Board of Regent Members

Members & Bios

Ex-Officio Members & Bios

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  Charlene Russell-Tucker

  BOR MemberCharlene Russell-Tucker

  

  Charlene M. Russell-Tucker is currently serving as the Acting Commissioner of Education for the Connecticut State Department of Education. Until her appointment in March of 2021, she served as the Department’s Deputy Commissioner, a role in which she oversaw educational supports and wellness priorities. Prior, she served as Chief Operating Officer and Division Chief for the Department's Office of Student Supports and Organizational Effectiveness. She also served as Associate Commissioner of Education and Bureau Chief within the Department overseeing a portfolio of programs and services. She is a performance-driven and visionary education leader who passionately supports the inter-connectedness of the social, emotional, physical and mental health of students and their families as foundations for positive school and life outcomes. She values family and community engagement in education and leads school attendance and school discipline initiatives with intensive focus on equity and diversity.
  
  Ms. Russell-Tucker has served on various state and national committees, including the Connecticut General Assembly’s Committee on Children Strategic Action Group on Chronic Absence, as President of the Connecticut Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, an expert panel member on committees of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Ms. Russell-Tucker previously served as an adjunct faculty member at Albertus Magnus College School of New Dimensions.
  
  In 2015, Ms. Russell-Tucker was named to the inaugural class of 100 Women of Color in Connecticut. In 2018, she was welcomed to the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading's Council of Champions, and most recently, a 2021 recipient of MENTOR National’s Public Service – State & Local Excellence in Mentoring Award. On a personal note, Ms. Russell-Tucker believes in finding and fulfilling one’s life’s purpose.