Professor Emeritus, Purdue University. 

PhD. Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University

Founder and Principal Investigator, Communities Against Rape (CARe): Parent Organization of MESA

With over 50 years in education and human development Dr Pilat has served in various roles:

K-12 teacher and administrator as well as Director of an Alternative School for Pregnant and Parenting Teens before coming to Purdue University. At Purdue her focus and research was on youth at risk programs including such areas as substance abuse prevention, juvenile justice, and sexual violence. As Senior Policy scholar in 2000, Dr. Pilat worked in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.

Pilat’s emphasis on the community involvement and inter-organizational cooperation led to the development, and implementation of the CARe Model of Sexual Violence Prevention which included in-school training for teachers; service provider programs for social service professionals; college and university grants for program development; multicultural initiatives including the first multi-lingual sexual violence prevention program in Indiana; the first training programs for male involvement in sexual violence prevention; and specifically designed art and theater programs for youth.

Pilat conducted research and organizational assessments internationally in places such as Afghanistan, and Kenya and  at international conferences.

As an advocate for women’s rights, she was a founding member and first president of the Indiana Voices of Women and the New York State Council on Adolescent Pregnancy. 

Through out her career, Pilat has sought to bring together persons and organizations from diverse backgrounds and international settings. 

Pilat’s work continues now as an artist, photographer, and writer as she strives to present through her art work the stories of the women, children, families and communities with whom she has worked.