Brittany Dernberger

Dr. Brittany N. Dernberger has more than 10 years of experience working on issues of gender inequality and economic mobility through program design, project management, evaluation, and organizational learning. 

Dr. Dernberger currently serves as the Senior Manager of Systems-Level Impact at CARE, where she leads global initiatives to assess and scale solutions that address the root causes of inequality. Prior to joining CARE, she provided research consultation to the U.S. Department of Defense Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office and conducted evaluation for the Steelcase Foundation. In 2021, she provided direct research support to President Biden’s Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military. Before moving to Washington, DC, Dr. Dernberger served as the Assistant Director of Grand Valley State University’s Center for Women and Gender Equity, where she spent most of her time getting students off campus to explore gender justice in their local communities and in South Africa. 

Dr. Dernberger earned her M.P.A. in Nonprofit Management from Grand Valley State University and holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Maryland. Her doctoral research examined the college-to-career transition and how college graduates respond to underemployment. Dr. Dernberger also managed a project funded by the National Science Foundation that studied military spouses’ employment. An accomplished mixed-methods researcher, Dr. Dernberger’s research has been published in several academic journals and featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Ms. Magazine.

When she’s not in the classroom, Dr. Dernberger can be found running, baking, and exploring West Virginia hiking trails.