Adrienne D. Harrell

As the Learning and Talent Development Manager for the University of California Santa Cruz, Adrienne Harrell creates avenues for people to learn and grow. Ms. Harrell believes that education transforms lives and throughout her 30 years of service primarily in higher education, her professional expertise and personal commitment to creating educational access and opportunity, especially for those from underrepresented communities, continues to be realized.

An authentic communicator and courageous truth-teller, Adrienne has served successfully in many management and leadership roles at UC Santa Cruz, including Assistant Dean of Humanities, Director of Undergraduate Student Affairs, and the first Director of Development for Student Affairs and the Colleges, where she helped to establish the Smith Scholarship for Foster Youth.

Adrienne served as the Deputy Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, a non-profit organization focused on teacher quality public policy issues. A graduate of Pomona College, Adrienne began her service in higher education at Pomona, where she served as the Assistant Director of Annual Giving and the Assistant Dean of Admissions.

An active community volunteer, Adrienne’s current and past service include Board Member of Escuela Popular, dual-language immersion Academy, African American Second Saturday Network, and the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT). Appointed by the Santa Cruz City Council Adrienne served on the Santa Cruz Sister Cities Commission and co-led a Mayoral delegation to Shingu, Japan.

When not working or volunteering Adrienne can be found sharing her joy of movement as a licensed Zumba Fitness instructor. Adrienne has organized several “Zumbathon Charity Events” and led Zumba classes in Italy, Japan, and the Santa Cruz County Women’s facility.