Heather Washington

Heather M. Washington, PhD, is Executive Director of the American Sociological Association. She has served in key leadership positions at ASA since joining the staff in 2021. Washington began her career at ASA as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), directing the ASA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) and leading efforts to advance ASA’s DEI goals. Most recently, she served as ASA Deputy Director and principal investigator on two large projects designed to support and promote sociological research: The National Science Foundation-funded ASA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (DDRIG) and the William T. Grant Foundation-funded project on recognizing and rewarding community-engaged scholarship in tenure and promotion. Washington is an accomplished researcher and teacher. Prior to joining ASA, she was an Associate Professor of sociology with tenure. She holds a PhD and MA in Sociology from The Ohio State University. Washington is a Fellow of the ASA MFP (Cohort 38), a recipient of the American Society of Criminology minority fellowship, and a graduate of the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.