Virginia Vanderslice Honored with The ESOP Association's Life Service Award

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - May 11, 2017) - Virginia Vanderslice, Founder of Praxis Consulting Group of Philadelphia, was awarded the Life Service Award at The ESOP Association's Annual Conference here on May 10.

The Life Service Award is The ESOP Association's most prestigious award, and recognizes an individual who has provided outstanding, long term contributions to The Association and the employee ownership community.

Vanderslice is one of only 17 people to receive the award in the past 26 years.

"Virginia has championed the idea that employee owned companies can maximize their potential by instituting a culture that is genuine and that emphasizes engagement and communication among all employee owners," said J. Michael Keeling, President of The ESOP Association. "By helping employee owned companies recognize the importance of an effective ownership culture, she has helped spread awareness of employee ownership as a significant benefit to employees, companies, and the nation."

Vanderslice has more than 30 years of experience helping employee owned companies develop leaders and manage cultural transitions. Her articles have been published widely in peer review and trade journals.

She is a faculty member at the Center for Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches courses on organizational change. She also is the founder and Academic Director of Leading in an Ownership Setting, a program for top executives at employee owned businesses. The program is offered by the University of Pennsylvania in partnership with the Employee Ownership Foundation, an affiliate of The ESOP Association dedicated to research and education on employee ownership.

Vanderslice holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from Cornell, and a Ph.D. in the social psychology of groups and organizations from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

ABOUT THE ESOP ASSOCIATION:

The ESOP Association is America's largest employer-sponsored advocacy and education association focused on employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Founded in 1978, the Association seeks to enhance federal laws governing ESOPs, provide members with expert information, and fund research via the Employee Ownership Foundation (an affiliate). The ESOP Association's members include ESOP companies, companies considering an ESOP, and service providers that assist in setting up and maintaining ESOPs.