Risa Sodi

Risa Sodi

Board Member

Risa retired from Yale University in spring 2026 as an associate dean of Academic Affairs and the Yale College director of advising and special programs. She had previously served as the interim director of the Yale Center for Teaching and Learning and, prior to that, as the Senior Lector II and language program director in the Yale Italian Department. Altogether, she spent 36 years at Yale.

A top priority was to enhance the support Yale College provided to nontraditional, transfer, ROTC, and veteran students. Each program in her portfolio grew substantially and received increasing institutional support during her tenure. In particular, she sought to smooth the transition of students, particularly veterans, who came to Yale through non-traditional paths, and to support them and their unique needs while at Yale.

For her contributions and service to Yale, Risa was awarded the Veterans Day Tribute Award (2023), the Linda K. Lorimer Distinguished Service Award (2024), and the Joseph W. Gordon Award for Outstanding Support of Teaching and Learning (2025). In 2026, she received the Honorable Order of Saint Martin from the U.S. Army Association of Quartermasters.

Risa earned her B.A. in history and Italian from Smith College, her M.A. in French and Italian from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and her M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Italian language and literature from Yale University.