Dr. Schwartz is the Clarence Schrag Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington in Seattle. She holds a B.A. and an M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow; and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in sociology from Yale University.
Dr. Schwartz has received many awards, including the Matrix Award for Achievement in Education, The Mortar Board Award for outstanding performance in her field, the AKD Honor Society National Distinguished Lectureship Award and the International Women's Forum Award for Career Achievement in Washington State. In August 2005, she received a national award from the American Sociological Association for public understanding of Sociology. In May 2007, she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University.
Dr. Schwartz is the author of over 50 scholarly articles and 14 academic and trade publications. These include the best-selling The Great Sex Weekend and American Couples: Money, Work, Sex, as well as The Lifetime Love and Sex Quiz Book, Everything You Know About Love and Sex Is Wrong, Ten Talks Parents Must Have With Their Children About Sex and Character with Dominic Cappello, 201 Questions to Ask Your Kids/201 Questions to Ask Your Parents, and Finding Your Perfect Match. Her latest book, Prime: Adventures and Advice About Love and Sex in the Sensual Years, was released in June 2007.
Dr. Schwartz wrote the monthly column "Sex and Health" for Glamour magazine, with co-author Dr. Janet Lever, for more than seven years, and "Talking About Sex" for eight years for American Baby magazine. She also wrote a weekly column, "Sex.Net with Dr. Pepper" for Microsoft Corporation's One Click Away and columns for LifetimeTV.com and Classmates.com. She is currently a relationship expert on the founding team of perfectmatch.com, a dating and relationship site, and is the creator of their professionally vetted matching system, Duet.
Dr. Schwartz has contributed to many magazines, journals, and newspapers, including The New York Times' "Parent and Child" column, Sexual Health, Psychology Today, Self, and Contexts. Dr. Schwartz was a regular member of the KIRO-TV (Seattle) news staff for 12 years and appears regularly on national TV news, documentaries and other programs. She has served as a consultant to many national organizations and editorial boards. She is currently on the publications board of the American Sociological Review (the flagship journal of the American Sociological Association) and Context, the American Sociological Association's journal that translates academic work to a more general public. She is on the ASA national committee on the Status of Women, a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Sexuality Resource Center, an advisory board member of the Washington State NARAL Pro-Choice America, and chair of the board of the National Sexuality Resource Center. She has served on the selection committee for the Social Science Research Center Fellowship Awards in Human Sexuality. Dr. Schwartz was on the board of The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) for six years. She is past president of the Pacific Sociological Association and of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.
Dr. Schwartz also lectures nationally and internationally on sexuality, relationship topics, women's issues, parent and child issues, communication between men and women in intimate and work relationships, and maintaining personal and family well-being in today's world.