Erica Cusi Wortham
About Erica Cusi Wortham
Erica Cusi Wortham is a lecturer and co-director of the Innovation Center at The George Washington University, where she has worked since 2018. She specializes in ethnographic and human-centered design approaches and has extensive academic qualifications in anthropology and media.
Work at The George Washington University
Erica Cusi Wortham serves as a Lecturer at The George Washington University, where she has been teaching since 2012. In addition to her role as a Lecturer, she has held the position of Co-director at the Innovation Center within the School of Engineering & Applied Science since 2018. In this capacity, she focuses on cross-disciplinary collaborations and design impact. Wortham also teaches field research methodologies to the inaugural cohort of Social Practice MFA students. Her involvement at the university reflects her commitment to integrating design and education.
Education and Expertise
Erica Cusi Wortham has a robust educational background. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Columbia University in the City of New York, studying from 1984 to 1988. She furthered her education at New York University, where she obtained a Certificate in Culture and Media, a Master of Arts in Cultural Anthropology, and a PhD in the same field, completing her studies in 2002. Her academic training informs her work as a design ethnographer and UX researcher.
Background
Prior to her current roles at The George Washington University, Erica Cusi Wortham worked in various capacities in the field of design and academia. She served as a Senior UX Researcher at Designit for a brief period in 2021. Additionally, she was the Indigenous Media Collection Specialist at New York University's Division of Libraries from 2017 to 2021. Wortham also worked as Project Lead for the Innovation Group at The George Washington University from 2017 to 2021, contributing to projects that emphasize community-driven problem-solving.
Achievements
Erica Cusi Wortham has made significant contributions to the fields of design and education. At The George Washington University, she advocates for studio-based learning and community-driven problem-solving that emphasizes equity and circularity. Her work at the Innovation Center highlights her focus on impactful design and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Wortham's teaching includes instructing graduate and undergraduate students in ethnographic, human-centered, and systems approaches to interaction design, showcasing her commitment to fostering innovative learning environments.