The Washington Center Board of Trustees Elects Dr. Susan C. Pannullo as New Chair

Dr. Pannullo is an alum, parent of an alum, renowned neurosurgeon-educator, and long-serving member of TWC board

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The governing Board of Trustees for The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars (TWC) unanimously selected Dr. Susan C. Pannullo to become the new chair of the board, effective January 1, 2021. Dr. Pannullo, an academic neurosurgeon, researcher, and educator, first joined TWC’s board in 2007. In addition to her long service as chair of TWC’s integral Governance and Nominations Committee, she will be the first alum of TWC and the second woman to lead the organization as chair. 

Dr. Pannullo’s career journey intersected with TWC during her internship at the National Institutes of Health. That internship placed her in the lab of a Nobel Prize winning scientist, where she gained priceless skills and experience that helped launch her future. From there, she continued on to medical school at Cornell University Medical College (now Weill Cornell Medical College), where she currently serves as the Director of Neurosurgical Radiosurgery and Neuro-Oncology for the Weill Cornell Medicine Brain and Spine Center in New York City.

“What an honor to be named chair of The Washington Center, a place dear to me and my family, and one that played a foundational role in my career,” said Dr. Susan Pannullo, board of trustees chair, The Washington Center. “From just about every viewpoint, as student, parent, and advisor, I’ve seen how transformative experiential learning can be in a student’s life. I’m delighted to bring my TWC experience full-circle, going from aspiring undergraduate to leading this amazing organization, its students and its 60,000+ alumni base forward to a promising future.”

Dr. Pannullo’s illuminating experience with TWC has led to her strong advocacy of experiential learning and skills development.  She has passed this spirit on to her medical students at Weill Cornell Medical College, her biomedical engineering students at Cornell University’s Ithaca Campus, and her eldest son, Joseph Pannullo, a 2013 TWC alum. 

“I’m certain our founder, Bill Burke, would be as overjoyed as I am to have a ‘future leader’ from one of the earliest cohorts return to TWC in this leadership position,” said Chris Norton, president, The Washington Center. “Susan is an exceptionally accomplished scientist, educator and leader. Her all-encompassing perspective  — as an alum, as the parent of a recent alum, and as a board member since 2007 — will provide unparalleled insights as TWC embarks upon a defining era for the organization, with its focus on the role of experiential education and skills development in the 21st century workforce.

Susan succeeds John Hilton as chair of the board of trustees. John has been an extraordinary leader and advisor to TWC throughout his years of service. His keen analysis and remarkable abilities helped us during his time as chair, particularly as we managed the tumultuous pandemic during our 2020 academic year.” 

Dr. Pannullo’s initial term as chair of The Board of Trustees is for four years, which for Dr. Pannullo will include TWC’s 50th anniversary in 2025.

About the Author

The Washington Center is the largest and most established student internship program in Washington, D.C. Since our founding, we've helped more than 60,000 individuals from across the U.S. and around the globe expand their academic pursuits into rewarding jobs and careers. We use our scale and expertise to deliver solutions that open career pathways for learners, solve recruitment challenges for employers, while helping create greater access, equity, advancement and representation.

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