Versatility in the Age of Specialization

Dr. Angela Cotellessa wears multiple hats: she is a polymathy scholar, writer, speaker, consultant, and coach. Angela considers herself a budding futurist focused on the future of work. She is founder of the Polymath's Place community, and author of In Pursuit of Polymaths: Understanding Renaissance Persons of the 21st Century (her doctoral dissertation). She has also worked as a non-political, career civil servant for the United States federal government from 2007 until current day. She spent the first six years of her federal career working at the Executive Office of the President, for Presidents Bush (43) and Obama. Since 2013, she has worked at the Center for Leadership Development, where their mission is to "develop visionary leaders to transform government." In parallel, she also works in the for-profit sector, as a manager of a family real estate business. Prior to her career in government, Angela worked in the non-profit sector at a shelter for battered women and their children, as well as in higher education, for the University of California at Los Angeles. She earned her doctorate in Human and Organizational Learning from George Washington University, but also has a master's degree in Communication Management from the University of Southern California. In undergrad, she double majored in Psychology and Communication, also at the University of Southern California, where she was a Presidential Scholar. She was an intern for the Governor of California and at the White House.