President and CEO of Information, Technology and E-Learning Services Company Accepts Post

Patricia J. “Trisha” Parson, entrepreneur and business leader, recently was appointed to DePaul University’s Board of Trustees.

Parson, 62, is currently president, CEO and chairman of the board of AmerInd, Inc., an information, technology and e-learning services company that she co-founded that is based in Alexandria, Va.

The company name, abbreviated from “American Indian,” reflects her Cherokee heritage. Today, the award-winning company has 200 employees and 14 offices nationwide, with revenues of more than $22 million in 2001.

A lifelong entrepreneur who ascended to vice president in the corporate world, Parson is active in seven professional associations and serves on the boards of three not-for-profit enterprises. She is also very involved in promoting Native American educational opportunities and outreach programs.

Parson is a 1978 graduate of DePaul’s School for New Learning (SNL), the university’s unique adult education program. DePaul established SNL 30 years ago to meet the specific needs of adult learners who often must balance jobs, family and school.

DePaul is the largest private institution in Chicago and the largest Catholic university in the nation. A richly diverse population of 21,363 students attends classes on two city and six suburban campuses.

DePaul was founded in 1898 by the Vincentian Fathers and Brothers (the Congregation of the Mission), a Roman Catholic religious community which continues the mission and values of Vincent de Paul, the 17th century French saint known as the “Apostle of Charity.”