Dori Davari started her career as an entrepreneur and founded DORSA Management Consulting firm in Tehran, IR. The company started with outsourced contracts and expanded to provide service to the local branches of global firms (e.g., SONY and BOSCH). In its early years, DORSA was identified as a successful entrepreneurial firm by the Japanese Embassy in Tehran, and Dori was invited to the “Japan Youth Invitation Program” (2003) hosted by Japan’s Ministry of Economic, Trade, and Industry (METI). Dori has more than 15 years of prior experience in strategic management and strategic marketing in different parts of the world, serving on projects for global organizations including World Bank and AccorHotels. She has advanced “Destination Curiosity” for her Ph.D. dissertation. Dori has graduate degrees in systems engineering and urban planning, as well as a Master of Science in Management Studies from MIT. Her expertise is mainly on humane aspects of tourism and hospitality, reflected in her earlier publications on people-centered destination image, destination-community hospitality, cultural ambassadorship, and balance between high-tech and high-touch. Currently, she is serving as an associate fellow at IHERD (Institute for Higher Education Research and Development) and participates in university-wide initiatives on the impacts of teaching-learning enhancements on students’ learning experiences and outcomes (e.g., Flipped Classroom, Assessment Practices in the Age of AI, etc.).

• PhD (2022) Purdue University
• MSMS (Master of Science in Management Studies) (2011) MIT Sloan School of Management
• MCRS (Master of City and Regional Studies) (2010) Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University
• MSc (2000) Iran University of Science and Technology
• BSc (1997) Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic)

• IMPACT X+ Program Certificate, a professional development program for instructional design and content development that fosters student learning, offered by Purdue Innovative Learning Team (2021 for large lecture courses).
• IMPACT X+ Program Certificate (2020 for project-based courses).
• Certificate in Foundations of College Teaching, Purdue Center for Instructional Excellence (2018).