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Dr. Ali Whitmer is the Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Georgetown University. She came to the role having served as Chief of Staff to the Provost, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Strategic Planning and, prior to that, Dean of Science in Georgetown College. In her role as Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives, Dr. Whitmer provides leadership in support of the creative, visionary and strategic potential of Georgetown’s faculty in support of the University’s mission and goals. She works directly with the Provost to brainstorm avenues for developing interdisciplinary centers, institutes, and programs that synthesize the work of faculty across schools, campuses and fields of study. She also collaborates with faculty throughout the University to facilitate strategic planning to transform their ideas into new initiatives. Dr. Whitmer received her Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Washington where her research focused on the population dynamics and genetics of kelp forests. Her more recent research focuses on issues of urban sustainability and environmental justice. Over her career she has developed a portfolio of research and administration in ecological science and science education at K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels. She has worked with national-level science education initiatives funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on strategic planning initiatives with societies such as the Ecological Society of America and Sigma Xi, and served as a lead PI on the NSF Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Program strategic planning process.