Stef Woods is a full-time instructor with the American Studies Program at American University. She specializes in social media, American popular culture, sexuality, nonprofits, and activism.

Stef has been featured in numerous print and online publications, including The Daily Beast, NPR.com, Fast Company, Associated Press, Today.com, Cosmopolitan, Forbes.com, Washingtonian, TeenVogue.com, and USA TODAY College. She was interviewed for her 50 Shades Trilogy and Hunger Games curricula by MSNBC, WTOP, and FOX 5 DC. Her courses also have been highlighted by The New York Times' Education Life section, Entertainment Weekly magazine, Buzzfeed and Business Insider. Stef was profiled as a breast cancer survivor in Women's Health and On Health magazines, and on WebMD and HealthIT.gov.

In 2015, she lectured on politics, class and marketing in The Hunger Games at The Smithsonian. She followed up that program with a second Smithsonian talk on politics and ethics in House of Cards in 2016. Stef is a frequent panelist on nonprofits, branding, activism, health and social media.

Stef received the Dean's Award for Exceptional Innovation in Teaching in 2016. She serves on the Faculty Senate's Committee on Information Services. In 2012, she was chosen as a co-winner of the AU Jack Child Teaching with Technology Award. She writes about motherhood, sexual health and breast cancer on her website, CityGirlBlogs.com. Stef’s most important role is as a mom to her three-year-old daughter, Roya.