Joanne Berger-Sweeney

Joanne Berger-Sweeney is the president of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She is responsible for developing and implementing a strategic vision for the preeminent urban New England liberal arts college. Since becoming president in 2014, she has overseen innovative initiatives and partnerships, including the college’s strategic plan, which guides Trinity toward its bicentennial in 2023; the creation of a mentoring program for first-year students; the launch of a campus initiative promoting inclusiveness and respect; and the development of a new innovation campus in downtown Hartford. Additionally, Dr. Berger-Sweeney serves on the board for the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, which she currently chairs, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a private institution, that has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education worldwide, and Hartford Health Care, where she serves as chair of the nominating and governance committee. She also serves as the principal investigator on a grant funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to create a network of Women of Color leaders, along with Dr. Mariko Silver and Dr. Johnnetta Cole, president emerita of Spelman and Bennett Colleges. Dr. Berger-Sweeney earned her undergraduate degree in psychobiology from Wellesley College and an M.P.H. in environmental health sciences from the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a Ph.D. in neurotoxicology from the John Hopkins (Bloomberg) School of Public Health.