Denise is a Professor of Management at Seattle Pacific University (SPU). She has previously served as the Associate Dean and Interim Dean in the School of Business, Government, and Economics, as the Interim Chair for the Languages, Cultures, and Linguistics Department, and as SPU’s Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives.
Denise earned her Ph.D. from the University of Washington where she studied Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management. Her work has been published in numerous academic and professional journals, and she has been named both the SBGE Teacher and Scholar of the Year. She recently co-authored a book titled, “Working in the Presence of God: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Work.” Denise’s scholarly interests include meaningful work, Sabbath, leadership, gender, and motivation. Denise is the co-Principle Investigator on a $1.5M research project funded by the Lilly Endowment examining how Christians in the United States understand and engage their faith at work. She is also the producer of a series of films known as Faith & Co., which are designed to deepen connections between faith and work (www.faithand.co).
Denise regularly consults and provides executive coaching services and leadership development training in organizational contexts. She has served as an expert witness in a legal case related to organizational structure and management. She is an outside board member for Investortools, a FinTech company creating investment system solutions. She also serves on the board of Taproot Theatre Company, a non-profit arts organization in Seattle, and the Theology of Work Project, an independent international non-profit creating and curating biblical, theological, and pastoral resources related to work.
Denise has been married to Craig Barwell for 24 years, and they have four adolescent and young adult children. She attends Sanctuary Christian Reformed Church in Seattle.
