Pooja Khatija

Pooja Khatija serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, where she is also a doctoral candidate. Blending scholarship and practice, she focuses her research on Asian American leadership, holistic and inclusive leadership, and implicit biases tied to gender, geography, and social class in recruitment and career advancement.

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology
• Post Graduate degree in Management
• Doctoral candidate, Department of Organizational Behavior, Weatherhead School of Management

Research Interests

Dr. Khatija’s scholarly agenda is anchored in advancing equity within organizations. She investigates how Asian American leaders navigate and transform predominantly white institutions, and she develops integrative models of holistic leadership development that emphasize identity, well-being, and social justice. A second stream of inquiry examines implicit biases in hiring and promotion systems, with particular attention to gendered racism and intersectional invisibility experienced by women of color.

Her work bridges theory and practice by translating findings into trauma-informed and healing-centered organizational interventions. She leverages coaching methodologies to cultivate inclusive climates and has co-authored critical reviews on reimagining leadership standards that historically center whiteness.

Scientific Awards

• Graduate Dean’s Instructional Excellence Award (2022)

Teaching, Coaching & Grants

As an educator, Pooja has instructed graduate students in Applied Multivariate Data Analysis (MGMT573) and undergraduates in Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion (ORBH391) across 2020-2022. For over a decade she has coached Management and Engineering graduate students on career and placement strategies, and she is a certified executive coach through Weatherhead’s coaching program. While specific grant details are not enumerated, her sustained engagement in curriculum development and coaching initiatives reflects ongoing institutional investment in her inclusive-leadership agenda.

Labs & Teams

While no formal lab is named, Pooja collaborates closely with faculty and doctoral peers within the Department of Organizational Behavior and draws on Weatherhead’s broader ecosystem of leadership development and diversity research initiatives.