About Beverly Barrett
With deep roots in Texas, Beverly is a 6th generation Houstonian. Prior to attending Vanderbilt University, she studied in Houston at the Kinkaid School for thirteen years. While at Vanderbilt University, majoring in Human & Organizational Development, she continued with her Spanish language skills and spent a semester in Madrid, Spain at the Universidad Complutense.
She is the oldest from a family of four children. She has seven nieces and nephews whom she adores. As a child, she met President Ronald Reagan, and his optimism and eloquent communication skills inspired her interest in public service. After Vanderbilt University, Beverly worked in the arts and studied at Johns Hopkins University in Bologna, Italy and Washington, DC. Later she authored the book Globalization and Change in Higher Education: The Political Economy of Policy Reform in Europe about the Bologna Process.
In Washington, DC, to earn her M.A. with Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), she focused on International Economics. Afterward, she had the honor to work in the White House, Office of Cabinet Affairs, in the presidency George W. Bush. Prior, Beverly had participated in the Governor’s Fellowship Program as editorial assistant with the Texas Film Commission in Austin. She has served with the Department of State abroad in two assignments: U.S. Embassy in Helsinki, Finland and U.S. Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica.
After earning her doctorate, Ph.D., in a fellowship in International Studies at the University of Miami, Beverly enjoys time with family and friends in Texas. She loves giving that same generous Texas welcome to her friends who visit from around the world. As a professor at the University of St. Thomas she founded and hosted the podcast Global Bridges to connect with guests from around the world about recovery from the pandemic, educating students and the public about key developments and international economics.
Beverly’s great-great-grandfather, George Pride Brown, was among the delegation who met with then-Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt at the White House. This delegation designed the infrastructure planning, to earn federal support, for what is today the Houston Ship Channel and Port Houston.
Beverly’s grandfather, Lester William Prokop, was on the Houston Planning Commission, President of the Greater Houston Builders Association, and President of the Houston Apartment Association. He was recognized for his contributions to home building and development in Houston by being inducted into the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Hall of Fame and the Houston Apartment Association Hall of Fame. Like her grandfather, Beverly is a builder – in being a builder of bridges across communities.