The CWD Team
Suzanne G. Brainard, Ph.D., Executive Director
Suzanne G. Brainard is the Executive Director of the Center for Workforce Development. She is an Affiliate Professor in both Technical Communication in the College of Engineering and in the Department of Women Studies. She is one of three co-founders of the Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network (WEPAN), the immediate Past-President of WEPAN . She has served as Chair of the congressionally-mandated Committee on Equal Opportunity in Science & Engineering (CEOSE) and serves on the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Committee of Diversifying the Engineering Workforce, the AAAS National Mentoring Committee. She is a Fellow of AAAS and AWIS. She is the recipient of the 2001 Maria Mitchell Women in Science Award. Her primary areas of research include: mentoring, evaluation, and gender and workforce diversity issues in engineering and science. More specifically, the research has focused on longitudinal studies examining issues of retention in engineering and science, on longitudinal climate studies in the College of Engineering at the University of Washington and national climate surveys in engineering. In addition, she conducts evaluations of interventions focused on increasing the participation and retention of women and minorities in science and engineering. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of the Interior, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Dr. Brainard is currently co-Director of the Global Alliance for Diversifying the Science and Engineering Workforce - a collaborative partnership between the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Women in Engineering Programs & Advocates Network (WEPAN), and the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). Ms. Yolanda S. George, Deputy Director of Education & Human Resources at AAAS, is the other co-Director.
Priti N. Mody, Director for New and International Initiatives
Priti N. Mody is the Director for New and International Initiatives at the Center for Workforce Development. Her responsibilities include overseeing funded projects related to the Global Alliance, writing and editing proposals, fundraising, conducting research projects on institutional best practices in diversity, writing reports, managing an international exchange program, conducting program evaluations, marketing, and working with international and national organizations.
Ms. Mody received her Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Master of Arts in International Studies (MAIS) degrees from the University of Washington and her BA in Political Science and East Asian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. She also holds a graduate certificate in Global Trade & Transportation Logistics.
Elizabeth Litzler, Director for Research
Elizabeth Litzler is Director for Research at the Center for Workforce Development. She is responsible for leading research and evaluation projects, including oversight of data collection, data analysis, and writing reports and manuscripts based on project findings. She assists in the development and writing of new research proposals. Her research interests include the educational climate for graduate students, and gender stratification in education and the workforce.
Ms. Litzler received her bachelor's degree in Communication from Illinois State University and her Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Washington. She is currently on leave from the doctoral program in Sociology at the University of Washington.
Deborah Bassett, Research Scientist
Deborah Bassett is a Research Scientist at the Center for Workforce Development and brings 10 years of professional experience in journalism, research, and teaching to CWD. She is responsible for managing CWD’s growing portfolio of funded projects related to social and ethical dimensions of nanotechnologies. Her responsibilities include developing and conducting research projects, collaborating on CWD’s research and evaluation projects, developing and teaching university courses, and writing proposals. Her primary areas of interest are qualitative methodologies, public engagement, and public and scientific communication about emerging science and technologies.
She holds a BA in English and an MA in Communication Arts from the University of West Florida. Deborah is a doctoral candidate in Communication at the University of Washington and is completing a graduate certificate in Values in Society from the UW Department of Philosophy. Her dissertation, “Ways of Speaking about Social and Ethical Issues among Scientists and Engineers in Nanotechnology,” is based on three years of fieldwork and interviews with scientists and engineers working at the nanoscale. Deborah’s teaching experience includes communication and English courses at the University of West Florida and communication courses at the University of Washington.