HBCU L.E.A.P Leadership

Dr. Brown grew up in rural Georgia and has been a licensed behavioral health clinician for over 25 years. Her career as a social worker began at an HBCU when she received her BSW degree in 1993 from Clark Atlanta University and graduated with distinction from the Isabella T. Jenkins Honors Program. She worked as a generalist social worker for several years before earning her MSW at the University of Georgia in Athens in 1998. Her post-MSW practice experiences included becoming licensed first as a master social worker (LMSW) and then as a clinical social worker (LCSW) in the state of Georgia and nationally certified as a master addiction counselor (MAC) to provide behavioral health treatment services. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings, across levels of care and age groups, and with populations that include women with young children, veterans, and recovering healthcare professionals. Dr. Brown has provided clinical supervision for associate level clinicians for many years and is now a Certified Foundational Clinical Supervisor in the state of Georgia.    

In December 2020, Dr. Brown earned her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia School of Social Work and her graduate certificate in Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies from the Mary Frances Early College of Education. During her doctoral studies, she was a proud recipient of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Dissertation Year Award and the 2019 Graduate School Dean’s Award for Social Sciences. Her dissertation research explored the experiences of Black social workers with racial microaggressions in their practice settings. Her ongoing research interests include race-based stress and behavioral health disparities, mental health and substance use disorders recovery, and professional wellness factors among helping professionals. 

  In January 2021, Dr. Brown joined the faculty of the Whitney M. Young, Jr. School of Social Work at Clark Atlanta University as an Assistant Professor, where she also coordinates the Integrated Behavioral Health Certificate Program. In 2023, she became the Director of the HBCU Center for Excellence in Behavioral Health (L.E.A.P.- Leadership in Education, Awareness, and Preparation). Her work with this SAMHSA-funded project is aimed at addressing the growing national behavioral health provider shortage and increasing diversity and culturally responsive care.