HBS faculty comprises more than 300 scholars and practitioners who bring leading-edge research, extensive experience, and deep insights into the classroom, to organizations, and to leaders across the globe. We asked new faculty at HBS about their background, their new roles, and their interests.
Kisha Lashley, visiting associate professor, Strategy
What is your educational background?
I grew up in the Caribbean, where I completed advanced level (A Levels) certifications in math, chemistry, and biology. My bachelor’s degree is in technology and industrial arts from Berea College, and my master’s degree is in technology management from Vanderbilt University. Finally, I pursued a doctorate in business administration from Pennsylvania State University.
What’s your area of research and what led you to it?
I am a qualitative researcher, and I study contentious practices in organizations and fields, and the processes through which organizations and stakeholders engage with each other to negotiate shared meanings over time. For example, I have studied efforts to reduce perceptions of stigma in the medical cannabis industry and power dynamics within supplier diversity programs. I use social evaluations as a lens for understanding these dynamics. I am also interested in how organizations construct and revise their histories over time, particularly when they have engaged in contentious practices in the past.
These topics are deeply personal to me. So much of our lives revolve around organizations, and they can help solve some of the most pressing challenges we face or can exacerbate them.
What will you be teaching?
I will be teaching Strategy in the Required Curriculum.
What would you be doing if you weren’t an academic?
It isn’t easy to theorize about alternative paths, particularly as a couple of decades ago I never would have predicted that I would be a college professor. Maybe I would still be working with non-profits? But in the unlikely event that I were to quit academia, I would be restoring old houses.
Where are you from?
I was born in Antigua but grew up in the Commonwealth of Dominica, so I am Dominican at heart.
What is something you like to do outside of your academic work?
I love to hike and refinish furniture.
What’s your favorite book, movie, or piece of art?
I have many favorites, but I’ll pick Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.
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