Heidi Howkins Lockwood

Heidi Howkins Lockwood began her PhD at MIT in the late 1980s, but left after two years because there were no real options for reporting faculty sexual misconduct. She returned to academia in 2003, finished her PhD in philosophy at Yale, and has dedicated much of her time over the past decade to supporting victims of campus sexual harassment and assault. The ten year hiatus between MIT and Yale was spent climbing in the Himalayas as a professional high-altitude climber with support from the National Geographic Expeditions Council. Achievements during this period included leading alpine-style expeditions to Everest and K2 (on both the south side, in Pakistan, and the north side, in the Xinjiang province of China); the publication of a book, K2 One Woman’s Quest for the Summit (2001, National Geographic Books/Simon & Schuster); filming and climbing for documentaries aired on NBC, CNBC/National Geographic Explorer, and the National Geographic Channel; and completion of an international lecture and multimedia show tour for the Everest IMAX movie. She is currently an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Southern CT State University, serves as a member of the Faculty Against Rape leadership team, and is the mother of three daughters.