BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier
Commerce Corporation Board Member
Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier is a Senior Advisor for the Education Strategy Group (edstrategy.org). Most recently she was Rhode Island’s Postsecondary Commissioner from 2017-2019. She also worked for the Obama Administration as the Assistant Secretary of Career, Technical and Adult Education from 2009-2014 and or the last year was also the Acting Assistant Secretary of Postsecondary Education.
Dann-Messier coached state teams for the JPMC Career Readiness initiative from 2015-2017 and, for a decade, was the President of Dorcas Place Adult and Family Learning Center in Providence RI.
She is a board member of the National Skills Coalition, Re-Entry Campus Program and a Trustee of Johnson and Wales University.