Who we are
Who We Are
Joe Zimmel (C’75)
“I am very excited to be involved with the Regents STEM Scholars Program. Supporting Georgetown and, more specifically, the work of Heidi and Randy is very gratifying to me.
I invested in RSSP to support improving educational opportunity and outcomes for GU students from underserved communities. In particular, the RSSP is developing new pedagogies for improving academic outcomes by challenging students to learn in ways that are very impactful.
Some forty-five years ago Georgetown ‘invested’ in me by providing a scholarship. That changed my life. I am grateful to be able to try to do the same thing for these very talented young people. I hope others will do the same thing by creating and supporting scholarship initiatives in other academic areas at Georgetown.”
Joseph (Joe) Zimmel is a business consultant, private investor and director of four private start-ups. For over 20 years, Mr. Zimmel held management positions at Goldman, Sachs & Company, retiring in 2002 after serving as Managing Director of the Investment Banking Division and Managing Director of Communications, Media & Entertainment Group for the Americas for many years.
Mr. Zimmel holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Georgetown University. He is a member emeritus of the Georgetown College Board of Advisors, a member of the Board of Regents and served as a trustee of the George F. Baker Scholar Program at Georgetown. Mr. Zimmel serves on the Boards of The Eagle Hill School, Greenwich Emergency Services, the National Center for Learning Disabilities, and the Norwalk Community College Foundation Board. Joe has two daughters and two sons.
Professor Heidi Elmendorf
“I am incredibly grateful to Joe Zimmel for his philanthropic support that has allowed us to create the Regents STEM Scholars Program. As Director of the program, I feel like I have a front row seat to the most exciting game in town, as Georgetown expands opportunities for students who otherwise wouldn’t find a home in the sciences here on the Hilltop.
I’m pretty proud of the fact that my courses are known as being among the most challenging at Georgetown, and I know that they’ve grown to better with the infusion of intellect, ideas, and drive that the Regents Science Scholars bring to the classroom. The presence of the Regents STEM Scholars Program brings out the best in all of our students and our faculty.
I’ve taught for over twenty years, and the opportunity to be a part of this program is the highlight of my career.”
Professor Heidi Elmendorf has been at Georgetown University since 1999 as a faculty member in the Department of Biology, and she now serves as Senior Advisor to President DeGioia for Equity in Education.
Prof. Elmendorf has spent her research career in the field of global health, studying parasitic diseases that primarily affect some of the world’s most underprivileged peoples. Her laboratory conducts research on the intestinal parasite Giardia. Over the past two decades, she has taught a wide range of courses in Biology to both majors and non-majors and has won numerous teaching honors for her work.
Prof. Elmendorf has long been committed to increasing opportunities in the sciences for a greater diversity of students. In 2002 she founded, and has since directed, a STEM partnership with D.C. Public Schools. Since 2010 she has coordinated and taught in the science week of the Summer College Immersion Program, a partnership with Cristo Rey and KIPP schools. And she now leads efforts on the Hilltop as Director of the Regents Science Scholars Program and as Senior Advisor to President DeGioia for Equity in Education.
For inquires about the Regents STEM Scholars Program, please contact Heidi Elmendorf at hge@georgetown.edu.
