Dr. Valerie Young

Dr. Valerie Young is a prominent expert on impostor syndrome and co-founder of the Impostor Syndrome Institute, which aims to provide solutions and support for individuals experiencing these feelings. Based in South Hadley, Massachusetts, she has dedicated her career to understanding and addressing the internal barriers that hinder achievement, particularly among women and people of color.

Background and Education

Dr. Young earned her doctoral degree in education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1982. Her doctoral research focused on why many capable women feel like frauds, leading her to conduct in-depth interviews with a diverse group of professional women. This work laid the foundation for her later initiatives aimed at combating impostor syndrome through educational solutions rather than therapeutic ones.24

Professional Experience

Since co-founding the Impostor Syndrome Institute in December 2020, Dr. Young has been instrumental in developing programs that help individuals and organizations recognize and overcome impostor feelings. The institute offers various licensing options for independent speakers and enterprises to facilitate training programs based on her research and methodologies.13

Dr. Young is also an accomplished author; her award-winning book, The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It, has been translated into multiple languages and has reached a global audience.26

Contributions and Impact

Dr. Young has delivered her Rethinking Impostor Syndrome program to numerous prestigious organizations and universities worldwide, including Harvard, Stanford, NASA, and Google. Her approach emphasizes practical strategies that empower individuals to reframe their thoughts about competence and success.35

She is recognized as a thought leader in this field, often compared to other influential figures such as Brené Brown in the realm of vulnerability.2 Dr. Young’s work not only addresses individual experiences but also highlights the organizational causes and costs associated with impostor syndrome, making her contributions vital for both personal development and workplace dynamics.24

Through her extensive speaking engagements and workshops, Dr. Young has impacted over 80,000 people, helping them to gain confidence and overcome self-doubt.4