Driving Social Impact: Alumna’s Path to Nonprofit Leader

Her impressive academic background includes a B.A. from Johnson C. Smith University, an M.A. in Government and Politics from St. John’s University, and a J.D. from the CUNY School of Law. These degrees exemplify the transformative power of education and the values it instills. Today, Ms. Brown is the Executive Director of the New York-based nonprofit organization Young New Yorkers.  

Q: What made you pursue a master’s in government and politics?

Ms. Brown: Even before completing my bachelor’s degree in history at Johnson C. Smith University and minoring in pre-law, I knew I wanted to pursue higher education in politics and law relations. I particularly became interested in gaining knowledge of the government’s fiscal responsibility in community development.

Q: Is there anything that stood out to you when choosing the master’s program at St. John’s University?

Ms. Brown: I applied to St. John’s University as a first-choice program for my master’s degree in government and politics.

I knew the program was fantastic, and the study abroad program stood out. Studying international law on the University’s Rome, Italy, campus seemed like an excellent opportunity to explore my interests. 

Q: How did your experience at St. John’s impact your interest in international relations and affairs?

Ms. Brown: I got ignited in the work when I began my studies in Rome. The coursework through the Government and Politics Master of Arts degree program was incredible, and the professors were knowledgeable about international relations, development, and sustainability.

Ms. Brown: My classes taught me much about why people think the way they do regarding social class. I came back knowing that I wanted to study undeveloped communities and undeveloped cities and how we can improve their overall outcomes. Studying international law and relations at St. John’s propelled me into the early stages of my career path.

Q: Tell us about your first job and a significant milestone in your career after graduating.

Ms. Brown: My first job after I graduated from St. John’s was at the Harlem Children’s Zone. As an educational director and advocate there, I academically supported fifth- through 12th-grade students in stipend-based, after-school programs. Additionally, I was responsible for monitoring our program retention rates.

When I noticed that many students dropping out of the program were either Black or Latino males, I knew I wanted to act and find a way to bridge that gap.

Ms. Brown: Many of these students were brilliant, socially connected, and understood the dynamic of their opportunities. Therefore, I was determined to figure out how to build them to be mentors in the program versus just participants—and change the narrative of how these students engage, uplifting their value.

I then initiated a new stipend-based mentoring/tutoring program in which we trained the older students to be mentors, and they worked with the middle school students, ultimately increasing and retaining Black and Latino males in our programming.

Q: Before law school, did you explore any roles that tie together social justice, law, and education interests?

Ms. Brown: Before deciding to go to law school, I landed a role at Kings County District Attorney’s Office, working directly with youth diversion, the unit that keeps young people out of jail. That felt so interconnected to the work I had been doing at Harlem Children’s Zone. I worked under former District Attorney Kenneth P. Thompson, Brooklyn’s first African American D.A.

I was eventually offered the opportunity to move up as the Interim Director of Education and Youth Initiatives at the district attorney’s office. In that role, I developed more than 16 educational programs for the D.A.’s focus on crime prevention, including the Brooklyn D.A.’s High School Internship Program, Eagle Academy Mentoring Initiative, and the Anti-Bullying Collaborative with Councilman Robert E. Cornegy, Jr.’s office and Interfaith Medical Center.

Q: How did your various experiences and educational background motivate you to go back to pursue a doctorate in law?

Ms. Brown: I always wanted to go to law school. However, having a robust and meaningful education and a blend of impactful experiences before earning my Juris Doctorate (J.D.) in Law only strengthened my desire to pursue it. It also helped give more trajectory and shape to what I wanted to do with my law degree.

Seeing someone like DA Kenneth Thompson, a person of color trying to create opportunities for Black and Brown individuals, solidified that I could attend law school and do this work.

Q: Can you tell me more about Young New Yorkers and your goals as the Executive Director?

Ms. Brown: Young New Yorkers is a nonprofit that offers restorative art diversion programs to people under 25 charged with a misdemeanor felony, allowing them to exit the criminal legal system and avoid a lifelong criminal record.

Ms. Brown: A primary goal as Executive Director is expanding program development. Our work has been primarily in Brooklyn and Manhattan, NY. My vision is to expand programming in every borough. Through this expansion, I want to implement preventative programming to heal some of that trauma impact that comes from not just crime but also the lack of resources being met.

Additionally, artmaking is the core of Young New Yorkers. We are deepening our connection to the art community and creating employment and educational opportunities centered around art.

Q: Can you share advice with current students interested in pursuing a leadership role? 

Ms. Brown: Stay consistent and keep learning. Taking the initiative took me a long way in my professional career. I didn’t stop when someone tried to gate-keep entry into any position or opportunity. I didn’t care about my ethnicity, gender, or orientation.  No one knows how your story will end besides you - so make it happen and listen to yourself. 

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