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Dr. Sheetal J. Patel is a CTI-trained and Stanford Design Your Life certified coach. She has been coaching early career professionals through C-suite executives on digital presence and career for the last 10 years. Clients have ranged from Fortune 500 company leaders and professionals to people of intersectional identities who face unique challenges in telling their stories.
Dr. Patel co-founded the Stanford University Integrative Learning Portfolio Lab which focuses on research on digital presence and diversity, equity, and inclusion in relation to digital presence. Through the Lab, Patel has taught thousands of people, including mid-level and C-suite executives through the Stanford Graduate School of Business, to voice their stories in the digital environment to connect to the opportunities they want.
She is also a fifteen-year veteran of creating engaging brands, marketing communication strategies, and stories that positively impact people’s lives. Her recent research has focused on career/professional brand storytelling, transforming learning and technology for Generation Z, meaningful work, online learning, and brand management.
She is currently the co-founder of Ninety-Five Z LLC, founder of A2O Inc., and a Senior Product Marketing Manager at LinkedIn. She speaks, teaches, and consults regularly on the topics of Generation Z, marketing, personal branding online, and building company culture. Through this work and as part of her generational family value of education, she has had the privilege of positively impacting millions of learners across the globe.
Throughout her career, Patel has served in academic and/or marketing communication roles at Stanford University (Graduate School of Business and Student Affairs), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Texas at Arlington, Sulekha, BBDO New York, and other ad agencies. She also served as tenure-track faculty at the University of Texas at Arlington in advertising. She earned a Ph.D. in Mass Commination with focus areas on media psychology, consumer research, strategic communication and advertising, and nonprofit public health communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; a Master’s degree in Advertising; and two Bachelor’s degrees in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin.
Patel has published work in books, journals, and popular press outlets, such as the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, Journal of Advertising Education, Journal of Health Communication, and 3% Movement LLC. She was awarded the prestigious NACE/Chevron Award by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (membership of 10,000 employers and universities) for achievement and innovation in branding and content development. She has also been the recipient of over $235,000 in fellowships, grants, and scholarships for her research.
She is dedicated to developing stories that have a social impact and serve her communities in her spare time as well, participating in such activities as the classical dance performance art of Kuchipudi, photography, and writing about women and balance.
Her most important role to date, which puts into use all of her skills and is a constant learning experience, is being CEO of her household of six, including her two daughters, husband, and parents who make every day a blessing.