David Scott, EdD, is a professor, former higher education administrator, and leadership scholar whose career has focused on the study and practice of leadership, organizational effectiveness, and systems thinking in educational and sport organizations. He currently serves as a managing partner at Rational Risk LLC, where he applies research-informed approaches to organizational resilience, enterprise risk management, and performance improvement. From 2017 to 2024 Dr. Scott was dean of the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where he provided leadership for academic programs, accreditation, budgeting, strategic planning, and community partnerships. During his tenure, he helped guide his academic unit through significant organizational challenges, including service on the university's incident command team during Hurricane Harvey and leadership of instruction continuity efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to his deanship, he spent nearly three decades in higher education as a professor, department chair, and associate dean at the University of New Mexico, where he led research, assessment, and community engagement initiatives and oversaw a research enterprise generating more than $4 million annually in external funding. Before entering higher education administration, Dr. Scott worked as a teacher, athletic coach, and faculty member--experiences that continue to inform his perspective on leadership and organizational performance.
His scholarly interests include leadership theory, organizational culture, governance, assessment, and continuous improvement. He has authored textbooks, book chapters, and peer-reviewed publications and has chaired more than 20 doctoral dissertations examining leadership and organizational effectiveness. Dr. Scott holds an EdD from the University of Northern Colorado, a master's degree from Midwestern State University, and a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University. Mark LaSota, PhD, MBA , is a faculty member in the department of kinesiology and sport management at Texas A&M University. He also oversees departmental education-abroad programs and the international option of the sport management culminating experience. With more than two decades in higher education, Dr. LaSota has held faculty and administrative positions across public and private universities, community colleges, and proprietary institutions.
His scholarly work focuses on sport leadership, organizational culture, peak performance, and international business. A recognized thought leader in leadership development, Dr. LaSota has authored more than 40 articles as a Forbes contributor and has been featured in numerous media outlets because of his expertise. He has shared his leadership insights with audiences worldwide through keynote presentations and workshops. Among his speaking engagements, he delivered a TEDx talk on the concept of unbreakable leadership. In addition to his academic career, Dr. LaSota brings extensive industry experience across sport, fitness, and business sectors. His professional background includes coaching, scouting, event management, facility supervision, and entrepreneurship, as well as roles in marketing, operations, public relations, security, and guest experience within professional sport organizations and leagues, including the National Football League and the Houston Texans.
He also provides leadership and performance consulting for companies and sport organizations. Dr. LaSota earned a PhD in sport administration from the University of New Mexico. He holds two master's degrees: an MBA in international business from New Mexico Highlands University and a master's in sport psychology from California State University-Fresno. His bachelor's degree in exercise science is from Ball State University.