Betha Whitlow holds a B.A. from Northwestern University, and an M.A. from Washington University in Saint Louis. She heads the Digital Art History Lab, and holds a lecturer appointment teaching "The Digital Art Historian," digital humanities seminar emphasizing "distant looking" approaches for humanities research and scholarship, which is offered to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. Her position emphasizes the development and use of technology in teaching, learning, and research; data-driven approaches to art history; instruction in digital humanities; assisting faculty in integrating innovative digital humanities approaches into their curriculum; and forwarding digital initiatives, including trend forecasting. In addition to serving as instructor of record for "The Digital Art Historian," she also serves as the advisor for a "by students, for students" digital humanities workshop series. Among her many leadership roles at WashU, she is the former Co-Chair and Chair of the Danforth Staff Council. During her DSC tenure, she worked on a successful initiative to establish robust family leave for staff members, and advocated for a broader understanding of the intersection between parking and equity, among other issues. She co-chaired the Social Media Working Group under the Chancellor's Diversity and Inclusion Initiative at Washington University in Saint Louis, Washington University's Student Online Speech and Social Media Committee, and the Social Media Working Group within WUSTL's Committees on Freedom of Expression and Inclusion. She was a "ambassador" in the Washington University Global Diversity Overseas Program in South Korea. She has also been honored by students for her contribution to their lives on campus, including as a WUSTL Unsung Hero, and as a recipient of the WUSTL Graduate Student Senate Outstanding Staff Award.  

Outside of Washington University, Betha co-chaired the first joint national conference of the Art Librarians Society and the Visual Resources Association. She has served as the Visual Resources Association Vice President, co-chair of the VRA Strategic Plan Task Force, Chair of the VRA Education Committee, the chair of the VRA Publishing Advisory Group, co-chair of the ARLIS/NA-VRA Summer Educational Institute, co-chair of the VRA Identity Task Force, and on the Visual Resources Association Foundation Board of Directors, for which she developed a successful Samuel H. Kress Foundation grant-funded initiative to offer quality regional programming in cultural heritage information management. She is a recipient of the Visual Resources Association's Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor in the profession. Her research interests emphasize the digital humanities, design thinking and innovation, new approaches to teaching, and management strategies, all of which are reflected in her many professional talks on topics such as public speaking skills, technology trends and approaches in higher education, privacy in the digital age, and effectively working with students.  She is a former food critic for the Saint Louis Post Dispatch. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, visiting farmer's markets, traveling, reading, bike commuting, gardening, strength training, yoga, and spending time with her friends, her husband Dave, and her sassy minx of a dog, June Carter.