Vanessa Benton

VANESSA BENTON

The Broad Residency Class of 2008-2010
Current Organization: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
M.B.A., Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
B.A., Accounting, University of Pittsburgh

“Before learning about The Broad Residency, I thought that my ability to contribute solutions to the challenges facing American public education was limited to healthy debate with other concerned citizens. The Broad Residency, in addition to combining my professional career with my personal interests and providing me with a network of peers and an educational foundation to ease the transition from the private sector, allows me to make a positive, direct impact on public education.”

Vanessa Benton was recently appointed director of academic services for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools. In this role, she oversees the implementation of major projects or programs within specific departments or for CMS as a whole. During her residency Benton served as director of business process improvement for the auxiliary services department, evaluating business practices to develop and implement improvement plans for core business operations. Prior to joining The Broad Residency, Benton was a vice president for Wachovia Corporation’s Corporate Real Estate Division, where she was responsible for property management functions, project oversight, execution of lease transactions in support of business unit strategy, and capital/occupancy expense budgets for a portfolio of leased and owned commercial properties throughout the United States. Previously, Benton was a vice president with Bank of America Corporation, and served in a variety of positions including investment banking associate, compensation analyst and project/process design manager. Benton holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's of business administration from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Benton participated in The Broad Residency in Urban Education Cohort 2008, serving her two-year Residency in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.