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Shelma Middleton Little, Ph.D.

Director, Data Analytics and Customer Outreach

Dr. Little became the Director of the Division of Data Analytics and Customer Outreach on June 30, 2013. In this role she provides leadership for the production of data used to inform the NIH’s diversity and inclusion strategies; customer outreach to the NIH institutes, centers, and offices; and EDI employee development.

Shelma's previously served as EDI’s Branch Chief for Analysis, Planning, Evaluation, and Reports. In this role she was responsible for leading the NIH’s Management Directive 715 initiatives; providing oversight for evaluation of all EEO events and training; and developing Affirmative Employment Reports.

Dr. Little has over twelve years of equity, diversity, and inclusion experience serving as a program analyst and supervisory EEO specialist. During her career, she has coordinated a student training program designed to increase the pipeline of racial and ethnic minority students pursuing research careers; developed tools to evaluate EEO sponsored programs and trainings; piloted and implemented a process for collecting demographic information from tenured and tenure track scientists to evaluate the diversity of NIH’s applicant pool and outreach efforts; and led the resurvey of the NIH workforce resulting in an update to the disability status of employees.

In addition, Dr. Little has also served as an adjunct instructor for the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute as well as an HHS loaned executive for the Combined Campaign Fund. She is a graduate of the NIH Management Internship Program.

Prior to entering the EEO arena, Dr. Little worked as a clinical social worker at the NIH Clinical Center. In this capacity, she provided a wide range of treatment and consulting services for participants in clinical trials and their families. Dr. Little received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the College of Charleston, and an MSW and Ph.D. from Howard University.