July's Featured Alumna: Brooke Pearson '07

Written by Regina Ender

Throughout Brooke Pearson’s career in public policy and communications, she has always been driven by a desire to foster meaningful connections. At the local level and across the globe, she has utilized her desire to bridge gaps between people and cultures to facilitate relationships. Now as the Security Engagement Manager for Facebook, Pearson uses her communications skills to keep Facebook users and employees safe. Prior to this role, she was the Associate Manager for Facebook’s Global Public Policy Programs, creating communications, educational, and marketing materials that showcased Facebook’s value to a global audience. In her desire to foster community, Pearson has contributed to this goal by connecting Facebook’s 2.2 billion users with one another across the world.

Pearson earned her bachelor’s in communication studies with an emphasis in media studies in 2007. As a student, she was recognized as a Multi-Ethnic Leadership Scholar, served as a resident advisor in Trinity Hall, and was a student worker at the Graphics Center and the Study Abroad office. During her time as an undergraduate, she participated in the Oxford Honors Study Abroad Program, which she said cultivated the critical thinking skills she now uses every day. On campus, she learned important lessons about diversity and tolerance in APU’s Multi-Ethnic Programs. Both of these experiences helped her master the cultural competency she needed to thrive in both the public and private sectors. In addition to her academic success, Pearson said the highlight of her time at APU was volunteering with Central City Community Outreach on Skid Row in Los Angeles, where she tutored and mentored children from underserved communities. This helped her understand the cultural divide in the U.S. and highlighted the need to empathize with other cultures at the local level before understanding cultures abroad. Her volunteerism also extended post-graduation, as she volunteered in Washington D.C. for a similar organization called For Love of Children, where she helped prepare students from underrepresented backgrounds for college.

After graduating, Pearson was given the Fulbright Student Award to teach English at a university in Macau off the south coast of China. She recalls one day of teaching in particular where she asked her students if they had ever visited Taiwan, not realizing the controversy of the history between the two countries. She explained her mistake made the students feel she did not respect or understand their history. Though it was uncomfortable, the opportunity allowed the group to have a meaningful conversation exchanging their cultures and ideas. She said this moment helped her realize her calling to connect to others and pursue a productive and understanding dialogue with people across the world. After this experience, she went on to run the Fulbright Program for South and Central Asia.

The next chapter of Pearson’s career took her into public service, where she worked in diplomacy as a Program Officer for the United States’ State Department. She traveled across the globe building programs to promote mutual understanding across cultures, where her work included designing programs in Afghanistan and Pakistan. During her time working for the department, she even earned herself the State Department’s Meritorious Honor Award in 2014. Pearson said her experience in diplomacy was incredibly meaningful and she hopes to return to public service one day. While simultaneously working for the State Department, Pearson also earned her M.A. in International Policy and Practice from George Washington University.

Words of Wisdom: “Classroom learning without experiential learning is only half of an education. Take every opportunity to pursue internships to build your professional relationships and get experience abroad. Learn a foreign language. It will open opportunities you never dreamed of and set you apart from other American students. Also, develop your skills. Some of the basic graphic design and HTML skills I picked up in college as a side hustle are what have given me an edge in my career at the State Department and Facebook.”

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Note: This information is current for the 2023-24 academic year; however, all stated academic information is subject to change. Refer to the current Academic Catalog for more information.