The Mind Trust names new senior director of community engagement
INDIANAPOLIS – The Mind Trust today announced that Marquisha Bridgeman has joined the education non-profit as senior director of community engagement. Most recently, she was director of marketing and communications for Goodwill Education Initiatives (GEI), a division of Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana.
As senior director, Bridgeman will work with Kameelah-Shaheed Diallo, senior vice president of strategy & community engagement, and her team to involve families and neighborhoods in the work of education innovation and foster community conversations about supporting and transforming public education. She also will provide support to The Mind Trust’s education fellows tasked with designing and launching new schools in Indianapolis.
“Community engagement is one of The Mind Trust’s top priorities, and Marquisha brings a wealth of experience in grassroots, stakeholder outreach to our team,” Shaheed-Diallo said. “Her experience in local government, education and community relations will help us better connect with families and neighborhoods throughout the city and bring even more high-quality, educational opportunities to the students who need it most.”
At GEI, Bridgeman led marketing communication efforts and created strategies for Goodwill’s existing education initiatives and the expansion of new opportunities. As such, she developed outreach strategies to support the opening of 11 sites throughout central Indiana for The Excel Center, a network of high schools for adults who had previously dropped out. In addition to five schools in Indianapolis, she developed partnerships in Anderson, Richmond, Lafayette, Richmond, Noblesville and Shelbyville.
Bridgeman previously served as community and faith-based outreach coordinator for former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, where she was the mayor’s chief liaison to faith-based organizations across the city. Before serving in that role, she worked on the staff of Mayor Peterson’s award-winning charter school office.
Bridgeman earned a bachelor’s degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis and is a volunteer facilitator for Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis.
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