Erin Brown, MPP'99: Advancing Equity at USAID and for the US Around the World

Erin Brown, MPP'99, was at the Harris School of Public Policy long before the metaphor “building the plane while flying it’’ came into common use. 

But it was at Harris, Brown says, where she learned to be agile. It’s served her well throughout her career, and especially in her role as Interim Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator at the United States Agency for International Development, the agency that leads development and humanitarian missions in 100 countries, many in Africa and the African diaspora.

Diversity and equity haven’t always been a focus at USAID, Brown notes. She and her colleagues are making up for lost time, moving with urgency to implement executive orders and presidential memoranda issued by the Biden administration and to meet priorities of new USAID Administrator Samantha Power.

In her view, the policy and organizational changes are not only welcome but necessary.

“USAID is often the face we present to the world so how we show up at the table is important,” she said. “That means all of those things that we do as an agency – how we integrate equity and inclusive practices, and how are we practice inclusive development across the world.’’

The very nature of foreign assistance is being reconsidered. Brown is helping lead conversations, for example, around ways to balance the aid process, which speaks to how the Agency can address historical power imbalances that exist in international development. 

“What does it mean to have host partner countries on more equal footing with donors such as the USAID, so that they are able to equally contribute to the advancement?,” she asks.  

To some extent, she is working from a playbook she helped to write. She was tapped in 2019 to lead an employee-driven effort to develop the agency’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan after serving as president of the Blacks in Government employee resource group and as an equal employment opportunity counselor.

The work took on greater significance after George Floyd’s murder and the racial reckoning that followed.

Brown first joined USAID in 2012 after working as a private-sector consultant specializing in strategic planning, business process improvement, and change management. She worked in the Office of the Administrator and the Bureau for Management, focusing on operational performance improvement.

Her newly created role combines Brown’s expertise in strategy and change management with a long-time concern for diversity, equity, and inclusion issues.

Brown grew up in Baton Rouge, La., in a family that valued academics. For high school she attended the magnet school where her mother taught, Baton Rouge Magnet High School. At Loyola University New Orleans, she pursued a double major in political science and music, playing clarinet in the wind ensemble and symphony orchestra. 

In her third year, Brown weighed competing interests as she mulled the future. “I did the math,” she said, “and realized that there are only so many symphony orchestras in the country – and each has only two clarinetists.” 

So she leaned into the political science side of her studies, with a focus on international relations. Brown dropped music to a minor and finished her degree in three years. Planning to study law, she chose Boston University, opting to defer for a year.

That was an important year. She reconsidered her goals and applied to Harris. Brown arrived in Hyde Park in 1997, intent on making a difference for others.

It was a great move, Brown says. She learned not only to drive in the snow, but also the importance of evidence-based decision-making and capturing both the big picture and detail of an issue.

“What I appreciate most about Harris is my ability to operate at 10,000 feet and 3,000 feet at the same time, and do it consistently,’’ Brown says.

“Theoretical framing that I learned at the University of Chicago was also helpful, especially when I think of organizational behavior. That’s a lot of what we're doing now with DEIA.’’

Brown planned to work in government when she left Harris, but veered to consulting.

A Harris alum arranged an introduction at IBM Global Services where she focused on organizational change management before taking a senior role at KPMG Consulting (which became BearingPoint) and then moving to Deloitte. At age 32, Brown was hired at Hay Group (now part of Korn Ferry) to lead the Building Effective Organizations Practice in the federal sector.

A year or so in, Brown paused to consider her path and its grinding days. She had reached a pinnacle of sorts, but for what reward?

“It was about billable hours and how many millions in sales revenue. I realized this was not a part of who I am. I am about helping people and having a greater impact on the world.’’

She stepped away to reconsider her purpose and passion. That led her to the Franklin Fellowship and a year at USAID – which turned into nine.

She feels as though she’s in the right place.

Her personal life is centered on faith, family, and friends. Joy comes from singing in the St. Augustine Catholic Church Gospel Choir, the celebrated group that has performed for four U.S. presidents and Pope Francis.

Her work tackling diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility across USAID and its programs is exciting and gratifying.

“People know me, they know my passion, they know that I care. They also know, because of my track record, that when it comes to implementing agency-wide initiatives, I have the ability to get things done.’’

She comes to the enormous task with skills necessary to drive change.

“What I learned at Harris and the experience I was able to gain throughout my career prepared me to take on the challenge that I'm dealing with right now,’’ Brown says. “I’m really grateful for my Harris experience.’’