Julia Lee Cunningham

Julia Lee Cunningham is an Associate Professor of Management and Organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. In this role, she serves as a faculty co-director for the Center for Positive Organizations, and is a faculty affiliate at the Sanger Leadership Center, and the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise.

Julia’s research focuses on the psychology of narratives, mindsets, and behavioral ethics, with a particular interest in understanding the ways in which narratives shape objective reality and how they can be leveraged to promote thriving in the workplace. Her research has been published in numerous leading academic journals in the fields of management and psychology, and has been featured in a variety of media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, National Geographic Magazine, The Financial Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and Harvard Business Review.

Julia enjoys developing highly immersive and experiential pedagogy for students and executives, and brings cutting-edge academic research to the classroom and the organizations she works with. She teaches a negotiation course to MBA students and lectures in several executive education programs on leadership development, managing global teams, negotiation, and decision-making at Michigan Ross and Harvard. She has also delivered talks and training programs for organizations including the U.S. Air Force, Google People Analytics, AbbVie Pharmaceuticals, and the National Geographic Society. In 2020, she was recognized as one of the Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors by Poets and Quants. 

In addition to her work in the business school, Julia is dedicated to applying her expertise in behavioral science to address pressing societal challenges. She has extensive experience advising corporations, start-ups, non-profit organizations, and government agencies, and currently serves as a Governing Board Member of the Behavioral Science & Policy Association. Previously, she was a Lab Fellow in Institutional Corruption at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, and a Research Fellow in Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University. In 2018, she was selected as a Fellow at National Geographic Society.