Dr. Victor Brown
Board Member
Dr. Victor M. D. Brown is a native of Montego Bay, Jamaica. He was an at-risk child and the first in a family of 14 children to attend college. He is a 1995 graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Kingston, Jamaica where he received a B.Sc. with honors in Chemistry and Biochemistry.
In 1997, he was awarded the Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship to England where he served as Ambassador of Goodwill for Rotary International. He earned a Ph.D. in Biochemistry with an emphasis on Biotechnology and Molecular Biology in 1999 through a joint program between the University of the West Indies and Wye College, University of London. In 2010 Dr. Brown graduated from the Goizueta Business School, Emory University in Atlanta, GA with a M.B.A in Management.
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Over his career, Dr. Brown has held several positions including being recruited to work as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. While at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, he served as the Postdoctoral Research Associate Representative on the Postdoctoral Advisory Committee and Chaired the Postdoctoral Council from 2002-2004. Additionally, he held an appointment as a Research Assistant Professor in the College of Agricultural, Environmental and Natural Sciences at Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL where he was not only a scholar in the Alabama Collaboration for Cardiovascular Equity Research Training Program, but he was also Advisor to the Tuskegee University chapter of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences and a Member of the Selma Early College High School Advisory Board. In 2011, Dr. Brown joined Burlington County College in Pemberton, NJ as the Dean of the Division of Science, Mathematics and Technology where he developed innovative approaches to expose students to the latest developments in science and technology. In April 2013, Dr. Brown was appointed the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, GA.
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Dr. Brown has an extensive research and grant writing background. As a graduate student, he developed molecular diagnostic techniques to combat plant pathogens and to differentiate between plant species in Jamaica.
As a scientist, Dr. Brown discovered a novel nuclear export signal that governs the impact of antilukemic agents on cancer cells. He was also involved in assessing the impact of obesity and its effects on cardiovascular disease and diabetes within underrepresented minorities. Additionally, individually and as a team member, Dr. Brown has successfully applied for and obtained grants totaling over $3.2M from several federal agencies including NASA and the USDA. The grants focused on providing meaningful educational opportunities for teachers and students interested in pursuing careers in STEM, including Bioinformatics, sustainability and green technology and expand higher education offerings at 2- and 4-year institutions.
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Dr. Brown has over 20 years of experience in youth ministry, organizational development, team building, education and training. He has extensive experience working with institutions as a specialist in program development and advancing cultural shifts in organizations. He has provided organizations with the tools to maximize their potential. He has extensive experience working developing workshops that focuses on service learning, leadership development, personal development and strategic planning.
Dr. Brown has provided life coaching for individuals who are focused on achieving their academic and career objectives. His workshops are directed towards one’s spiritual, personal, career, social or fitness goals.
Being one himself, Dr. Brown has a passion for increasing the number of college-eligible disadvantaged youth. He continuously collaborates with schools to encourage and motivate students to consider attending college and maximizing their potential. He is the Founding Director of Tuskegee University’s AgriTREK Program, which included a two-week residential program to create awareness of the educational and career opportunities in STEM through research, leadership development and personal enrichment. For the past 15 years Dr. Brown has been actively involved in academic, personal enrichment and leadership development for socio-economically challenged underserved minority youth and teens not only in Jamaica, but in the USA.
He has a passion to expand the K-12 pipeline in underserved communities, thereby increasing the number of eligible college students by creating awareness and exposing underserved minorities to advanced scientific technologies.
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Dr. Brown is a born-again Christian who has been actively involved in ministry since the age of 15 years old. In high school, he was a member of Inter School Christian Fellowship, an international organization that encourages high school student to live a life that is pleasing to God. As a student at the University of the West Indies, Dr. Brown was actively involved in University and College Christian Fellowship. Prayer was a routine part of Dr. Brown’s daily actives as he regularly met and prayed with friends throughout the course of the day. These years formed a critical point in his life as he sought to draw closer to the Lord. Dr. Brown has a deep-seated desire to proclaim the good news of the gospel wherever and whenever the opportunity arises.
He has taught and preached in Jamaica, Britain and the United States of America. Dr. Brown was also a minister at Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, TN under the direction of Rev. Donald L. Johnson. He also served as a minister and a member of the True Deliverance Holiness Church in Auburn, AL under the direction of Bishop (Dr.) Nolan T. Torbert. Dr. Brown has been affiliated with several organizations including Gamma Sigma Delta, The Honor Society of Agriculture; Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society; Jamaica Society for Science and Technology; American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; and American Association for Cancer Research.
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