Helen joined the VPGE office as Director of Educational Programs in August 2012 and became Associate Vice Provost (AVP) in August 2015. Her responsibilities include oversight of VPGE’s extensive graduate professional development (GPD) programs, including promoting the interactive GPD Framework, and interdisciplinary learning opportunities. She also oversees VPGE’s communication and marketing strategies and serves as VPGE's primary point person on graduate academic policies. As AVP, Helen collaborates extensively with partners throughout campus and advocates for graduate students on a variety of University-wide committees.

 

Previously, Helen was Associate Director of Stanford’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources in the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, since May 2006. Helen has also held senior positions at the Public Library of Science, a non-profit open-access scholarly publisher, and at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. She also worked in K-12 science education reform at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Helen’s doctoral and postdoctoral research was in molecular genetics. She has a BA from Barnard College and a PhD from Columbia University in New York City, and was a postdoctoral scholar at the Max Planck Institute in Germany and at UCSF.

 

Beyond her work at Stanford, Helen volunteers at the San Francisco Botanical Garden, dabbles in photography and mosaics, relaxes with yoga and world dance, and enjoys the Bay Area’s beautiful places.