The Mind Trust adds Indianapolis’ charter schools chief to leadership team
Indianapolis – The Mind Trust today announced that Brandon Brown, currently the City of Indianapolis’ charter schools director for Mayor Greg Ballard, will join The Mind Trust as Vice President of Education Innovation next month.
In his new role, he will oversee The Mind Trust’s groundbreaking work in growing and expanding high quality schools in Indianapolis. He will oversee The Mind Trust’s three education incubators with a primary focus on the Innovation School Fellowship, a unique partnership with the Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), to incubate excellent Innovation Network Schools that serve all students well.
He will succeed Patrick Herrel who recently was named CEO of Cincinnati’s Accelerate Great Schools, an education nonprofit modeled after The Mind Trust.
"Brandon Brown’s experience as a classroom teacher with Teach For America and his leadership of the city’s charter school movement make him the ideal addition to The Mind Trust team," said David Harris, founder and CEO of The Mind Trust. "Brandon has spent his entire professional career serving students and families and will be an excellent leader for our education initiatives."
As the Mayor’s charter schools director from 2012 to 2015, Brown oversaw 35 charter schools and four turnaround schools serving nearly 15,000 students. Also under his watch, the Mayor’s Office opened 15 new charter schools and gained oversight of four turnaround schools. According to a 2015 Stanford University study, students attending Mayor-sponsored charter schools gained an additional two to three months of learning each school year 
compared to their traditional public school peers.
Before joining the Mayor’s Office, he served in several leadership roles with Teach For America (TFA)-Indianapolis, including as managing director of community partnerships. He previously was a TFA corps member and taught English at Carnahan High School in St. Louis.
Brown holds a bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He has been an advisory board member for Teach Plus-Indianapolis, a statewide
 council member for the Indiana Center for Family, School and Community Partnerships and a member of the Central Indiana Education Alliance.
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