About

Melissa Thomas-Hunt is the John D. Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business and a professor of public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. She serves as the senior associate dean for the Residential Full-Time MBA Program at Darden. Her academic background includes a PhD and MS in Organization Behavior from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University. Her research focuses on organizational behavior, decision making, and behavioral science, with particular attention to leadership, team dynamics, and the factors that enhance contributions from women, underrepresented individuals, and minorities. She has held faculty positions at several prestigious institutions, including Vanderbilt University, Cornell University, Northwestern University, Washington University, and Stanford University. Throughout her career, she has taught leadership, negotiations, and team dynamics to MBAs and executives, and her research has been published in numerous respected journals. Melissa has also held leadership roles outside academia, including Head of Global Diversity and Belonging at Airbnb, where she led diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging strategies, and has served on the boards of UKG, Airbnb.org, and the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Social psychology
• Sociology
• Political Science
• Epistemology
• Positive economics
• Management
• Economics
• Public relations
• Cognitive psychology
• Law

Selected publications

• Disney Launchpad: Presenting to Bob Iger

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Julie Ann Crommett at Disney Film Studios

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Reshaping Workplace Dynamics: How AI Impacts Cognition, Creativity, and Interpersonal Relations

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2025-07-01

  article

  This symposium examines how artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes workplace dynamics impacting various task-related and interpersonal outcomes. Through five empirical papers, this symposium highlights the transformative role of AI in key organizational areas such as creativity, leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and conflict management. The first two papers explore AI’s impact on task-related outcomes, focusing on how AI enhances the endorsement and implementation of new ideas and facilitates both divergent and convergent thinking in creative tasks. The next three papers examine AI’s interpersonal effects, including its nuanced influence on leadership perceptions, its capacity to foster greater acceptance and support for DEI initiatives, and its role in shaping interpretations of interpersonal conflicts. Together, these studies illustrate how AI can be leveraged to drive positive outcomes at both task and interpersonal levels, urging scholars and practitioners to thoughtfully integrate AI to cultivate more inclusive, innovative, and human-centered organizations. Proactive or Passive? How GenAI Usage Impacts Perceptions and Idea Implementation Author: Hae-Lyeng Rose Kim; University of Virginia Author: Roshni Raveendhran; CreativityBot: A Personalized AI Assistant to Support Creativity Author: Sean W Kelley; Northeastern University Author: Christoph Riedl; Northeastern University AI in Leadership: Transforming Perceptions of Competencies and Gender Stereotypes Author: Monica Gamez-Djokic; Author: Alexandra Harris-Watson; Purdue University Author: Heather Hee Jin Yang; AI as a Catalyst for Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Communication Author: Ke Wang; University of Virginia Author: Ayana N. Younge; Author: Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt; Author: Roshni Raveendhran; AI Might Reframe Past Incivility Incidents Better to Immunize Employees from Future Incivility Author: Oguz Gencay; University of Maryland College Park Author: Trevor Foulk; University of Florida

  PublisherDOI

• The Invisible Barrier: How Language Diversity Shapes Work and Career Experiences and Team Dynamics

