DIB Committee

Our Departmental Committee on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging is composed of faculty, staff, and students/trainees from across all areas of the Department to ensure that we’re serving the needs of our community in all roles and positions.

What inspired you to join the DIB Committee?

  • A science seeking to understand and improve human experience is necessarily a diversity science, and no one should feel discouraged from participating in our science because of their identities or background. We have steps to take before our field fulfill
  • Like many individuals who are members of historically minoritized groups, I feel called to DIB work, in part, as a gut-response to improve the environments I find myself in not only for my own benefit, but also for the many individuals from diverse backgr
  • ...to advocate for changes in our department that empower every prospective and current member of our community to bring their whole selves to their research, everyday.
  • The most rewarding part of my career has always been to build supportive, inclusive communities where people do their best work and feel happy.
  • Within the DIB committee, I am able to bring forth my own experiences with [diversity, inclusion, and belonging] and channel them into productive energy, working on initiatives that I am passionate about and that also closely affirms these core values.
  • I joined to listen, participate, and support [DIB] efforts. It makes me realize – many of the things I have taken for granted about “how academia works” are ripe for thoughtful challenges.
  • This committee aligns with my value of harnessing the privileges I hold--in terms of both my personal identities and my position within a powerful institution--to actively and sustainably contribute to cultivating an environment in which all community mem
  •  There is so much going on in the world that is outside our control to fix, but this is our department, our community, and that makes it our responsibility and within our power to make it the department we want.

Members of the current committee are listed below. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at psy.dib@gmail.com to learn more about our work--including suggestions for future initiatives! This email address will be monitored by a dedicated sub-committee to help channel your ideas into the committee. Please note that this email is intended for members of the department and Harvard community who wish to communicate with the DIB committee.

Current Members

Mina Cikara

Mina Cikara

Professor of Psychology
DIB Committee Co-Chair
Photo of Cass Ranno

Cass Ranno

Coordinator of Academic Affairs (On Leave)
Jesse Snedeker

Jesse Snedeker

Professor of Psychology
Affiliate of the Department of Linguistics

Former Members

  • Maha Al-Suwaidi, Research Assistant (2019-2021)
  • Neha Dhawan, Teaching Assistant (2016-2022)
  • Rebecca Fortgang, College Fellow (2018-2019) & Postdoc (2019-2022)
  • Ivan Kroupin, PhD Student (Graduated 2021)
  • Brian Leahy, PhD Student (2019-2022)
  • Natasha Parikh, College Fellow (2019-2021)