Dr. Alise Cortez is the Chief Purpose Officer at Alise Cortez and Associates (management consulting specializing in meaning and purpose) and Chief Ignition Officer at Gusto, Now! (a multi-lingual e-learning platform with well-being and leadership courses). She is also an inspirational speaker, social scientist, author, and host of the Working on Purpose radio show. Having developed her expertise within the human capital / organizational excellence industry over the last 20 years, she is focused on helping companies, leaders, and individuals across the globe to live with “gusto” and make the most of their one, precious life. She is the author of Purpose Ignited: How Inspiring Leaders Unleash Passion and Elevate Cause, and the Curator of Passionately Striving in “Why”: An Anthology of Women Who Persevere Mightily to Live Their Purpose.

Today Dr. Cortez is focused on enabling organizations to lead from purpose and create cultures of meaning that inspire impassioned performance, meaningful engagement and fulfillment, while encouraging a devoted stay within the organization. She has helped develop and transform thousands of managers and executives in their leadership along the way. She also helps companies “visioneer” by facilitating meaningful exchange among all stakeholders for an integrated and dynamic strategic future. For individuals, Dr. Cortez facilitates an online global community and various retreats to enable people hungry for a more meaningful and purposeful life to create it for themselves.

Alise began her human capital career in 1998 as a staffing professional at Analysts International and corporate recruitment consulting at VoiceStream/T-Mobile while simultaneously pursuing her doctorate degree. Her experience includes HR System implementation and change management consulting at Hewitt Associates and PepsiCo, and employee engagement assessment and consulting at the Center for Talent Solutions. She co-founded and served as VP of Sales & Marketing at Improved Experience, a consulting firm that offered online feedback solutions and research for the Human Resource and Recruiting industry. Dr. Cortez served as a Consultant for Insigniam, a management consulting firm specializing in breakthrough, innovation and transformation. She taught various Psychology courses at the University of Phoenix and Communication and Professional Seminar courses at Southern Methodist University as an Adjunct Faculty Professor. These accumulated experiences inform her practice helping companies with an array of human capital needs from recruiting, onboarding, employee training and development, change management, leadership development, and organizational transformation and now serve as foundation on the meaning and purpose focus she brings today.

 After completing a Bachelors in Liberal Studies and a Masters in Liberal Studies (focusing on International Relations with South America), Alise earned a PhD in Human Development from Fielding Graduate University.  Fascinated with how people choose and experience their work, her research and dissertation illuminated a fresh perspective on meaning in work and its relationship to personal identity.  In a large post-doctoral research investigating meaning and work and identity qualitatively interviewing 115 men and women aged 18 to 80 from 20 industries, she built on this doctoral research and discovered 15 “Modes of Engagement” that help individuals understand their unique relationship to their work.

 In addition to her Modes of Engagement research, Dr. Cortez’s work is informed by an education grounded in Humanistic/Positivist psychology and Existential Psychology’s Logotherapy. Alise has lived in Spain and Brazil, and traveled extensively across Western Europe, South America, and parts of Asia and Oceania. She is conversationally comfortable in Spanish and Portuguese and has some language ability in French and Italian. She strives to steward individuals and companies to reach their higher potential and the expression of their unique talents and creativity. She is constantly working to awaken and realize her own potential and absolutely delights in guiding and inspiring clients to do the same. She endeavors to enjoy a full life with frequent travel outside the US, hosting gatherings with good food and beverage, and being an active leader in her Dallas community.  Alise has served on the following Boards in Dallas: YMCA at White Rock (past Chairman of the Board), Lakewood Service League (past President and fundraising Event Chair), Woodrow Wilson High School Community Foundation (past Needs Assessment Chair), Dallas Staffing Association (past VP of Professional Development and Diversity), and the Dallas Running Club (past Co-Race Director).

Certifications and Affiliations

What Clients Are Saying

Alise Cortez PhD

Alise facilitating a Strengths workshop with college students in Madurai, India December 2014.