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2025-07-01

  article

  With increasing globalization, managing a diverse multilingual workforce, including one with Non-Native English Speaking (NNEs) employees, is becoming increasingly challenging for management. This symposium aims to contribute to our understanding of workplace experiences of NNEs and their individual and team outcomes across various organizational contexts. The collection of papers in the proposed symposium explores several critical areas, such as (a) how language diversity affects the development of the transactive memory system in multilingual teams with NNEs, (b) how the English-only mandated policies in MNCs impact the employment outcomes of Chinese, Italian, German, or Russian accented NNEs (c) under what conditions, and why, the intersection of race/ethnicity and language diversity (Native English Speaker and NNE status) impacts the hireability and advancement of Latinx employees, (d) how linguistic identity helps or impedes Chinese expatriates working with their Arab counterparts and other NNEs in United Arab Emirates, and (e) how NNEs with marginalized identities navigate stereotypes about their competence in high-status jobs. Further, by employing various theoretical frameworks and methodologies, the symposium enhances our understanding of how a relatively underexamined facet of diversity impacts team processes and individual employment outcomes. Ultimately, our goal with this symposium is two-fold. First, is to advance the scholarship on language diversity within the DEI arena, and second, to foster greater collaborations among researchers with diverse disciplinary training (e.g., in HR, OB, Careers, and IM) to broaden our understanding of language diversity to mitigate language-based biases and improve the work, team, and career experiences of NNEs. Keywords: Language Diversity, Non-native English accents, Workplace and Career Outcomes, Multilingual Teams’ Knowledge Sharing Practices Language Diversity and Transactive Memory System Foundations in Multilingual Teams Author: Mary E Zellmer-Bruhn; Carlson School of Management Author: Youjeong Song; University of Minnesota Author: Mary M. Maloney; Author: Henrik Bresman; INSEAD Lost In Pronunciation: English Mandates and Accent-Based Bias in Global Hiring Author: Catherine Summers; University of Michigan Author: Christy Zhou Koval; Michigan State University Author: Chad Vickers; University of Virginia Author: Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt; The Sound of Diversity: The Cost of Ethnic Accents on Hiring Decisions and Career Advancement Author: Megha Yadav; Indiana University South Bend Author: Romila Singh; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Adopting Acronym Names and Linguistic Identities: Understanding the Experiences of Expatriates Author: Juana Du; Royal Roads University Author: Debora Linehan; Royal Roads University The Hidden Intersection: Exploring Accentism and Status in the Workplace Author: Salome Opoku; Arizona State University Author: Milena Tekeste; New York University Abu Dhabi

  PublisherDOI

• Managers Can Support Employees in Working-Class Contexts by Promoting Growth Mindsets

  Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · 2024-04-29 · 4 citations

  article

  White-collar workplaces are critical “gateway” contexts. They play a crucial role in providing valuable opportunities and upward social mobility. Some groups are less likely, however, to feel they belong in these settings. For example, those with a college degree may feel relatively at ease. However, those without may be uncertain about whether they will be fully included. We examine one possibility for addressing these class-based belonging gaps. A growing education literature demonstrates the power of growth mindsets. We extend this research to the workplace and test its benefits. In two preregistered experiments ( N = 1,777), we find that endorsing growth mindsets can support working-class (WK) individuals. When managers have a growth mindset, WK individuals report high sense of belonging. The effect occurred because managers with growth mindsets reduced identity threat. A preregistered survey of employees in the real world ( N = 300) triangulated these findings. Sense of belonging was higher among those who believed their manager had a growth mindset. Furthermore, they reported greater job satisfaction and commitment. These findings have important implications for the growing conversation on addressing class divides.

  PublisherDOI

• The Consequences of Revealing First-Generational Status

  Organization Science · 2023 · 13 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology

  College is regarded as the great equalizer. People with four-year degrees expect to reap the rewards of their education. This paper examines the pivotal transition from college to the labor market. How do candidates fare when they reveal to prospective employers that they are “first-gen”? Based on the literature, one may advance two competing predictions. One perspective predicts the possibility of a first-gen advantage. This view predicts that revealing one’s first-gen status can help applicants, by making them seem motivated, committed, responsible, and hardworking. It also makes for a compelling narrative; many Americans love stories of “bootstrapped” success. In contrast, a competing perspective predicts the possibility of a first-generation disadvantage. According to this view, there are forces that block decision makers from recognizing the strengths of first-gen students. We tested these two perspectives with an audit study (n = 1,783) and four follow-up studies (n = 4,920). The results supported the first-gen disadvantage hypothesis. Even in the mainstream labor market, first-gen students were evaluated less favorably. We traced this bias to the impact of one possible mechanism: deficit thinking. Despite overcoming hardships, first-gen students were often viewed through the lens of deficits. As a consequence, they were often denied opportunities to gain entry into organizations. Importantly, we found that a mindset shift can help ameliorate the problem. When we nudged decision makers to adopt a strengths-based lens, they became more receptive to hiring first-gen applicants. This work extends knowledge on the mechanisms that drive social class gaps in hiring. It also invites a reassessment of how to study social class in organizations. Deficit models dominate the study of social class. However, as we demonstrated, focusing on deficits can exacerbate inequality. It is important to consider people’s experiences and humanity holistically. Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2023.1682 .

