As Chief of Staff for the Oregon University System since 2010, Bridget works directly with the Chancellor as a key policy advisor and the official representative of the Chancellor to internal and external stakeholders of the Oregon University System. She provides leadership for programs, policy initiatives, and mandates of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education while also leading federal and state government relations on behalf of the university system. In 2012, she created and led The Oregon Social Business Challenge, a statewide student competition featuring Nobel Peace Prize winner, Professor Muhammad Yunus.  Prior to serving as Chief of Staff, Bridget served as Senior Policy Advisor in addition to Policy and Research Associate in the department of Communication and Public Affairs.

Bridget was recently named an American Council on Education Fellow for 2013-2014. The ACE Fellows Program, established in 1965, is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing promising senior faculty and administrators for responsible positions in college and university administration.

Previously, Burns was selected as one of fifteen National Associates for the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, and served as an advisor to The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS.)

Bridge has served on a variety of public boards including the State Board of Higher Education, Oregon State Commission on Children and Families, Public Commission on the Oregon Legislature, and as the Chair of the Oregon Student Assistance Commission.  

In 2012 she was named as one of the Portland Business Journal’s “Forty under 40” and as the Oregon State University “Young Alumni of the Year.” She has also been the recipient of the Oregon Student Association Student of the Year award, the Jo Anne Trowe Woman of Distinction Award, and the Leadership in Social Change Award at OSU.  Burns was an accomplished and successful debater for OSU, garnering a spot on the prestigious two person American National Debate team in 2005.

Burns has her Masters degree in Public Policy from Oregon State University. Her thesis was titled "The Perception Gap: The Gulf Between Public Opinion and Public Higher Education in Oregon."