“I grew up with a passion for investing in people and helping them become the best version of themselves,” shares Penn alumna and current Penn Organizational Dynamics Programs student Dorothy Jane Thomas (MS ’24, MPhil ’26—expected). Born and raised in Dubai to parents of Asian descent, Dorothy was exposed to community service at a young age, with a specific focus on supporting the large expatriate population in the UAE. “My parents were deeply committed to assisting expats in their settlement and empowerment,” she explains. “I began taking on responsibilities to help out when I was around 12 years old.”
That commitment to community and service would compel Dorothy to enroll in Penn’s Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership in 2022. (During her time in the program, she was chosen for the Richard J. Estes Global Citizenship Award in recognition of her commitment to social impact.) For the degree’s two required electives, which students can take from disciplines across Penn, Dorothy chose organizational dynamics classes. Both were travel courses—one to Paris and one to Amsterdam—that exposed students to international leadership and management solutions for various challenges in the public and private sectors. “That was my introduction to the Organizational Dynamics Programs,” she says, “and I really appreciated the concept of leading change through a people focus.”
Exposure to the new subject area brought her to an important decision. “I wanted to continue to explore the field, so as soon as my nonprofit leadership degree was coming to an end, I applied to the Organizational Dynamics Programs.”
Wrapping up the second semester of her Master of Philosophy in Organizational Dynamics degree, Dorothy says she has already learned a lot about ethnography, culture, leadership, appreciative inquiry, challenging biases and assumptions, and helping people achieve goals. When asked to define the enigmatic subject of organizational dynamics, Dorothy says it’s about “understanding how people collaborate, what motivates them, and how you can get the most out of them and help them reach their potential.”
One of the most valuable takeaways so far, she says, is learning how and why to listen to people. “You can’t drive change by force. Rather, you have to listen to be able to get people on board,” she explains. She’s even applied these concepts from class to survey fellow students on how to best strengthen community within the program. One result is the creation of a vibrant WhatsApp group for students to discuss classes and assignments, share career opportunities, and connect through professional and social events.
Looking forward, Dorothy envisions returning to Dubai to continue her social impact work, though she is keeping her options open. For prospective students, she stresses the relevance of a Penn Organizational Dynamics degree. “You can have the most incredible idea for a business, but it’s meaningless if you don’t have the people to help bring it to life and make that vision a reality,” she shares, and understanding people is at the heart of the program.
Dorothy often reflects on a proverb that resonates deeply with her studies: “Where there is no vision, the people perish; when there are no people, the vision perishes.” It’s a reminder, she says, of the importance of both leadership and collaboration in bringing ideas to life and creating lasting impact.
