Marybeth Leavell, Ed.D., is a full-time Adjunct Faculty member, Administrator and Methodologist in the CIU Global PhD in Organizational Leadership program at Columbia International University (CIU) in Columbia, South Carolina. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for the Center for Steward Leader Studies, she is also an ordained elder in the Fellowship of Bible Churches.

Marybeth’s heart cry is for Christ to be at the center of all she is and does, by being sensitive to His voice and leading, and by living as an obedient steward. Her passion is to experience Him drawing others to Himself in both big and small ways.

Dr. Leavell lived in Colorado 43 years, prior to moving to the Atlanta GA area in 2001 and in 2020, to Bonita Springs, FL. She has been involved in organizational leadership in various settings. Initially, she was a private practice therapist focusing on women’s issues. For the next 15 years, she worked in Hospital and Nursing Home Administration. Following a shift to the field of education in 1999, she served as Executive Director for a community-based non-profit organization that provided educational and vocational programs for high-risk youth.

Following completion of her EdD in Organizational Leadership from Grand Canyon University in 2016, Dr. Leavell served as a full-time missionary as Provost at West Africa Theological Seminary in Lagos, Nigeria, for two years, and as Vice-President of Academics at Emmaus University of Haiti for a year and a half. Her quantitative dissertation was focused on the relationship between faith maturity and steward leadership among top-level Christian leaders.

She and her husband, Mark, have two amazing sons, two wonderful daughters-in-law and six delightful grandchildren.