Prior to founding GRIIT, Dr. Jackson was a tenured associate professor of political science at North Carolina A&T State University (NC A&T). She designed and taught advanced-level courses related to international trade such as “The Politics of Free Trade” and “Latin American and Caribbean Political Economy”. Her efforts to expand the political science curriculum for the benefit of the students earned her the Junior Faculty Teaching Award in 2010.

In 2010, she received the Fulbright Scholar/Lecture Award to the Dominican Republic to teach a seminar on free trade negotiations, conduct research on the US-Dominican Republic free trade negotiations, and share her research with business owners, industry representatives, government officials and students. Her studies on bilateral free trade agreements and the World Trade Organization have been published in a number of top peer-reviewed academic journals both nationally and internationally.

Furthermore, Dr. Jackson worked as a trade policy consultant on projects funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Some projects included advising governments and small business associations on boosting their trade competitiveness and taking advantage of trade agreements throughout the Eastern Caribbean and Southern African regions.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and Spanish at the University of Southern California and a Master’s and Doctorate in political science at Brown University.

Professional Organizations: National Association of Small Businesses International Trade Executives, Women in International Trade-Los Angeles, American Political Science Association, Toastmasters 90210