Biographies

Deborah E. Brown
Diversity Leader & Senior Consultant, The Leader's Edge™

Deborah Brown is a career management professional with over 20 years experience in both the profit and not-for-profit sectors. Deborah provides highly individualized executive coaching and training designed to help professionals transition to new roles. Deborah finds her current role of developing and leading a number of initiatives to address career barriers and to promote the visibility, mobility and advancement of top talent women of color particularly rewarding.

Deborah began her career at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a recruiter and trainer and later became an organization development practitioner before moving on to join The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as an HR Generalist in the Aviation Department. Her next position, at Organization Resources Counselors as a Senior Consultant, offered her the opportunity to consult in the firm's diversity practice area, working with Fortune 500 Firms.

Deborah was a vice-president/Senior Consultant at Lee Hecht Harrison, and independent outplacement firm. Prior to joining LHH, Deborah was a Vice President at Catalyst, an independent non-profit that works with business and the professions to effect change for women. During her tenure with the organization she played a key role on the advisory board for the pioneering study on the experience of women of color in Corporate America.

Currently, Deborah is an adjunct professor at New York University where she teaches a course in Managing Global Diversity for the adult degree students. Outside academia, she continues to work with managers on consulting assignments to enhance organizational performance through the creation of a climate that fosters team member's experience of equity and inclusion, despite their differences. Former clients include Disney, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, PSE&G, Lucent Technologies, The Educational Testing Service, Monsanto, and Sara Lee.

Deborah has presented at the Conference Board's Tough Issues Conference , appeared on CNBC, Good Day New York and numerous radio programs. She has been quoted in Black Enterprise, the New York Times, The Washington Post, and Essence Magazine .