Atlanta Public Schools welcomes Dorna F. Werdelin as the District’s Chief Communications Officer. As a direct report to the Superintendent and member of the Senior Cabinet, Ms. Werdelin will oversee the Office of Communications, and will be responsible for developing and executing the communications and public relations strategy in support of the District.

Previously, Ms. Werdelin served as Vice President of communications, marketing and public relations at Atlanta Technical College (ATC). In this role, she elevated the College through awareness and promotion of its award-winning programs, faculty, staff, and students, resulting in increased student applications and enrollment, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In her first year as Vice President, Ms. Werdelin led her team to become a Top 3 Finalist for the American Marketing Association Foundation’s “2021 Higher Education Marketer Team of the Year Award” and implemented ATC’s “Master Class” alumni video series and “Atlanta Tech Talks” podcast.  At ATC, Ms. Werdelin first served as the Associate Vice President of Adult Education, where she directed and promoted its high school equivalency program, creating strategies for economic mobility through college-and-career-readiness instructional services.

Prior to Atlanta Technical College, Ms. Werdelin served in numerous leadership roles in the state of Georgia government, including Communications and Learning Officer with the Georgia Department of Administrative Services. Ms. Werdelin also served on the state’s inaugural Communications Governance Council for Georgia state purchasing as a legislative liaison and spearheaded the Department’s first “Statewide Contract Expo” which has now grown into the annual Georgia Procurement Conference, where she served on the steering committee and as chair of the content committee. In her first leadership position in the state as Assistant Director of Enterprise Learning, Ms. Werdelin implemented an innovative marketing plan resulting in a 50% increase in revenue through training and development partnerships.

Ms. Werdelin was employed at Hess Oil Virgin Islands prior to her work in the state of Georgia, where, as the Deputy Information Officer and government liaison, she was responsible for community outreach programs and organizational training. She also launched an employee task force on a yearlong cost-cutting program, resulting in $2M in monthly savings.

Ms. Werdelin’s career path has taken on a hybrid personality – in workforce development, communications & marketing, and government & community relations. She began her career at Upscale Magazine shortly after graduating from Spelman College in Atlanta; then moved back to St. Croix, USVI, to serve as the Director of Training and Government Relations for a vocational training school that partnered with the USVI Department of Labor to provide employability skills and career services for displaced and dislocated workers. It is during this time that she developed a passion for serving the community’s most vulnerable citizens and promoting awareness of the contributions they made to society despite their socio-economic status.

Since then, her life has been committed to illuminating pathways to excellence, mirrored through such recognitions as 1^stPlace in Relationship Management & Training by the Governing Magazine “Survey of the States” and the “Bold & Fearless Award” by the National Coalition of Black Women. She has received the “President’s Volunteer Service Award” under President Barack H. Obama and the “Governor’s Commendation for Excellent Customer Service” under Sonny Perdue.

Ms. Werdelin currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Children’s Shelter and is a graduate of Atlanta Technical College’s inaugural “ATC Next” Leadership Development Program and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she served as the Vice President and Public Relations Chair of the St. Croix Alumnae Chapter.

Ms. Werdelin is on sabbatical from pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Georgia in Learning, Leadership & Organizational Development, where her intended dissertation focuses on creating models of fostering barrier-breaking behaviors in at-risk learners, leading to ending generational poverty and increasing economic mobility. She currently holds an MBA with a concentration in Human Resources Management and a Bachelor of Arts from Spelman College. She is a divorced boy-mom of three amazing scholar athletes and enjoys cheering them on in their academic and athletic endeavors.