Michael Brown

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1991

Michael Brown

http://www.cityyear.org

Education & Youth Leadership

The Bold Idea:

As roommates at Harvard Law School, Alan Khazei and Michael Brown spent nights discussing social problems in the US. How could there be so much disparity in a country so rich? In addition, Brown and Khazei were concerned by the racial polarization they were seeing in the nation. When they graduated in 1988, Brown and Khazei started City Year in Boston, Massachusetts.

An Action Tank for national service, City Year seeks to demonstrate, improve, and promote the concept of national service as a means of building a stronger democracy. City Year unites a diverse group of young adults, ages 17 to 24, for a demanding year of full-time community service, leadership development, and civic engagement. In 1993, The Clinton Administration used City Year as a model for its Americorps program and in 1994, The Timberland Company and Digital became national founding sponsors of City Year’s national corps in a tremendous act of corporate leadership.

Since inception, City Year has graduated 7,100 alumni; served over 772, 000 children; completed 10.9 million hours of service; partnered with 360 corporations and 1,140 service organizations; engaged more than 820,000 citizens in service; and launched international efforts in South Africa. City Year has established programs in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbia, SC, Columbus, Detroit, New Hampshire, New York, Philadelphia, Rhode Island, San Antonio, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Seattle/King County and Washington, D.C. City Year's vision is that one day, the most commonly asked question of an 18-year-old will be: "Where are you going to do your service year?"

(Note: Echoing Green supported Alan Khazei, Michael Brown and City Year in its early development, but through another grant program.)

Biography:

Michael Brown is the co-founder and CEO of City Year, a national youth service corps that helped to inspire the development of AmeriCorps, the nation's federal investment in national youth service. Before founding City Year with his college roommate, Alan Khazei, Michael served as a legislative aide for then Congressman Leon Panetta; a public information officer for the City Volunteer Corps (CVC) of New York City; and law clerk for Federal Judge Stephen Breyer, now a Supreme Court Justice.

Michael Brown has been awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award, the Jefferson Award of the American Institute for Public Service, the National Caring Award, the Boston Bar Association's Public Service Award, and four honorary degrees, including doctor of public service from Northeastern University. Michael is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he served as a member of the Harvard Law Review.