Alison Berk, Ed.D., Director of Equity and Inclusion, Equal Opportunity Officer

Alison Berk, Ed.D., serves as the director of equity and inclusion/equal opportunity officer at Swarthmore. In this role, she is responsible for supporting efforts to build and maintain a diverse, welcoming, and inclusive campus environment by overseeing the College’s discrimination and harassment reporting, response and education initiatives. This includes ensuring that the College is compliant with all laws and requirements related to discrimination and harassment, collaborating with on and off campus partners to deliver relevant training and education, and coordinating restorative practices and other alternative resolutions meant to address harm while building a culture of accountability and inclusion.

Alison earned her B.A. in philosophy and women’s studies from the University of Connecticut, a M.Ed. in higher education/student affairs and counseling from The Citadel Military College, and an Ed.D. from Arcadia University. Her doctoral research examined the use of transformative educational pedagogy to advance social justice in virtual classroom settings.

Prior to her work in higher education, Alison built a strong foundation in nonprofit and community-based settings. She served as a community educator for a domestic violence agency, directed a mentoring program supporting LGBTQ+ youth in out-of-home care, and worked as a counselor with young adults with dual diagnoses.

Alison began her higher education career in 2003, working as a peer educator at the University of Connecticut Women's Center as an undergraduate student. She returned to the field in 2014 to the College of Charleston, where she held roles in sexual violence prevention education and student conduct, overseeing campus-wide programming and student conduct administration. She later joined Arcadia University as the inaugural director of the Office of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Education, establishing comprehensive support and prevention initiatives. Most recently, she served at Drexel University as assistant director for diversity and inclusion, focusing on restorative practices and inclusive community-building.

In her free time, Alison enjoys spending time with her wife, Jenn, and two dogs, Brü and Olive, in their West Philly neighborhood as well as playing rugby and coaching the Drexel Women's Rugby Club.