CHRISTOPHER JOHN BROWN
Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
Master of Public Administration, May 2008
Public and Nonprofit Management and Policy
Specialization: Management
Bio and Resume (.pdf)
Chris Brown is committed to utilizing the discipline of entrepreneurship as a tool for generating sustainable economic, social and community development and wealth.
He graduated from Valparaiso University, where he customized a major in Education and International Development and spent two semesters in southern Africa. He is a recipient of Valparaiso UniversityÕs Outstanding Young Alumnus/Alumna Award.
After college, Chris acted as Service Leader at City Year Boston, where he managed a partnership with the award-winning after-school program Citizen Schools, and was recruited to lead as Program Manager for the start-up team of City Year Washington, D.C.. It was here that Chris built City YearÕs first school-based partnership in the District of Columbia for the implementation of the service learning curriculum for middle school students, Young Heroes.
Chris also co-founded Youth Action, which is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Youth Action was designed to inspire the spirit of service within young South Africans, while improving the skills and networks necessary for employment. In thirteen months, Chris secured $300,000 in seed funding from the country of Luxembourg, identified permanent office space in Johannesburg, built relationships with various community partners, hired three full-time South African staff members and recruited an inaugural cohort of 25 full-time youth volunteers. Youth Action partnered with various national youth development initiatives in South Africa such as City YearÕs Clinton Democracy Fellows, where Youth Action members led and facilitated community service projects in the townships of Alexandra and Soweto.
Most recently Chris served as the Program Director for The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), responsible for managing the implementation, growth and development of all NFTE programs in New York City. He has expanded the FoundationÕs reach to include more than 90 community partners, 118 Certified Entrepreneurship Teachers and approximately 4,500 students each year. For his great impact on the organization, Chris was awarded the NFTE National Leadership Award in April of 2005.
Chris also oversaw volunteer coordination, regional business plan competitions and summer business camps hosted by New York University. In partnership with City Year New York, he created NFTEÕs first Social Entrepreneurship Incubator, a 10-week, 40- hour program designed to introduce City Year corps members to the business tools needed to create new civic ventures. The program was recently awarded the Bill & Hillary Clinton National Service Innovation Award. In 2006, Chris forged a partnership between NFTEÕs New York Metro office and the Clinton FoundationÕs Urban Enterprise Initiative.
Chris sits on the Alumni Board of City Year New York and was a 2006 Coro Leadership New York Fellow. In June 2005, he was awarded the Comcast Corporation Leadership Award for his continued commitment to community service and social entrepreneurship.