Susan S. Witte

Susan Witte is a Professor of Social Work at Columbia University, where she has been on faculty since 2001. Dr. Witte served for 15 years as the associate director of the Social Intervention Group and has been a faculty affiliate since 2014. She is also a faculty affiliate at the Global Health Research Center of Central Asia at Columbia and the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD) at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Witte's research is at the forefront of global and community health initiatives, focusing on intervention and implementation science at the intersections of women’s sexual and reproductive health, HIV risk, partner violence, and economic empowerment. Current projects include the Kyaterekera Project in Uganda, which reduces sexual risk-taking behaviors among vulnerable women through a combination of HIV and economic empowerment interventions and work with the Sauti Mashinani research team in Kenya, which examines the links between climate change, mental health, and violence in informal settlements.

She is known for her work in developing couple-based and multimedia HIV prevention interventions and economic empowerment interventions. Her work has significantly influenced HIV prevention strategies both domestically and globally, made possible by securing sustained funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2001.

Dr. Witte is deeply committed to community-engaged scholarship, which seeks to dismantle systemic inequities through collaborative research and shared knowledge production. She collaborates with colleagues and communities in the United States and abroad. Her courses on community-based participatory research, reproductive justice, and social support are infused with a critical analysis of power, race, oppression, and privilege. These courses aim to equip students with the tools to address and understand the complex dynamics of oppression and privilege that shape social policies and practices.

As a mentor, she fosters future social work practitioners and researchers equipped to challenge disparities and lead transformative change. Dr. Witte holds a Ph.D. in Social Work from Columbia University, an M.S.W. from the University of Connecticut, and a B.A. cum laude in Public Policy Studies from Duke University. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York State, she integrates her practical expertise with academic rigor.