Astrid Sheil, PhD, CRM, is an award-winning academic, author, and dean of the School of Management at Simmons University, with more than 25 years of experience across higher education, corporate leadership, organizational communication, strategic planning, crisis communication, negotiation, and fundraising. Her current work includes establishing what she identifies as the first master’s program in the United States focused on the business of women’s sports. The Women’s Sports Business and Leadership Master of Science in Management is planned to launch in fall 2026, with enrollment exceeding initial expectations by more than twofold.
Before joining Simmons University, Astrid spent five months as a Fulbright Scholar at the Bled School of Management in Slovenia. There, she lectured on leadership, organizational relevance, and reinvention while conducting sustainability-related research. This international work complemented a career focused on helping institutions and leaders respond to change through communication, collaboration, and strategic development.
From 2019 to 2024, Astrid served as dean and professor in the School of Business at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. During that period, she led the school through full AACSB re-accreditation and launched an academic program in esports. She also negotiated a degree-completion program with Navy Federal Credit Union.
At Shenandoah, Astrid created the Legacy Golf Tournament for Scholarships in 2021. The tournament raised $250,000 over four years to support scholarships. Her work there brought together academic administration, program development, external partnerships, and fundraising in support of institutional and student priorities.
Astrid’s earlier higher education experience includes multiple leadership and faculty roles at California State University, San Bernardino. She served as a professor of communication studies, chair of the Department of Accounting and Finance, and director of development for the Jack H. Brown College of Business and Public Administration. As department chair, she managed faculty operations, developed revenue streams, supported communication and marketing, collaborated with the cybersecurity program on student internship preparation, and taught negotiation, bargaining, and advanced managerial communication.
From 2015 to 2016, Astrid was selected as an American Council on Education Fellow and completed the fellowship at Chapman University. The experience placed her alongside university senior leadership and included work connected to fundraising for the arts. Earlier, she led Sheil & Associates, formerly The Polaris Team, providing services that included strategic planning, marketing, board orientation and training, coaching, presentations, and customized communication workshops.
Before entering academia, Astrid held executive roles with Georgia-Pacific, Bowater, and Helsinki-based Kemira Oy. Her responsibilities encompassed human resources, global communications, government affairs, labor negotiations, emergency planning, safety, training, corporate social responsibility, and community outreach. She also served as a chief communications officer and spokesperson during crisis situations, applying communication and reputation-management expertise in complex corporate environments.
Astrid earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a Master of Science and PhD in Organizational Theory and Communication from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her published work includes Dynamic Public Relations: The 24/7 PR Cycle, a chapter in Handbook of Online Learning in Higher Education, and a case study examining trust, cultural alignment, and college perceptions among Hispanic parents.
Through the Worldwide Women’s Association, members are invited to connect with Astrid to exchange insights and explore professional networking and consulting opportunities.