How I got here: an interview with Dr. Melanie Grunow Sobocinski (IPCAA PhD, 2002)

by Jenny Kreiger

Dr. Melanie Grunow Sobocinski graduated from IPCAA in 2002. After working as a tinyheadshottenure-track assistant professor of art history for several years, she left the academic mainstream to start her own business as a productivity coach. I met with her at the AIA/SCS Annual Meeting in January 2015 to learn more about where she is now and how she got there.

On her current position:

Melanie founded Prof Organizer LLC, a small business providing consultation on organization, time management, and productivity to faculty, graduate students, and academic staff. She says that her goal is to “help academics get their act together” when they feel overwhelmed by workloads and work-life imbalance. To do this, she works closely with her clients on everything from organizing their desk spaces to setting priorities that will help them meet their professional and personal goals. Having been through the rigors of IPCAA and several years as full-time faculty, Melanie has seen and experienced many of the challenges of academic life firsthand. She reminds her clients that getting organized is not a one-time effort but rather “an ongoing process” that academics must practice throughout their careers.

On her path from IPCAA to where she is now: Continue reading