Congrats to HELI Alumna Dr. Delishia Pittman!

Congratulations to HELI 2013 Alumna Delishia Pittman, PhD, on her promotion with tenure at the George Washington University!

Dr. Pittman joined the faculty at GWU in August 2014 and as of May 2020 is Associate Professor of Counseling with tenure, Department of Counseling and Human Development in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development. Her current work includes investigations of health behavior and related negative health outcomes among Black women. More specifically, she focuses on sexual health behavior and related outcomes in emerging adult and college student populations.

In sharing her celebratory news, Dr. Pittman was also kind enough to share two ways her HELI experience has been instrumental since she came to Madison in 2013:

First, I attended HELI in 2013, a year into my first tenure track position at a teaching university. I was having difficulty launching my research agenda due to the heavy teaching load and very small African American community in the state I was living in. While chronicling some of these challenges during HELI, Drs. Stephen Thomas, Craig Fryer and James Butler told me that I needed to go on the market immediately (in no uncertain terms), adding that I needed to be at an institution and in a city that could support the kind of research career I wanted to have. It was their urging that ultimately landed me in my current position and I’m grateful to them for this push.

Second, HELI introduced me to 8 other amazing Black women (in the cohort) who have become a cross-country sisterhood. We have encouraged one another, celebrated personal and professional triumphs, and held one another accountable in love and excellence. They are truly HELI’s gift to me. 

Wow! Learn more about Dr. Pittman’s work via her practice website.

Congratulations, Delishia. Your successes are well-earned and your HELI family is very proud of you!