Patricia M. O’Brien SND is Senior Vice President of the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), the regional accrediting association for the six New England states.  NEASC accredits over 240 colleges and universities. 

Prior to coming to NEASC, Dr. O’Brien worked for seven years at Bridgewater State College (now University) in Massachusetts, first as Director of Institutional Research and Assessment, and later as Associate Vice President for Planning and Assessment.  She has also been an adjunct faculty member at Harvard University and at Emmanuel College in Boston. Dr. O’Brien has presented at a number of regional, national, and international conferences, and she is editor of Accreditation: Assuring and Enhancing Quality, published as part of New Directions for Higher Education series in Spring 2009. 

Dr. O’Brien earned her baccalaureate degree in Psychology at Wellesley College and her graduate degrees in Education at Harvard University.