Dr. Bernard worked for CMA as a Project Manager from 2005 to 2006, where he conducted workshops, listening sessions, field demonstrations, and presentations on agriculture, economic development, operations, and agricultural management. During his graduate studies (2015-2017), he was the National Graduate Student Parliamentarian for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS). In this role, he helped recruit new students, conduct workshops at various scales, and oversee chapter memberships.

Following his doctoral studies in 2016, Dr. Bernard worked with the Federation of Southern Cooperatives in Alabama as their Rural Training and Research Center Director. As Director, he oversaw funding proposals, developing training programs, oversaw staff and operations, and managed facilities. Following this role, he joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at the University of Minnesota as an Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Fellow in 2017, conducting community-based participatory research entitled "Resilience and Food Security in Black Belt Alabama Through Land-Based Cooperative Economics and Communal Landholdings." He served as a Fellow for almost four years.

Dr. Bernard is the Immediate Past National President of MANNRS, the organization he represented during his graduate studies. He is currently the Department Chair for the School of Agriculture, Communities, and the Environment and an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at Kentucky State University. At the University, he teaches agricultural economics, marketing, and management, as well as managing United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants.

Throughout his career, he has worked with organizations, including the Concerned Citizens of Tillery, Cedar Grove Improvement Association, the Black Farms, the Agriculturalist Association, and the Black Belt Justice Center.