Valerie Purdie-Greenaway

Dr. Valerie Purdie-Greenaway is a leading scholar of social psychology whose research examines how structural and social factors shape human performance, decision-making, and trust. Her work integrates rigorous experimental methods and big-data analytics to uncover how identity and social context influence behavior in organizations, classrooms, and society.

Professor Purdie-Greenaway has published more than sixty-five peer-reviewed articles in top journals including Science, Science Advances, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Psychological Science. Her research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Blue Dot Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation.

At Columbia Business School, Professor Purdie-Greenaway teaches Inclusive Leadership in Organizations and Managerial Negotiations, where she integrates scientific evidence with practical frameworks for leading and influencing across difference. Her published research bridges insights from identity science with negotiation theory, offering new perspectives on how social networks, trust, and belonging shape negotiation outcomes and leadership effectiveness.

In the Department of Psychology, she teaches graduate seminars on Cultural Psychology and Advanced Topics in Culture and Leadership, reflecting her long-standing commitment to linking foundational social science with real-world leadership challenges.

Beyond the classroom, Professor Purdie-Greenaway is a sought-after executive coach and workshop facilitator who has worked with senior leaders across corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors. She has advised organizations including Goldman Sachs, Ernst & Young, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, the Broad Institute, and Spencer Stuart on leadership development and evidence-based inclusion strategies.

Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, The Atlantic, Scientific American, and TED. Within Columbia University, she has held multiple leadership roles focused on advancing faculty development, inclusive excellence, and institutional learning.

Dr. Purdie-Greenaway earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from Stanford University and her B.A. from Columbia College, where she was a varsity basketball player. Before joining the Columbia faculty, she served on the faculty at Yale University.