Laura Wolford is the Associate Director and Director of Operations at the Newcomb Institute. She has a BA in English from Reed College and a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas, Austin. At the Newcomb Institute, Laura oversees all administrative and operational aspects of the Institute. She takes lead responsibility for annual budgeting, annual program planning, and space management and manages programs and staff related to budget and administration, event planning, communications, and faculty engagement.

Anita Raj is the Executive Director of the Newcomb Institute and the Nancy Reeves Dreux Endowed Chair in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University. She is a research scientist trained in developmental psychology and public health with a multi-disciplinary research focus on gender equity in global health and development.

Deja Wells is a Senior Program Coordinator for Student Engagement at Newcomb Institute. Deja works to develop and supervise engagement and outreach for students, specifically recruiting underrepresented populations. She received her bachelor’s degree from Tulane University in Political Science and is pursuing a J.D. at Tulane Law. She began her current position after working as a graduate assistant at Newcomb Institute, Center for Public Service, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Lisa Wade is an Associate Professor at Tulane University with appointments in Sociology, the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, and the Newcomb Institute. Her research agenda has involved four main areas: hookup culture on college campuses, feminist theories of sexuality, the relationship between biology and society, and U.S. discourse about female genital cutting in Africa. Before receiving her M.S. and Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Lisa earned an interdisciplinary M.A. in Human Sexuality from NYU and a B.A.

Aidan Smith is the director of Tulane University’s Newcomb Scholars Program, an interdisciplinary undergraduate feminist research program. She earned her Bachelor's degree at Barnard College and holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication from the University of Florida.  She completed her doctorate in American Studies at the University of Hawai’i. Her first book, Gender, Heteronormativity, and the American Presidency (Routledge, 2017) provides a discourse analysis of campaign communications from the arrival of television to today.

Julie Qiu is the Department Administrator for Newcomb Institute. She provides advanced levels of administrative and project support for the Executive Director and Newcomb Institute. Originally from Memphis, TN, Julie received her B.A. and M.A. in English from Tulane University. She worked in China as a teacher and academic consultant for three years, providing local schools with curriculum and social program development.