Brooke Carlson, PhD

Brooke Carlson is the interim dean of the School of Graduate Studies, overseeing the school’s seven unique master’s programs since 2021. Previously, she served for more than a decade as associate professor in the school’s Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management (CFMM) Master of Professional Studies program, where she developed interdisciplinary curriculum, diversity and inclusion projects, and student research. 

Prior to joining FIT in 2010, she was a beauty industry professional with 25-plus years of executive leadership experience in roles that included vice president, Conair Professional Division; senior vice president, Matrix; vice president and general manager, L'Oréal Technique; and vice president and general manager, Artec (acquired by L'Oréal in 2002). Previous positions include director of marketing at a Shiseido division and assistant vice president at Parfums de Coeur, a privately held mass-market fragrance company. She was involved with FIT as an Industry Advisory Board member for the Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing undergraduate program and a guest lecturer for the CFMM graduate MPS program; and she specially selected three of her employees at L’Oreal for the CFMM MPS program, with full scholarship support. 

Carlson holds a ScD in management systems from the University of New Haven, as well as an MBA in marketing from the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology at Sacred Heart University, where she also earned her BS. She was selected by L’Oréal to pursue, and subsequently earn, a Global Leadership for Growth executive certificate from NYU Stern School of Business, jointly with the European Center for Executive Development (CEDEP) at the European Institute for Business Administration (INSEAD) graduate school of business in Fontainebleau, France. Carlson has served on several business advisory boards, including the board of governors for Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) and Sacred Heart University. Carlson is also the CEO and co-founder of The Red List Project, a nonprofit global plant-conservation initiative.