FOCUS is pleased to announce the addition of Edward L. Bryant to its Board of Directors. Bryant currently serves as Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications, for Heartland Coca-Cola. Board members are community leaders who demonstrate interest and commitment to FOCUS’ mission to educate leaders, connect leaders and facilitate important conversations in the St. Louis region.
Ed Bryant has over 20 years of expertise developing and executing effective strategic and integrated stakeholder engagement, communications and public affairs, and minority economic inclusion solutions for a variety of for-profit and non-profit organizations. Previous positions include serving as President of the St. Louis Minority Business Council, leading the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership’s Economic Development Collaborative, and serving as Vice President of Stakeholder Engagement at the United Way of Greater St. Louis, where he led the Ready by 21 St. Louis and East Side Aligned collective impact teams.
Bryant holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Memphis and a master’s degree in public policy from Regent University. In addition, he has completed graduate level coursework in policy development and urban planning at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He is also a certified DEI trainer (NCCJSTL). Throughout his career, Bryant has served numerous state and local government commissions and Boards, as well as several non-profit boards. He has been married to his wife, Mary, for 21 years and has two young adult children.