Brandon Brown (he/him/his)

Since 2018, Brandon Brown has served as CEO of The Mind Trust, leading the organization’s groundbreaking work to provide every Indianapolis student with the opportunity to attend an excellent school.

He formerly served as The Mind Trust’s Senior Vice President for Education Innovation, primarily focusing on The Mind Trust’s Innovation School Fellowship, a unique partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) to incubate excellent Innovation Network Schools that serve all students well.

Before joining The Mind Trust, Brandon served as the city of Indianapolis’ charter schools director under former Mayor Greg Ballard. As charter schools director from 2012 to 2015, Brandon 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. He also served in several leadership roles with Teach For America, including managing director of community partnerships in the Indianapolis office.

Brandon was previously a Teach For America corps member and taught English at Carnahan High School in St. Louis. Brandon was selected by Indianapolis Business Journal for its “40 Under 40” class in 2019. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

He currently serves on the Marian University Center for Vibrant Schools Board of Visitors, and is a board member for the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee, Hoosiers for Quality Education, and Indiana Charter Innovation Center. He is also a member of the Indiana Girl Advisory Council. Brandon has been an advisory board member for Teach Plus-Indianapolis; statewide council member for the Indiana Center for Family, School, and Community Partnerships; and member of the Central Indiana Education Alliance; and on the community advisory committee for the Indianapolis eLearning Fund.

“Our public education system was not set up to effectively serve students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. This reality is unacceptable. We must work to ensure all students, no exceptions, have the opportunity to attend schools that serve them with excellence and equity. This is essential if Indianapolis is to become a more vibrant and just city.”