Dr. Dena Haritos Tsamitis has led the College of Engineering’s [Information Networking Institute (INI)](https://www.cmu.edu/ini/) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) since 2004. She is the child of Greek immigrants, raised to marry and have babies, not have a professional career. Instead, Dena became the first in her family to attend college and followed her dreams as a single mother of three working full-time while pursuing her education. Dena joined CMU in 2000, serving first as the INI’s associate director in 2002 before assuming the role of director in 2004. As the institute director, she leads the INI’s master’s degree programs in information networking, security and mobility. Her efforts have touched the lives of over 1,800 INI alumni worldwide, prepared the next generation of STEM professionals and created a welcoming and diverse community at CMU. For her full bio, please visit: https://www.cmu.edu/ini/about/team/tsamitis.html