Candance Castlen Brake, President and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, to Speak at 2021 Commencement

Brescia University is pleased to welcome Candance Brake, the President and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, as the 2021 Brescia University Commencement Speaker. The Class of 2021 has over 200 students that will become graduates on May 8th. Graduates from the Class of 2020 were invited to attend the ceremony since their commencement took place virtually.

Brake graduated from Brescia University (then Brescia College) with a bachelor’s degree in History. She earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from Western Kentucky University and is also a graduate of the public leadership program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Brake’s career has been dedicated to public service and community development. She served as a three-term City Commissioner from 2004 to 2010 serving on commissions that led the downtown placemaking strategy and the regions’ shift to a knowledge-based economic development strategy.

Prior to holding public office, she served as Executive Vice President of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation and Deputy Judge/Executive for the Daviess County Fiscal Court. She has also served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Government at Western Kentucky University.

She has served on numerous boards and commissions throughout her career including Brescia University Board of Trustees, Owensboro Riverport Authority, RiverPark Performing Arts Center, United Way of the Ohio Valley, Wendell Foster Center, and Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence. She is currently on the board of the Wendell H. Ford Government Education Center and the Kentucky State Chamber.

Brescia University welcomes Candance Brake as she addresses the graduating class of 2020 and 2021 on Saturday, May 8th, at 10:00 a.m. at the Owensboro Sports Center. Commencement seating is limited, each graduate will receive tickets that must be presented at the door. There will be a livestream of the event at https://livestream.com/accounts/19227302/bucommencement2021 .