Susan Brown

Susan Brown has worked in the nonprofit sector for over 25 years, specializing in strategic communications. A long-time resident of Washington, D.C., she returned to New York last year, where she is Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs at Columbia University, directing their public affairs office. A native New Yorker, she is the daughter of Isabelle and John Stevenson, the mother of David and Ethan Brown, the proud grandmother of Ella (David and Liz’s daughter) and Jon Victor and Cecilia (Ethan and Tracy’s son and daugher). From 1986 to 2002, Brown was public affairs director at the Urban Institute, a national think tank based in D.C. She has produced nationally aired radio programs, a documentary film on drug-free schools, publications on policies affecting children and families. She recently served as a U.S. delegate to key international women and democracy-building conferences. A former board member of The Source Theatre in DC, she also was instrumental in the Pew PARC project to help performing arts companies improve their management. A Bryn Mawr College graduate, she has an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Maryland.