  PublisherDOI

• Social Interactivity in Live Video Experiences Reduces Loneliness

  Frontiers in Digital Health · 2022-03-25 · 5 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Background Loneliness, especially when chronic, can substantially reduce one's quality of life. However, positive social experiences might help to break cycles of loneliness by promoting more prosocial cognitions and behaviors. Internet-mediated live video communication platforms (eg Zoom and Twitch) may offer an engaging and accessible medium to deliver such social experiences to people at scale. Despite these platforms' widespread use, there is a lack of research into how their socially interactive elements affect users' feelings of loneliness and connection. Objective We aimed to experimentally evaluate whether socially interactivity in live video experience improves loneliness-related outcomes. Materials and Methods We recruited participants from an online survey recruitment platform and assigned half to participate in a socially interactive live video experience with 6–12 strangers and the other half to a non-interactive control experience that was designed to be identical in every way but not socially interactive. Participants completed several baseline self-report measures of psychosocial wellbeing, participated in the hour-long video experience (an entertaining astronomy lesson), and then completed some baseline measures again. Four weeks later, we followed up with participants to evaluate their change in trait loneliness since baseline. We Pre-registered our hypotheses and analysis plan and provide our data, analysis code, and study materials online. Results Two hundred and forty-nine participants completed the initial study and met inclusion criteria, 199 of whom also completed the 4-week follow-up. Consistent with our predictions, we found that directly after the more socially interactive experience, participants' feelings of connectedness increased more ( p < 0.001), positive affect increased more ( p = 0.002), feelings of loneliness decreased more ( p < 0.001), social threat decreased more ( p = 0.006), and negative affect decreased more ( p = 0.003) than they did after the less interactive experience. However, change in trait loneliness between baseline and 4 weeks later did not differ between conditions ( p = 0.953). Conclusions Including socially interactive components in live video experiences can improve loneliness-related psychosocial outcomes for a short time. Future work should explore leveraging these benefits toward longer-term prosociality. Future work can also identify if the effects we observed generalize across different populations and kinds of online experiences.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Leading with Vulnerability

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2022-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• The Expert Paradox: How Team Members’ Expertise Inhibits Leaders’ Willingness to Integrate That Expertise

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2022-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• The Expert Paradox: How Team Member Expertise Impacts Leaders’ Information Integration

  Academy of Management Proceedings · 2021-07-26

  articleSenior author

  Today’s organizations have come to view and to use workplace teams as information processors, making the ability to manage knowledge and expertise an essential pre-requisite for effective group decisions. Consequently, an important mandate for leaders of information processing groups is to determine an approach that most benefits the group. This paper addresses this critical area by focusing on the structural and social factors affecting leaders’ behavior when guiding group decisions. Specifically, the research considers the effects of power distribution (i.e., location of expertise) on leaders’ choice to contribute their own unique knowledge or to integrate others’ information. The paper proposes that leaders do not always serve as information integrators, but may instead compete with their team members by focusing on their own position rather than promoting consideration of others’ knowledge. In addition, leaders’ perceptions of threat may mediate this result. Data from two experimental studies support these hypotheses.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Stephen J. Sauer

  SC Johnson (United States)

  8 shared

• Rebecca Goldberg

  New York State Department of Health

  7 shared

• Margaret A. Neale

  Stanford University

  6 shared

• Chad A. Proell

  University of North Texas

  5 shared

• Peter Belmi

  University of Virginia

  5 shared

• Susan F. Cabrera

  Johnson University

  4 shared

• Kelly Raz

  Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

  4 shared

• Béatrice Boulu-Reshef

  Laboratoire d’Économie d’Orléans

  4 shared

Awards & honors

• Darden Wells Fargo Research Award (2017)