Dr. Payal Sharma is a qualitative researcher who studies power dynamics in organizations and teaches courses on power and leadership. Her current projects are focused on the hip hop and rap music industry and the National Football League (NFL).

Prior to UNLV, she was a visiting faculty member at the Wharton School of Business and tenure-track faculty member at Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick. She holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from the University of Maryland, College Park; a Master's degree in higher education administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; a Master's degree in organizational management from The George Washington University; and bachelors degrees in anthropology and history from the University of California, San Diego.

Before entering academia, she worked for the U.S. Government Printing Office in strategic human capital and at Harvard Business School in external relations. She has been an invited speaker across a range of industries, including health care, higher education, hospitality, information technology, and law.