Caroline Simard is the Regional Dean of Northeastern University in Silicon Valley, one of the university’s 14 campuses in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. In this role, she is responsible for the design and execution the campus strategic plan, including the expansion academic programs and design of new initiatives, building partnerships with companies, and overseeing campus operations.
Caroline is passionate about the role of higher education in advancing social impact, and is dedicated to expanding career pathways for students across backgrounds in Silicon Valley. Before joining Northeastern, she was the Managing Director of the VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab at Stanford University, a social impact initiative to bridge the gap between research and practice to advance diversity in organizations from K-12 to the c-suite. In this role, she led the implementation of the research agenda, engaged industry partners, and oversaw operations. Previously, she served as the Senior Director of Research at the Clayman Institute for Gender Research, designing and implementing academic-industry research collaborations for impact, and as Director of Faculty Development and Diversity at the Stanford School of Medicine. Prior to Stanford, she served as the Vice President of Research and Executive Programs at AnitaB.org, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of women in computing and host of the Grace Hopper Celebration. Caroline has a PhD from Stanford University and Master’s from Rutgers University.
Caroline is a board member of the Center for Institutional Courage, a nonprofit organization dedicated to transformative research and education for impact. A 25-year Silicon Valley resident, Caroline is originally from Montreal, Canada.
