Melissa Fisher

Melissa Fisher, a cultural anthropologist, is a faculty member in the Human Capital Management Department at NYU’s School of Professional Studies; a Senior Advisor focused on workplace culture and design at CFAR Consulting Services; and a Researcher in the Global Foresight Project based out of the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS). Her contribution to the Foresight Project examines how workplace experts imagine and shape the design and experience of future workplaces in the context of pandemics. This research, now a book in progress, aims to understand the knowledge and cultural dynamics involved in creating Post-Covid work environments, with a focus on the potential for either promoting equity and justice or perpetuating hierarchies of class, race, gender, and power. Fisher has published two earlier books: Frontiers of Capital: Ethnographic Reflections on the New Economy, co-edited with Greg Downey; and Wall Street Women. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Week among others; she has appeared on CNBC, NPR, and the BBC. She has worked as an advisor on several films, including Equity, the Sony Classic first female financial thriller, and is currently featured in Work Design Magazine’s video documentary series: “What the F* is Happening to the Office? She holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Columbia University, and B.A. in English from Barnard College. Prior to joining NYU’s HCM Department, Fisher was the Laurits Andersen Professor of Business and Organizational Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen.