Helen Cannaday

Helen Cannaday is currently the associate provost for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement, where she supports, guides or leads the office’s initiatives to enhance and foster a culture of diversity and inclusive excellence at the university. Helen was the first administrator over the Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholars from 1990 to 1997, and now serves as the convener of the leadership advisory board.

Helen has been a member of the George Washington University (GW) community since 1983. In addition to GW, she has worked at Marymount University and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Prior to her appointment as associate provost in June 2012, Helen held leadership positions in the Offices of Undergraduate Admissions, Multicultural Student Services Center, Division of Student Affairs and International Services Office.

A native Washingtonian, Helen earned her undergraduate degree in sociology from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and her graduate degree in Education and Human Development from GW. She is an alumnus of the Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration at Bryn Mawr College, and the Aspen Institute for Executive Leadership.