About Dr. Andrea Malkin Brenner
Dr. Andrea Makin Brenner is the President of AMBrenner, LLC and Founder of the Talking College™ card brand. She’s a speaker and college transition educator who brings 25 years as a “college insider” to her presentations for high school and college audiences. Andrea is co-author of How to College: What to Know Before You Go (and When You’re There) (Macmillan, St. Martin’s Press), a student-facing book that guides high school graduates through their transition to college. She is the creator of the Talking College™ card decks, which provide insider tips and discussion prompts for college-bound students and those helping them on their journeys. Andrea offers her books and cards for sale at her speaking engagements.
Dr. Brenner was a sociology professor at American University for 20 years, teaching classes to undergraduate students. Andrea also served as the Creator and first Director of the university’s first-year transition course, as Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Sociology, and as the Faculty Director of the University College Program.
Dr. Brenner has received multiple awards for her undergraduate teaching and program design for first-year college students, including the prestigious Cutting-Edge Curriculum Award, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
A champion for productive discourse in the first year of college
Andrea believes that guiding students to engage in productive discourse is a crucial part of the transition to college. Her doctoral dissertation, “Too White to Teach Race: Student Perceptions of Racial Identity-based Professor Credibility, a Case of Pedagogical Malpractice?” and the majority of the college classes she taught focused on issues surrounding cross-cultural dialogue, power, and inequality. She was awarded a 2019-2020 fellowship at the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement with her co-author, Lara Schwartz. Their fellowship project, entitled “Let Freedom (and Respect) Ring: Fostering Civil Discourse and Free Speech in the Classroom and Beyond,” culminated in a teacher’s guide to free speech and productive discourse.
