Cat Summers
Catherine (Cat) Summers is a social scientist studying business sustainability and leadership. Her research reflects her passion for understanding others and helping individuals, leaders, and businesses that want to grow.
Cat is currently a post-doctoral research fellow at the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise and the Leadership Initiative at the University of Michigan. Her research examines how market forces shape humanity. For example, in one line of work, she examines how the adoption of market logics has impacted the environmentalism movement and, in another, why and when organizations generate unintentional employee outcomes.
Cat completed her doctoral studies at the University of Virginia's Convergent Behavioral Science Initiative, jointly hosted by the School of Engineering and Darden Business School. Prior to completing her PhD, Cat worked for almost a decade in environmental non-profits, managing corporate donors and working with campaigners on award-winning community projects. She is currently part of the Impact Scholar Community leadership team.
Please find more about Cat, including her most recent CV, on her personal website.
Educational background
- PhD in Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Virginia
- BSc in Biology, Queen’s University, Canada
Current research
- Hernandez, M. & Summers, C. (2024) Effective leaders articulate values — and live by them. MIT Sloan Management Review.
- Han, I., Belmi, P., Thomas-Hunt, M., & Summers, C. (2024). Managers can support employees in working-class contexts by promoting growth mindsets. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
- Hernandez, M., Guarana, C.L., & Owsik, C. (2023). Use your ambivalence to make more ethical decisions. MIT Sloan Management Review, 64(2), 1-4.
Expertise
- Business sustainability
- Leadership
- Research methods
