Adrienne grounds her work as an educator in culturally responsive practices and Black feminist thought. Before joining the Alliance in 2026, she served as Director of Education and Pre-Entry Programs at the Tennessee Higher Education Initiative (THEI), where she guided statewide coordination of degree-granting programs and reentry support.

Her experience as a practitioner—from teaching secondary English in an alternative school setting to providing field-wide technical assistance in Higher Education in Prison (HEP) through the Alliance—informs her approach to asking meaningful questions about the intersections of education and incarceration. Through this work, Adrienne seeks to identify and address gaps in educational access to ensure that currently and formerly incarcerated learners have equitable opportunities to pursue and complete their education. She views technical assistance as an act of care, accountability, and imagination, supporting practitioners in creating opportunities for justice-impacted learners to thrive.

Adrienne earned a BA in English and Comparative Women’s Studies from Spelman College and an M.Ed. in Learning, Diversity and Urban Studies from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development.

Adrienne’s approach reflects a belief in collective learning and the responsibility we have to one another. As James Baldwin reminds us:

“If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don't see. Insofar as that is true, in that effort, I become conscious of the things that I don't see. And I will not see without you, and vice versa, you will not see without me.”