Hi everyone! I’m Brittany Washington, and I’m excited to introduce myself as the Futures Initiative’s Director of Public Programs for the 2026-27 academic year.

I came to academia after working in journalism and communications, and that combination has made me especially interested in what happens when ideas leave our classrooms, labs, and publications and enter public life. In this role, I’ll be working with the FI community to help develop our public programming, including the University Worth Fighting For series and our major in-person events.

I’m particularly looking forward to elevating, highlighting, and expanding the reach of the University Worth Fighting For webinar series and in-person events, while working collaboratively across the many disciplines represented throughout CUNY. I want our events to be places where people can encounter ideas outside their own fields, ask difficult questions, and connect academic work to the larger world around us. I’m looking forward to working with everyone this year.