Executive Education
Faculty

Marion Philadelphia earned her M.A. at the University of Hamburg, Germany, which combined American studies and English literature with journalism and mass communication. She began her professional career in Los Angeles, U.S.A., where she first worked in entertainment public relations for a firm that promoted television Hallmark movies-of-the-week and TV specials such as “Circus of the Stars” or the “People’s Choice Awards.” She then segued to being the Los Angeles reporter for the German movie magazine “TV Movie,” covering movie sets and premiers. Next, she contributed as a culture consultant and bi-lingual concept writer for the themed entertainment industry to large-scale projects. One of the projects is the so-called “Transparent Factory” for Volkswagen AG, a Space Center for the City of Bremen, and the Sony Music Center in Berlin.

As an independent writer and translator, Marion is credited with numerous non-fiction book projects, including the Einstein Papers Project at the California Institute of Technology. Her career then took a turn into academia.

For the last two decades, she has been at the University of Southern California (USC), Marshall School of Business, where she chaired the department of business communication for seven years. In 2013, she earned her Doctor in educational leadership at USC. As a communication and educational leadership expert, she specializes in pedagogy, curriculum, instructional design, and faculty professional development. In her courses, she focuses on human aspects, from developing emotional intelligence, communication, and leadership skills to investigating the forces of internal and external organizational communication. She is the recipient of the USC Mellon Award for Excellence in Faculty Mentoring and the Evan C. Thompson Faculty Mentoring and Leadership Award.