Michele A Wittig

My earliest research examined how children develop an understanding of probability. This led to an interest in people’s susceptibility to cognitive biases and how to overcome them. Next, I studied bias as an intergroup phenomenon and developed strategies for identifying and reducing the resulting group-based inequities. In the late 1990’s, I launched high school-based interventions that taught racial-ethnic minority, immigrant and first-generation American adolescents how to harness their cultural wealth and overcome stereotype threat to increase academic achievement. I’ve long been involved in community organizing and direct political action; been an expert witness on employment discrimination in Superior Court; and served as a consultant to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva and to the British Red Cross, as well as to many national, state and local institutions. My community service includes work with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Westside Coalition, FAME Santa Monica Redevelopment Corporation, Committee for Racial Justice, Santa Monica-Venice NAACP, LAUSD, SMMUSD, Public Electronic Network Action Group and the Human Relations Council of the Santa Monica Bay Area. Since 2015, I have used my knowledge of federal, state and local legal frameworks as convener of the Santa Monica Coalition for Police Reform: https://law.stanford.edu/2022/10/12/essay-lessons-learned-from-grassroots-advocacy-for-local-police-reform/