Winnie L. Callahan, Ed.D.
Director, Business, Education, Government and Medical Innovation
University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute

Winnie Callahan joined the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute in January 2009 as Director for Business, Education, Government and Health Innovation, with the responsibility for building partnerships, spearheading initiatives and identifying opportunities for growth that will enhance economic expansion and promote the nation’s future. In her role, she seeks to augment ISI’s accomplishments and reputation for computer-based communication, artificial intelligence and dynamic complex systems by collaborating with entities whose missions rely on taking impactful applied research solutions and technological adaptation directly into the market.

Prior to coming to USC, Callahan served as Executive Director of the University of Nebraska’s Peter Kiewit Institute ( PKI), a unique partnership between two colleges within the University of Nebraska system and industry and governmental agencies, a role she held from 1997 through December 2008. As the founding director of the Institute, Callahan helped develop a sixteen building complex, consisting of a business park, incubator center and student housing - along with the state-of-the-art Kiewit Institute, which was nationally recognized as the best model in the country for immersing business, engineering and technology. She was instrumental in establishing partnerships with over 1,000 entities, including nearly a hundred Fortune 500 companies, and developed a unique scholarship program that annually recruited from the top two to three percent of student scholars from around the country.

During her tenure with PKI, she also served as Assistant Vice President of the University of Nebraska Foundation, a role which enabled the acquisition of gifts totaling nearly $300M. These contributions allowed expansion of the Institute and the creation of one of the most robust infrastructures and super computer facilities found in any higher education institution in the nation.

Additionally, Callahan helped in the establishment with USSTRATCOM of the Global Innovation and Strategy Center and the development of an accredited graduate certificate program in Information Operations, also in conjunction with USSTRATCOM. She has worked extensively with the CIA, FBI, NSA, NASA, the Federal Reserve and the United States Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development and Commerce.

Callahan’s professional career began in August, 1967, as an elementary teacher for the Department of Defense. In 1973, she joined the Omaha Public Schools where she was a teacher, a school principal, an assistant superintendent and also taught both graduate and undergraduate courses as an adjunct for the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Education.

Callahan holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Winthrop University in South Carolina, and a Master’s and Doctorate from the University of Nebraska in Educational Administration. Through the years, Callahan has presented frequently at the national level, has several publications to her credit, served as a consultant to Disney, and has many recognitions to include installation in the Aksarben Court of Honor, was named the YWCA’s Woman of Distinction in 1994, was made an Admiral in the Great Navy of Nebraska by then Governor Ben Nelson and was named as the West Point Society’s Citizen of the Year in 2007, all recognizing her leadership, community participation, and patriotism.