Bernadette Grafton is the Research and National Technical Assistance (RNTA) program coordinator and the University Center (UC) program coordinator at the U.S. Economic Development Administration in the Headquarters office. She has been with EDA for 6 years now and has played a number of roles during her time in the Performance, Research, and National Technical Assistance Division (PRNTAD) which has given her a breadth of experience and expertise across EDA’s programs, systems, and processes.

Prior to joining EDA, Bernadette worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization as a Fellow for just over a year – the job that brought her to Washington, D.C. Before moving to DC, she and her husband lived in Ann Arbor, MI for 4 years while she completed her master’s degree at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and the Environment and then worked with the RACER Trust in Detroit for a year. Her studies focused on Environmental Science, Environmental Justice, and Behavior Change. It was here where Bernadette discovered a love for brownfield cleanup and redevelopment as well as broader community revitalization that is inclusive of the people in the community. She received her B.S. in Environmental Science at Bowling