Whiteboard Advisors, an advisory and public affairs firm focused on education and workforce sectors, has appointed Dr Penny Schwinn as senior advisor. Dr Schwinn served as Tennessee's commissioner of education from 2019 to 2023, where she led major reforms including modernising the state's school funding formula and launching comprehensive literacy initiatives that drove record gains in early reading. She also created the nation's first federally recognised teacher apprenticeship programme. Following her tenure in Tennessee, Dr Schwinn served at the US Department of Education, contributing to federal efforts supporting student recovery and strengthening K-12 systems. Dr Schwinn joins other former senior officials at the firm, including former Acting US Labour Secretary Seth Harris and former DC Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson.

Whiteboard Advisors, an education and workforce advisory firm, has appointed Brian Bridges as senior advisor. Bridges previously served as New Jersey's Secretary of Higher Education from 2020 to December 2025, overseeing statewide higher education policy during the COVID-19 pandemic and implementing a new State Plan for Higher Education. Before his tenure in New Jersey, Bridges was vice president of research and member engagement at the United Negro College Fund, where he led the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute. He also held leadership positions at Ohio University, the American Council on Education and the National Survey of Student Engagement. Whiteboard Advisors provides public affairs, strategy consulting and communications services to education sector clients. The firm's publications reach over 50,000 education inboxes monthly.

State Higher Education leader joins Whiteboard Advisors. Former New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Brian Bridges brings deep expertise in postsecondary policy and practice research expertise to nation's leading education advisory and communications firm. WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 18, 2026 - Whiteboard Advisors (W/A), a unique public affairs, strategy consulting, and communications firm focused exclusively on the education and workforce sectors, today announced that Brian Bridges, Ph.D., former Secretary of Higher Education for the State of New Jersey, has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor. "Dr. Bridges' experience leading a statewide higher education system will be an enormous asset to our clients and our team," said Noah Sudow, senior vice president, and head of the firm's postsecondary policy practice. "He also has a well-earned reputation as one of the most thoughtful and respected higher education policy leaders in the country." From 2020 to December 2025, Dr. Bridges led New Jersey's Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, where he oversaw statewide higher education policy and coordination during a period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and implementation of a new State Plan for Higher Education, which supported institutions through unprecedented disruption and advanced initiatives to expand college affordability and opportunity. "Because Whiteboard Advisors sits at the intersection of education policy, practice, and the media, it is in a unique position to support clients navigating complex, multidimensional challenges," said Dr. Bridges. "But most importantly, this is a team that shares an abiding belief in the transformative potential of higher education. Everything they do is oriented toward impact." Prior to his tenure in New Jersey, Bridges served as Vice President of Research and Member Engagement at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), where he led the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute and the Institute for Capacity Building. He previously held leadership roles at Ohio University, the American Council on Education, and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), and earlier served as an assistant professor of higher education administration. For nearly two decades, Whiteboard Advisors has served as a trusted public affairs advisor to education entrepreneurs, investors, and philanthropies. The firm also includes a strategy consulting group that provides market research and transactional due diligence support, and a marketing and communications group that was named the top edtech PR agency by EdTech Digest in 2025. W/A Media, launched in 2023, now includes five distinct publications (including "The EdSheet," "What We're Reading," and "Whiteboard Notes") which reach more than 50,000 education inboxes every month. Whiteboard Advisors is a unique strategy consulting, communications and advocacy firm on a mission to advance learning and economic mobility. Our work guides the nation's most respected investors, impactful philanthropies, companies, and nonprofit organizations. We are multidisciplinary by design: sitting at the intersection of business, policy, practice, and the media.