Danushi S. Fernando
Assistant Dean for Engagement and Strategic Programs
Danushi Fernando joins Columbia Engineering from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where she was the Chief Diversity Officer, Affirmative Action Officer and Deputy Title IX Coordinator.
Her experience includes more than a decade in DEIA management in higher education settings, including Director of the LGBTQ+ Center and the Women’s Center at Vassar College; Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion at Clarkson University; and founder and chair of the Campus Life Diversity Initiative at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She also is a licensed clinical mental health counselor and has experience with Title IX investigations and discrimination law.
Danushi holds three Master of Arts degrees (in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling; Creative Writing and Literature for Educators; and Corporate and Organizational Communication, with concentrations in Conflict Resolution and Crisis Communication) and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Fairleigh Dickinson University.