Governor Charlie Baker swore in members of his new Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning this week, a group charged with developing recommendations to expand online learning opportunities for Massachusetts residents seeking skills for in-demand fields.
Those on the committee included Marjorie Ringrose from Charlestown.
Ringrose is a senior program officer of education at the Smith Family Foundation, where she is working to re-engineer the Foundation’s long-term education strategy toward post-secondary outcomes for traditional age and older students who are underrepresented in higher education.
Previously, she served as executive director of Social Venture Partners (SVP). Under her leadership, SVP grew nearly ten-fold and brought millions of dollars and thousands of hours of skilled pro bono counsel to Boston’s most promising nonprofits. She also worked as the director of recruiting, training, and professional development at Cambridge Strategic Management Group—now, Cartesian, Inc.
She was also the founding President of Communication Arts Network, where she facilitated over 200 multi-day training workshops for thousands of Fortune 100 companies.
Ringrose is on the Board of Directors of the Boston Children’s Chorus and Third Sector New England, and she co-chairs Boston Education Funders. She holds a B.S. in Economics from Trinity University as well as a M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the London School of Economics.
She resides in Charlestown with her husband and three children.
Gov. Baker announced the new Commission last fall during the “Governor’s Online Digital Learning Summit,” which brought together businesses and higher education institutions to announce new partnerships around online and competency-based learning. The event was held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The Governor’s Commission on Digital Innovation and Lifelong Learning is a 20-member board — made up of employers, higher education leaders, online education providers and entrepreneurs — brought together to find ways the state can partner with industry and higher education institutions to make post-secondary learning opportunities accessible and affordable, especially for disconnected youth and adult learners. The commission will look at replicating promising practices, such as competency-based education, prior learning assessments, stackable credentials and customized employer-higher education training partnerships.