Debra Meyerson

Tenured Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior from 2003 to 2013. Transitioned to adjunct professor in 2013 after a severe stroke in 2010.

While full time at Stanford and previously, Debra Meyerson conducted research primarily in three areas: a) gender and race relations in organizations, specifically individual and organizational strategies of change aimed at removing inequities and fostering productive inter-group relations; b) the role of philanthropic organizations as intermediaries in fostering change within educational institutions; and c) going to scale in the charter school field. Debra authored Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work (HBS Press 2001), which provides an in depth look into how people can use diversity and difference to create positive change in the workplace without division or strife.

Nine years after her stroke in 2010, Debra published Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After Stroke (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2019.) The book is built on the combination of her lived experience as a survivor with disabilities and extensive interviews and research; it highlights the need for significantly more support than is provided in the current system to rebuild identity on the path to rebuilding lives of meaning and purpose. Debra also and co-founded Stroke Onward, a nonprofit now dedicated to catalyzing change in the healthcare system in order to insure survivors in the future receive that support. As co-Chair and active volunteer for Stroke Onward, Debra's focus is on driving research and publications that will help to better understand the problems and solutions that can inform the creation of a better healthcare system. She is also an extensive speaker in academic and industry settings.