Briana Joyner

As the chief human resources and inclusion officer, Briana Joyner is a passionate leader of people and impact with a diverse business background and extensive experience. Briana joined the Minnesota Historical Society as a human resources generalist in 2016 and also served as the director of human resources, volunteers, and interns. In less than four years she was promoted to her current role on the Leadership Team.

Briana’s vast experience includes organizational development, behavioral science, evaluation, operations, strategy development and implementation, learning and development, human resources, culture transformation, diversity, equity, access, and inclusion. As the Chair of the MNHS Equity & Inclusion Council, Briana has worked to develop broad ownership of equity work, a sense of belonging, and deep intercultural competence across the MNHS community.

Briana continues to champion, inspire, mentor, and empower the next generation of change makers within MNHS and beyond. She serves as the Board President for Hallie Q. Brown, Board of Director for Solid Ground and she is a Board of Trustee for the OD Global Network where she teaches other OD and D&I practitioners on JEDI related topics. Additionally, Briana serves on the Advisory Council for the Project for Transforming Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Penn State University and has written articles on her transformative approach. Most recently, Briana was named one of the 2022 Women in Business Honorees by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal for her outstanding work and as one of the Twin Cities top Black leaders in 2023. 

Before joining MNHS, Briana worked in various positions in the field of people and culture development, human resources and providing strategic leadership in roles at Target Corporation, C.H. Robinson, National Recoveries, and public and privately held companies throughout the Twin Cities. She has two B.A.s in Marketing and International Business from St. Cloud State University and an M.B.A. in business administration with a concentration in organizational development, human resources management, and change leadership from the University of St. Thomas. On weekends you can expect to find Briana, head coach at Forward Thinking Foundation, coaching her third and fourth grade girls youth basketball team in tournaments across Minnesota.