Dr. Jennifer Garrett

ROCK HILL—The Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA) has added Dr. Jennifer Garrett to its staff as the organization’s first-ever Coordinator of Research and Program Development.

“Dr. Garrett brings with her a wealth of experience as well as an excitement and sense of curiosity about research,” said CERRA Executive Director Dr. Gayle Sawyer. “We welcome her as an integral and valuable member of our staff.”

The creation of the position came as a direct result of an exhaustive strategic planning process in which the 21-year-old organization has forged a new vision for the future while reassuring its core values continue to serve the state of South Carolina in teacher recruitment, retention, and advancement.

Garrett will join CERRA on July 1 after serving as a data analyst in Winthrop University’s Department of Enrollment Management. The Fort Mill resident impressed CERRA staff with her knowledge of the position and her proven track record as an analyst, author and researcher in previous positions at Virginia Commonwealth University and the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits. Her experience while working as an associate legal analyst for the Commonwealth of Virginia will be beneficial to her involvement with the South Carolina Legislature.

She holds her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from North Carolina State University and a Doctorate in Public Policy and Administration from VCU.

Garrett resides in Fort Mill and will officially join CERRA on July 1.

CERRA, an independent state agency located on the campus of Winthrop University, is the oldest and most established teacher recruitment program in the country. The purpose of CERRA is to provide leadership in identifying, attracting, placing and retaining well-qualified individuals for the teaching profession in South Carolina. CERRA’s programs have been adopted at school, district and state levels in more than 30 states in the United States.