Dr. Heidi R. Lewis

David & Lucile Packard Professor of Feminist & Gender Studies at Colorado College, Inaugural Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Bibliographies in Gender & Women's Studies, Series Editor of Expanding Frontiers: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and Immediate Past President of the National Women's Studies Association

National Women’s Studies Association

Established in 1977, the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) promotes and supports the production and dissemination of knowledge about women, gender, and sexuality through teaching, learning, research and service within and outside academia.

I became a member of NWSA in 2008 when I was selected, as a Ph.D. student, to participate in the Women of Color Leadership Project (WoCLP). Subsequently, I regularly attended the annual conference, as well as Program Directors & Department Chairs Meeting sponsored by the Program Administration & Development Committee; I was selected to attend the Curriculum Institute (2014); I served as Founding Chair the Feminist Media Studies Interest Group (2015-18); I was elected Secretary (2021-22); and I served as WoCLP Co-Chair (2023).

In October 2023, I was elected to serve a two-year term as the Association’s 22nd President. In this role, I chaired the Governing Council, Executive Committee, annual conference, and Membership Assembly. I also held ex officio status on the Finance Committee, Leadership & Development Committee, and all other Association committees.

Additionally, I published:

I also spearheaded:

  • revisions to the Program & Department Evaluation Database (October 2025);
  • Governing Council membership engagement protocols for the annual conference (August 2025);
  • a restructuring of the Leadership & Development Committee (formerly the Elections Committee), which included developing conference planning protocols (July 2025);
  • revisions to the Association’s bylaws (April 2025);
  • a restructuring of the annual conference Proposal Review Committee (PRC), which included developing PRC Chair protocols for the Governing Council and Advisory Board (January 2025);
  • revisions to Membership Assembly reporting protocols (January 2025);
  • the creation of a Governing Council digital calendar (January 2025);
  • revisions to Governing Council orientation protocols (January 2025);
  • the “Meet the President! Be the Next One?” series (September 2024);
  • the Association Name Task Force (July 2024);
  • the Governing Council Composition Task Force (July 2024);
  • revisions to assessment protocols and the employment contract for the Executive Director (Summer 2024);
  • revisions to special sessions protocols for the annual conference that strengthened Governing Council and Executive Director participation (February 2024);
  • the inaugural Governing Council Advisory Board (February 2024);
  • the development of the Feminist Frequencies podcast series (with Executive Director Kristian Contreras) (February 2024);
  • and the development of the Care, Creative, and Critical Community Spaces (January 2024).