Deborah Brown

Deborah Brown helps visionary people realize their aspirations. Services include grant writing, board management, philanthropy startup and program development.  Deborah Brown Consulting LLC has served organizations and clients working in such diverse areas as the arts, education, environmental conservation, substance use, intellectual and physical disabilities and entrepreneurship. Deborah’s career in philanthropy, non-profit management and communications has included roles as chief of staff of Riverkeeper, where she assisted with major donor and foundation cultivation, board development and organizational management, and as corporate secretary for both the Romanian-American Foundation and the Romanian-American Enterprise Fund. The latter endeavors were established by the U.S. Congress to teach Western business practices and foster democracy in post-Soviet Romania. The Romanian-American Foundation (RAF) is an €80 million operating foundation supporting education, entrepreneurship and community development in Romania, as a gift from the American people. Deborah was deeply involved in launching the foundation and helping to develop its board of directors.

Previously Deborah managed customer relations nationally for Barnes & Noble, Inc., was a speechwriter at Barnes & Noble College Bookstores and was a writer and publicist at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science. Ms. Brown is the former program director of the Alexander Julian Foundation for Aesthetic Understanding, which supports arts and creative education in the U.S. She serves as co-president of Grant Professionals of Lower Hudson, a nonprofit organization committed to enhancing grantsmanship, fundraising and philanthropy in the lower Hudson Valley. Deborah is also founder of the Newburgh Clean Water Project and a member of the Grant Professionals Association.