Brenda Berg is the President & CEO of BEST NC (Business for Educational Success and Transformation in North Carolina), a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of 100 business leaders with a focus on making education in North Carolina the best in the nation. Through policy and advocacy, BEST NC strives to ensure that every student in North Carolina will graduate with the knowledge, skills and behaviors to succeed in a competitive global economy. With over thirty years of experience as a business owner, public policy professional, and education advocate, Brenda leads the overall BEST NC vison, strategy, and operations while leveraging her expertise to be the business-to-education bridge in BEST NC’s work to transform education in North Carolina. In 2002, she founded Scandinavian Child, a baby products manufacturing and importing business. Prior to founding her business, she had almost ten years of public policy experience in both education and transportation policy and programs. Brenda’s passion for education stems from her own experience as a first-generation college graduate. With two children who attended North Carolina public schools, she is driven by the belief that every child should have access to a great education. Brenda has been recognized with the “40 Under 40” and “Women in Business” awards from the Triangle Business Journal, as well as the Stanley Frank Class Award from Leadership North Carolina. She is also on the adjunct faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a regular guest lecturer at Duke University and NC State University. She also serves on various boards and education organizations, including the NC Principal Fellows Commission, Teaching Fellows Advisory Board, myFutureNC Advisory Board, and the NC Community College Foundation Board. Brenda has a BA in Economics and a master’s degree in Public Policy, both from Georgetown University.