Dr.Shaista E. Khilji

Shaista E. Khilji is the Chair of the Department of Human and Organizational Learning and Professor of Human and Organizational Learning and International Affairs at George Washington University (GW). She also serves as a Fulbright Specialist with the U.S. Department of State and is the founder of the Humanizing Initiative, a research institute and consultancy.

Prof. Khilji is an award-winning educator and academic leader. She has used her entrepreneurial spirit to develop innovative programs that redefine leadership education and launch a scholarly journal that promotes inclusive international business research. She serves as the founding editor-in-chief of the South Asian Journal of Business Studies (Emerald Publications) and the founding program director of GW's Organizational Leadership & Learning Program. She served on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee during the global pandemic and has represented GW faculty on several institutional initiatives, including the Shared Governance Task Force.

Prof. Khilji is a thought leader with expertise in leadership, talent development, cross-cultural management, and organizational change. Her recent work highlights managerialism, macro talent management (a field she helped establish), and the integration of artificial intelligence into workplaces. Over the past twenty years, she has designed and published findings from more than 45 research projects. She has also mentored and trained hundreds of professionals and graduate students to conduct research, develop corporate programs that improve leadership performance, and drive global change. She has trained executives in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Russia, the United States, Canada, Morocco, India, and Pakistan, and has served as a consultant to many public and private organizations.

Prof. Khilji has secured over US$4.75 million in training and research grants. From 2013 to 2017, she served as the Co-PI on a US$1 million project funded by the US Department of State, focused on women's empowerment in Pakistan, building academic partnerships, and fostering people-to-people ties. Additionally, she led efforts within GW to develop the next generation of USNA leaders through a master's degree in leadership education and human development (LEAD). She collaborated with the United States Coast Guard to train their officers through a master's degree in organizational leadership and learning (OLL).

Prof. Khilji has authored over 165 papers, published numerous scholarly articles in top-tier journals, written book chapters, and presented internationally at conferences. In 2007, GW nominated her as a "Rising Star in Academia Under 40 Years of Age" for a Washingtonian magazine award. She has received many awards, including the Best Reviewer and Outstanding Service awards from the Academy of Management, the Best Paper Award from the Academy of International Business, GW’s Service Excellence Award for hosting the Clinton Global Initiative University, the Morton A. Bender Teaching Award (2025), the Trachtenberg Service Award (2026), and the VALOR Award for cross-disciplinary work. In 2026, the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS) awarded her the Graduate Faculty Teaching Award (Doctoral Level).

She blogs at https://shaistaekhilji.substack.com and https://medium.com/@shaistakhilji