Valerie Brown, MSW
Board Member
Valerie Brown is the President and CEO of Progressive Strategic Solutions. Progressive Strategic Solutions is one of the nation’s leading consulting companies which provides leadership training and innovative programming in diversity, equity, inclusion, and restorative social justice. For more than 35 years, Brown has coached leaders and provided high-impact strategies for organizational transformation, and advanced the implementation of best practices for continuous improvement in companies, school districts, faith institutions, as well as numerous for-profit and non-profit organizations.
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Prior to Brown founding Progressive Strategic Solutions, Brown served as the Chief Strategy Officer of BTNE Enterprises, a global consulting firm. BTNE serves clients in 10 different countries in addition to the United States. Brown’s work was critical in developing continuous improvement strategies which led to facilitating growth in some of the nation’s most rapidly improving schools and organizations. Brown’s work with high-priority schools has elevated the use of both restorative practices used in organizations to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as the use of data to eradicate long-standing achievement and opportunity gaps in historically underserved communities.
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Brown has served in a variety of key roles which allowed her to help empower organizational leaders to lead from a position of strength and expand their impact in leading large-scale change and transformation. Brown is a graduate of Wayne State University School of Social Work and holds both a Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) and Master of Social (M.S.W.) in Clinical Social Work. Brown was inducted into the Phi Alpha Honor Society and Phi Beta Kappa. Brown has been the recipient of numerous academic awards and honors from the following organizations: The Eileen M. Maceroni Memorial Endowment; The Annette Sniderman Freedman Endowment; The Rachel I. Coleman Endowment; and the Jacquelin E. Washington Endowment. Brown’s research interests include leadership development; developing innovative tools for restorative social justice, and investigating ways to support the social-emotional needs of leaders and staff in communities that have historically been underserved who experienced secondary trauma.
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Brown is both an artist and an art enthusiast. Brown has traveled globally exploring the impact of the arts as a tool to foster social-emotional well-being and wellness. Brown is also a trained vocalist who performs classical, gospel, and standards from the American Songbook. Brown is the proud mother of three amazing men – Ronald, Eric, and Christopher – who, along with he grandchildren, have collectively brought her immense joy.