transformations” (ART).
I play a community organizing role among action researchers worldwide, also reflected in my position as Editor in Chief of the international peer reviewed Action Research Journal (Sage). I believe that action researchers can accomplish more together and that action research transformations is needed more today than ever. My intention is to help develop and sync up the efforts of increasing numbers of global participative action researchers.
Sustainability is at the heart of my own ART. Early examples include multi-year projects with NSF funding, e.g., I designed and led multi stakeholder work with the Port of Los Angeles to integrate environmental sustainability into the functioning of the port. Our results influenced multinational supply chains as well as national port policy in reducing carbon intensity.
I increasingly emphasize a more relational and developmental-integrative approach to ART. Practicing to turn the camera around on ourselves is to rediscover our radical wholeness. By valuing our personal experience we're also updating conventional analytic-conceptual training; we're learning to experiment in bringing more beauty to life.
Most dear to my heart is integrating mindfulness and daily life. I have served as a member of the Teaching Circle at the Zen Center of Portland, where I led the "Next Gen Zen" program. I continue that integration today in all parts of my life and work. In balance with my vision of a more beautiful world, is having been tempered by political experience e.g., having won election as a Green Party member in LA.
I enjoy writing and have authored dozens of journal articles and chapters as well as shepherding the bestselling series Handbooks of Action Research (Sage), and the more accessible volumes of the multilingual AR+ Cookbooks (Bradbury and AR+ Associates, 2017, 2019). I relish working at my developmental edge, e.g., uncovering a collaborative response to #MeToo in Eros/Power: Love in the Spirit of Inquiry (Integral Publishers, 2016, with Bill Torbert). I am always at work on new writing.
I grew up in Dublin, Ireland. My undergraduate and early graduate education was at Trinity College Dublin and then at the Divinity Schools of Harvard and University of Chicago where I focused on Philosophy, Religion and Literature. My PhD is in Organizational Change and Transformation (Bill Torbert and Peter Senge were dissertation advisors), from Boston College's School of Management. I started my academic career as Assistant Professor of Organizational Development at Case Western in 1998. I also spent a few years as Associate Research Professor of Geography while a Director at the USC Center for Sustainable Cities. I moved to Portland's OHSU in 2010. I have since resigned as full Professor to dedicate myself to ActionResearchPlus/AR+ Foundation.
At AR+ I am grateful for the delightful opportunity of bringing many strands of myself together with diverse stewards and personal members as we create a powerful collaborative matrix in service of a more beautiful world.
I live with my family in Portland, Oregon where I love the bike lanes and get to cultivate a garden.
Contact: Admin@actionresearchplus.com