Craig Nathanson

Dr. Craig Nathanson is an educator, author, speaker, and Architect of Human Growth, known for creating the Humanistic Leadership Model (HLM©), a framework designed to help leaders build sustainable organizations through human growth, systems thinking, and meaningful work. He has more than twenty years of experience teaching undergraduate and graduate students in both online and in-person formats and has been on university faculty since 2003. His teaching focuses on management, leadership, organizational behavior, human resources, and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Nathanson teaches across multiple institutions in California, the United States, and internationally. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of San Francisco since 2013 and has held teaching appointments at both public and private universities. His academic work also includes visiting lecturer roles in Asia through partnerships with European and U.S. institutions. His teaching emphasizes practical application, systems thinking, and human-centered leadership development.

Before entering academia, Dr. Nathanson spent more than two decades in senior leadership roles at Fortune 50 companies. He was a founding team member of Pandesic, a joint venture between Intel and SAP, and later served as Vice President at PeoplePC, a partnership with Ford Motor Company focused on expanding digital access and inclusion. His corporate experience continues to inform his teaching and applied research.

Dr. Nathanson holds a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University, along with master’s degrees in Human Development and Telecommunications Management. His current research and writing focus on humanistic leadership, systems thinking, and meaningful work across the lifespan. He is the author of several books, including The Humanistic Leader: Humanistic Leadership for the Soul (2025), Joyful Work in the Second Half of Life, and The Best Manager: Getting Better Results Through People. He lives in Petaluma, California.

• Organizational Behavior
• Humanistic Leadership
• Joyful Work
• Mid-Life development

• Humanistic Leadership
• Joyful Work
• Mid-life Development

• The Fielding Graduate University, PhD in Human and Organizational Systems, 2013
• The Fielding Graduate University, MA in Human Development, 1996
• Golden Gate University, MS in Telecommunications Management, 1989

• Adjunct Professor in Management, University of San Francisco
• Honorary Lecturer in Management, Lincoln International School of Business, England
• Professor in Management, Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Belgium

• PHP Faculty Award, 2020
• Professor of the Year, Management Programs, University of Liverpool, England Online, 2013
• Excellent Teacher Award, Moser Center of Adult Learning, 2013

• Moving Higher Education Beyond Covid-19: Innovative and technology-enhanced approaches to teaching and learning (Emerald Studies in Higher Education, Innovation and Technology), Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing. Visvizi, A., Lytras, M.D., Jamal Al-Lail, H. (eds) (2022). The chapter is entitled Humanistic Leadership and its Enduring Legacy in a Post-Covid-19 World. (HLM Model cited) C. Nathanson
• Nathanson C. (2021) The Humanistic Leader Model- Journal of Business and Technology 2021; 5(1)
• Nathanson C. (2017) The Experience of Vocational Alignment in Midlife. Austin J Bus Adm Manage. 2017; 1(3): 1012.