Dr. Jeanita Pritchett [she | her | hers] most recently served as the Acting Director of the NIST Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Office. In this role, she was responsible for leading the development and implementation of the NIST Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan and supporting the development and implementation of the DOC Equity Action Plan and the DOC DEIA Strategic Plan. She also developed and curated DEIA-related learning opportunities for NIST staff and recently launched the Inclusive Leadership through Equity, Accessibility, and Diversity (iLEAD) workshop series. She began her career working as an NRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Analytical Chemist focused on developing reference materials for clinical, food, and forensics-related programs. After spending years at the bench, she decided to pivot her career to pursue her passion: Motivating others to gain clarity and confidence as they navigate their careers while elevating DEI in STEM. She notably is the architect behind a career coaching program developed for postdocs at NIST to help them gain clarity about their goals and elevate them towards the next step in their careers. Since its inception in 2018, there have been over 100 participants in the career coaching program. Additionally, she is the Vice President of the NIST Association for Black Staff (NABS) and an executive board member of Women in STEM (WiSTEM).
Dr. Pritchett obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from Tennessee State University, a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago, an executive certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University, an executive certificate in Diversity and Inclusion at Cornell University, and a certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business. She is an executive board member for the DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance Higher Education Committee. Additionally, she is a member of the African American Federal Executive Association and the Federal Chief Diversity Officers Steering Committee Council.