Susan S. Witte

Susan Witte is a social worker and 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 focuses on advancing global and community health through intervention and implementation science, with a particular emphasis on women’s sexual and reproductive health, HIV prevention, partner violence, and economic stability. Her current projects include the Kyaterekera Project in Uganda, which supports women’s health and safety through a combination of HIV and economic empowerment strategies, the Sauti Mashinani study in Kenya, which explores the relationship between climate change, mental health, and safety in urban informal settlements—settings often shaped by historical underinvestment and uneven development, and the establishment of the Anga Center, which aims to build research capacity while empowering climate-vulnerable communities to co-create solutions to extreme weather in the East Africa region, including Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Her research has contributed to the development of innovative couple-based and multimedia HIV prevention interventions and programs that strengthen women’s economic opportunities and reduce health risks. Her work addresses how social and structural forces—such as poverty, gender inequality, and access to care—influence health outcomes. These projects have helped shape effective public health strategies in both U.S. and international contexts, with sustained support from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Witte is committed to community-engaged research that centers on collaboration, shared learning, and mutual respect. She works closely with community members and partners to examine how systems of power—including policies, institutions, and cultural norms—affect people’s health and well-being. Her teaching in participatory research, reproductive health, and social support is grounded in understanding how race, class, gender, and geography intersect to shape lived experience and opportunity.

As a mentor, she supports future social work professionals and scholars committed to advancing health and welfare through evidence-based research, practice, and policy. Her approach prepares students to address the structural and systemic barriers that limit communities' health, opportunity, and well-being. 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. She is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York State.