Melissa Thomas-Hunt

Melissa Thomas-Hunt is the Senior Associate Dean for the Residential Full-Time MBA Program at UVA Darden School of Business and the John D. Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration. Beyond Thomas-Hunt's academic roles, she has also played a crucial part in advancing diversity and inclusion in the corporate sector as the Head of Global Diversity and Belonging at Airbnb. Thomas-Hunt's efforts at Airbnb revolved around formulating and implementing strategies for internal diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging.

Thomas-Hunt received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, and a master's and doctoral degrees from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. She has spent 25 years teaching leadership, team dynamics, and negotiations to MBAs and executives. Thomas-Hunt's research also focuses on factors that enable and amplify the contributions of individuals, especially women, underrepresented individuals, and numerical minorities. This work has been published in several respected academic journals, including "Research on Organizational Behavior," "Organization Science," and the "Journal of Applied Psychology."

Thomas-Hunt's expertise and contributions have been widely recognized, as reflected in her receiving the Darden Wells Fargo Research Award in 2017. Thomas-Hunt currently serves on the board of UKG, Airbnb.org, and the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia.